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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Brussels, 28.02.1996
COM(96) 90 final

##### **COMMISSION OPINION**

##### **"REINFORCING POLITICAL UNION AND PREPARING FOR** **ENLARGEMENT [1] '**

##### **COMMISSION OPINION** **"REINFORCING POLITICAL UNION AND PREPARING FOR** **ENLARGEMENT"**

_The Treaty provides that_ _"a_ _conference of representatives of the governments of the_
_Member States shall be convened in 1996"._

_With a view thereto, and pursuant to Article N of the Treaty, the Italian Presidency has:_

_submitted to the Council a proposal for the amendment of the Treaties on which_
_the Union is_ _founded;_ _and_
_requested Parliament and the Commission to deliver opinions on the holding of_
_an intergovernmental conference._

_This document comprises the_ _Commission's_ _Opinion._

_**A**_ _**IK,**_

##### **"REINFORCING POLITICAL UNION AND PREPARING FOR** **ENLARGEMENT"**

**I.** **A People's Europe**

1. Promoting the European social model

2. Establishing an area of freedom and security

3. Simplifying and democratizing Europe

**IL** **A clear identity on the world scene**

1. Greater consistency in foreign policy

2. More effective Community action

3. A firmer basis for the common foreign and security policy

4. A European identity for security and defence

**III.** **Institutions for the enlarged Europe**

1. Adapting the institutions

2. Making majority voting the general rule

3. Organizing flexibility

## **_ik_**

##### **"REINFORCING POLITICAL UNION AND PREPARING FOR** **ENLARGEMENT"**

1. The Intergovernmental Conference is the first stage in a busy timetable, which
moreover depends on the Conference for its success: within the next four years,
Europe has to have set up a single currency (by 1 January 1999), decided on its
guidelines for defence, and particularly the future of WEU, established the
Union's new financial framework, and adjusted its policies with a view to
enlargement.

2. Since 1993 the Member States have adopted and given effect to a Treaty on
European Union which derived from a broad, twofold aspiration:

a determination to extract all the positive effects of the internal market by
adding to it a single currency and convergence between the Member States'
economic policies;
a realization of the need to give the Union a genuine political dimension, so
that it could make a more effective collective response to its internal
requirements and, at the same time, be a forceful presence in the international

arena.

These two aspirations are linked: a single currency, as a major integrating factor
for those operating in the economy at large and for individual citizens, calls for
a strong political and social identity.

3. The Treaty on European Union provided for a new intergovernmental conference
to be held in 1996, to consolidate and strengthen the still-emerging Union.

For this purpose, in the first half of 1995 the Union institutions drew up a
diagnosis of the functioning of the Treaty on European Union, in which their
views converged on many points. The Reflection Group sums it up in a single
sentence: the Union does not have the means necessary to achieve its ambitions.

In the Commission's view, this shortfall alone is argument enough for a
substantial overhaul of the institutions.

4. The need to adapt the Treaty does not end there, however. In a way which
inspires enthusiasm, history gives us an opportunity to bring the peoples of the
continent together in an expanded Union.

The principle of enlargement is accepted . Two aspects of it stand out:

it is no longer some far-off prospect. The 1996 Intergovernmental Conference
is probably the last and only opportunity all 15 Member States will have to
reflect together about how the Union is to function in a wider framework;

_**\c**_

because of its scope and its diversity, this enlargement will be different from
previous ones: an extended Europe is bound to be more heterogenous and
therefore more complex.

As the number of Union members increases, it creates a risk of the Union being
watered down. As one Head of State put it, we have to avoid the situation where,
as the last applicant country arrives, it joins something which no longer exists.
Enlargement must be undertaken with safeguards for the achievements of forty
years of European integration. These achievements are the basis of the Union's
solidarity with the new Member States.

5. That is why the European Union cannot commit itself to this round of enlargement
without making sure that changes, sometimes far-reaching ones, are first made in
the ways and means of its operation.

Similarly, the commitments undertaken in the Treaty on European Union must be
fully respected, most particularly the establishment of economic and monetary
union and comprising a single currency on the date fixed.

