New designs for Europe

New designs for Europe

Everybody agrees that the EU’s institutions are in bad need of reform. In the Convention on the Future of Europe, and elsewhere, a real debate has begun on how Europe should be governed. The essays in this book offer new designs for the European Union, in a spirit which is both radical and pragmatic. The essays focus not only on the key institutions – the European Council, the Council of Ministers, the Commission, the European Parliament and the European Central Bank – but also on the policies that the institutions will have to make a success of: justice and home affairs, economic reform and foreign policy.

Proposals include:

• A full-time chairman for the European Council.
• The creation of a new Congress, consisting of national parliamentarians and MEPs, which would play a role in the election of the Commission president.
• A new system for ratifying treaty changes, which could lead to some countries having to leave the EU.
• New methods for making the Lisbon process of economic reform more effective.
• Expanded powers for the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy.
• A reform of the European Central Bank, so that it becomes more accountable and can take decisions more speedily.
• And more powers for the EU in Justice and Home Affairs, together with greater protection of citizens’ rights.

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