The future of Europe” “

The debate on the future of Europe was officially launched by the Swedish Presidency at the beginning of 2001, following the conclusion of the Nice Summit which committed the EU to a process of institutional reform in several stages. Open to citizens also through the Internet site www.futurum, the debate provided an opportunity for the EU Institutions, the national Parliaments and “civil society” to express opinions and make proposals in view of the forthcoming decisive appointments that will determine the nature and functions of the Union enlarged to 27 European countries. The Commission of the episcopates of the EU (COMECE) has made its own contribution to the discussion with a document published on 5 December, “Building citizens’ faith in the future of Europe” (cf. Sir Europe no.10/2001, p.3). The Laeken Summit: On 14 and 15 December 2001 the Heads of State and of Government will meet, in a European Council summit, at Laeken, just outside Brussels. The Summit is called inter alia to adopt the “Laeken Declaration”, i.e. the document by which the Council will lay the foundations for the process of reforming the EU that will conclude with the intergovernmental Conference (IGC) for the reform of the Treaties. Apart from the major themes of international current affairs such as the fight against terrorism and the Afghan conflict, the Laeken Summit is expected to make important decisions on EU enlargement, the Convention for reforms and the IGC. Convention: One of the main points on the Laeken agenda consists of the decision to announce the Convention charged with the task of drawing up proposals for the reform of EU institutions to be submitted to the next IGC. Now that the doubts about when the Convention should begin its work (March 2002) and how long it should last (approximately 15 months) have been resolved, there is still uncertainty about its composition, its President and, in part, its agenda. As regards its composition, the idea is to recycle that of the Convention which drafted the Charter of the fundamental rights of the EU in 2000. The participation of representatives of the Governments, national Parliaments, EP and Commission has been guaranteed. But what still remains uncertain is the status that the delegations of the Committee of the Regions and the economic and social Committee (full time observers or members) will assume, and any legislative power accorded to the Regions. The question of the nomination of the Convention’s President (current candidates are Giuliano Amato and Valéry Giscard d’Estaing) is still contested: on the one hand, there are those who favour direct election from among the Convention’s members, on the other, those who prefer nomination to be made by the European Council. The last question that needs to resolved is that of the agenda, in other words the question whether the Convention should present a strongly prescriptive document of legislative character to the IGC – as seems probable – or whether it should be limited to formulating proposals that the IGC will then discuss. IGC: It was decided at the European Council summit in Nice that the next intergovernmental Conference shall tackle four fundamental questions: role of the national Parliaments, simplification of legislation, distribution of competencies, status of the Charter of fundamental rights of the EU. To these will inevitably be added the questions of the European Constitution, of the greater participation of the Regions in the decision-making processes, of the reform of the powers and functions of the Institutions and of information on and involvement of citizens in the Union’s activities. The IGC could begin and end in the second half of 2003, under an Italian Presidency. In any case, everyone is now agreed on the need to adopt and ratify the new Treaty in such a way as to permit the participation of future member countries in the European elections of 2004. G.A.G.