Research project
| Updated 19/01/2012
Access to the publications on "Whats institutions for the Union" project below.
About the project
Since its inception, Notre Europe has been pondering the means of improving the EU's institutional structures in a federal spirit. The issue of the institutional architecture of the European Union, technical and austere though it may be, remains fundamental. On this subject, Jean Monnet liked to quote philosopher H.F. Amiel: "Only institutions grow wiser: they accumulate collective experience". This is indeed borne out by the institutional history of European integration which has much to teach us on its Member States' intent on coming together. Any institutional crisis will directly impact on integration's very dynamics, as born out by the rejections of the EDC (European Defence Community) in 1954 or, more recently, of the Constitutional Treaty.
Since its creation, Notre Europe has been fully committed to research and proposals geared to institutional issues. The archive this page draws from leaves no doubt on this score. More specifically, its Board of Directors has articulated a range of positions which sustained the Convention's work when preparing the Constitutional Treaty. Notre Europe went on to promote the Treaty during the referendum campaign in France and published an analysis of the French 'no' vote on 29 May 2005 as well as "crisis exit" scenarios.
Notre Europe's thinking on institutional issues rests on three major stances
- The successive enlargements undergone by the Union are a potent illustration of Europe's capacity to face up to the historical challenges that confront it. Nevertheless, enlargement must not be an alternative to the deepening of European integration, which means institutional reforms based on the the “community method”
- Federalism remains the model of political organisation and decision-making best suited to the European Union. Federalism leverages both unity and diversity and makes it possible genuinely to democratise an enlarged Europe. Because it enshrines the double legitimacy of the EU (that of its peoples and of its states), the vision championed by Jacques Delors of a Federation of Nation States remains the formula best suited to consolidating a forward-looking consensus.
- The member states' power to veto will become ever more incompatible with sustaining the dynamics of integration in a Europe of 27 (and eventually over 30) members. Turning to majority vote will prove an increasingly attractive solution. But this optimal path needs time while the current world situation demands immediate action. The concept of differentiation may help counter stagnation. Making it possible for a set of states to move forward towards a specified objective has been a useful solution in the past and will remain so.
Notre Europe is currently working on three major projects concerning institutions
Is the community method still relevant? To give a documented answer to this question, we needed to take a thorough look at how the institutional triangle has changed to accommodate new demands. How does the Commission currently use its right of initiative? Is voting used in the same manner as prior to enlargement? One of the greatest institutional changes in the past 20 years has been the increasing importance of the European Parliament, but what have been the effects of this “rise to power”?
This study, like those which will follow, aims to provide an up-to-date picture of the community method at work, and to help us to understand its relevance in today's Europe.
Qualified majority voting from the Single European Act to present day: an unexpected permanence, Study by Stéphanie Novak, November 2011.
Co-decision and ‘early agreements’: an improvement or a subversion of the legislative procedure?, Study by Olivier Costa, Renaud Dehousse, Aneta Trakalovà, October 2011.
The Lisbon Treaty
This project is to assist, with analyses and propositions, implementation of the Treaty of Lisbon.
The Treaty of Lisbon: Assessment and Prospects
, Study by Alain Dauvergne, October 2011.
The next institutional steps
Its is a longer term project. It aims to better define the outlines of a new European political vision, both as a goal and a yardstick for future institutional reforms. Notre Europe considers that the best such vision focuses on the idea of a Federation of Nation States (see Jacques Delors's speech to the European Movement in 2002, for instance), and it will endeavour to flesh out the substance of this political and institutional project.
At the occasion of "Europe Day", Notre Europe launches a debate on the form of decision-making in the Union
As every year, “Europe Day” invites us to discuss the EU’s real-world impacts and to analyse its methods and growth as an organisation. The current news agenda is particularly stimulating, with wide-ranging debate about the euro and, more recently, tensions over the “Schengen zone” – another emblematic symbol of European integration. The EU acts, reacts, adapts. Meanwhile doubts and questions persist among its citizens.
A succession of international and economic crises has also led to the multiplication of EU summit meetings over the last few semesters. The organisation of these meetings has been facilitated by the new “permanent presidency” of the European Council, created by the Lisbon Treaty and occupied by Herman Van Rompuy. These developments have given a new urgency and relevance to the classic debate between supporters of the “community method” and those of the “intergovernmental method”. This debate – superficially theoretical – is decisive for the future of European integration, and therefore for us all.
Read more.
