Tribune | 30/08/2006 

Let there be no misunderstanding : the constitutional treaty is an important step forward for European integration and, with regards to the Nice treaty, there are a number of indisputable gains. We should rejoin at the prospect of referenda bring held almost all over the EU and resolutely prepare ourselves to vote "yes". But let us remain lucid : this is not a constitution but a treaty, and consequently the amendment procedure is a diplomatic one, and the 18th of June agreement is in some ways disappointing, especially as regards economic governance at the EMU.

While the Council seems to be sailing rudderless, hesitating between two directions, the direction of collective sovereignty and that of interstate competition, the new Commission and the new Parliament, now more than ever, will be the guardians of a common European vision built on solidarity. The spotlights therefore need to be turned to these to insitutions.

The Parliament, with its new political landscape, with the representations of the new member states and with its new responsibilities, will probably be the institution that, in the coming decade, will be turning European democracy into a living reality. The new Commission, due to incorporate a minister for foreign affairs in the course of its mandate, will have the historic task of finding the appropriate relationship with the Council, based on the right balance as well as on constructive synergies between the two, so as to enable it to put forward in a dynamic way and to exert a clear and ambitious executive capacity.

See also :

Notre Europe's Board position "Looking for a European government" (french only).