THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION Towards a new legislative term

IMPROVING EUROPEAN GOVERNANCE AND THE FUTURE OF EUROPE 23 a European Convention, provided for in Article 48(3) TEU, allowing an amendment of the treaties, the Euro- pean Commission, through its president, Ursula von der Leyen, also requested a Convention from the member states in her State of the Union address in September 2022. She put it like this: “I believe that it is time to enshrine solidarity be- tween generations in our Treaties. It is time to renew the European promise. And we also need to improve the way we do things and the way we decide things. Some might say this is not the right time. But if we are serious about preparing for the world of tomorrow we must be able to act on the things that matter the most to people. And as we are serious about a larger union, we also have to be serious about reform. So as this Parliament has called for, I believe the moment has arrived for a Eu- ropean Convention.” ( Von der Leyen, U., 2022: in fine). With the global pandemic still ongoing and a war started by a nuclear power at the gates of the Union, then, the president of the European Commission chose both the bravest and smartest option in terms of politi- cal consistency: continue the political deliberation over the two fundamental and naturally related issues of Un- ion enlargement and the future of Europe. Previously, the European Parliament had struck a chord of consistency in the debate on the future of Eu- rope by pointing out that “especially following the most recent crises, the Treaties need to be amended urgently to make sure the Union has the competence to take more effective action during future crises”. The Parlia- ment centred its call for specific amendments to the Treaties around specific Union policies, but also around matters of European governance in a non-exhaustive list of six actions, namely: 1. enhance the Union’s capacity to act by reforming voting procedures, including allowing decisions in the Council by qualified majority voting instead of unanimity in relevant areas, such as the adoption of sanctions and so-called passerelle clauses, and in the event of an emergency; 2. adapt the competences conferred on the Union in the Treaties, especially in the areas of health and cross-border health threats, in the completion of the energy union based on energy efficiency and renew- able energies designed in line with international agreements to mitigate climate change, in defence, and in social and economic policies; 3. ensure the European Pillar of Social Rights is fully im- plemented and incorporate social progress in Article 9 TFEU, linked to a Social Progress Protocol into the Treaties; 4. support strengthening the competitiveness and resil- ience of the EU economy, with special attention paid to small and medium-sized enterprises and competi- tiveness checks, and promote future-oriented invest- ments focused on the just, green and digital transi- tions; 5. provide Parliament with full co-decision rights on the EU budget, and with the right to initiate, amend or repeal legislation, and 6. strengthen the procedure for the protection of the values the EU is founded on and clarify the deter- mination and consequences of breaches of funda- mental values (Article 7 TEU and the Charter of Fun- damental Rights of the European Union). (European Parliament, 2022 ). Following these calls for a Convention from the Par- liament and the Commission, the European Council has not debated the issue in the corresponding (French, Czech and Swedish) six-month presidencies on the grounds that Article 48 TEU stipulates no deadline for a response. The Czech presidency, at least, drew up the Council’s response to the CoFE’s proposals, ensuring it was very well attuned to the Commission and Parlia- ment’s responses. Understandably, given the state of considerable con- tinental tension in the Union since February 2022 be- cause of the war, three consecutive presidencies have all thought it wiser for now to refrain from triggering any political debate among the member states in which the terms “treaty reform” or “convention” might appear. It seems unlikely the Spanish presidency of the EU in the second half of this year will take the political initiative to revisit the debate on the advisability of a European Convention requested, remember, by the Parliament on two occasions and more recently by the president of the Commission. It would be a risky move and perhaps one doomed to failure given the attitude of several member states in the Council, among other issues. This prospec- tive low profile on the part of the Spanish presidency,