126 / 150
THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
126
document, including a charter of fundamental
rights, a division of powers or functions, and a
legal framework for the authorities. However,
this message has not reached citizens and
they are therefore unaware of it. In its current
wording, it is practically impossible to under-
stand it. To do this, it will be necessary to
change the form of the treaties, simplifying
them and setting them out as a constitution.
– Developing the rights implicit in the category
of European citizenship and, in particular,
protecting the social model and improving
participatory democracy. To do this, a new
legal framework must be incorporated into
the new Constitutional Treaty.
– Addressing the reform of common institu-
tions, particularly the European Parliament,
giving it greater legislative power, and also
the Council of Ministers, which should be
transformed into a second chamber. It may
also be necessary to reform the Economic
and Social Committee and the Committee
of the Regions.
– The reforms affecting the economic govern-
ance of the Union adopted in the previous
legislature should be incorporated into the
primary law of the Union, as should the
Treaty on Stability, Coordination and
Governance in the Economic and Monetary
Union, which only lasts for five years, is due
to expire in 2017, and has only been signed
by 26 states within the framework of inter-
national public law.
– Reform some elements of the Treaties, particu-
larly those relating to the link between European
diplomacy and the diplomacy of member states,
and develop a joint defence and security policy,
with the aim of making the European Union a
leading player in global politics.
– Incorporate into the Treaties the possibility
of reforming them without the need for
unanimity among member states, with the
aim of enabling the major political progress
that the Union needs.
At the same time, there are some basic po-
litical demands, such as a minimum salary, basic
income or minimum pension provisions that re-
quire a reform of the legal basis of the Treaties.
There are also numerous technical issues
that require Treaty reform, particularly with
respect to the need to provide a solid legal basis
in areas such as social rights, economic govern-
ance, energy, climate change, migration policy
or border control, among others.
Some federalist reform of the Parliament,
the Commission and the European Council will
also be necessary, while we should be careful
not to neglect issues relating to the European
Central Bank and possibly to the Committee of
the Regions and the Economic and Social
Committee.
Towards the 3rd European Convention
These reforms cannot be implemented through
the abbreviated procedure of working through
Treaties, as they are not just technical reforms
but also reflect the necessary and essential de-
velopment of the federal political model that
has been under construction for 60 years and in
particular during the last 30 years, and this is
something that must be done with the full par-
ticipation of European citizens, with the aim of
making them aware of the project so that they
can take full ownership of it. This means ex-
plaining the real meaning of the federal logic of
the project, which is nothing less than the dual
legitimacy of citizens and states, the keystone of
the European Union.
To do this, the ordinary revision procedure
established in Article 48, paragraphs 1 to 5 of