On Wednesday 25 October, the European Parliament’s Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) adopted its position (20 votes in favour, 6 against, no abstentions) on a revision of the European treaties to enable the European Union to function more democratically with more than thirty Member States and to meet the challenges facing it.
This position, which the European Parliament will be asked to endorse during the plenary session starting on Monday 20 November, is intended to enable the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council to ask the Member States at the ‘General Affairs’ Council meeting on Tuesday 12 December, whether they intend to forward to the European Council the European Parliament’s request (based on Article 48 TEU) to convene a convention to reform the EU’s institutional architecture after the European elections in June 2024 (see EUROPE 13275/32).
On Wednesday, MEPs approved the broad outlines of the proposal to reform the European treaties that the task force led by Guy Verhofstadt (Renew Europe, Belgian) had submitted to them at the beginning of September (see EUROPE 13241/10).
For example, the EU would be given new exclusive powers (protection of the environment and biodiversity, combating climate change). The number of policy areas that would be decided under the ordinary legislative procedure (co-decision), with decisions taken by a simple majority of the EU Council (a majority of countries representing at least 50% of the population), would be considerably increased. A protocol on social progress would be drawn up. It would also be up to the Parliament to propose to the European Council the name of the person who would head the European Commission.
On Wednesday, the parliamentary committee adopted the dozen or so compromise amendments negotiated between the pro-European EPP, S&D, Renew Europe, Greens/EFA and The Left groups, in particular to accommodate certain specific concerns of the Christian Democrat group, which had made known its reticence regarding certain elements of the text. For example, MEPs agreed that EU Council decisions on tax issues should be taken by an enhanced qualified majority (at least 4/5 of Member States representing at least 50% of the population).
MEPs propose that it should be possible in future to hold European referendums, at the request of the European Parliament and with the agreement of the European Council by a majority of Member States. A compromise amendment specifies that the results of a European referendum will be validated if a majority of citizens at EU level approve it and if there is also majority support from citizens at national level in a majority of EU countries.
On behalf of the ECR group, Jacek Saryusz-Wolski of Poland issued a statement condemning the proposed amendment to the treaties, which he said would lead to “a massive transfer of powers to the EU” and the construction of a “centralised oligarchic European superstate beyond any democratic control”, resulting in the weakening of the Member States.
See the AFCO committee’s compromise amendments: https://aeur.eu/f/992 (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)