European Commission President Juncker calls for EU reform

Presenting his annual State of the European Union speech to the European Parliament on 13 September, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker set out extensive ideas for Union reform while briefly regretting Brexit as “a very sad and tragic moment”.

Urging his audience to “throw off the bowlines, sail away from the harbour and catch the trade winds in our sails” some ideas seem headed for choppy waters or even a watery grave – for example, that the posts of President of the Council and the Commission should be held by a single individual.

Also controversial could be his call to transform the European Stabilisation Mechanism into a European Monetary Fund and nominate a European Minister of Economy and Finance to coordinate deployment of all EU financial instruments in crisis-hit member states. The minister should be the Union’s commissioner for economic and financial affairs, ideally also a vice-president, chair the Eurogroup and be accountable to the European Parliament. A fully-fledged European Defence Union by 2025 was another challenging proposal.

“We now have a window of opportunity but it will not stay open forever. Now is the time to build a more united, stronger and more democratic Europe for 2025. I call on President Tusk and Romania (EU president in the first half of 2019) to organise a Special Summit on 30 March 2019 (as) the moment we come together to take the decisions needed for a more united, stronger and democratic Europe.”

Greater freedom, equality and the rule of law must be the Union’s bedrock, Mr Juncker urged. “New treaties and new institutions are not the answer people are looking for. We must first change the mindset that for some to win, others must lose.”

A more united Union required a greater search for compromise and inclusiveness. National parliaments and civil society at national, regional and local level should be involved more in the work on the future of Europe, while a new Code of Conduct for Commissioners had been laid before the European Parliament. A Commission Subsidiarity and Proportionality Task Force were set up while new rules on the financing of political parties and foundations would be issued.

Euro membership for all member states, (all but two), required to join it should be promoted and thus a Euro-accession instrument offering technical and even financial assistance to non-Euro member states would be created.

All member states should also join the Banking Union – its completion a matter of urgency. Social fragmentation and dumping should be eliminated by adopting the proposed European Pillar of Social Rights. Work should start to set up a European Social Standards Union.

In an upbeat initial assessment of current trends Mr Juncker noted that “we are now in the fifth year of an economic recovery that finally reaches every single member state. Growth in the European Union has outstripped that of the United States over the last two years. Unemployment is at a nine-year low. Almost 8 million jobs have been created during this mandate so far. With 235 million people at work, more people are in employment in the EU than ever before.”

“We can take credit for our European Investment Plan which has triggered €225bn worth of investment so far. It has granted loans to over 445,000 small firms and more than 270 infrastructure projects. European banks once again have the capital firepower to lend to companies so that they can grow and create jobs and public deficits are down from 6.6% to 1.6%, thanks to an intelligent application of the Stability and Growth Pact.”

Mr Juncker announced five leading priorities for the year ahead.

“First: To strengthen our European trade agenda. We have just secured a trade agreement with Canada that will provisionally apply as of next week. We have a political agreement with Japan on a new economic partnership. By the end of the year, we have a good chance of doing the same with Mexico and South American countries. And today, we are proposing to open trade negotiations with Australia and New Zealand. I want all of these agreements to be finalised by the end of this mandate. From now on, the Commission will publish in full all draft negotiating mandates we propose to the Council. Citizens have the right to know what the Commission is proposing.”

“We are also proposing a new EU framework for investment screening. If a foreign, state-owned, company wants to purchase a European harbour, part of our energy infrastructure or a defence technology firm, this should only happen in transparency, with scrutiny and debate.”

“Second: The new Industrial Policy Strategy will help our industries stay or become the world leader in innovation, digitisation and decarbonisation. Instead of looking for loopholes, the car industry should be investing in the clean cars of the future.”

“Third: Europe to be the leader in the fight against climate change. Set against the collapse of ambition in the United States, Europe will ensure to make our planet great again. The Commission will shortly present proposals to reduce the carbon emissions of our transport sector.”

“Fourth: Cyber-attacks. Last year alone there were more than 4,000 ransomware attacks per day and 80% of European companies experienced at least one cyber-security incident. The Commission is proposing new tools, including a European Cyber security agency, to help defend us against such attacks.”

“Fifth: Migration. We are now protecting Europe's external borders more effectively. Over 1,700 officers from the new European Border and Coast Guard are now helping member states' 100,000 national border guards patrol in places like Greece, Italy, Bulgaria and Spain. Last year member states resettled or granted asylum to over 720,000 refugees – three times as much as the United States, Canada and Australia combined. We have reduced irregular arrivals in the Eastern Mediterranean by 97% thanks to our agreement with Turkey. And this summer, we managed to get more control over the Central Mediterranean route with arrivals in August down by 81% compared to the same month last year. We must also urgently improve migrants' living conditions in Libya.

“Before the end of the month, the Commission will present a new set of proposals with an emphasis on returns, solidarity with Africa and opening legal pathways. We must also show solidarity with Africa, a noble and young continent, the cradle of humanity. Our €2.7bn EU-Africa Trust Fund is creating employment opportunities across the continent. The EU budget fronted the bulk of the money, but all our member states combined have still only contributed €150m. I call on all member states to now match their actions with their words. At the same time, legal migration is a necessity for Europe as an ageing continent.”