6. The forthcoming conference will be a crucial one: the deepening and widening of
the Union are intertwined. The Commission expects of the Intergovernmental
Conference that it strengthen the Union so as to prepare enlargement around a
clear political project. The Union must therefore:

be closer to its citizens;
make its presence felt in the world;
adopt an institutional system which will work in an expanded Europe.

Subject to these conditions, the Commission is in favour of holding the
Intergovernmental Conference.

**I. A** **people's** **Europe**

7. Ordinary people must feel actively involved. The concept of European citizenship
enshrined in the Treaty on European Union complements national citizenship.

This concept of citizenship has many aspects; it should be developed further:

it is based on a European social model which guarantees that fundamental
rights are recognized by all, and whose members are committed to mutual
support;
it provides for freedom of movement and establishment, to be enjoyed with
a proper level of security;
finally, it implies that Europe must be understandable for the individual;
successive amendments to the Treaties have made European integration
increasingly complex; it must be made simpler and more democratic.

**1.** **Promoting the European social model**

8. Europe is built on a set of values shared by all its societies, and combines the
characteristics of democracy - human rights and institutions based on the rule of
law - with those of an open economy underpinned by market forces, internal
solidarity and cohesion. These values include the access for all members of society
to universal services or to services of general benefit, thus contributing to
solidarity and equal treatment.

The European model finds expression in the Treaty on European Union, through
general objectives such as a high level of employment or substainable
development, through specific policies, and through measures aimed at fostering
the social dialogue.

As we enter a new political era, support for this model should be strengthened and
made more explicit.

_Human rights_

9. The Member States of the Union are defenders of human rights: all of them are
party to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms. The Union itself abides by the Convention in the
decisions and action it takes.

However, the Union should signal its espousal of these values even more clearly,
either directly in the Treaty or in signing the Convention itself. As the Union
grows and diversifies, such a step becomes all the more necessary. An opinion on
this matter is expected from the Court of Justice.

The Conference should also incorporate in the Treaty provisions banning
discrimination of any kind - particularly on the basis of sex, thereby extending the
provisions on equal pay - and condemning racism and xenophobia.

_A Union based on the rule of law_

10. To consolidate the rule of law as the basis of the Union, the proper
implementation and enforcement of Community law has to be assured, a task
which falls primarily to the national authorities. This will be even more vital in
an enlarged Community encompassing a wide diversity of national legal and
administrative systems.

The Commission therefore believes that:

the means available to it to enforce Community law should be made more
effective, notably as regards the internal market;

there should be a stronger role for the Court of Justice, particularly as regards
compliance with its judgments.

11. Fraud against the Community's financial interests must be combatted effectively.
This cannot be done without a firm commitment by the Member States as well as
the institutions.

The Commission proposes that the Union give itself an appropriate legal basis.

_The social dimension_

12. Each Member State strives to secure social goals for all its people, through
government policies or legislation -with the participation of trade unions,
employers and civil society in general- in the context of an open economy.

The Member States, industry, trade unions and employers are those mainly
concerned, but the Union should also take part in pursuing these goals. Ordinary
people must be able to see that the Union is helping to ensure that they can
exercise certain fundamental social rights.

The social dimension should be one of the central themes at the Conference.

Above all there has to be a common base of social rights for all Union citizens.
The Commission believes that to achieve this, the Social Protocol must be
integrated into the Treaty, and clearer provisions laid down concerning
cooperation between Member States on matters of social policy, such as the fight
against marginalization or against poverty. Better ways must also be found of
involving those sections of civil society capable of developing initiatives and new
forms of solidarity.

_Employment_

13. Unemployment is undermining the foundations of our societies, affecting nearly
twenty million people, many of them young. While not overlooking the role of
appropriate macroeconomic policies, cutting unemployment depends mainly on
those directly involved in the economy.

In its 1993 White Paper on Growth, Competitiveness and Employment, the
Commission proposed a series of measures aimed at mobilizing all sections of
society. This strategy is still relevant today: growth, competitiveness, and
employment go hand in hand. Only a competitive economy can create lasting
jobs.

