The State of the European Union. The European Parliament faces its most important elections yet

THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION 138 the consequences if it does not want to lose the confidence Europeans have placed in it to safeguard their well-being. 2. Towards a federal European union – We must continue down the path leading to the political union envisaged in the Maastricht Treaty, recasting the Union on a federal- ist basis that will allow it to fulfil its principal mission of improving the daily lives of European citizens. This will entail reforming the framework under which the EU presently functions by means of a process that anchors it objectives (greater democracy, greater po- litical integration, greater efficiency and greater equity) and the dis- tribution of competences among institutions in the principles of maximum participation and clarity. – ������������������������������������������������������������������ The keystone of the federal system is equilibrium between territo- rial and citizen representation, respectively achieved through the application of the intergovernmental and community methods. This balance, which is presently tilted in favour of the former, can only be re-established by strengthening the independence and compe- tences of the institutions whose members are determined by all European citizens through electoral process: the European Parliament and the European Commission. The European Council should function as a collective head of state and the Council as an upper house equivalent to senates in federal states. – The members of the European Parliament should be chosen by means of elections held simultaneously in all Member States ac- cording to a common system and allowing for transnational lists of candidates. This body should be endowed with full legislative pow- ers and the power of co-decision (with the Council) on all matters, including those of an economic nature such as taxation, and all in- ternational agreements negotiated under the CSDP framework. It must also have the power to submit the president of the Commission to a constructive vote of no confidence if an absolute majority of its members support such action. Lastly, there is a need for a special voting procedure for matters related to the euro along the lines of that designed for Ecofin guaranteeing that all decisions made re- garding the euro, including those debated in full sessions of the EU Parliament, require the agreement of a majority of euro countries.