Member States oppose Parliament’s proposed treaty change

Almost half of the The 27 countries that are part of the EU. See the list of all members here. Member States are not happy with the treaty change proposed by the The EU’s directly elected legislative body comprised of 705 members. It is involved in policymaking but it does not have the power to propose new legislation. European Parliament as an outcome of the A year-long series of events and fora to discuss the future of the EU involving civil society, local, regional and national authorities, as well as policymakers. Concluded in May 2022. Conference on the Future of Europe. In a non-paper, thirteen of the 27 The 27 countries that are part of the EU. See the list of all members here. Member States declare their dismay at the proposals that would strengthen the The EU’s directly elected legislative body comprised of 705 members. It is involved in policymaking but it does not have the power to propose new legislation. European Parliament’s powers as a legislator and would strengthen the role of citizens in electing their representatives, also in the Commission.

What treaty change?

At the end of the year-long A year-long series of events and fora to discuss the future of the EU involving civil society, local, regional and national authorities, as well as policymakers. Concluded in May 2022. Conference on the Future of Europe that brought together civil society and policymakers to come up with ideas for the future of the EU, the Parliament adopted 49 proposals with over 300 measures for change on 29-30 April. While these include a broad range of topics ranging from climate change to education and digital transformation, some The 27 countries that are part of the EU. See the list of all members here. Member States were particularly unhappy with one topic: European democracy.

The proposals include giving the The EU’s directly elected legislative body comprised of 705 members. It is involved in policymaking but it does not have the power to propose new legislation. European Parliament, the only directly elected body, the right of initiative:

Parliament wants direct right to propose laws

It also foresees that some A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a representative in the European Parliament. MEPs should be elected from transnational lists, allowing citizens  to make two crosses on the voting ballot, one for an A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a representative in the European Parliament. MEP from national constituencies and one for an A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a representative in the European Parliament. MEP from the new transnational constituency. We previously reported about this idea here:

An EU constituency for the European Parliament?

In addition, citizens should have the power to decide on the Commission President: they should be appointed either through direct election or through the Spitzenkandidaten (lead candidate) system, in which every The EU’s directly elected legislative body comprised of 705 members. It is involved in policymaking but it does not have the power to propose new legislation. European Parliament party group presents a lead candidate in the European elections and the lead candidate of the party group with the most votes becomes Commission President.

As regards the An institution representing the Member States’ interests. Either comprised of the heads of government (European Council) or more frequently the ministers (Council of the EU) meeting in different constellations depending on the policy area. Involved in policy-making, often together with the European Parliament. Council, the The EU’s directly elected legislative body comprised of 705 members. It is involved in policymaking but it does not have the power to propose new legislation. European Parliament proposes two major changes that were set to rock the An institution representing the Member States’ interests. Either comprised of the heads of government (European Council) or more frequently the ministers (Council of the EU) meeting in different constellations depending on the policy area. Involved in policy-making, often together with the European Parliament. Council’s boat: firstly, A type of vote used by the Council. All members have to vote in favour or abstain for a decision to be adopted. unanimity voting, which effectively gives states a veto power and is used in important policy areas like foreign policy, should be replaced by A type of vote used by the Council. At least 55% of Member States representing at least 65% of the EU’s population have to vote in favour for a decision to be adopted. qualified majority voting. This would mean that 55% of the The 27 countries that are part of the EU. See the list of all members here. Member States (15 out of 27), representing 65% of the EU’s population have to vote in favour for a proposal to be adopted.

Secondly, decision-making processes should be made more transparent and citizens should gain access to voting procedures and meetings. The An institution representing the Member States’ interests. Either comprised of the heads of government (European Council) or more frequently the ministers (Council of the EU) meeting in different constellations depending on the policy area. Involved in policy-making, often together with the European Parliament. Council in particular has been criticized widely for not being transparent enough in their decisions, for instance not disclosing who voted against a proposal when A type of vote used by the Council. All members have to vote in favour or abstain for a decision to be adopted. unanimity was needed.

The EU’s directly elected legislative body comprised of 705 members. It is involved in policymaking but it does not have the power to propose new legislation. European Parliament v. The 27 countries that are part of the EU. See the list of all members here. Member States

Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, and Sweden are not happy with the The EU’s directly elected legislative body comprised of 705 members. It is involved in policymaking but it does not have the power to propose new legislation. European Parliament’s proposed treaty change. In a non-paper, published on 9 May, they state: 

“We recall that Treaty change has never been a purpose of the Conference. […] While we do not exclude any options at this stage, we do not support unconsidered and premature attempts to launch a process towards Treaty change. This would entail a serious risk of drawing political energy away from the important tasks of finding solutions to the questions to which our citizens expect answers and handling the urgent geopolitical challenges facing Europe.”

Whether a proposal that has been developed in a year-long process is ‘unconsidered and premature’ is debatable, but the The 27 countries that are part of the EU. See the list of all members here. Member States’ position certainly brings to the fore the ongoing dispute between the The EU’s directly elected legislative body comprised of 705 members. It is involved in policymaking but it does not have the power to propose new legislation. European Parliament and the An institution representing the Member States’ interests. Either comprised of the heads of government (European Council) or more frequently the ministers (Council of the EU) meeting in different constellations depending on the policy area. Involved in policy-making, often together with the European Parliament. Council over ‘more’ or ‘less Europe’. Of course, these The 27 countries that are part of the EU. See the list of all members here. Member States alone will not be able to decide on the future of the proposal. The adoption procedure for treaty change is complex, but we have tried to simplify it here:

EU parliament set to trigger treaty change

The non-paper might be the first sign that treaty change is on a shaky path, and the thirteen signatories might not be the only ones opposing treaty change: On Europe Day, Monday 9 May, Dutch minister of Foreign Affairs Wopke Hoekstra spoke in Maastricht about the Dutch government’s views on the development of the EU. While he applauded more cooperation on the topic of defence and the EU’s global role, he refused to speak out in favour of treaty change.