Structured and coherent action by the Union has to contribute to restoring a high
level of employment, which is already a Treaty objective.

To this end, the Commission proposes that specific provisions on employment be
written into the Treaty. They would be grounded in experience accumulated by
the Community and treat employment as a matter of common interest; they would
aim at:

establishing the conditions for a common strategy for employment;
stimulating cooperation between the interested parties;
consolidating the arrangements for multilateral surveillance of Member States'
multiannual programmes;
taking employment into account in all Community policies.

_Sustainable development_

14. An environment benefitting from a high level of protection is one of the major
concerns of citizens in the Union.

The Commission considers that the provisions of the Treaty directed at sustainable
development and at a healthy environment should be reinforced in two ways:

the right to a healthy environment, and the duty to ensure it, should be
included in those provisions of the Treaty affecting the citizen;

the environment should be specifically incorporated into the other policies of
the Union.

**2.** **Establishing an area of freedom and security**

15. The principle of the free movement of persons in the Union is enshrined in the
Treaty. Yet its translation into practice is still subject to major restrictions:

it is not fully applied across the whole Union;
some Member States have had to resort to an ad hoc agreement (the Schengen
Agreement) to achieve progress in this field; this does not however offer the
same guarantees as Community law.

For freedom of movement to be applied in practice, solutions must also be found
to complex problems such as asylum and immigration, crime, drugs and terrorism.
These problems have become international in scale; none of them stops at national
borders.

Hitherto, the Union has been tackling these problems with outdated methods and

resources.

The Commission proposes that the shortcomings of the Treaty in the fields of
justice and home affairs - notably its ineffectiveness and the absence of democratic
and judicial review - be remedied by setting clear objectives and providing for
appropriate instruments and methods.

16. The general objective is to apply and reinforce the principle of freedom of
movement and residence, already enshrined in the Treaty, in a context of ensuring
security for all.

The specific objectives should cover four main themes:

the establishment of common rules on the entry, residence and status of
nationals from non-member countries in the Union;
the effective mutual recognition of judgments by national courts;
the adoption of measures to combat all forms of crime and fraud;
the stimulation of effective cooperation between government departments of

the Member States.

17. In addition, the following instruments and methods should be adopted:

_Decision-making_

The unanimity rule generally applied at present either paralyses the Council or
reduces decisions to the lowest common denominator. The Commission believes

it should as a general rule be replaced by qualified majority voting.

Parliament must be more closely involved, especially in fields which can affect
the individual rights of citizens.

Finally, the Commission should have the power of initiative in all the fields
concerned.

_Legal instruments_

The legal status of the joint action and the common position is obscure, while the
entry into force of traditional international agreements may be delayed or
uncertain: neither technique is suitable. The Union must have more effective legal
instruments in this field.

_Review by the Court_

Decisions taken should be subject to review by the Court of Justice, if only to
guarantee the uniform interpretation of texts.

_Working methods_

The present working structures in the Council operate at several levels and are
ineffective. They should be simplified.

18. The Commission believes that the best way of attaining all these objectives would
be to transfer justice and home affairs to the Community framework, with the
exception of judicial cooperation in criminal matters and police cooperation. The
transfer of jurisdiction is particularly necessary in the fields most closely
associated with the movement of individuals, such as rules on crossing borders,
fighting drugs, immigration, policy on nationals from non-member countries, and
asylum.

Following the same logic, the content of the Schengen Agreement should be
incorporated in the Treaty.

**3.** **Simplifying** **and democratizing Europe**

19. What the Union does has to be understandable: democracy depends on this.
Openness is thus a commitment incumbent on all the institutions: the Union's
activities must be accessible and comprehensible, so that those affected are in a
position to obtain all the information they require.

The role played by the European Parliament is obviously crucial, and must be
developed.

Openness on the one hand and democratic overview on the other will only be
fully assured if national parliaments are more closely involved in Union affairs.
This means they must have timely access to all the information they need, from
the various institutions and bodies of the Union, and from their governments.

