Review article
TEN THESES ON THE FUTURE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Joachim Jens Hesse
; International Institute for Comparative Government and European Policy, Berlin, Germany
Abstract
The author analyses the direction that the European Union has taken after the Nice conference. In order to create an appropriate and transparent competency system for the European Union, the priority on today’s agenda are the models borrowed from the constitutions of different federal states. The first model is the socalled dual federalism that evolved in the United States. This model aspires to strictly separate the European competency and the member countries’ competency. The second option has been provided by the German Fundamental Law (Constitution). According to this model, the European Union would be accorded competences in line with the systematics of the exclusive, competitive and comprehensive legislation. The author is of the opinion that this would lead to a sort of formal transparency but would not completely prevent the overlapping of the competences of the Union, its member countries and other territorial units. A special focus is given to the transparency and efficacy of the reform process. Also, it is emphasized that a coherent coordination of the horizontal and vertical reform of the competency system is called for. Regarding democracy, the author thinks there is no need for a new model of democracy, but a systematic revision of the existing system of decision-making in the European Union. Besides, a genuine democratization would not set its sights solely on reforming institutional regulation, but also on strengthening the mediation bodies. This would improve the relations between the public and the parliaments of the nation-states and the federal units concerning European issues. This would go hand in hand with an expansion of European party organizations and a more efficient “Europeization” of central associations and institutions for interestpromotion. And finally, the author looks into the traditional boundaries between the private and the public. The public sector would take over from private economy some established procedures or would completely hand over certain tasks. This would require well-defined criteria. Also, an efficient control by parliaments and government bodies is necessary as a guarantee of innovation and cost-effectiveness and as a protection against abuse. This might help to turn Europe into a place of unity and cooperative behaviour.
Keywords
democratization; European Union; federalism; integrational process; system of competencies; constitution; transparency; efficiency
Hrčak ID:
23132
URI
Publication date:
26.1.2004.
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