Series of the Research Institute for European Affairs, Vienna
Volume
13
by Gerda Falkner and Michael Nentwich
Service-Fachverlag, Vienna,
October 1995, ISBN 3-85428-346-6, ca. 160 pp.
This volume draws a
multi-faceted picture of the ongoing discussions with a view to the next
intergovernmental conference (IGC) which is due to start in 1996. The central
topic of the debates, as well as of this volume, are the institutional reforms
with a view to democratization of the Union, on the one hand, and the
perspective of further enlargement to the South and East, on the other. As an
introduction, Falkner and Nentwich analyse the status quo at the EU level and
the experiences with the new provisions of the Maastricht Treaty. In the main
part of the study, the major contributions published until summer 1995 with a
view to the IGC are presented. A systematic analysis of the contributions of
the EU institutions to the reflection group, but also of a series of other
prominent contributions and statements of European politicians follows. The
various arguments are presented and discussed. Each sub-section on one of the
key issues of 1996 is followed by a chapter from a specific Austrian
perspective.
The authors: At the time of writing, Dr. Gerda
Falkner was lecturer at the Institute for State and Political Science of the
University of Vienna; Dr. Michael Nentwich was lecturer at the Research
Institute for European Affairs of the University of Economics and Business
Administration in Vienna.
Contents:
I. Introduction
II. The
Status Quo of Democracy at the EU Level
A. The Development of Existing
Institutions and Procedures
B. Assessment of the Working of the Maastricht
Treaty's New Provisions
III. The Current Reform Debate
A. The Main
Proposals
1. Contributions by EU Institutions: Commission, EP
(Bourlanges/Martin Report), Council, ECJ and CFI, Regional Committee,
ECOSOC
2. Other Prominent Proposals: European Constitutional Group,
Europäische Strukturkommission (Weidenfeld et al.), Ludlow/Ersbøll
(CEPS), 'Charlemagne', 'Justus Lipsius', Federal Trust Round Table, Herman
Report
3. Prominent Political Contributions from Single Member States:
CDU/CSU Paper, Guéna Report, Speech by John Major
B. The Key
Issues
1. Structure of the Union: Should There Be a European Constitution?,
Flexibility Within Unity: Variations In European Integration?, Division of
Competencies Between EU and Member States, European Citizens and the
Union
2. Institutional Matters: Composition of the European Parliament,
Major EC Appointments (including Judges) by the EP, Number of Commissioners,
Presidency of the Council, Future of the Committee of the Regions, Relationship
Between the EU System and National Parliaments, Provisions Concerning the
Courts
3. Procedural Matters: Right of Initiative, Reform of Co-decision,
Voting in the Council, Secrecy in the Council and the Wider Issue of
Transparency, Implementation of European Law, Comitology and Hierarchy of
Legislative Acts
IV. Summary of Our Proposals
V. Prospects for
Democratic Reform of the European Union After 1996
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