There is a danger if the objectives of federalist activists are not publicised. Their ideas are public flags, no doubt agreed with that sympathetic wing of the Commission, to see if their institutional support in Brussels will break the stasis gripping the European Council. A grave precedent is the willingness of federalists to abandon the Constitutional text and extract those structures which could provide a suitable 'solution' to deadlock and economic crisis. This effort has been launched by Euro-MPs, giving their reforms a self-styled veneer of democratic legitimacy:
Initial treaty
Under these ideas, there would be an initial
treaty next year containing all points of the constitution that are not
considered disputed.
UK liberal MEP Andrew Duff, one of the report's
authors, told the EUobserver, that it could contain articles dealing with the
institutions and the decision-making process - he suggested these are areas
where there is broad consensus.
This initial treaty could then be agreed
by the European and 25 national parliaments.
If this report is completed by the end of the year, Duff is calling for the initial treaty to be agreed by a European wide vote in 2009.
EU-wide referendum in 2009
The convention method was used to
draw up the now-rejected EU constitution - and the precise issues highlighted by
Mr Duff were among the ones that were most contested in the 16-month
process.
The two MEPs envision that this definitive treaty, which has
taken into account the concerns expressed by French and Dutch voters, would be
ratified by popular vote across the EU on the same day as the European election
in 2009.
Why does one anticipate that ratification would be agreed, by treaty, at an EU-wide rather than at a national level, outflanking problematic national vetoes? We can expect to see more piecemeal efforts, cannibalising the Constitution to advance the federalist cause. For now, the European Parliament has opted for the archbishop's hat, and strikes a pose as kingmaker to dispel rumours of utter irrelevancy and stinking corruption.