EU: Juncker’s White Paper, document for the future of the “common house”. A tool “invented” by Jacques Delors

(Brussels) The white paper on the future of the European Union, which will be presented in Brussels today by the president of the EU Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, is one in a long list of white papers, the first one dating back to 1985: they are documents that contain proposed EU actions in specific areas, as defined under EU law. “The purpose of white papers is to start a discussion with the public, the stakeholders, the European Parliament and the EU Council to make political consensus easier”. The EU Commission’s first white paper dates back to 1985 and was about the completion of the domestic market. It had been promoted by the then president of the EU Commission, Jacques Delors. But the most famous white paper is definitely the one of 1993, drawn up by Delors’ Commission and approved by the European Council on December 5^th, “Growth, Competitiveness, Employment – The challenges and ways forward into the 21st century”. The foreword states: “This white paper aims at boosting reflections and helping take decisions – decentralised, national or European – that may pave the way to a ‘sustainable’ long-term development of European economies, enabling them to face international competition while creating the millions of jobs it needs”.
The EU – which had been renamed after the Maastricht Treaty – was reflecting on strengthening itself, partly with a view to its great eastward expansion after the fall of the Berlin Wall. “We believe the European economies have a future. If we consider – the text goes on – the classic bases of prosperity and competitiveness, Europe still stands a good chance. The importance of its intangible assets (education, qualifications, a bent for innovation, industrial traditions), the availability of substantial financial assets and very efficient banks, the soundness of its social model and the values of social negotiation are the trump cards it must be able to take advantage of”. The latest white papers include one on adaptation to climate change dated 2009, the agenda on pensions and social security systems (2011), and one about a most effective control over concentrations in the EU, dating back to 2014.