[A-List] British takeover of Europe

[Keaney Michael]

UK demands huge shake-up for Europe

 By Stephen Castle in Brussels

 The Independent, 21 February 2002

 Britain will propose revolutionary
 changes to the European Union
 today that could lead to the
 appointment of an influential new
 leader by prime ministers.

 Jack Straw, the Foreign
 Secretary, will call for a drastic
 overhaul of the EU's
 decision-making bodies that would
 entrench the powers of
 governments and downgrade the
 European Commission's role.

 Some EU governments, sidelined in the American-led war on
 terrorism and increasingly at odds with the foreign policies of
 President Bush, feel the need for a single voice to speak for
 Europe. In a keynote speech in The Hague, Mr Straw will argue
 for important changes to the way decisions are made.

 His intervention comes ahead of next week's convention to
 review how Europe should adapt after 2004, when it is due to
 admit up to 10 new countries. It marks a clear attempt to put
 Britain's ideas at the heart of the debate on Europe's future,
 and to strengthen the Council of Ministers, the body in which
 member states take decisions. It reflects a growing confidence,
 gained from alliance-building around Europe, that Britain's
 vision is close to the EU's centre of gravity and that the heyday
 of federalism is past.

 Mr Straw's speech will argue that there is a "gulf of
 understanding between the EU and its peoples" and that there
 needs to be "better decision-making, better democracy and
 better delivery."

 In a statement of the primacy of governments over the
 unelected European Commission, Mr Straw will argue that
 "democratic accountability lies first and foremost with the
 Council". But he will also admit that this powerful body,
 little-known outside Brussels, needs urgent reform. This, he
 hopes, will be at the centre of the convention into the future of
 Europe, led by the former French president Valéry Giscard
 d'Estaing,

 At present, ministers from each of the 15 member states sit in
 specialist councils, meeting regularly in Brussels or
 Luxembourg to take decisions in a host of areas from
 agriculture to foreign affairs. These are chaired by the minister
 from the country holding the EU presidency (currently Spain),
 which rotates every six months.

 With 15 ministers around the table, this system is already
 becoming sclerotic, and Mr Straw will argue that, as the EU
 expands, there will be an "ever-increasing burden on the
 presidency system".

 Under the Straw proposal, each council would elect a president
 to serve for two and a half years, providing much more
 continuity than the current six-month span. The presidents of
 each council would also sit on a new, powerful steering
 committee, which would have the job of co-ordinating the whole
 range of policy areas.

 Mr Straw will raise the prospect that heads of government who
 meet at summits could choose a chairman - either a current or
 a former head of government - who could become the most
 powerful figure in the EU. Finally, the Council would set
 priorities in an annual work programme.

 While the Government says that it also wants to strengthen the
 European Commission, that is unlikely to be the end result of
 the Straw proposals, and one Whitehall source said that
 "ultimately it is the Council that is running the show."

 Britain wants a smaller, leaner European Commission and,
 although no figures will be mentioned, envisages a team of
 about a dozen. And it wants to beef up the commitment to
 subsidiarity, a concept under which the EU should only
 undertake tasks that cannot be performed better at a national
 level.

 Mr Straw would like to see either a second chamber of the
 European Parliament to police this concept, or the European
 Court of Justice being given new powers to strike down
 legislation that breaches the principle.

 Simon Murphy, the leader of Labour's MEPs, hailed the ideas
 as "nothing short of revolutionary." They would "radically
 change the way governments do business in Europe", he
 added.

Full article at:
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=134578

Michael Keaney
Mercuria Business School
Martinlaaksontie 36
01620 Vantaa
Finland

michael.keaney at mbs.fi