- Faster decisions for 'growth and job' policies
"I think that this treaty will be important because first of all, we have majority voting in many more areas, so the decision process will be faster. The second reason is that the treaty can be useful for the implementation of the Lisbon agenda," says Rodrigues.
The woman behind the EU's flagship Lisbon strategy - agreed in 2000 but which has yet to deliver the expected results - knows the shortcomings of existing policies only too well.
"So far, one of the problems we have experienced is that the follow-up is based on an annual European Council – the so-called Spring Council" of heads of state and government, she says. "But the treaty will give a stronger impetus to that, because we will have the General Affairs Council [at ministerial level] which will be able to permanently follow-up."
The implications could be deeper than one might think. Rodrigues says the treaty could create the conditions for an increased politicisation of the European Union, which has long been criticised for being too technocratic. "Step-by-step, we are creating more binding mechanisms to implement the Lisbon Agenda," she says. "We need stronger coordination, notably in the euro zone."
- More efforts needed on research and budget
According to Rodrigues, that will eventually also mean pouring more money into the EU budget to focus efforts on policies such as research, environment and transport.
"The new treaty has made some improvements […] In research, we have something new regarding space research, but this is not enough. […] We can also go further by mobilising new financial resources. That's why, sooner or later, we must again discuss the Community budget."
On research in particular, Rodrigues emphasises the need for stronger political commitment as the EU research budget currently represents "less than 10% of the total resources available for research in Europe."
"This means that most of these resources are at the national level, and they should be coordinated towards common priorities," says Rodrigues. "This is a step that I hope can be launched at the European Council next spring – to go further with European research efforts."
Aware that budget discussions are usually gruelling and tend to open Pandora's Boxes, Rodrigues nevertheless seems confident that common sense will prevail among EU nations. "It is up to the member states to understand that if they do not pool resources, the gap between Europe and the other international partners in research will increase dramatically."
"We are trying to move, but the others are moving faster."
- Internal and external policy no longer to be considered in isolation
However, merely trying to respond to globalisation is insufficient, according to Rodrigues, who says there is a growing realisation among EU leaders that internal reforms need to be complemented by foreign policy initiatives.
"Now – and this is new – we understand that [internal reform] is important, but not enough. The world is evolving even faster, and responding to globalisation is not enough – we need to shape globalisation. That is why we also need to renew our external policies to make them more consistent with our internal policies."
Asked where this new approach could be applied, Rodrigues of course mentions trade but also the environment and technology transfers to help fight climate change in the developing world.
"What is at stake is a longer term, 'win-win' game at international level. In this 'win-win' game, it is not only trade and opening up markets that is at stake, but also improving environmental and social standards as well as intellectual property rights."
"We really are entering a new phase."
- Foreign policy chief to enable EU to 'speak with one voice'
In this new phase to shape globalisation, the new EU treaty should bring about new possibilities with the creation of a High Representative for foreign policy.
"We need a central actor with the capacity to represent the European Union in international relationships and be able to coordinate the external action of the Union. This is crucial if we want to shape globalisation."
But Rodrigues says multilateral institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank are in urgent need of reform as well to make them "more effective and more legitimate".
"If we want to shape globalisation, we need to work with our partners on a bilateral basis, but we also need to have stronger multilateral institutions."
"That is why we want to state these commitments regarding the need to shape globalisation, and for that, we need a stronger political Europe. That is why we need a treaty. We want a stronger Europe for a better world."
"This is a new frontier for the next few years."
To read the interview with Maria Joao Rodrigues in full, please click here.
