Constitutional Pick n Mix

Written by Andrew Duff MEP and published in ft.com on Fri 6th Oct 2006

"We are interested in Europe being a strong state" said Vladimir Putin on 9 September. "It's not easy for us to maintain dialogue with the EU if there are no clear cut structures or if Europe is in a transition or transformation phase when every few months a president or chairman is changed." The Russian president, then, can be added to that very short list of Europe's leaders who dare to speak out for the rescue of the EU's constitutional treaty, signed two years ago this month but later stalled in ratification referendums in France and the Netherlands.

The forthcoming Dutch election (22 November) is unlikely to shake the tree. Much more may be expected of the French presidential and parliamentary contests next spring. In his Brussels speech on 8 September, Nicolas Sarkozy declared himself ready to ditch another referendum in favour of a parliamentary vote. For that he needs to cherry-pick choice bits from the original constitutional package and come up with a 'mini-Treaty' now, followed by a maxi 'First Amendment' after 2009. In so far as it has any view on the matter, the British government is also keen to deconstruct the 2004 treaty. Although they will both try to scale down the constitution, London and Paris are miles apart on which bits to keep and which to jettison. Ideally, the UK would scrap the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the federalist terminology. France would try to ring-fence most of the treaty's constitutional provisions but insist on keeping a permanent French member of the European Commission.

Other governments have their own agendas. Romano Prodi talks longingly of a shorter text. Guy Verhofstadt pursues his federalist goals. Poland would re-open the matter of voting weights in the Council. The Vatican fortunately no more a member state of the EU than Russia wants God in the preamble. Others still find it difficult to accept the need for any change whatsoever, while Finland, the current president-in-office of the Council, struggles to become the sixteenth country to ratify the original but doomed text. President Barroso says that the constitution is obviously needed before further enlargement, but his Commission comes up with no Plan B. The European Parliament continues uncertain on what to do next. And the candidate states stand by nervously.

What are we to make of this muddle? It is up to the Germans, who take over from the Finns in January, to sort it out. Their EU presidency is committed to exploring options for improving the treaty, and to reaching agreement at next June's European Council on the schedule and direction for renegotiation. Angela Merkel told the International Bertelsmann Forum (22 September) that she opposes minimalist or simplistic solutions to Europe's constitutional crisis. She poured cold water on the EU's usual diversionary tactic of appointing a group of 'wise men'. (In truth, it is not more wisdom that we need but a dose of half-decent democratic leadership.) The Chancellor clearly wants to preserve all the main advances of the 2004 treaty, including the Charter. She opposes a mini-treaty that would leave major constitutional difficulties unresolved. She backs the constitution's transfers of sovereignty in matters of internal security, and, encouraged by the deployment of German troops in Lebanon, offers new support for the rapid development of EU common foreign, security and defence policies. Merkel is more insistent on the need for a strong Commission than Sarkozy, and less effusive than he about the capabilities of the Franco-German axis. She will use the EU presidency to up-grade Germany's profile. Despite the timetable constraints on what the Germans can achieve before they pass the chair on to the Portuguese in July, they are determined to pitch high for what Merkel calls 'Constitution Plus'.

The first signs from Portugal, articulated in a European Strategy Forum led by Antonio Vitorino last weekend, are equally encouraging for those who want to keep the comprehensive package deal together. For the Portuguese, Europe is as much about democratic participation as it is about efficiency and effectiveness.

The EU presidencies of Germany and Portugal, together with Slovenia and France in 2008, need to develop strong proposals for policy reform within the constitutional context. The topics almost speak for themselves: enhancing the economic governance of the Union, especially within the eurozone; sharpening the delivery of the Lisbon agenda of economic and social reform; up-grading climate change policy, including the formulation of a common energy policy; a new approach to enlargement; and a revision of the financial system.

Andrew Duff's new pamphlet, 'Plan B: how to rescue the European Constitution', will be published by Notre Europe on 18 October. www.notre-europe.eu