Europe: More Centralisation, More Flexibility

Recently, the Spinelli Group – a group of federalist MEPs – published a text on a new ‘Fundamental Law’ for the EU. In a recent blog, MEPs Guy Verhofstadt and Andrew Duff called for a more federal Europe, with the Commission acting as a full democratic government and the European Court of Justice taking on the responsibilities of a supreme court. All in all, I am happy to note that next to loud screams of euroscepticism all over the EU, there are also some who ask for ‘more Europe’.

But what exactly do they mean by ‘more Europe’? Will transferring all powers to the Commission solve the crisis? Will making the EU into a ‘United States of Europe’ suddenly eradicate all the problems Europe is facing today? Of course it won’t. Governments make mistakes, whether it is a federal European Commission or a national administration. It’s as simple as that. But, providing the Union with a constitution, a reliable supreme court and a democratically accountable government will help. It will particularly help in one very specific way: allowing more flexibility. Flexibility is essential in a federal system, as it allows for an efficient division of labour between the federal and national level.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIP62OT0MAU

It sounds weird though, ‘centralisation will help flexibility’. But it’s quite straightforward. Flexibility only works if it is well organised and governments do what they are supposed to do. The current crisis is a good example of flexible screw-up with member states blatantly bending agreed rules for their own benefit. At the time the Commission was unable to do anything about it, and that’s where the need for more centralisation comes in. You need power if you want to make Berlin listen to Brussels, and right now Brussels is short on that.

Only by increasing the democratic legitimacy of the EU by providing it with a proper bicameral system, can a government and supreme court deal with non-complying member states and thus create a thriving federal system that is flexible where it needs to be. Unfortunately, Duff and Verhofstadt do not exactly represent the majority of the population – and you just can’t make the EU more democratic through un-democratic means.