Europe must do less, so as to do it better. It has already made a start by giving
effect to the subsidiarity principle enshrined in the Treaty. The Member States and
the institutions must continue to advance along this road. This is the only way
Europe will find the most effective level - Community, national or regional - at
which to act.

Simplifying Europe means above all reviewing the institutional arrangements. The
aim must therefore be to:

simplify and consolidate the Treaties; and
simplify the decision-making process and make it more democratic.

_**1.**_ _**Simplifying and consolidating the Treaties**_

20. As years have gone by the Treaties establishing the Union and the Communities
have grown progressively more complex and progressively less understandable.

The existence of a dozen or so treaties and other basic texts, with a combined total
of more than 700 articles - some fundamental, some technical - and the survival
of a plethora of obsolete provisions make the European Union's primary
legislation singularly inaccessible.

Moreover, the coexistence of three legally separate Communities and of a Union
encompassing them all but not enjoying its own legal personality does not make
for easy public understanding of the European integration process.

And the whole edifice is all the more complicated as a result of the methods of
intergovernmental cooperation, applied to foreign policy and to justice and home
affairs.

The task of simplifying and consolidating the Treaties should be pursued to the

utmost extent.

_**2.**_ _**Simplifying and democratizing decision-making**_

21. The proliferation and complexity of both legislative and implementation
procedures have made the Union's decision-making system unwieldy and opaque.
The provisions governing budgetary procedure seriously need simplifying and the
accumulated set of interinstitutional agreements should be consolidated.

It is vital for openness and democracy that the Intergovernmental Conference
should put order into this system, and simplify it.

22. The Commission has four remedies to propose:

_Decision-making procedures_

There should be three types only - decisions adopted on Parliament's opinion,
those adopted with its assent, and the codecision procedure involving Parliament
and the Council.

_The codecision procedure_

The procedure should be applied more widely, and also made more simple. It
constitutes a great step forward in the maturing of Parliament's legislative
function. The Commission, acting in accordance with the Treaty, will present the
Council with a report on extending the scope of the procedure.

The Commission's view is that the procedure has -by and large- worked well. But
it could be quicker and more effective if it were simplified, notably by
determining time-limits for first readings, by dropping the announcement of the

8

intention to reject a proposal at the second-reading stage, and by dropping the
third reading.

As for the scope of the codecision procedure, the Commission's view is that it
should apply to the adoption of all acts of a legislative nature. This would entail
clarification of what actually constitutes a legislative instrument. The codecision
procedure should in any event be adopted for all decisions currently taken by the
cooperation procedure, which should be abolished.

_The assent procedure_

The scope of this procedure should be amplified and clarified. Parliament's assent
should always be required for decisions on "constitutional" matters (Treaty
amendments, own resources).

The procedure should not, on the other hand, be applicable to legislative decisions
or for Community action programmes, where codecision should be the norm.

The scope of assent procedure as regards international agreements should be
clarified; the role played by national parliaments could serve as inspiration here.

_Implementing measures_

The provisions governing implementing measures are complex and opaque.

Decision-making procedures for implementing measures need to be changed to
reflect the roles of the institutions more fully. This means that the Commission
must exercise fully its function as the executive body, subject to review by the
legislative authority. And the role of Parliament needs to be taken into account
where the basic instrument has been enacted by codecision. Here, there should be
a procedure whereby Parliament or the Council can object to a draft measure
proposed by the Commission; in this case it would then be adopted by the
codecision procedure itself.

In addition, the number of implementing procedures need to be reduced, so as to
avoid the frequent and sterile debates between the institutions about the procedures
to be followed, and so as to reflect better the nature of the decisions to be taken.
The Commission's proposal is that there should be at most three types of
committee and procedure - the advisory committee, the management committee
and the legislation committee - and that all the variants be dropped.

###### **II. A clear identity on the world scene**

23. The Treaty on European Union calls on the Union to "assert its identity on the
international scene". In practice, however, the additional influence that the
Member States were to have achieved by acting together has eluded them. Their
efforts have often been poorly focused and are liable to be even more so after
enlargement.

