THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION Towards a new legislative term

IMPROVING EUROPEAN GOVERNANCE AND THE FUTURE OF EUROPE 21 Some of the Members of the European Parliament should be elected through a European Union-wide list, the rest being elected within the Members’ States. This reform should also aim at facilitating digital vot- ing possibilities and at guaranteeing effective voting rights for persons with disabilities.” ( European Commis- sion (2022a: 81 ). Introducing a voting system based on “Union-wide lists or ‘transnational lists’” does not require amending the treaties. A European Parliament proposal of 3 May 2022 for a Council Regulation on the election of the members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage includes a series of harmonisation measures, includ- ing transnational lists ( Council of the European Union, 2022:223 ). The Council of the European Union examined the Parliament proposal in October 2022, but the legisla- tive procedure that should conclude with introduction of transnational lists had not been completed at the time of writing ( European Parliament, 2023 ). Improving legitimacy: a European referendum The CoFE included the introduction of an EU-wide refer- endum, a clarion call of the most fervently pro-European for some years now, in Proposal 38.2. It expressed a need for “conceiving an EU-wide referendum, to be trig- gered by the European Parliament, in exceptional cases on matters particularly important to all European citi- zens”. On this matter, the Council of the European Union recalled in November 2022: “The Treaties already allow for a large degree of direct involvement of citizens in the decision-making process of the institutions through the European Citizens’ Initiative, as well as consultations of the citizens, representative associations and civil society, pursuant to Article 11 TEU.” It also stated: “The right to petition to the European Parliament (Article 20(2)(d) TFEU) could be used to adopt measures with the aim of satisfying this, and existing instruments like the Euro- pean Citizens’ Initiative (Article 11(4) TEU and Article 24 TFEU) could be improved to this effect.” The Council added, lastly: “However, EU-wide refer- enda to be triggered by the EP are not possible under the current Treaties. Providing for such referenda would require Treaty change” ( Council of the European Union, 2022:222). In conclusion, the deeply pro-European idea of an EU-wide referendum was once again shelved pending a possible European Convention. Improving the effectiveness of the Union: generalising qualified majority voting CoFE Proposal 39.1 says this on the matter: “All issues decided by way of unanimity should be decided by way of a qualified majority. The only exceptions should be the admission of new membership to the EU and chang- es to the fundamental principles of the EU as stated in Art.2 TEU and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.” This is one of the most forward-looking proposals to date on improving the voting system that governs the decision-making process in the Council of the European Union and European Council. Apart from the “ passerelle ” clauses currently in ex- istence, if the CoFE’s radical request is to be met, voting by unanimity should be abolished in 25 of the 27 cases in which unanimity is required to adopt decisions (18 related to the European Council and nine to the Council of the European Union). But, as the joint response to the CoFE from the three institutions recalls, it would require a Treaty change ( Council of the European Union, 2022: 229). So the voting system in the Council, a key cause of controversy among the Member States on the topic of Union effectiveness, has been put aside once again pending a possible future Convention. Such a resolute stance on the part of the CoFE, however, provides valu- able impetus for the clarification of the matter.