Friday

29th Mar 2024

Brussels considers report on 'costs of no EU constitution'

The European Commission is currently considering whether to produce a report on the costs of not having an EU constitution - but one impatient German MEP has already drawn up his own version of the report.

Commission officials said on Tuesday (19 September) that they are still toying with the idea of carrying out a study on the costs of not having the EU constitution in place, announced in May by EU communication commissioner Margot Wallstrom.

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Ms Wallstrom told the European Parliament in May that she would act on a resolution by MEPs calling on the commission "to draw up a study of the costs incurred as a result of the fact the Constitutional Treaty will not enter into force as originally hoped."

Characterising this as an "an excellent idea," she said "let us see if we can do that together and subsequently describe our findings. We have a number of examples to describe to people the costs of non-Europe: energy policy and the fact that we do not have a foreign affairs minister."

The commission denied claims by German socialist MEP Jo Leinen that commission president Jose Manuel Barroso has ditched Ms Wallstrom's plan for the constitutional study.

"On the issue of blocking reports I am certainly not aware that the president would have blocked any initiative," said a commission spokeswoman.

Commission officials said the report "could be considered" as an option and that Mr Barroso has "a degree of openness" for the idea but they added it is unsure whether the report will see the light of day.

Wait and see

A "cost of no-constitution" report would run the risk of damaging Brussels' low-key approach to the constitutional issue which it has fostered since French and Dutch voters last year rejected the charter in referendums.

After the two "no" votes, the commission has been careful not to take sides in the debate between member states that want to revive the constitution and those that oppose this option.

But Brussels' wait-and-see approach is causing impatience among some MEPs who want to see the constitution adopted as soon as possible, with Mr Leinen on Tuesday releasing his own report titled "the costs of no-constitution."

Mr Leinen said "Barroso is of the opinion that the commission better not become active... and should stay out of the debate."

"That is wrong. The commission is the guardian of the EU treaties, and the constitution is a treaty to which 25 states have politically committed themselves."

The Leinen report lists a series of recent events where the EU could have acted more swiftly had the constitution been in place.

Efficiency or pride?

On the Lebanon crisis, the text says that "several weeks after the crisis had started, European [foreign ministers] were finally meeting in Brussels to develop a European initiative," arguing that with an EU foreign minister's post - as foreseen in the constitution - the bloc's response would have come quicker.

Referring to recent terrorist plots in Germany and the UK, the report says that "if the constitution was in force, decisions in the area of justice and home affairs would be taken more swiftly and efficiently."

Mr Leinen argues that with the constitution, the EU could have also responded better to illegal immigration and bushfires in the Mediterranean as well as to the insecurity of energy supplies from Russia and the Middle East.

But British eurosceptic MEP Nigel Farage reacted to the Leinen report by saying "Mr Leinen has been promising us a substantial document, what we have is so much hot air. The only cost that is apparent from the "no" votes in France and the Netherlands that he shows us clearly is to his own hurt pride."

"The people of Europe did not want to be told what to do, and his response is that of a school bully who has finally been faced down. All we have is one long whine of "It's not fair"."

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