European Parliament resolution on the constitutional process and the future of the Union (2001/2180(INI))
Date: 2001-11-29
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: European Constitution, European Union, deepening of the European Union, democracy, institutional reform

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Considers that the Commission’s scoreboard and the report presented by the Presidency show the
lack of progress made in the AFSJ and that the mid-term Treaty objectives and timetable were not met, due
mainly to the unanimity requirement in the Council and to the lack of political commitment of Member
States;

Supports the establishment of the International Criminal Court and invites all States to ratify its

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Statute;

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Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the European Council, the Council, the Commis-

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sion and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.

19. Future of the European Union

A5-0368/2001

European Parliament resolution on the constitutional process and the future of the Union
(2001/2180(INI))

The European Parliament,

, having regard to the treaty signed in Nice on 26 February 2001 and in particular Declaration No 23

on the future of the Union,

, having regard to the communication from the Commission on certain arrangements for the debate on

the future of the European Union (COM(2001) 178),

, having regard to the report on the future of the Union presented to the Göteborg European Council

by the Swedish Presidency,

, having regard to its resolution of 31 May 2001 on the Treaty of Nice and the future of the European

Union (1),

, having regard to its resolution of 25 October 2000 on the constitutionalisation of the Treaties (2),

, having regard to the report from the European Council on the progress achieved by the European

Union in 2000,

, having regard to the motion for a resolution tabled by Richard Corbett on the High Representative at

the Commission (B5-0680/2000),

, having regard to Rule 163 of its Rules of Procedure,

, having regard to the report of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs and the opinions of the Com-
mittee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market
(A5-0368/2001),

A. having regard to Declaration No 23 annexed to the Treaty of Nice, which provides for reform of the

Treaties in 2004 preceded by a new process of preparation that is open and public,

B. whereas the public debate that has taken place throughout 2001 has revealed a very broad consensus
in support of a new method of reform of the Treaties based on the work of a Convention which
would prepare the IGC,

(1)
‘Texts Adopted’, Item 4.
(2) OJ C 197, 12.7.2001, p. 186.

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C. whereas dialogue with citizens has been inadequate hitherto and must therefore be intensified and

extended throughout the process of reform of the Treaties,

Thursday 29 November 2001

D. having regard to the hearing held in Brussels on 10/11 July 2001, in which the parliaments of the

Member States and the candidate countries participated,

E. whereas, in the light of recent world events, the challenges relating to external and internal security

have resurfaced as an urgent issue on the Union’s agenda,

F.

having regard to its opinion on the Treaty of Nice (which this resolution follows up and builds upon),
the weak points of which are indicative of the current drift towards intergovernmental methods and
the consequent weakening of the Community method,

G. whereas European citizens desire, above all, that the policies and procedures adopted to determine the
future course of the Union will make the Union more democratic, more effective, more transparent,
more vigorous and more responsive to social issues,

H. whereas one of the aims of the forthcoming reform must be to ensure that the general public fully
embraces the process of European integration, for which purpose it needs to understand clearly who
does what in the European Union, what the latter is required to do and how it should set about it,

I. whereas, in all instances where the new Constitutional Treaty of the Union refers to physical persons,
both the feminine and masculine genders will be used (principle of gender neutrality), and this prin-
ciple should therefore apply to this resolution,

Future challenges facing Europe

1.
Reiterates its commitment to a European Union which fulfils its fundamental role as a union of
peoples and states and provides a stable and durable response to the requirements of democracy, legit-
imacy, transparency and effectiveness, which are essential if there is to be further progress in European
integration, particularly with a view to enlargement, whilst in no event allowing the democratic nature of
the Union to be sacrificed for the sake of effectiveness; considers that the aim of the 2003 Intergovern-
mental Conference must be a Constitution for the European Union;

2.
Points out that the list of four topics in Declaration No 23 annexed to the Treaty of Nice is not
exhaustive; considers, therefore, that the scope of the forthcoming reform and, consequently, the topics
selected for discussion by the Convention must be based on a rigorous in-depth analysis of the strengths
and weaknesses of the Union and the role it will have to play in the 21st century;

