European Parliament wants to change basic EU treaty and limit country veto | Abroad

The proposal for treaty change is now being sent to member states with a request to convene a special meeting to debate the change to the treaties. It is then possible that one of the EU countries will immediately use its veto to throw the entire plan off the table.

The European Parliament drafted the text in response to the Conference on the Future of Europe, an initiative in which citizens could formulate recommendations on the next steps in the European project for a year. “This is the first time that a report on a revision of the treaties has received a majority,” German Christian Democrat Sven Simon cheered afterwards.

However, the vote was close. As among the Member States, there are major divisions within the hemisphere about the need for deep reforms. Ultimately, the text was approved by 305 votes against 274, with 29 abstentions. The accompanying resolution was adopted by 291 votes to 274, with 44 abstentions.

After the vote in the European Parliament, MEPs cited, among other things, “the constant blackmail of Viktor Orbán” as a reason for wanting to seek treaty change. The Hungarian Prime Minister is now using his European veto against, among other things, support for Ukraine, but he has already done this on other files, or threatens to do so in exchange for favors for Hungary. A new basic treaty should make it easier for the EU to negotiate with new EU countries, without every Member State having to give its approval for every small step in that process.

“We reverse the logic: there would no longer be a unanimity requirement, except for exceptions such as the accession of new member states and taxation. It is a small revolution, but it is the responsibility of the Council (the institution in which the member states sit, ed.) to explain how the EU can function with 37 member states,” said co-rapporteur Guy Verhofstadt (Open Vld/ Renew) to the new expansion momentum that arose after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Another idea is to strengthen the position of the European Parliament. The proponents ask, among other things, for a full right of initiative and a stronger role for parliament in establishing the multi-year budget and in the appointment of a new president of the European Commission. According to them, the Commission should also become smaller, with fewer Commissioners than Member States. The parliamentarians also argue for a strengthened bicameral system and fewer blockages in the Council, by taking more decisions by qualified majority and through the ordinary legislative procedure.

Verhofstadt is satisfied that the Spanish Presidency of the Council has assured that it will quickly forward the proposals to the European Council. It is this institution, which comprises the Heads of State or Government of the Member States, which decides whether or not to convene a Convention on a revision of the treaties.

However, a treaty change is very difficult. In 2005, it was the Netherlands, together with France, that rejected the idea of ​​a European Treaty for a European Constitution in a European referendum. National parliaments are reluctant to give up part of their autonomy in favor of more power for Brussels.

The current basic treaty of the European Union, the Treaty of Lisbon, came into force in 2009 and was concluded in 2007. Several MEPs pointed out in the debate that a lot has changed in Europe after 2007. There was a financial crisis, the threat from Russia increased, a global pandemic arrived and the United Kingdom left the EU. These are all problems that have exposed the union’s lack of decisiveness.