THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION. Reforming Europe in a time of war

THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION 10 Such reform has the consensus of the European Parliament (it was the main subject of the Conference on the Future of Europe) but still lacks the support of the European Council. This Report argues for treaty reform to enable, for example, decisions or agreements on foreign and security policy to be taken without a requirement for unanimity. If we aspire to see the EU expand by admitting current candidate countries, and other coun- tries in regions such as the Balkans – something that has been given greater urgency by the war – then it is essential that agreement with a very wide range of support cannot be paralysed by the government of a single Member State. This idea has been endorsed in recent months by political leaders such as Emmanuel Macron, Mario Draghi and Olaf Scholz. The German Chancellor made very specific proposals in this regard in his speech in August 2022. These included extending the spheres in which decisions are taken on a majority rather than a unanimous basis in the Council, establishing a new equilibrium in the composition of the European Parliament and, without changing the rule of one Commissioner per country, argues that the internal organization of the Commission should be more efficient. However, it is also important to note that reform has been rejected by the govern- ments of the smaller countries. Without tackling what we might call the second major reform of the EU, which includes the areas mentioned above, the EU cannot become what has been termed a ‘geopolitical Europe’. If it fails to take that step, Europe will become a second-rank political actor on a global stage dominated by the United States and China, and in a context of increasing polarization. We are witnessing a change of paradigm and the start of a new era of globalization, and this is why it is particularly important for the EU to understand the position of its allies and, above all, of its partners. A survey conducted in Latin America, commissioned by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) in 2022 (https://data.nuso.org/es ) found that Latin American societies prioritize human rights, democracy, welfare and the importance of the environment. It also revealed that Europe’s soft power is very attractive to Latin America: people prefer Europe to any other non-Latin American partner. Europe is seen as an influential actor in the future, one that is committed to human rights, peace, the environment and the struggle against poverty. Our objectives include European integration, cohesion and solidarity.This means that the EU must develop and implement systematic policies in areas such as foreign affairs and security, economic policy (there is still no genuine economic union), ensuring primary public goods, and protecting the values of democracy, freedom and the Rule of Law. An EU of 33 or more Member States needs this reforming impulse. It is vital to situate democracy and citizens’ participation at the heart of reforms, to increase the legitimacy and effectiveness of EU decision-making, as was stated in 2021 in the consultations for the Conference on the Future of Europe.