12 September 2024
Democratizing Draghi
The Draghi Report is now published, outlining the “existential challenge” of European competitiveness going forward. In view of the geopolitical developments of the last several years, the scale of the challenge is difficult to deny, and the need for collective action at the EU level is commensurately intense. Despite these “compelling” reasons and the hoped-for “strength to reform”, however, the Report is hesitant on one crucial point: the EU is apparently not strong enough to undertake Treaty change to fulfil the Report’s ambitious objectives. We believe this approach is legally dubious, politically unwise and, eventually, helps constructing a diffused governance architecture that will fail to tackle the very real challenges the continent indeed faces. Continue reading >>
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23 April 2024
A Proposal Towards a European Defence Union
In the context of profound (geo-)political changes, and following the Conference on the Future of Europe, the European Parliament (EP) adopted proposals for a Treaty reform for the area of defence. This blog post analyses the proposed formation of the European Defence Union (EDU) and the introduction of qualified majority voting (QMV) while concluding that the new framework would likely create contradictory outcomes and undesirably challenge the current constitutional balance. Continue reading >>
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29 January 2024
A Way Forward?
While included in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (CFR), academic and scientific freedom were for years hardly a focus for the EU. This no longer holds true. On 29 November 2023, the European Parliament invited stakeholders to discuss the state of academic freedom in Europe (STOA conference), including the role of the EU in its legal protection. The conference intertwines with two important developments, both driven by the EP. First, on 22 November 2023, the EP adopted its proposals for the amendment of the Treaties, with some relevant for academic freedom protection. Earlier this month, on 17 January 2024, the EP approved the Report calling on the Commission to initiate a legislative proposal on the promotion of the freedom of scientific research in the EU and providing recommendations on its content. In this blog post, we briefly discuss these two EP calls aimed at enhanced protection of academic and scientific freedom to assess to what extent they address the concerns raised by various stakeholders. Continue reading >>
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22 September 2023
A Leap Towards Federalisation?
On September 13th, co-rapporteurs Guy Verhofstadt (Renew, BE), Sven Simon (EPP, DE), Gabriele Bischoff (S&D, DE), Daniel Freund (Greens/EFA, DE) and Helmut Scholz (The Left, DE) presented in the Committee on Constitutional Affairs of the European Parliament (AFCO) a wide and ambitious project of Treaty change. This short contribution will highlight and evaluate the most important proposals of AFCO's project and argue that, if adopted, the reform would further the Union’s federalisation, thus potentially changing its legal nature. Continue reading >>16 May 2023
The National Case for Reforming the EU Treaties
Four arguments of either explicit or implicit importance in encouraging states to engage in Treaty reform in this ‘reform period’ are of decisive importance again now. Many of these arguments have already found their way into political discourse (for example into the cautious opening of the German government to Treaty reform) while others have not. The key to making the national case for Treaty reform may therefore lie in demonstrating to the Member States that these factors make opening-up the Treaties in their national interest. Continue reading >>
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21 June 2022
Experimenting with European Democracy
The Conference on the Future of Europe came to an end on 9 May, with the presentation of a final report of 49 recommendations and 329 specific measures to the presidents of the three EU institutions. While it is unclear what the exact follow-up to the Conference will be, the upcoming Council Summit on 23-24 June will show whether a simple majority of Member States is open to starting the process for a Treaty change. Continue reading >>
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20 October 2020
Reinventing the European Union through Article 50?
Lech Wałęsa helped bringing down the Iron Curtain – now he takes his revolutionary spirit to the EU. His radical approach of institutional reform through abandonment of the current treaties deserves serious consideration. Continue reading >>06 November 2017
The Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance: should it be incorporated in EU law?
The five-year deadline of the TSCG, the so-called ,Fiscal Compact' from the days of the Euro crisis, will expire soon. Should the TSCG be incorporated into the EU law? Diane Fromage presents the argument for, Bruno de Witte those against such a step. Continue reading >>27 September 2017
Der europäische Sisyphos: ein Kommentar zur Europa-Rede Emmanuel Macrons in der Sorbonne
Ob eine Rede von historischer Tragweite ist, lässt sich meist erst Jahre später im Rückblick und in Kenntnis des weiteren Verlaufs der Dinge bemessen. Das dürfte auch für die Grundsatzrede zur Zukunft der europäischen Integration gelten („Initiative pour l’Europe“), die zwei Tage nach der Wahl zum 19. Deutschen Bundestag der französische Staatspräsident Emmanuel Macron an der Sorbonne gehalten hat. Daher werde ich die Rede vorläufig und vorsichtshalber lediglich als bemerkenswert bezeichnen. Continue reading >>12 February 2016
On the new Legal Settlement of the UK with the EU
In this brief comment I discuss some of the legal questions that arise out of the proposals for a new settlement between the UK and the EU.[1] As I will show, the precise nature of the draft agreement is unclear. This legal instrument raises difficult issues of both EU and public international law and could potentially cause serious uncertainty or even a constitutional crisis. Press reports have missed this legal complexity. Ministerial statements have been silent about it. Continue reading >>
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