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My Thoughts on the Lisbon Treaty

Selected parts from an interview with Roman Huber, Managing Director of Mehr Demokratie e.V., for Science Garden.

Question: Advocates of "Lisbon" stress that democracy and transparency are clearly strengthened by the "Reform treaty".

Roman Huber: This is not the reality. Fundamental causes of the democracy deficit remain unaffected in the Lisbon Treaty. For the parliament, most legitimate organ of the EU, the right of initiative will be kept away. Therefore the policy forming function of the Parliament is strongly limited. Also the second central parliamentary right - budgetary law- is curbed, the military budget has been withdrawn from the inspection of the parliament.

Question: Nevertheless, the EU parliament can appoint the "EU government", the EU Commission.

Roman Huber: Yes, just like today. The parliament however cannot suggest individual candidates but can only vote from candidates originally proposed to it by the European Council. The parliament itself does not have influence on the composition of the European Commission. "Lisbon" therefore does not break the dominance of the insufficient democratic legitimacy of the executive organs of the EU.

Question: You mention also the loss of power of the citizens (…) If "Lisbon" brings such dramatic and democracy-adverse changes, why has there never been a public debate on the principle?

Roman Huber: One can look at this as being absolutely politically deliberate. European integration has always been a project of the political elites in which the participation of the citizens was not intended except in a marginal from. One can speak about some kind of a European unwillingness; citizens no longer have the feeling that they are able to actually change anything. The treaty texts are often unfathomable and the decision-making process at the EU level is hardly more comprehensible for them. (…) A Forsa poll carried out for us shows that, in Germany, citizens want to take charge of the preparation of a constitutional treaty by themselves. Only 9 per cent of those questioned are of the opinion that heads of state and governments should be entrusted with the task of preparing a constitution for Europe. National parliaments and the European Parliament with 15 or 20 per cent received more authorization. However, with an overwhelming 43 per cent of answers, the interviewees entrusted a Constitutional Convent selected specially for this task by the EU citizens. (…)

Question: And this would also be your suggestion?

Roman Huber: The appeal of a constitutional convent by the citizens would be the first step. Its Draft Agreement would have to be ratified by referenda in the member states. The EU needs a more federal structure with clear competence limits. Decisions should be made at the level where they have an effect. This is real subsidiarity which needs now to be strengthened. (…) Apart from a huge strengthening of the European Parliament through the right of initiative and the full budget rights; the creation of a second state-chamber might be meaningful if it would represent the interests of the member states. This chamber would then replace the Council of Ministers. To break the dominance of national executive power at the European level the representatives in this chamber would not come from the governments of the member states, but rather, from national parliaments. As in the case of the parliament the state-chamber would also have the right of initiative, thus both would be responsible for the legislation. In addition, this state-chamber could take over the task of guarding the principle of subsidiarity.

Only a democratic Europe can succeed. An Undemocratic, authority-steered Europe gambles with the inheritance on which it was established - and sooner or later - the support of its citizens. Democratic Europe on the contrary has earned it and will also win it.

Source: Joachim Jachnow: Ein obrigkeitsgesteuertes Europa verspielt sein Erbe. Interview with RH for Science Garden, 1 Oct 2008. [document online] Accessible from: http://sciencegarden.de/content/2008-10/ein-obrigkeitsgesteuertes-europa-verspielt-sein-erbe (latest revision 10 Nov 2008)

Translation: Jana Knechtlová, ERC