3.
Considers that besides the four topics in Declaration No 23, which will be addressed in specific
resolutions, political, economic and social progress, security and well-being for Europe’s citizens and
peoples and the affirmation of the Union’s role in the world require:

(a)

the establishment of a foreign, security and defence policy which incorporates the principles and the
general guidelines of the CFSP and common defence and whose aims should include the fight against
terrorism;

(b)

the incorporation of the CFSP into the Community pillar, with all the provisions relating to the
various aspects of foreign policy to be brought together within a single chapter;

(c)

the recognition of the legal personality of the Union;

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(d)

(e)

the consolidation, within the Treaty, of fundamental rights, citizens’ rights and all other provisions
relating directly or indirectly to action taken by the European institutions for the benefit of individuals
in their capacity as holders of a fundamental right;

the elimination of the lack of transparency that characterises the work of the European Central Bank
at present and the establishment of a well-balanced economic and monetary system resulting from the
consolidation of economic and social cohesion policy and closer coordination of Member States’
economic policies;

(f)

the development of the Union into a genuine area of freedom, security and justice by, in particular:

, the merging, within the Community framework, of police and judicial cooperation in criminal
matters with judicial cooperation in civil matters, the measures relating to the movement of
persons and the other measures to protect fundamental rights and citizenship within the Union;

, the recognition of the full jurisdiction of the Court of Justice in respect of all measures relating to

the establishment of this area of freedom, security and justice;

, the integration of Eurojust and Europol into the Union’s institutional framework;

, the establishment of a European Public Prosecutor’s Office accountable to the Court of Justice;

4.
Points out that the institutional reforms are not a closed chapter and considers that the agenda for
the reform of the Treaties should include issues which were not tackled or not resolved under the Treaty of
Nice and which are essential if the Union institutions are to operate more democratically and more effec-
tively, such as:

(a) an updating of the tasks which fall to the European Council, the General Affairs Council and the

Council meeting sectorally;

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

the system for nominating the Presidencies of the European Council, the General Affairs Council and
the Council meeting sectorally;

simplification of legislative procedures (with the latter subject to transparency) on the basis that the
general principle in legislative matters must be qualified majority voting in the Council and codecision
involving the European Parliament, so as to make the Union more democratic; in addition, the Coun-
cil should deliberate and take decisions on European legislation in public;

the removal of the distinction between compulsory and non-compulsory expenditure, with the budget-
ary procedure for non-compulsory expenditure thus being applied to the expenditure part of the
budget as a whole, and the incorporation of the European Development Fund into the EU budget;

the establishment of an independent European Public Prosecutor’s Office empowered to bring cases
before the competent Member State jurisdictions in the context of the protection of the Community’s
financial interests;

(f)

the introduction of a hierarchy of Community acts;

(g)

involvement of the European Parliament in the common trade policy,

full
relations and in the implementation and development of enhanced forms of cooperation;

in external economic

(h)

the election of the Commission president by the European Parliament;

(i)

appointment of the members of the Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance by means of a
qualified-majority vote and with the European Parliament’s assent;

5. Will give detailed opinions on the scope of the reform in subsequent resolutions addressed to the
Convention;

Composition of the Convention

6.
Insists on the need to establish a Convention whose composition reflects European political pluralism
and in which, consequently, the European and national parliaments are well represented, as was the case
for the Convention that drafted the Charter of Fundamental Rights; considers that a Convention of this
kind can represent an innovation indispensable for the success of the democratic reform of the EU;

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7.
Takes the view that the principle governing the composition of the Convention should be the same
as that used to determine the composition of the Convention that drafted the aforementioned Charter,
with the representation of the European Parliament in proportionate to that of the other component
groups remaining the same;

8.
Considers it essential that the candidate countries should be involved in preparing the reform of the
Treaties and, consequently, that they should participate in the work of the Convention as permanent
observers, with two representatives of the parliaments of each State and one representative of each govern-
ment;

9.
Proposes that the Court of Justice should be entitled to appoint an observer to the Convention;
considers that the Committee of the Regions and the Economic and Social Committee should participate
in the Convention through two permanent observers from each body, so that the regional and local auth-
orities and representatives of the various categories of economic and social activity are also involved;