The Conference should have a clear and simple aim: to empower the Union to act
rather than react, the better to defend the interests of its people.

In some areas, such as trade policy, economic assistance, development aid and
humanitarian action, there is already a coherent single policy towards the outside
world, though to varying degrees. Other areas, such as the common foreign and
security policy, are still at an early stage in their development.

The prime objectives of the Conference should therefore be as follows:

to bring together the various strands comprising foreign relations into a single
effective whole, with structures and procedures designed to enhance
consistency and continuity;
to improve the common foreign and security policy at all stages of its
operation;
to establish a proper European identity with regard to security and defence,
as an integral part of the common foreign and security policy.

**1.** **Greater consistency in foreign policy**

24. The Union must be able to present a united front. Its foreign policy as a whole
will not be effective until there is proper coordination between its various
components, for which responsibility is shared among different institutions.

The Treaty already requires the Council and the Commission to pursue a
consistent foreign policy. But this has not happened under the Treaty as it stands,
and the institutions' duties in this respect should be reinforced.

The Council Presidency and the Commission should ensure effective cooperation
between the two institutions which are responsible for various aspects of foreign
policy. This would considerably enhance the continuity and efficacy of the
Union's foreign policy.

**2.** **More effective Community action**

There are three areas which need to be examined.

10

_Trade policy_

25. The Treaty should be updated to take account of the radical changes in the
structure of the world economy, in which services, intellectual property and direct
foreign investment play an increasingly important role. These developments are
reflected in the increased responsibilities given to the World Trade Organization.

The Community's powers in these areas are poorly defined, leading to needless
procedural wrangles. This detracts from the Community's ability to defend the
interests of the Member States and their businesses.

The Commission believes that the common commercial policy should be clarified
accordingly.

_The_ _Union's_ _role in international organizations_

26. Under the present Treaty, the Union is ill-equipped to conduct negotiations in
international organizations and take part in their activities, as it is increasingly
called upon to do. Difficulties arise when responsibility for the various aspects is
split between the Community and the individual Member States. Attempts to
coordinate the Member States' positions are made more complicated and, as a
result, less successful; the Union's negotiating position is weakened in many cases.

The Commission considers that the Treaty should include provisions explicitly
designed to enable the Union to speak with one voice and thus defend all the
relevant interests more effectively.

_Coordination between Member States' policies and that of the Community_

27. Generally speaking, in fields where responsibility is shared, such as development,
transport and the environment, the Member States' policies should be better
integrated -by means of appropriate mechanisms- with that of the Community.

**3.** **A firmer basis for the common foreign and security policy**

28. It needs first of all to be emphasized that the common foreign and security policy
cannot develop without real political resolve on the part of the Member States,
together with clearly-defined objectives.

The Presidency and the Commission should together ensure the visibility of the
common foreign and security policy. In any event, this requires a series of
improvements, from the preparation of decisions through to their adoption and
implementation. During the whole process, it is vital that the PresidencyCommission tandem operate coherently and efficiently. Within this overall context,
the Commission, for its part, will strengthen its internal organization with this in
mind. The Conference should consider ways and means of strengthening the
Presidency, with support from the Council Secretariat.

11

_Preparation of decisions_

29. The quality of analysis on which decisions are based must be improved. It is also
important that all Member States share the same analysis.

To this end, a "joint analysis unit" should be set up, composed of experts from the
Member States and the Commission. It would be a joint service, possibly with a
contribution from the Western European Union. Its analyses would be useful for
the Presidency and the Commission when drawing up and making more consistent
their proposals. The location of this unit is less important.

The formulation of foreign policy would be facilitated by the incorporation of a
permanent Political Committee into the Council's existing machinery for preparing
decisions in Brussels.

_Adoption of decisions_

30. The Treaty introduced the concepts of "common position" and "joint action" in
connection with the common foreign and security policy. In practice, the
distinction between these two instruments has become blurred, and a source of
contention.

The Commission considers that clarification of their respective functions is

necessary.

