Which policies for
the European Union ?
Towards a "European economic government"
Today the
Member States that adopted the euro independently manage
their economic policies (budgetary and fiscal). They
also have to co-ordinate with the other Member States
and ensure the respect of the rules of the stability
pact. If these criteria are not respected, the Council
of Ministers may impose financial sanctions on those
Member States.
The
Constitution will only add a few modifications to this
point. The changes, however few in number, are important
and establish the idea of a "European economic
government.” More specifically, the States, which have
adopted the euro, aim towards close co-ordination of
their economic policies. These modifications mainly
consist of:
- the
official acknowledgement of the Eurogroup, hitherto
informal meeting of Economy and Finance Ministers of the
Member States in the Euro Zone
- the
adoption of major guidelines in terms of economic policy
(GOPE) specifically involving Member States in the Euro
Zone
- the
opportunity for the same States to put forward a
recommendation to the Council of Ministers when they
examine the candidature of a Member State that wants to
adopt the euro; if a recommendation like this is not put
forward, the Council will not be able to continue the
candidature examination procedure. This part of the
Constitution was accepted on France's request.
The
Stability and Growth Pact
The
Constitution confirms the role as guardian of the
Commission's treaties in terms of monitoring public
deficit within the context of the stability and growth
pact. It is granted the power to address warnings to a
Member State whose deficit is excessive.
In addition,
it is now planned that the Council of Ministers adopt
the sanction procedure based on a proposal by the
Commission (and no longer by a simple recommendation as
it stands presently). This means that the Council of
Ministers will be able to oppose a Commission initiative
with a unanimous decision by its members. These measures
will result in a re-balancing of power as far as
monitoring the States’ respect of the stability pact.
The European
Budget
with the European Constitution the
European Parliament has equal governing power as the
concil of ministers concerning the budget.
The decisions made in the budgetary
domain will be the results of negotiations in which the
States’ influence will be decisive. Finally, the rule
of unanimity will continue to be applicable in defining
the pluri-annual budget. This means that each Member
State will continue to have the right to veto the
establishment of its contribution regarding the
financing and adoption of the European Union's budget. We should note that a "clause passerelle" enables a move
from a unanimity rule to one of the majority, thereby
introducing more flexibility in the definition of the
European budget.
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