Suspend the IGC to consult the EU citizens
1st March 2004


There is much to be said for concluding the negotiations on the Constitutional Treaty as soon as possible, as it has been fiercely advocated by the European Parliament and by now also appears to be the general inclination among the governments involved in the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC). The draft Constitutional Treaty features a wide range of reforms that few can reasonably oppose and that may well be of major importance to ensure the continued functioning of the enlarged European Union.

Surely, no government wants to lose everything that has been agreed so far only because there is no agreement on the definition of qualified majority voting in the Council. Nevertheless, it is worth observing that few governments seemed really upset when, last December, the negotiations were cut short rather than brought to a conclusion. The prevailing sentiment rather seemed to be one of relief.

This is explained by the fact that each government has had to make certain painful concessions in the Constitutional Treaty. For different governments the pain is in different places. For some integration goes too fast, for others too slow. Some have problems with the proposals on economic policy and others with those in defence or criminal law cooperation. Even if from an EU perspective these seem to be acceptable compromises, they often remain hard to defend to national constituencies, especially for those governments who expect to have a popular referendum over the Constitutional Treaty.

Those pressing for a quick resolution of the negotiations on the Constitutional Treaty are susceptible to two misconceptions. First, it is a mistake to think that the negotiations only hinge on finding a formula for the future definition of qualified majority voting in the Council. In fact, the argument over the definition of qualified majority voting is in many respects only a symptom concealing a much wider range of anxieties.

The second misconception is the belief that the present disagreements can be adequately addressed by coming up with the appropriate compromises at the European level, whereas in fact the problems with the Constitutional Treaty are domestic.

Of course, the governments can simply press ahead. Sooner or later, with a sufficient dose of political manoeuvring and half-hearted compromises, all governments can probably be persuaded to sign up to the Constitutional Treaty.

But then the latent differences are bound to recur with a vengeance in the ratification process. As it looks, the Constitutional Treaty will be subject to a popular referendum in more than half of the 25 member states. Given the present atmosphere, it is quite likely that one or more of these will not deliver a positive outcome right away. This will require the cajoling we already witnessed following the Danish rejection of the Maastricht Treaty and the Irish ‘no’ to the Treaty of Nice: some concessions will be made (preferably symbolic ones) and then, with a major public relations effort, the citizens will be given a second chance.

All this is bound only to reinforce the downward trend of popular appreciation of the EU, rather than marking the glorious reception of the EU Constitutional Treaty and its high ambitions in terms of EU democracy, transparency and effectiveness.

The real problem is that – notwithstanding the sympathetic commitments expressed around the European Convention – two years of Constitutional debate in Brussels have failed to engage the EU citizens so far. What is more, by the time that they may get a real say in the ratification procedure, they face the rather unfair choice of “take it or be ready to stand accused by the whole EU”.

Therefore the present deadlock in the IGC should be taken as an opportunity to stand back a bit and to first earnestly launch those much-needed popular debates. The forthcoming EP elections in June this year provide a further opportunity. Indeed, proceeding with the EU Constitutional negotiations while completely ignoring the EP elections will only reinforce the elections’ image of a charade.

The present Irish EU Presidency has made “communicating Europe” one of its central themes. If it wants to be true to this theme, then it should propose the spring European Council to suspend the IGC, so as to allow for consultations of the national citizenry.

To ensure that the suspension will indeed enable the governments to return to the Constitutional Treaty in due course, this decision needs to be accompanied by two agreements. First, the presidency needs to present a full consolidation of the agreements on the future of the Constitutional Treaty secured thus far by the European Convention and the IGC, including a clear identification of the issues outstanding still. Secondly, all governments must sign up to a declaration in which they commit themselves to the conclusion of the Constitutional Treaty in due course and a clear timetable to that effect.

Basically, one could expect the national debates to concentrate around the EP elections, including the possibility for governments to hold consultative referendums on the Constitutional process. The IGC can then be resumed next autumn with reports from the national debates. On the basis of these reports an inventory can be made of the issues still to be debated and to be resolved in the course of 2005.

As the suspension of the IGC will allow the governments to unfreeze their positions, there is of course the risk that the public debates will drive them even further apart rather than allowing them to come together. There are no guarantees to prevent this from happening. However, the declaration of the European Council should commit all governments to the absolute need of concluding the Constitutional Treaty, to the recognition that concessions will have to be made on all sides and to the constructive engagement in the national debates.

Surely, this is a risky road to take, open to abuse and relying very much on the good faith of the governments and the peoples. It does however face the present challenges head-on. The EU political elite will have to make an effort to re-align itself with the citizens. In the long run, doggedly pressing ahead along the present course while ignoring the underlying problems is bound to be the more risky and costly strategy.

This commentary was first published in the European Voice