Tribune
| 19/11/2009
Whatever differences exist between its member states, the prerequisite for a well-functioning European Union is that institutions work well together. In order to make progress towards the ends we seek, we need agreement on the means by which policy is made.
This is the purpose of the so-called community method, which at times has permitted the Union to advance in leaps and bounds. It allows the European Council (the heads of state and government) to concentrate on what is important: deciding on the strategic direction of policy.
The European parliament and the European Commission complete an "institutional triangle" that intervenes both upstream and downstream of the European Council. Upstream, the Commission focuses relentlessly on the European interest; it sends analyses and proposals to the Council of Ministers and accepts that some will be rejected. Meanwhile, the European parliament (whose power is increased by the Lisbon treaty) exercises its responsibility as co-legislator with the European Council and draws on its direct connection with European voters...
read the article on Financial Times Website.
Articles by
Jacques Delors :