31. The need for unanimity makes decision-making difficult, regardless of which
instrument is used.

The Commission takes the view that qualified-majority voting should be the norm
for the common foreign and security policy. Specific rules would apply for
decisions involving military matters.

There are also times when some, but not all, of the Member States wish to take
action on a specific matter. It should be possible for such initiatives to have the
status of Union measures, as long as they are not against the general interests of
the Union, and provided that the latter is duly represented.

_Implementation of decisions_

32. Representing the Union abroad and implementing its decisions involves many
diverse tasks, because of the role of Member States and the various elements of
foreign policy. The only constant is the single institutional framework: whatever
the field, whether it be a matter for the Community or for intergovernmental
cooperation, the decisions are taken by the Council.

Primary responsibility for implementation should lie with the Presidency and the
Commission. But this clearly should not prevent certain tasks being allocated to
specific personalities designated on an ad hoc basis.

12

33. The current procedure for common foreign and security policy decisions involving
expenditure is both opaque and inefficient; separate negotiations have to be held
for each decision.

The Commission proposes that expenditure incurred in implementing the common
foreign and security policy be included in the Community budget, unless an
express decision to the contrary is taken.

**4.** **A European identity for security and defence**

34. The Union's foreign policy suffers from its inability to project credible military
force. Events in recent years have made this abundantly clear. A genuine
European identity in the security and defence field is indispensable. It requires
clear political will on the part of Member States.

NATO remains at the centre of Europe's defence arrangements, and a European
pillar should be developed in it. In this context, the WEU plays a key role as
already set out in the Treaty. As matters stand, Member States do not however
have the same defence commitments in relation to NATO and the WEU.

The Commission believes that a proper common foreign and security policy has
to extend to common defence.

35. Accordingly, the Conference should:

allow Union commitments to missions aimed at restoring or keeping peace
to be written into the Treaty ("Petersberg" missions);
reinforce the Union's security capability by providing for Defence Ministers
to play an appropriate role in the Council;
review the role of the Western European Union with a view to incorporating

      it into the Union according to a settled timetable.

In this context, the Commission would recall that the security and defence of the
Union are dependent on the existence of a solid industrial base performing
credibly. This requires better integration of the armaments industry into the
general Treaty rules, greater solidarity and cooperation including the establishment
of an armaments agency, and a consistent approach to foreign trade.

13

**III.** **Institutions for the enlarged Europe**

36. The aim of the proposals set out above is to facilitate both the internal and the
external development of the European Union. They are at all events indispensable
since they are intended to endow Europe with the means of achieving its ends.
They are also the prerequisites for a successful enlargement.

37. This enlargement also raises its own specific questions.

The Commission considers that the Conference will have to address three issues:

the institutional implications of the increased number of Member States;
the need to eschew unanimous voting;
the incorporation of a system of flexibility, enabling the Union to move
ahead without being held back by its slowest members.

**1.** **Adapting the institutions**

38. The substantial increase in the number of Member States of the Union will have

repercussions on the operation of the institutions. No one doubts that the difficulty
of working together will increase with the number of participants: more languages,
longer and less interactive meetings. There will be a host of practical problems
and they cannot be ignored.

However, enlargement will also have genuine consequences for the institutions
which makes it all the more important to maintain the overall balance between
them.

_The_ _European_ _Parliament_

39. The number of seats assigned to each Member State in the European Parliament
has so far allowed a balance to be struck between demographic reality on the one
hand, and its compensation by an over-representation of the less populated
Member States on the other. This has ensured that the main political groupings in
all the Member States can be represented.

This principle should be maintained in an enlarged Union. However, to prevent
the European Parliament from becoming disproportionately large, there will have
to be a limit on the number of its members, however many Member States there
are in the Union.

Parliament has itself proposed limiting its membership to 700. The Commission

agrees.

14

One effect of this reduction is that the electoral base of each Member of

Parliament will rise, to over a million in the most highly populated
Member States. The Commission considers that this further intensifies the need

for a common electoral procedure so as to ensure, as is moreover laid down in the
Treaty, that the members are as representative as possible.

