The formal involvement of the national parliaments in the political decisions of the European Union is one of the main keys to the success of the Lisbon Treaty.

It increases the powers that the EU shares with the Member States, while extending the legislative power of the European Parliament to cover all legal instruments and Community budget expenditure. This means that an increasing number of political decisions will be taken in Brussels and that the European Parliament will have greater involvement in the decision-making process, while the national parliaments will continue to play a vital role in mobilising the budgetary resources and any additional – and sometimes essential – legal means that are necessary for the success of a joint European measure. Take the example of the ‘Lisbon Strategy’ which aimed to make the European Union the most competitive economy in the world in just 10 years: it failed mainly because of the persistent disconnection between the European political debate, which defined the objective, and the debate in the Member States, on which 80% of the resources depended.

Hence the major advantage of systematically coordinating the work of the European Parliament, which has a continent-wide overview, and the national parliaments, which are perceived by the general public (and some high courts such as the German Constitutional Court) as more legitimate.

Admittedly, the new Treaty does give the national parliaments the power to censure a priori any Community projects that might infringe the principle of subsidiarity (known as the ‘early warning’ system), but this development confines them to a purely negative role. We must go much further, and it is perfectly possible to do so under the current Treaties.

An interparliamentary agreement, comparable, mutatis mutandis, to the interinstitutional agreements concluded between the EU institutions, could form the basis for such cooperation between all the parliaments of Europe: this would be a ‘contract’ that would have no binding legal effect but would involve a strong political constraint. Such an agreement could include the following undertakings:

1. Organisation of a system of mutual information and exchange of views in order to implement the ‘early warning’ mechanism.

2. Reciprocal commitments on EU legislation: before the European Parliament adopts a directive, it will inform its national counterparts, which may deliver an opinion if they so wish and as they so choose; conversely, the transposition of directives into national law will involve, for example, a hearing of the European Parliament’s rapporteur in order to determine the intention of the Community legislature.

3. A commitment by the European Parliament to consider any joint proposal submitted by the parliaments of a significant number of Member States; the parliaments must have the same power to make legislative proposals as that given to the people through the citizens’ right of initiative. Such a commitment would have even greater value if the Commission could subscribe to it, thereby speeding up the review process.

4. A joint debate held every spring on the budget guidelines for the following year. To engage the interest of the national media and, through them, the general public, it would be better if people participated from their own countries using video-conferencing. This would require all the Member States to use the same basic economic assumptions for the years N and N+1 and would mean that each parliament would naturally draw up and publish a list of all the national budget headings that help fund common European objectives or common policies. Such an event, which would take place before the parties involved are officially consulted about the future financial perspectives and the reform of the EU’s own resources, would be highly educational.

5. A joint debate held every year on the state of the Union, based on a statement by the President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Unlike the previous proposal, this event would be more significant and attract more interest if all the parliaments’ political ‘heavyweights’ met in one place.

6. Launch of joint investigations on the effective application of Community law throughout the European Union.

7. Coordination of the sending of observers to monitor elections in sensitive third countries.

With regard to timing, this initiative would benefit from being launched in the first half of 2010, in close cooperation with the Spanish Presidency, so that initial feasibility tests might be carried out before reaching a formal agreement under the Belgian Presidency during the second half of the year and subsequently applying it on a full-year basis in 2011.

Alain Lamassoure, 30 October 2009

For 10 years now, most of the European leaders’ time and energy has been taken up with the negotiations for the enlargement of the European Union and successive attempts to adapt our common home to this growing population. Now that the Lisbon Treaty has been ratified and the ‘big bang’ enlargement is complete, we can finally get back to basics: the substance of EU policies.

However, during this ‘lost decade’, the rest of the world has not stood still: we have seen the spectacular emergence of China and other former Third-World powers, the phenomenal spread of all communication technologies right to the heart of Africa, chain reactions caused by Islamist terrorism, oil, financial and economic crises and an awareness of the global nature of threats such as climate change and nuclear proliferation.

To make up for lost time, the Union must take advantage of its new resources and adopt a new 10-year programme. Let’s be bold in our ambitions: it is up to us to design a Europe for the 21st century.

Yes, there is a ‘European model’. It is much more than a social market economy model. It is the art of living together in peace, both within and beyond our borders, respecting human rights and national identities, and recognising the need for sustainable development. We must complete it together and promote it globally.

1. As a first step, a tremendous survival instinct is needed in order to help Europe reverse the gradual downward demographic and economic trends that the financial crisis has merely sent spiralling even deeper. Europe’s working population is starting to decline, while the world’s population is set to increase by 50%. Economists tell us that the growth potential of the European Union barely exceeds 1.5%, whereas emerging countries are expecting close to double digit growth rates. It is high time we woke up! However welcome they may be, mantras about sustainable development must not lead us to resign ourselves to sustainable underdevelopment. Let’s set ourselves an average target growth rate of 3%, a fertility rate above 2% (the rate has now risen back to this level in France) and, once the economic crisis has been overcome, a balance of public finances that will allow us to finance our health spending and our pensions without transferring the burden to future generations. Let’s also provide the Union itself with the own resources it needs to finance common policies: the Lisbon Treaty has given it the legal wherewithal, but not the corresponding budgetary resources.

2. Let’s reinvent the single area. The term ‘internal market’ also implies European public goods: civil peace and security, transport and energy networks, social rights and cultural diversity must be recognised and treated as such.

Furthermore, the European area is more than just a market: it is a living space. Ten million Europeans now live in an EU country other than their country of origin, and, each year, hundreds of thousands of children are born of marriages between partners of different nationalities. For a Danish woman to be able to marry a Portuguese man in Ireland and then have children in Belgium before working in Austria, getting divorced in Sweden, retiring in Greece and bequeathing all her worldly goods to her Polish grandchildren, all manner of issues need to be addressed in order to provide an improved living environment for Europe’s citizens.

This also calls for Europe to become a common political space. We have broken down all barriers between us, except for the glass walls surrounding our political debates. Each country remains obsessed with navel-gazing, its focus on issues of national politics (oh, the irresistible fascination of election time in Paris, London, Berlin or Madrid!), while ‘Brussels’ operates as a 28th country, just as unknown to the 27 and equally self-absorbed. Let’s break through these invisible walls! Let’s establish links between our national parliaments, take advantage of the citizens’ right of petition and call on the ‘Lisbon triumvirate’ to address issues of common interest.

3. As Europe emerges from its torpor, it will find itself in a world that has become multipolar without it. At the same time, in order to build a culture of peace, this world needs the benefit of Europe’s unique experience. If only the whole of Europe would unite and always speak with one voice, whether it be at the IMF, the ILO or the WTO, at negotiations on climate change or conferences on disarmament, or even at the UN or the G20! If only Europe knew what to do with its strong currency in dealing with the aftermath of the crisis that is going to cause such an upheaval for the euro, the dollar, the yen and the yuan! If only it would propose the establishment of a joint organisation to exchange experiences with other regional unions that are gradually taking shape on every continent – Mercosur, ASEAN, the African Union, the Arab Maghreb Union, the Gulf Cooperation Council and so on! If only Europe would finally agree to assume responsibility for its external security!

Shall we?

Alain Lamassoure, 12 October 2009