Külügyi Szemle - A Teleki László Intézet Külpolitikai Tanulmányok Központja folyóirata - 2003 (2. évfolyam)
2003 / 2. szám - EURÓPA - Claus Juul Nielsen: Together in One Europe
Claus ]uul Nielsen • The idea of appointing or electing a president of the Council of Ministers for a period of two and a half or five years instead of the head of state or government, which under the present system holds the presidency for half a year. • The idea of the president of the commission to be appointed by the members of the European Parliament. • The idea of the decisions about foreign policy to be taken with qualified majority. • The idea of a new constitutional treaty comprising and reorganizing all the elements of the existing five treaties and combining them with the "Charter of fundamental rights". So far both Denmark and Hungary has kept a rather low profile in the Convention, because they allocated the resources to the negotiations about enlargement. However, it seems that both countries are about to elaborate and strengthen the positions to all the questions at present discussed in the Convention. Allow me to highlight some key elements of special importance to us. A new Treaty should contain a clear definition of the fundamental principles of the division of labour in the EU. The EU must only concern itself with what has expressly been made the responsibility of the EU. It is the nation states that constitute the point of departure for cooperation. In this context, the new Treaty should expressly state that the EU respects the national identity of the Member States, covering areas such as political and constitutional structure, linguistic identity, national citizenship, the church and national defence. The Treaty must clearly describe the role played by the EU in various areas. This implies that it must contain a clear definition of the three types of competence we work with: areas where the EU has full responsibility, areas where the EU and the nation states share competence, and areas where the EU can only supplement the legislation of Member States. We should strengthen the role of national parliaments. Stronger anchorage of the Union in national parliaments is important in light of the enlargement. The EU is being enlarged, but the EU must not place itself at a distance form the individual citizen. In parallel with this new, strengthened role for national parliaments, national parliaments should develop the contacts they already have within the so-called COSAC. A clear and simple decision-making procedure is needed. In the nature of things, the larger the number of Member States, the greater the need will be for taking as many decisions as possible by qualified majority. In that connection, the area of taxation should not be a taboo. I am not talking about full transition to qualified majority, but about a transition in selected parts of the tax area. Let me now turn to the institutions. On the one side Denmark has a clear interest in a strong Commission. On the other side we must keep the balance between big and small Member States and among the institutions. Our point of departure should therefore be to welcome a strengthening of the 74 Külügyi Szemle
