By Bruno Waterfield - 9th May 2006
The European commission assesses the political situation and makes recommendations on the future of the EU constitution almost one year after referendum rejections.
European commission president José Manuel Barroso will on Wednesday conclude that the time is not right to revive the constitutional treaty after the French and Dutch delivered resound ‘no’ votes last May and June.
The commission will urge national capitals to declare an intention to seek agreement on institutional reform at some future point – probably in June 2007 with substantive proposals in 2008.
Timeline
EU leaders should use a June summit to secure a “Europe of results” on key areas of energy, economic growth and security.
New proposals to showing the EU’s caring side will build on an existing Globalisation Adjustment Fund theses will not be traditional welfare interventions but “new modern policy based on access and opportunity”.
Highlighting problems with “functioning capacity” in an EU of 25, set to become 27 next year, the Brussels executive will urge greater use of existing European treaty powers.
Existing European treaties allow key decision making areas to be transferred to the EU – if governments agree – and the commission senses that justice may be a breakthrough area.
Justice commissioner Franco Frattini will table a “political umbrella” of measures on June 28 and an assessment of the EU's progress under the 2004 Hague Programme – a raft of legislative initiatives based on a 1999 European treaty.
2007
Next year’s 50th anniversary of Europe’s founding 1957 Treaty of Rome, will be a convenient and auspicious moment to reassess the EU.
And other, more critical, aspects of Europe’s political calendar come into play: elections and likely changes of government in France and the Netherlands.
The anniversary will be a likely opportunity for Europe’s leaders to declare plans for a new EU institutional blueprint.
The original Treaty of Rome, the ill-fated constitution bears the same name after an October 2004 signing ceremony in the Italian capital, was signed on March 25 1957 but came into force on January 1 1958 allowing a rethink to run into the following year.
2008
Should the Brussels policy agenda stay on course and Europe’s political climate warm-up next year, 2008 will be the critical moment.
This year is already a rendez-vous for an EU rethink of financing, midway through 2007 to 2013 budgets, and there will be a big debate over “modern” European policy.
Bringing Europe’s institutional questions into sync with the budgets review is set to be the preferred time to deliver a revised treaty – a text that is unlikely to be called an EU constitution.
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