By: Arian Sajovic
The European Union is moving away from the initial framework of economic union and, through reforms, is striving for increasingly pronounced political unification. An increasingly universal federalist regime is being built that would further unite EU countries in the areas of foreign policy, security, and defence. This would be achieved through the reform of electoral and contractual systems.
According to various media reports, the Brussels bureaucracy is currently preparing very intensively for several reforms that will reshape the European Union. The European Union, which was basically conceived as an organisation that will ensure peace, security, and coexistence on the old continent with the created international market, is slowly moving towards a federalist international political union.
In the coming period, the aim is to reform European legislation in various fields, as it would allow for a higher level of international cooperation but would jeopardise the sovereignty of individual Member States and their autonomous functioning within national borders.
In addition to all this, Brussels also has a strong desire for expansion. The latter would be achieved by enlarging the Union itself and accepting new Member States, as well as by increasing influence outside the region and by increasing international and even intercontinental cooperation.
New electoral system
The first area to be reformed seems to be the electoral system, which is likely to be implemented before the next European elections. These will take place in 2024, when we will elect Members of the European Parliament. The new electoral system, a step towards the federalisation of the European Union, will allow voters to choose from two ballots. The voter will decide or vote for two choices. The first will remain at national level and will elect its preferred candidate, while the second will decide on the candidates for the post of transnational representative of the pan-European parties in the Union Parliament, which means a gradual transition from voting for national political parties in European elections and handing over more power to transnational political parties.
And this is the main criticism of critics of the new reform, which sets a dangerous precedent for the gradual “denationalisation” of the European Union and the destruction of the autonomy and sovereignty of individual member states. The reform proposal has already been voted in favour of the European Parliament by 323 votes to 262 but it must still be approved unanimously by all Member States within the European Council, which consists of the Heads of State or Government.
Electoral threshold just for some?
MEP Gunnar Beck (AfD) also commented on the problem of the new reform: “The aim is to denationalise politics,” which also highlights the deteriorating situation of independent candidates, as the latter will have to face a three-and-a-half percent electoral threshold and gender quota. At least half of all MEPs will now have to be women. In addition to the new idea of the electoral threshold, Beck also pointed out the problem of lobbying. Given the fact that the electoral threshold can limit independent candidates or reduce their chances of success in elections, the reform also defined exceptions, according to which parties that did not reach the lower limit could join the parliament. Exceptions that paint a worrying picture at the moment, as according to these criteria, only one party in Europe would be included in parliament, namely the party of one of the main architects of this reform, Damian Boeselager. Boeselager as an MEP advocating pan-Europeanism and digitalisation as part of party politics, was accused by his parliamentary colleague Beck of creating a document that would serve his interests and the interests of their industry partners and lobbyists. Volt’s first MEP, a descendant of the wealthy European Boeselager family, is said to have used donations and acquaintances as a member of this influential family to persuade his political colleagues and create the ground for re-election, regardless of meeting universal standards.
Von der Leyen would revoke the consent
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is also very vocal in the field of reform changes in the European Union. She expressed the desire to reform the European contract system, which requires the consent of all Member States. She described the demand for the consent of all countries as a dysfunctional regulation that hinders democracy in its implementation. “We must go even further. For example, I have always argued that unanimity in some key areas no longer makes sense if we want to move faster. Europe should also play a greater role in health or defence,” the commission’s chairwoman wrote on Twitter. But her position was described by 13 member states as “reckless and premature”, as she believed that such a system would deprive individual countries of political power, for which consent is a safeguard, protecting them from full political domination of larger and stronger EU countries.
Macron and Schulz would also paint a “new Europe”
Re-elected French President Emmanuel Macron and new German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met in Berlin on the 77th anniversary of the end of World War II. Both Macron and Scholz have, of course, committed themselves to working more closely together and supporting the new reforms proposed in the desire for a restructured and enlarged European Union. Both expressed strong support for the EU’s enlargement process to the Western Balkans. The European Union is supposed to need to reform the functioning of its institutions if it is to successfully deal with current and future problems, which is why they have also called for a convention to reform the European Treaties. The mentality of the French and Germans is akin to that of von der Leyen, who is convinced that in the EU we should more often decide by majority and unanimity is not necessary. However, the Scholz government is also working to get the EU to pursue a common foreign and security policy, which has once again come to the fore with the war in Ukraine. Russian aggression has re-ignited a desire to speed up the accession of the Western Balkans, which in the current state of war is a critical geostrategic area if the conflict spreads beyond Ukraine’s borders. Both senior statesmen want to give these countries a European perspective and, in general, to offer new forms of political and economic cooperation to the countries in the European neighbourhood. “Our goal is a stronger and more sovereign Europe,” said President Macron.
13 EU Member States consider contractual reforms to be “reckless and premature”.
Finland renounces neutrality
In a joint statement, Finnish President Niinistö and Prime Minister Marin expressed the desire of the Scandinavian country, which has maintained a military neutral position since the war with the Soviet Union in 1939, to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). The public confirmed that the current situation in Ukraine in Finland has cast doubt on the country’s security through maintaining a neutral position. The Finns have long been convinced that EU membership will provide them with a sufficient level of security, but practically overnight the Finnish people changed their minds at the start of the war in Ukraine. Support for NATO membership jumped from a quarter to more than half (54 percent). Namely, the war presented Russian unpredictability and, according to the Finnish authorities, erased Finnish naivety that Russia would not attack anyone without being threatened.
Orbán warns of hunger
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán warned that the war in Ukraine could trigger a wave of food shortages and hunger around the world. As we have already written, the war restricts the production and export of food, especially grain, to the international market. “The embargo against Russia will exclude Russian grain from the world market, the war will exclude Ukrainian grain, there will be famine in many parts of the world where migrants have already come to Europe, and this pressure will increase,” Orbán added. According to Orban, this deficit, which could lead to famine in many less developed parts of the world and consequently burden the world with a new migrant crisis, is also confirmed by a UN statement. The head of the UN World Food Programme, David Beasley, said “hunger, destabilisation, and mass migration” are inevitable.
Fajon with arbitration over Croatia’s entry into Schengen
The most likely new foreign minister, Tanja Fajon, said last week that they would have to set clear and transparent rules in relations with Croatia and its imminent entry into the Schengen area, which would allow our southern neighbours to enter a borderless European society. Her Croatian counterpart Radman Grlić responded to her statement and remark that these rules include the implementation of arbitration: “Our entry into Schengen has nothing to do with the open border issue between the two countries, nor with the arbitration procedure.” He added that he was convinced that Croatia’s entry into Schengen was also in Slovenia’s interest and that, apart from the border issue, which is still a consequence of the disintegration of the previous state, we have excellent relations.