_The Council_

40. The increase in the number of Member States will also make itself felt in the

Council, in three main respects.

It is true that the existing half-yearly rotation of the Presidency means that
Member States will occupy the Presidency less frequently. But the
Commission sees the Presidency as a service and a task which each
Member State assumes on behalf of the Union, and which helps to engender
public support for Europe in the state concerned. The Conference should
however examine various ways of extending the scope of the Presidency's
powers of action, and the order of rotation of the half-yearly periods.

The weighting of votes between the Member States: qualified majority voting
is an essential mechanism for decision-making by the Council. The weighting
of the Member States' votes is a corollary, introduced as a compromise
between Member States equal in law, but of different demographic sizes.
Thus, the current weighting of votes reflects a generally accepted bias
towards the less-populated states of the Union.

However, it is also a fact that almost all the countries concerned by
enlargement have relatively small populations. Thus by retaining the current
' weighting, the relative weight of the smaller states would be increased.

      The Commission therefore considers that in order to maintain the existing
balance, there is justification, when enlargement comes, for either adapting
the weighting of votes or introducing a new system which makes a reference
both to a majority of the Member States and a majority of the Union's
population.

The threshold for a qualified majority: enlargement is bound to make
decision-making more complicated. The Commission therefore considers that
no adaptation should have the effect of making decision-making more
difficult. The normal threshold for a qualified majority, which has been set
at around 71% since the inception of the Community, should therefore not
be raised in any circumstances.

There is also a perceived need to restorate to the General Affairs Council its role
of coordination and arbitration in the various areas covered by the Treaty.

15

_The Commission_

41. The prospect of a substantial increase in the number of Member States engenders
a need to preserve the legitimacy, the collective responsibility and the
effectiveness of an institution whose vocation is the completely-impartial
representation of the general interest.

This means first of all securing its right of initiative, its executive powers, and its
function as guardian of the Treaties.

The Commission considers that its President should be designated by the European
Council and approved by Parliament. The President should play a decisive part in
the choice of the Commission's Members, the better to ensure collegiality. In this
regard, its members should be designated by common agreement between the
President and the respective governments of the Member States.

42. The Commission takes the view that, in the context of enlargement, the number
of its Members should be reduced to one per Member State.

The Commission is aware that its composition and structure will have to be
reexamined, above a certain number of Member States. The Conference should
fix an appropriate procedure for doing this.

_The Court of Justice_

43. The Court of Justice will also be confronted with the problem of numbers. The
prospect of seeing some sixty judges at the Court of Justice and the Court of First
Instance is a good ground for examining the consequences.

In its report to the Reflection Group, the Court stressed how important it is for all
the various national legal systems to be represented. However, it also pointed out
that "any significant increase in the number of Judges might mean that the plenary
session of the Court would cross the invisible boundary between a collegiate court
and a deliberative assembly. Moreover, as the great majority of cases would be
heard by chambers, this increase could pose a threat to the consistency of the caselaw".

The Commission similarly agrees with the Court when it indicates that the judges'
term of office could be extended, while becoming non-renewable. Such a reform
would reinforce even more firmly the judges' independence.

**2.** **Making majority voting the general rule**

44. In an enlarged Union, adherence to unanimity would often result in stalemate.
Indeed, the difficulty of arriving at unanimous agreement rises exponentially as
the number of members increases.

The Commission accordingly proposes that qualified majority voting become the
general rule.

16

Two additional observations are then warranted:

Unanimity need not necessarily be replaced by qualified majority voting as
defined at present. In particularly sensitive fields, decisions could be taken
by "super-qualified" majority voting, for example.

What holds true for Community legislation also holds true for the Treaty
itself and amendments to it: if in future the Treaty could, as at present, be
amended only by unanimity, it would be in danger of stagnating in the state
in which the 1996 conference left it, making future progress in the direction
of European integration an unlikely prospect.

