By Martin Banks - 5th September 2011
The new treaty must be allowed to enter into force before all 27 member states have completed their ratification processes
Andrew Duff
Senior British MEP Andrew Duff says the EU must take a "decisive step" towards a federal economic government, with common fiscal policies and a larger budget, if it is to save the single currency.
The ALDE member says that saving the euro is a "precondition" for the economic recovery of all Europe.
But Duff, a constitutional expert, concedes that a "major" revision of the EU treaties "can no longer be avoided".
These are the main messages of a hard-hitting new pamphlet written by Duff and published on Monday by the Federal Trust.
In the pamphlet, "Federal Union Now", Duff defines what he means by a federal Europe and points out the steps needed to transform the Lisbon treaty into a more durable constitutional settlement for the EU.
He writes that EU states which choose not to accept political union will have to be offered a new form of associate membership.
"At any rate, the new treaty, which will be prepared by a democratic convention, must be allowed to enter into force before all 27 member states have completed their ratification processes," says Duff.
Duff draws a distinction between the tight coordination of national economic policies around a German agenda and that of a genuine fiscal union run by a democratic federal economic government.
He strongly opposes the practice of intergovernmental cooperation outside the EU treaty framework, which has always failed in the past.
The new form of EU federal government will require the creation of an EU treasury and the integration of the presidencies of the commission and European council, he suggests.
He also repeats his demand for some MEPs to be elected on a pan-European constituency which, says Duff, will increase parliament's political legitimacy.
A veteran of the EU's two earlier constitutional conventions, Duff argues that comprehensive democratic reform will only be achieved through a third convention composed of ministers, MPs and MEPs.
In a major departure from the status quo, Duff wants the new treaty to enter into force as soon as it has achieved national ratification by only four-fifths of the states.
In a stark warning, Duff says that the recent EU Act of the UK parliament, which installs British referendums on all EU treaty amendment, has imposed an effective unilateral veto on Europe's evolution towards a federal union.
