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Summit: EU leaders in reflection mode

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Published 15 June 2006 - Updated 01 June 2007
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constitution Eu Constitution reflection period summit
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EU leaders will meet in Brussels to confront some of the main challenges the EU is facing. While it is expected that the "reflection period" on the future of Europe will be extended, the most notable outcome will probably be the opening of Council sessions to the public.

Reflection period and EU constitution 

One of the summit conclusions will be that during the debates on the future of Europe citizens had not only voiced worries and concerns, but also “clearly expressed their commitment to the European project”.  The citizens “expect the Union to prove its added value by taking action in response to the challenges of our time”.    

However, the European Council is set to agree on an extension of the “period of reflection” until at least June 2007, when Germany, as holder of the EU Presidency, is supposed to put forward concrete proposals on next steps. At the latest, these proposals are to be put into place by France during its presidency in the second half of 2008. 

Transparency and subsidiarity

The European Council will agree on measures to “enhance the functioning of the Union without requiring changes to the Treaty”, among them making Council meetings public and involving national parliaments more in the legislative processes. 

In order for this to happen, the Council will be requested to “rapidly take the measures necessary” to make sure that all its deliberations under the co-decision procedure, including the votes, will no longer take place behind closed doors, except in cases where Council or Coreper decide otherwise.  Furthermore, the Council is expected to regularly hold public debates on important issues, starting during the Finnish Presidency. However, the United Kingdom has already voiced its opposition. 

Citizens will be able to follow all public Council meetings via video-streaming (in all EU languages).

Furthermore, the European Council is set to endorse an initiative by the Commission to transmit all its new proposals and consultation papers directly to national parliaments. The Council, European Parliament and Commission will be asked to “draw up a standard subsidiarity and proportionality check list” when new laws are proposed. 

Enlargement

The summit will also discuss the EU’s enlargement strategy, especially towards the Western Balkans, and its ability to absorb new members.  Calling for alternatives to full EU membership Germany, Austria, France and the Netherlands, in particular, have expressed doubts about the speed and viability of further enlargements. 

Therefore, the Commission has agreed to present a review on the benefits of enlargement and the EU’s absorption capacity by December 2006. At any rate, all leaders seem to agree that, after the accession of Romania and Bulgaria, further enlargements can only take place after an “institutional settlement” has been reached (i.e. after 2009?).

Slovenia is likely to get the green light to join the Euro zone on 1 January 2007

Better regulation 

The European Council is set to ask the Commission to report on progress made on the better regulation initiative to reduce EU bureaucracy and to announce “measurable reduction targets” by early 2007. 

Positions: 

Germany and Italy have decided to push for further progress on the Constitutional Treaty. During his inaugural visit to Germany on 14 June 2006, the new Italian prime minister Romano Prodi sought to strengthen the European profile of Italy. During the meeting of the Italian leader and the German chancellor Angela Merkel, it was emphasised that there was no alternative to the Constitutional Treaty.

The Finnish prime minister Matti Vanhanen, who takes over the chair of the EU Presidency in July 2006, said that the “simple opening” of another period of reflection would not suffice. Instead, he proposed to launch more concrete debates during the Finnish presidency on the Constitutional Treaty. He also said: “We have to tell the citizens that the Union is not dead”.

In his speech on 14 June in front of the European Parliament, Commission President Barroso said that there was no alternative to a “political Europe” to counteract “the ghost that is hunting Europe – euro pessimism”. Therefore, the EU needed to move from the “reflection period” to a “période d’engagement ”.

The European Parliament has adopted a resolution, in which it demands the European Council to come up with a “clear proposal on constitutional process”, in order to achieve “without undue delay a constitutional settlement”, at the latest before the European elections in June 2009.

Next steps: 
  • October 2006: Finnish parliament set to ratify the Constitution
  • December 2006: Commission to present review on the benefits of enlargement and the EU's absorption capacity 
  • January 2007: Germany takes over the EU Presidency
  • March 2007, Berlin: Celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome to give a new boost to the European project.
  • July-December 2008: Constitutional process could be concluded under the French Presidency
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vanhanen
Background: 

After one year officially spent on "reflecting" on the future of the EU and the fate of the EU Constitutional Treaty, EU leaders will on 15 and 16 June 2006 assess what they have come up with so far and what still needs to be done.

During the first year of the reflection period, the EU embarked on a so-called “double track approach”, aiming at, on the one hand, trying to keep the constitutional process alive and, on the other hand, to create a “Europe of results” (or “projects”) that is more in touch with the expectations and aspirations of the citizens.  

In addition, there have been calls to improve the transparency and general functioning of the EU, regardless of the outcome of the constitutional process.

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Constitutional Treaty: the 'reflection period' [Archived]
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