10.
Points out that the composition of its own delegation will endeavour to ensure adequate represen-
tation of both sexes, and calls on the other delegations to follow this principle when appointing their
representatives;

11.
Considers that, in order to be effective, the work of the Convention should be supervised by a
Presidium acting in a collegiate fashion, composed of the Chair, the Commission representative, two
members chosen by the representatives of national parliaments, two representatives of the European Par-
liament and a representative of the Presidency-in-Office of the Council and of the following Presidency;

12.
Believes that the Chair of the Convention has a key role and therefore considers that this position
should be held by a distinguished European political figure with parliamentary experience; believes that the
Chair should be elected by the Convention;

Considers that the Presidium must be responsible for maintaining relations with the European

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Council on a regular basis;

14.
Considers that, after the work of the Convention has been wound up, the Presidium should par-
ticipate fully and actively at all stages and levels of the IGC which is to ratify the reform of the Treaties
prepared by the Convention;

Working methods of the Convention

15.
Considers that the Convention should be free to decide how to organise its work, the Chair, assisted
by the Presidium, being responsible for implementing procedural decisions adopted by the four component
groups by common accord;

16.
Considers that it would be useful for the Convention to be assisted by an interinstitutional Secreta-
riat endowed with substantial resources, particularly in terms of the budget and staff, to ensure that the
work of drafting and consultation can be carried out effectively;

17.
Believes it is essential for the proceedings of the Convention to be fully transparent with regard to
the conduct of debates and deliberations and with respect to documents, where all possible steps must be
taken to guarantee public access;

18.
Considers it essential that the European Parliament, the national parliaments and all the European
institutions should support the work of the Convention through an active dialogue with citizens so that
public concerns can be taken into account;

19.
Fully supports the proposal for a civil-society forum as proposed by the Belgian Presidency at the
informal Council meeting at Genval, which would enable the Convention to keep in close touch with
public opinion so as to ensure that the outcome of its work takes account of the concerns, ideas and
priorities for the future expressed by civil society; proposes that the Convention should also organise
public hearings in the Member States for this purpose;

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Mandate and timetable for the Convention

20.
Considers it vital, with a view to effective reform of the Union, that the Convention should have a
decision-making procedure under which it can draft a single coherent proposal by consensus and present it
to the Intergovernmental Conference as the sole basis for negotiation and decision;

21.
Hopes that the Convention will start work immediately after the Laeken European Council and
complete its work in time to allow the Intergovernmental Conference to wind up its proceedings by the
end of 2003 under the Italian Presidency so as to enable the new treaty to be adopted in December of that
year, thereby ensuring that, in 2004, the European elections can act as a democratic fillip to European
integration and that, together with the Commission, the European Parliament will be able to play its part
in that process under the best possible conditions; considers that the period between presentation of the
results of the Convention and the opening summit should be as short as possible, and in any case not
longer than three months;

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Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission and to the Heads

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of State and Government and the parliaments of the Member States and the candidate countries.

20. European governance

A5-0399/2001

European Parliament resolution on the Commission White Paper on European governance
(COM(2001) 428 / C5-0454/2001 / 2001/2181(COS))

The European Parliament,

, having regard to the Commission White Paper on European governance (COM(2001) 428) ,

C5-0454/2001) (1),

, having regard to of the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Articles 1, 3, 5 and 6 thereof,

, having regard to Protocol No 7 to the Treaty of Amsterdam on the application of the principles of
subsidiarity and proportionality and Protocol No 9 on the role of national parliaments in the Euro-
pean Union,

, having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, in particular Article 39
(Right to vote and stand as the candidate at elections to the European Parliament), Article 41 (Right to
good administration) and Article 42 (Right of access to documents),

, having regard to the conclusions of the Lisbon European Council, in which the Commission, the
Council and the Member States were asked to set out by 2001 a strategy for further coordinated
action to simplify the regulatory environment, including the performance of public administration, at
both national and Community level,

, having regard to the Group of Senior Advisers set up by European ministers responsible for public
administration in Strasbourg on 7 November 2000, which should be involved in drawing up the
strategy specified by the Lisbon European Council,

(1) OJ C 287, 12.10.2001, p. 1.