Brussels, 16/01/2003 (Agence Europe) - With a view to the plenary debate on how the institutions operate, to be held on 20 and 21 January, the Praesidium of the European Convention addressed, as indicated earlier, a discussion paper to the members of the Convention (see EUROPE of 11 January, p.15). Essentially descriptive, the note nonetheless mentions certain avenues for reforming the functioning of the European Union institutions. In particular, these are:
(1) European Parliament. The document recalls that the Nice Treaty increased the number of MEPs to 732 and stresses that the system of repartition chosen produces distorted representation of the European peoples: in a Union of 27 members, a Maltese deputy will represent 76,000 citizens, a German 829,000, an Italian 800,000 and a Swedish representative 492,000. The document stresses that the Convention should also take an interest in electoral procedure and recalls the EP proposal aimed at electing part of its members from transnational lists.
(2) Council. The note recalls that the working group on the role of the international parliaments recommended introducing a general rule on advertising legislative work which goes beyond the decision reached last June on opening the initial debate in Council up to the public and its final vote in the context of codecision procedure. Other suggestions are: - the creation of a legislative Council,; - clearer differentiation between the General Affairs and the External Relations formations; - a provision fixing in the Constitution the number and responsibilities of the Council formations, referring this decision to the European Council; - and the choice of a Council Presidency system (the note stresses that the rotating system would be hardly tenable in an enlarged Union but also that the choice should guarantee the stability and adequate representation of all Member States); - extension of qualified majority vote; - the choice of a simple majority system (the document notes that the triple majority system adopted by the Nice Treaty was very criticised because of its complexity and that the Commission has proposed adopting a double Member State/population majority).
(3) European Commission. The document invites Convention Members to reflect on the following issues: - method of designation (recalling proposals aimed at reversing the order of EP and European Council intervention in designation of the Commission President, namely election by the EP first of all followed by confirmation from the European Council; - the number of Commissioners and the possible creation of two levels of Commissioner participation in the work of the institution (the note stresses the pitfalls that could lie in any formula that would result in giving or strengthening the impression that Commissioners represent their respective Member States).
(4) Court of Justice. The note also envisages possible modifications for the Court, as the Court's workload could become heavier, mainly if the Convention adopts the recommendation aimed at extending access by citizens to the Court.
(5) European Council. The vote notes the difficulties that the European Council could encounter with 25 members in an enlarged Union and the decision procedures imposing unanimity even on matters that provide for qualified majority in Council.
The note only tackles the institutions, except for the European Central Bank, and thus carefully avoids prejudging plenary discussions on 6 and 7 February on social and regional issues and on their consequences for the Committee of the Regions and the ESC. Neither does it take into account ideas put forward within the Convention, like that on transforming the Convention into a "permanent body" or a Congress of the Peoples of Europe.