The 12 experts of the Franco-German group tasked with reflecting on the future of the European Union will present their recommendations to the ‘General Affairs’ Council on Tuesday 19 September (see other news).
According to the sixty-page report, of which EUROPE has received a copy, these recommendations have three objectives: - to increase the EU’s capacity to act; - prepare for future enlargements; - strengthen respect for the Rule of law and the democratic legitimacy of the EU.
On the institutional front, the Franco-German group recommends generalising decisions by qualified majority of Member States in the EU Council. This would be achieved when 60% of Member States representing 60% of the EU population vote in favour of a legislative proposal. The co-decision procedure, which places the European Parliament and the EU Council on an equal footing, would be generalised, except in the areas of foreign policy and defence.
Another institutional innovation advocated is reducing the size of the College of European Commissioners to two-thirds of the Member States or, if the Member States refuse, establishing a hierarchy within the College whereby only “lead” Commissioners would be entitled to vote.
With a view to the European elections, the experts are not advocating the institutionalisation of the ‘lead candidate’ process (‘Spitzenkandidaten’). However, they would like the European Parliament and the European Council to agree before June 2024, if possible within the framework of an interinstitutional agreement, on how the President of the future Commission will be appointed.
As far as the budget is concerned, the Franco-German group recommends that the EU should have a budget that enables it to take on new responsibilities, in the light of recent crises. This budget would be fed by new own resources and the possibility of issuing authorised common debt, as was tested as part of the Next Generation EU Recovery Plan.
In order to better protect the EU budget against breaches of the Rule of law in the Member States, the appropriate Regulation introduced under the current multiannual financial framework would be extended to cover all the fundamental values of the EU (Article 2 TEU). And ‘Article 7 of the Treaty’ procedure on respect for the Rule of law would be strengthened by making it easier to take decisions within limited timeframes. If it has been open for more than 5 years, an ‘Article 7’ procedure should be able to lead to automatic sanctions, according to the 12 experts.
It should be noted that the creation of an independent European body (‘office for transparency and probity’) is also supported in order to enforce transparency and integrity in European public life, potentially by adopting sanctions.
Enlargement. Finally, on the subject of enlargement, the group welcomes the 2030 deadline set by the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, with clear objectives set by the EU and the candidate countries. In their view, EU accession negotiation sessions would be held in small groups of countries to ensure a merit-based approach and to better manage potential conflicts. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)