Can the European Union's Resources Compete with Its Aims?

Tackling a Tide of Change: Breathing Life into the EU

🗣️ Amandine Hess 🗺️ Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / Whatsapp

🚀 Race to modernize the European Union (EU) is heating up, with cries for efficiency, democracy, and adaptability to contemporary challenges lingering.

🎉 Judging by the footprint left by the Treaty of Lisbon over a decade ago, these calls might bring some noteworthy adjustments. Signed in 2007 and presented force in 2009, the treaty cleared several hurdles between EU and national competences, gifted the EU its first independent legal identity, and offered a new formula for a member state to withdraw from the union.

🌐 Enlargement isn't the sole driving force behind the uproar for change—world threats like the war in Ukraine, the digital and energy transition, climate change, and social inequalities also take center stage. These challenges demand a stronger EU with greater powers of action, as per the Foundation for European Progressive Studies' report "EU Treaties: Why They Need Targeted Updates".

📜 The past is prologue! Recent years have shone a spotlight on enlargement and internal reform, with proposals passing European Parliament's litmus test, debates unfolding at the Granada Summit hosted by Ursula Von Der Leyen, and suggestions pouring in from the Citizens Conference on the Future of Europe between 2021 and 2022.

🗣️ So, what reforms are on the table? Here are seven key battlegrounds:

1. Votes and enlargement

Starting with the voting mechanisms within the Council, MEPs push for the widespread use of qualified majority voting in areas still requiring unanimity. Under the current setup, a qualified majority is reached with the agreement of at least 55% of Member States (15 countries out of 27) representing at least 65% of the EU population.

MEPs are also banking on strengthened bicameral systems and flipping the script for nominating the President of the Commission: Parliament would propose, while the Council would confirm their pick.

Preempting enlargement, the "Group of Twelve" proposes veto abolishment in international affairs, a capping of MEPs at 751, and extending the EU Council presidency format to five presidencies.

2. Peace and security

The Ukraine conflict has demonstrated the EU's limitations and underlined the necessity for self-reliance. Lawmakers propose the creation of a defense union with military capabilities to better address crises.

3. Rule of law

Strengthening the rule of law and democratic legitimacy can benefit from institutional reforms, according to experts. They advocate heightened budget conditionality and improvements to Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), which empowers the Council to suspend a member state's voting rights if it strays from democratic values, the rule of law, or human rights.

4. Climate change

The Treaty on the Functioning of the EU already emphasizes environmental protection. However, lawmakers advocate adding combating global warming and preserving biodiversity as EU objectives. Experts suggest granting the EU exclusive international competence for climate change policy.

5. Energy transition

Europe's dependence on Russian gas has been laid bare by the Ukraine conflict. Lawmakers propose an integrated European Energy Union to ensure an affordable and sustainable energy supply for Europeans.

6. Digital transition

The digital realm isn't mentioned in the Lisbon Treaty, leading experts to advocate revisions. Digital matters should ideally be a common competence to ensure Internet access, digital education, and a safe environment.

7. Health

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need for coordination and cooperation in healthcare on a European scale. Possible developments include a European health data area, equitable access to healthcare within the EU, joint vaccine and medicine purchasing, management of rare diseases, and the creation of orphan drugs.

🗝️ Some oppose such reforms, advocating national sovereignty as an alternative to EU powers. Others argue that current treaties already provide for these measures.

🔄 Amending the treaties can proceed through three different pathways:

Ordinary revision procedure: Proposals may be submitted by a member state's government, the European Parliament, or the European Commission, leading to a vote by the Council of the European Union. The European Council would then vote on convening a Conference to adopt changes, which need to be ratified by member states.
Simplified revision procedure: This bypasses the need for a Conference, but changes still require ratification by all member states.
Passerelle clauses: These speed up the amendment process in specific scenarios, such as when the Council agrees to act by qualified majority instead of unanimously.

Sources:

European Commission - Proposed Amendments to the EU’s Budget
European Economic and Social Committee - CESR Opinion on the Mid-Term Review of the European Semester
European Commission - EURACTIV News - Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive: More Delays Proposed
European Commission - Proposed Amendments to EU Social and Employment Funds
European Commission - 2025 Commission Work Programme
The European Union (EU) is currently undergoing a race to modernize, with a focus on efficiency, democracy, and adaptability, as exemplified by the Treaty of Lisbon's footprint.
Amandine Hess, a political analyst, discusses one of the key battlegrounds for EU reforms, which is the voting mechanisms within the Council, with the push for the widespread use of qualified majority voting to address areas still requiring unanimity.
Other proposals for EU reforms include establishing a defense union, strengthening the rule of law, combating global warming, ensuring an affordable and sustainable energy supply for Europeans, revising the digital realm, and improving healthcare coordination on a European scale.
The pathway for amending the EU treaties includes the ordinary revision procedure, the simplified revision procedure, and the passerelle clauses, each with different procedures for changes and ratification by member states.
Opposition to such EU reforms exists, with some arguing for the preservation of national sovereignty instead of strengthening EU powers. Other critics argue that current treaties already provide for these measures.