With the twice rejected European Constitution having been revived in the shape of the Lisbon Treaty, and defeated again by voters in Ireland, we believe it is time to take stock and formulate a vision of a Europe more in tune with the 21st century, and the desires of ordinary citizens.
What would a reformed EU look like?
(1) A flexible Union
The EU needs to become a two-way street. It must become possible to return powers to the member states, as well as transferring them to Brussels.
Apart from a minimum core of common rules, participation in EU policies should be voluntary. The other side of the coin is that the less integrationist member states should not stop groups of other countries from pursuing deeper integration among themselves within the EU framework.
That means allowing countries to opt in or out of: the common foreign and security policy; border control; justice and home affairs legislation; the CAP and CFP; cross-Europe emissions trading; external aid and other EU spending policies (e.g. on research). It would also mean allowing member states to take back control of regional aid and to repeal some legislation which is currently tacked inappropriately onto the internal market (like the Working Time Directive).
(2) A democratic EU
The structures of the EU need to be overhauled. That means full transparency, including public access to documents and meetings. The Commission should lose its legislative monopoly and national parliaments should gain real powers over EU legislation. Wasteful and unnecessary bureaucracies like the Committee of the Regions and EcoSoc should be abolished. The EU’s failed anti-fraud institutions – which currently penalise whistleblowers rather than wrongdoers – should be replaced with independent professional auditors.
(3) A liberal and outward looking EU
Where policies are made in common we want to see an economically liberal and outward looking Europe. In particular we want to end the EU’s unfair trade barriers against developing countries and its damaging farm subsidies, so that it can be a constructive force for global commerce, rather than obstructing world trade talks and defending protectionism.
(4) Why flexibility is the only way forward for the EU
A flexible EU is the sole way to reconcile the historic demand of some member states for more integration with the deep-felt desire of many voters for less.
It’s also the sole way to rescue the EU’s enlargement. Only a much more flexible Union would have a realistic prospect of attracting Norway and Switzerland and allaying anxiety about the admission of Turkey. A truly adaptable EU would put new entrants on an equal footing with established members, unlike proposals for “associate” status, which suggest a form of second class citizenship.
What will you do if they say no?
To regard the EU as unreformable is profoundly defeatist. Despite its strong economy, its leading role as a military power, and its massive contribution to the EU budget, Britain has scarcely even tried to exert its influence to push for modernisation of the EU. Opinion polls and a string of referendum results show that voters in other member states are also starting to demand change in Brussels.
However, we are realists. Entrenched interests in Brussels (and some member states) are determined to construe every policy failure and every referendum defeat as an argument for “more Europe”. It is entirely possible that attempts to win reform will result in deadlock.
To illustrate, it is not hard to imagine a crisis in which some countries refuse to agree a new EU financial package unless serious CAP reform is undertaken, while others simply refuse to accept this. Alternatively, there may be pressure for integrationist policies that are wholly unacceptable to the UK. In such circumstances, no satisfactory compromise would be feasible.
Such a crisis could be resolved in one of two ways. The EU as a whole could be restructured to accommodate different members’ conflicting interests. Alternatively, the UK (and other member states) could seek a looser relationship with the centre - for example replacing their current mode of membership by free trade and single market agreements with the other member states. The actual route would depend on the political realities at the time.
Either way patient, long-running negotiations will be needed. But ultimately, any road to reform would be preferable to the status quo, which is universally recognised as leading to the EU’s inexorable, if gradual, decline.