EU Commission throws down the gauntlet on reforming the bloc

The European Commission is proposing fewer commissioners and less unanimity to prepare the EU for 30 or more members. However, EU diplomats say capitals are unlikely to agree.

The European Commission has put forward far-reaching proposals, including cutting the number of commissioners and moving away from unanimity, testing member states’ appetite for internal reforms that stop short of treaty change.

The proposals are part of a broader package to make the EU’s structures and decision-making fit for a membership of 30 or more countries. They are bound to be controversial among European capitals.

“The main question has been: is the EU fit for another enlargement? And there is a clear yes, a future enlargement is possible. Our assessment shows that in most policy areas, the EU is already fit for enlargement,” Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos told reporters.

Unanimity

The Commission proposes identifying areas where so-called passerelle clauses could be activated, allowing the Council to move from unanimity to qualified majority. Activating those clauses, however, itself requires unanimity.

The idea of extending qualified majority voting is not new, particularly in foreign and security policy, where a veto can undermine the EU’s ability to project geopolitical weight abroad.

Last month, 11 countries including France and Germany circulated a joint letter calling for the bloc to explore curbing obstructive foreign policy vetoes on the basis of sincere cooperation, notably through greater use of constructive abstention.

Asked whether member states back the move, Kos acknowledged that positions differ widely among EU countries. “It will not be easy, but it is worth trying,” she said. A specific area she identified where less unanimity could be used is precisely during accession processes.

“Our proposal is to make our decision-making process more effective. We suggest using more QMV [qualified majority voting], which is nothing new. What is new is that we are suggesting that we will reduce the number of unanimity decisions in the accession process,” Kos said.

Unanimity is required to grant a country candidate status and to close negotiations. In between, however, the current methodology gives any member state a veto over 150 steps.

The Commission also wants to make more use of enhanced cooperation, which lets at least nine member states pursue deeper integration on matters of crucial or strategic interest where blockages persist.

The most recent examples are the Ukraine Support Loan, from which Hungary, Czechia and Slovakia opted out, and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Here too, Brussels may meet resistance from some capitals, notably the so-called “Friends of the Western Balkans”, a group that includes Italy and Austria. They have pushed back against differentiated membership and regulatory asymmetry.

Institutional changes

The Commission is also proposing to drop the principle that every EU country has a commissioner, which could prove problematic in a Union of 30 or more members.

Under the Lisbon Treaty, the Commission should have a number of members equal to two-thirds of the member states, chosen by “strictly equal rotation” that reflects the demographic and geographical range of all EU countries.

The system never took effect. In 2013, the European Council unanimously decided to keep one commissioner per member state, a concession to Ireland to secure a yes vote in its second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.

Ireland was merely the most vocal opponent of losing a permanent presence in the Commission. Small member states widely fear their voice would be harder to hear in Brussels.

Rotation could also be hard to swallow for large countries such as France and Germany, which might find themselves left out of the College of Commissioners while the likes of Malta or Luxembourg are included.

“There are some candidates who say, no worries, this country can represent us. Other countries who say, yes, but not at the beginning. We would like to see how it [the Commission] works,” Kos added.

The proposal for a leaner EU executive is well timed. The Commission is undergoing a so-called “large-scale review”, and capitals are in intense talks on the bloc’s next long-term budget, in which the EU administration is likely to face deep cuts.

Sceptical reception

Proposals that mainly affect candidate countries, such as safeguards against democratic backsliding and gradual integration, are likely to meet less resistance.

However, supporters of the reforms point out that, as candidates edge closer to joining the bloc, the question of how to keep an enlarged Union effective will be harder to dismiss.

Still, the suggestion is sure to raise eyebrows among European governments. Four EU diplomats who spoke to Euronews on condition of anonymity said these internal reforms are unlikely to fly.

The first test will come next week, when the enlargement reforms will land on the table of the EU leaders gathered for the European Council on 15-16 October.

“Some things are drafted to be killed,” an EU diplomat said.

Source: www.euronews.com