DOI: 10.1515/tfd-2017-0021 THE FEDERALIST DEBATE Year XXX, N° 2, July 2017 Borderless Debate: The Need for EU Reform European Parliament’s Reports Concerning the Application of the Lisbon Treaty and the European Treaties’ Review Paolo Ponzano The European Parliament at its session in on the one hand the EP asks for the exploitation February has approved a triptych of reports of of all the potential of the Lisbon Treaty, in order an institutional nature, respectively concerning to allow the European institutions to take the future of the EU (Verhofstadt report), a decisions aiming to regain the consensus of wider application of the Lisbon Treaty (Bresso- the people (Bresso-Brok report). On the other Brok report) and the strengthening of the hand, it asks for a reform of the Treaties in Eurozone (Böge-Berès report). About this last order to give the EU the necessary tools and report, a specific comment was published on mechanisms for an efficient decision-making, issue 3/2016 of The Federalist Debate. so that it can provide tangible answers to the In general terms, we need to observe that the European citizens (Verhofstad report). three above-mentioned reports are mutually The three reports approved by the European complementary and they do not contain Parliament contain a series of common contradictory proposals, partly thanks to a proposals and requests, which can be long gestation in the competent parliamentary summarized as follows. First of all, the Commissions (around 18 months). The old statement of the prevalence of the Community days are over, when the European Parliament method over the Intergovernmental method approved a report of the budgetary Committee in the European decision-making process – in which was demanded to reduce the thanks to the European Commission’s right agricultural expenses of the EU whilst, of initiative, to the qualified majority decision- within a short period of time, a report of the making of the Council and to the European agricultural Committee demanded to increase Parliament’s power of legislative co-decision. the European agricultural products’ prices. Secondly, the opportunity to strengthen the In the three recent reports, the EP observes that executive role of the European Commission and the consequences of the several crises which the legislative role of the European Parliament, have affected the EU over the last few years while the Council of Ministers should become (economic, social, migratory, environmental, a Chamber of the States, as in the federal security crises), have caused a growing systems. Last, the growth of transparency estrangement of the public opinion from the and of citizen participation in the decision- European Union.This is because the EU cannot making process of the EU, also modifying the manage to give appropriate solutions to the instrument, introduced with the Lisbon Treaty, crises, while national States do not have the of the European Citizen Initiative. necessary means to fight them. For this reason, Furthermore, the three reports foretell 42 the creation of a Eurozone fiscal capacity, of a European Public Prosecutor provided through a financial instrument funded by ad by the same Treaty, as well as a common hoc contributions from the Member States European asylum system, with the resulting using the single currency, and registered revision of the Dublin Regulation. Regarding under a separate heading in the European the internal policies, the report contemplates budget, outside of the multi-annual financial among other things the creation of a European framework. Energy Agency, the use of “project bonds” in Besides these common features, the Bresso- order to fund infrastructural projects, and the Brok report is marked by a series of proposals promotion of a minimum wage to be defined aiming to strengthen and democratize the by each Member State. European institutions, while respecting the Occasionally, the report contains some existing Treaties, through the instrument of proposals which cannot remain, as stated, inter-institutional agreements (according to within the limits of the existing Treaties, but a technique which was largely used by the would make it necessary to modify the Treaties. European Parliament in the past), and, above For instance, the strengthening of the EP role all, is marked by a detailed study of the Treaty in the Eurozone governance and the fusion dispositions concerning the external action of between the role of President of the Eurogroup the EU, its defense policy, justice and internal and the role of Vice-President of the Economic affairs, the financial integration and the social and Financial Affairs Commission. dimension, which deserve to be extensively The European Parliament’s resolution exploited in order to answer to the citizen’s concerning the Bresso-Brok report has been expectations. As an example, at the institutional adopted with 329 votes in favor, 223 against level, the Bresso-Brok report proposes that the and 83 abstentions. The result shows that there Council of Ministers be transformed in a true is a consistent majority inside the EP willing to second Chamber, and its specific formations fully exploit the provisions of the Lisbon Treaty. become preparatory bodies, similar to the Nevertheless, as we are going to see, this parliamentary Commissions; also, it proposes majority does not correspond to the measly that every Member State should propose at one that turned out for the adoption of the least three candidates of both genders to the Verhofstadt report about the Treaties’ review. appointment of European Commissioner, and Actually, the Verhofstadt report, which that the Council should decide to vote with contains more ambitious proposals to change qualified majority using the so-called “passerelle the existing Treaties, has been approved with clauses” allowed by the Lisbon Treaty. a smaller majority: 238 votes in favor and 269 In the fields of policies, the Bresso-Brok report against, while there were 83 abstentions, as for proposes an extensive implementation of the Bresso-Brok report. This result shows the the Treaty’s dispositions regarding common presence, inside the European Parliament, of a foreign and security policy, defense policy, strong resistance against changing the existing internal affairs and judiciary cooperation. For Treaties, probably because a lot of Members of instance, the report suggests the creation of the EP, mainly from the States that are more a permanent Council of Defense Ministers in reluctant to transfer further sovereignty to order to coordinate national defense policies, the EU, are afraid of helping the creation of a and the implementation of the permanent two-speed Europe, where the Eurozone States enhanced-cooperation established by Article would strengthen their political integration.The 46 of the Lisbon Treaty. result of the vote explains why Guy Verhofstadt Furthermore, the report proposes the institution preferred to sweeten his report’s conclusion, 43 Borderless Debate: The Need for EU Reform in which he has given up on asking the integration. However, paradoxically, the quick convocation of a European Convention Verhofstadt report also proposes to make under Article 48 of the Lisbon Treaty, merely the criteria to start an enhanced cooperation proposing instead that the 60th anniversary of less restrictive, for instance by reducing the the Rome Treaties would be the occasion to requested minimum number of participating start thinking about the EU’s future. Therefore, Member States. the Verhofstadt report indicates the possibility Concerning the withdrawal of the United for the European Parliament to make its own Kingdom, the report envisages a new form formal proposals of amendment of the Treaties of partnership with the EU, and sets some at the right moment, instead of immediately precise requirements for the conclusion of the invoking Article 48 of the Lisbon Treaty, which agreement between the two parties (especially, enshrines the right for the EP to propose these it demands the full compliance to the four amendments and to call for the convocation of freedoms for the access to the single European a European Convention. market). The resolution approved by the European In addition, concerning the new Eurozone Parliament believes that the time of incremental economic governance, the report agrees with decisions is over, because now it is time to start the idea of adopting a“Code of Convergence” a comprehensive reform of the Lisbon Treaty, as a condition for the creation of a “fiscal even admitting that, in the meantime, the capacity” in the Eurozone, based on real opportunities given by the existing Treaties can resources and on a European Treasury, in the be exploited to the most. domain of the Commission, which should give Thus, the resolution stands against the the possibility to contract loans and which proliferation of opting-out clauses and should be responsible to the EP. against the idea of a Europe à la carte, or a What follows is a summary of the numerous variable-geometry Europe, to the benefit of and ambitious change proposals of the Treaties maintaining a single institutional framework, contained in the Verhofstadt report. which ensures the principle of equality of all 1) The creation of a Finance Minister of the the citizens and of all the Members States. Eurozone inside the European Commission, Equally, the resolution declares itself against responsible to the European Parliament; the the intergovernmental method, and in favor assignment to the European