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TOWARDS A FEDERAL EUROPE
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fully effective, given both its composition and
the basis on which it must operate.
The Commission, as the driver of the European
project, should use its monopoly on legislative
initiative to move beyond the period of austerity
that European citizens have suffered. Following
the first months of the new Commission’s exist-
ence, it is clear that there has been a significant
change with respect to the past, with this
Commission generating significant political initia-
tives. The impact of the new political balance –re-
flecting a Parliament that is more progressive,
more federalist and thus more ambitious– is also
clear, although it is still too early to reach any
definitive evaluation of how it is operating.
However, the limitations of its mandate will need
to be addressed when reform of the Treaties is
considered at the next European Convention.
A “union of citizens and states”
The response to the current economic crisis,
which began in 2008, has been conservative, ap-
plying inappropriate policies of rigid austerity
that have produced no positive results, have en-
dangered the basis of the European social model
and have paralysed growth, particularly in south-
ern Europe. Many of these policies should be cor-
rected as a result of the application of the “New
start for Europe” programme, referred to above.
In addition, there is both the need and the
opportunity to undertake the constitutional re-
form that would deepen the European Union,
strengthening its political system along federal
lines in order, in the words of Leo Tindemans in
1975, to “put the political roof on the building”,
so that storms do not wash the whole edifice
away, as has nearly occurred during this crisis.
Citizens demand the adoption of policies that
reflect their needs and aspirations, particularly
with respect to social issues, the economy and
the restoration of the basic rights that the crisis
has weakened or threatened. It is important to
note that in the two latest Eurobarometers of
2014, disillusionment with the European project
has fallen, something which is not true with re-
spect to national political institutions, particu-
larly in the case of Spain. It is also interesting to
note that, while the media stress the lack of
support for European institutions, they ignore
the far greater lack of support for national institu-
tions, particularly parliament and the govern-
ment. Moreover, this lack of national support is
on the rise, while in the case of Europe it is declin-
ing. However, there has also been a shift in this
trend since the European elections in spring 2014.
The constitutional logic of Treaty reform
For all of the above reasons, we believe that, in
order to address the problems of the EU, it is not
enough simply to apply the Treaty provisions by
developing new policies of a progressive, fed-
eral nature. Instead, we must recognize that the
Treaties themselves contain limitations that
need to be corrected, and this means that Treaty
reform is essential.
There are at least six underlying factors that
limit the democratic and progressive operation
of the European Union and require federalist
reform to:
– Improving democratic legitimacy. We need
to bring the institutions and treaties closer to
the citizens, so that the latter have owner-
ship of the European construction process.
And this means not just reforming them, but
simplifying them and giving them the form
of a Constitution. The Lisbon Treaty could be
seen as a constitution in all but name, as it
contains some of the key elements of such a