In this respect, it should be borne in mind that the Treaties currently contain
provisions of various types, some of which certainly are of a genuinely
fundamental nature (preamble, fundamental principles, objectives of the
Union, operation of the institutions) while others are not (Union policies).
The consolidation of the Treaties referred to earlier should make it possible
to establish a clear distinction between these two types of provision.

The Commission considers that in future it should be possible to amend at
least provisions that are not of a constitutional nature by a procedure which
imposes fewer constraints than the one currently in force.

**3.** **Organizing flexibility**

45. The European Union must not be for ever bound to advance at the speed of its
slowest members.

This is even more true in an enlarged Community.

The Union has long practised certain forms of flexibility. Exceptions or
exemptions, normally of a limited and temporary nature, are provided for in
Community law. No one doubts that in the context of the accession of new
Member States recourse will be had to this practice, until such time as they come
to participate fully in all the common policies.

The Commission observes that, already, organized flexibility is the route
sometimes to be followed for deepening the Union, as the example of economic
and monetary union shows.

On the other hand, the Commission firmly rejects any idea of a "pick-and-choose
Europe" (e.g. the Social Protocol) which flies in the face of the common European
project and the links and bonds which it engenders.

46. The Commission takes the view, however, that the European Union must make
it possible to have forms of cooperation or integration between those of its
members wishing to progress faster and further in the attainment of the Treaty's

17

objectives. This should be envisaged only after exhaustion of all other possible
forms of action involving all the Member States under the Treaty.

The requisite flexibility will have to be guided by the following principles, so as
to guarantee the unity of the Union:

compatibility with the objectives of the Union;

consistency with the institutional framework of the Union;

opportunity for other Member States which are willing and able to join at any
time;

safeguarding of the single market and the policies accompanying it.

The Commission, subject to review by the Court, will have to ensure that the
principles set out above are respected.

**CONCLUSION**

What the Commission would like to see is an Intergovernmental Conference with real
ambitions. It is the opportunity for a genuine debate on Europe, on what Europe is about,
on what course it is to take in the years ahead, and on everyone's role in this Europe.
This debate must be opened up at once, in order to give the negotiators their bearings.
At the ratification stage it will be too late.

In this debate the Commission intends to state some simple truths. First of all, the
obvious - but sometimes forgotten - fact that the most striking success of the European
venture has been the peace and prosperity it has generated. This incomparable heritage
must now be developed, and extended to the other countries of a continent that has been
divided for too long.

Second, there is the usefulness of the Community method. This novel approach -based
on unprecedented institutions, the rule of law, and solidarity- has made Europe what it
is today. But while the values must be preserved, the methods must at the same time be
adapted to the new context: the shift to a more genuinely political Union and a Union
soon to be made up of more than the current fifteen members. This is what underlies the
reforms advocated by the Commission.

Finally, there is the overriding requirement of political will. Setting clear objectives and
providing the necessary tools is a _sine qua non._ The Union must equip itself with the
means to match its ambitions. But none of this will lead anywhere unless it is founded
on real political will. It is obvious that the problem of unemployment will not be
resolved simply by inserting a chapter on employment in the Treaty. Just as it will take
more than a form of words to create a foreign policy. But anchoring provisions in the
Treaty means that the problems have to be tackled by acting together.

Recognising the difficulties does not mean giving in to them. The Conference should be
the occasion to mobilize energy and resolve; to convey a message of confidence and
determination to the people of Europe and the rest of the world. To demonstrate that the
Union has clear objectives and the instruments to achieve them; that Europe -united in
its diversity- is prepared to uphold and develop its model of society and to make growth
and competitiveness work for a social and a cultural ideal; that Europe, by harnessing the
strength of its institutions and the efforts of its Member States, will assume its
responsibilities in the global arena. To make clear that Europe, far from being an
aggregate of self-interest, is the sum of all the wealth of this continent.

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###### **ISSN 0254-1475**

### COM(96) 90 final

# DOCUMENTS

### EN 01

#### Catalogue number : CB-CO-96-095-EN-C ISBN 92-78-01215-7

**Office for Official Publications of** **the** **European** **Communities**

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