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

86 (CoFoE, 2022). Of its 49 proposals and the associated measures deriving from them, as many as 18 cannot be implemented without Treaty revision, as the General Secretariat of the Council has recognised (General Sec- retariat of the Council, 2022: 7–8). The European Parliament is of the same opinion, and has argued that the recommendations of the Conference necessitate reforms, stating that it: “ Acknowledges that the conclusions of the Conference require Treaty changes, inter alia, concerning the simplification of the EU institu- tional architecture, more transparency and accountability in the decision-making process and a new reflection on EU competences ” (European Parliament, 2022a: 12).And this process of Treaty reform, in its view, can only be conducted through a Convention (European Parliament 2022b: 12). More recently, the President of the Commission, Ur- sula von der Leyen, in her annual speech on the State of the Union, also backed the need to “renew the European promise” and to “improve the way in which we do and decide things” by holding a new European Convention to reform the Treaties (Von der Leyen, 2022). For all of these reasons, although it is clear that it is difficult to undertake truly successful institutional reform due to the urgency and gravity of the crises that surround us, this urgency should not allow us to forget how impor- tant and necessary such reform is. In autumn 2022, as we write these lines, it is time to reflect on the fact that the EU needs strong leadership to address its limitations with courage. And that is why, as it takes on the Presidency in 2023, we call on Spain to face up to this challenge and provide the political drive the EU requires. Spain leading the European project: why Spain has to lead an ambitious agenda I believe that the Spanish government needs to be aware of its historic responsibility, of the need for an ambitious agenda for its Presidency and a proactive position which can deepen the European integration project, improve the operation of the EU as a whole, and strengthen its interna- tional role.The Spanish Presidency must assume this leader- ship for three reasons: because the preceding Presidencies cannot do so; because its status as a large, pro-European state not only permits but requires it to do so; and because the European political cycle necessitates this approach. The Czech and Swedish Presidencies The Czech Presidency, of July to December 2022, focused its agenda on addressing the challenges caused by the war, which was inevitable given the current situation. However, in September it also conducted a series of consultations with Member states regarding their support for a formal Treaty revision to implement the proposals of the Confer- ence on the Future of Europe, which culminated in a de- bate in the heart of the Council (Czech Presidency, 2022). It found that seven states would be in favour of re- form, fifteen do not see the need to revise the Treaties to implement the proposals of the Conference on the Future of Europe, and five are ambivalent, prepared to go with the majority. (It goes without saying that Spain is in the pro-reform group.) As a result, the Council of General Affairs agreed to continue with discussions to see what suggestions could be implemented without touching the Treaties, for example using passerelle clauses to over- come the need for unanimity on a case-by-case basis (Czech Presidency, 2022). Nor does the Swedish Presidency, in the first half of 2023, seem likely to have the political will to promote a deepening of the EU. Like the Czech Presidency, due to its geographical situation, Sweden has above all prioritised ensuring that the EU focuses all its political energy on its response to the Ukrainian conflict. This concern is, if anything, increasing in light of the sabotage (presumed to be of Russian origin) of Swedish gas infrastructure (Oltermann, 2022). It was not for nothing that, in May, Sweden and the Czech Republic signed a document which argued against undertaking immediate Treaty reform to implement the mandate of the Conference on the Future of Europe