Europe's leaders jostle on reform

EC's Prodi: latest to join the fray

By Robin Oakley, CNN European Political Editor

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Suddenly everybody who is anybody in Europe seems to be coming forward with their ideas about how the European Union should be reformed and run.

But they run the risk of boring the pants off their electorates as they do so.

Latest into the field is Romano Prodi, the President of the European Commission who, surprise, surprise, wants more powers for his Commission.

Prodi has called for a Europe-wide tax to fund the EU instead of the rickety structure of VAT receipts and national top-ups used at present.

He also wants the commission to run Europe's economic policy and to take over foreign policy too, with Javier Solana, the EU's foreign affairs chief, being taken under the Commission umbrella.

Prodi's bid follows the calls from Lionel Jospin, the socialist French Prime Minister, for the harmonisation of business taxation across the EU, and for a European constitution, a European public prosecutor, and a Europe-wide package of social protection for workers.

Jospin also called for the 12 country Euro-zone group to provide an "economic government" for Europe.

Earlier Belgium's prime minister Guy Verhofstadt, who will take the next six-month turn in the EU's revolving presidency, had signalled his backing for closer EU integration and for a Europe-wide tax system.

The public musings from the leading figures follow earlier contributions from German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's SDP party in Germany, which is calling for a vamped up commission, tax harmonisation and the transformation of the Council of Ministers of the EU nations into a second chamber of the European Parliament.

The only thing that is certain about all these public wish lists is that most of the suggestions will never come to fruition. So why are they all doing it?

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One reason is that the comparative failure of the fractious Nice summit in December at which the 15 nations tried to agree on reforms of the EU constitution to prepare it for the admission of another dozen countries over the next decade.

There was only limited progress on reforming the commission membership and redefining the issues on which qualified majority voting would replace the national veto system.

But at German prompting it was agreed that there would be another inter-governmental conference to agree further reforms in 2004. What we are seeing now is the shadow boxing early rounds warming up for that.

Secondly, the EU leaders are aware of great public disquiet within their countries about the EU institutions.

People do not feel engaged with them as they do with their national parliaments. The leaders are seeking to find ways of answering complaints about the so-called "democratic deficit" in Europe.

Thirdly, there are tensions between the 12 EU members who are part of Euroland and the three who have not signed up to the single currency -- the United Kingdom, Sweden and Denmark about how the key decisions on economic policy should be made.

Finally there is the macho politics aspect of it all. If the other leaders are speaking out, then you need to show you have something to say too about the future of the EU.

Jospin, for example, had been under pressure to outline his ideas since Jacques Chirac, whom he will challenge for the French presidency next year, had produced his ideas for a "pioneer group" in Europe last year.

There is little sign of agreement.

Indeed the difference between the deeper federalist ideas coming out of Germany and Jospin's insistence that Europe's future is as an association of nation states is demonstrating once again the friction between the two countries who used to provide Europe's integrationist motor.

Most contributors too are playing to their own interests. The commission wants more centralisation but is fighting a losing battle. The Nice summit showed no taste for that among the nation states.

Nor did the discussions in Nice offer any encouragement to agreement on plans for tax harmonisation across Europe.

These are strongly opposed both by the UK and by the Nordic countries and the UK last year fought off plans for an EU savings tax.

Smaller countries like Belgium are prepared to play along with the commission, whom they look to for protection against the bigger states.

Some common threads are emerging. Most of the participants in the wish list debate so far have produced ideas for reforming the European Parliament with a second chamber, although they disagree violently about what form that second chamber should take.

Several of the constitution-mongers have too insisted that the EU needs to sort out definitely what should be done by EU institutions and what should be done at national level.

Most want a new European constitution, although Britain's Tony Blair is opposed to that, preferring just a "statement of principles."

Nothing will happen quickly. All this is working towards 2004.

And the odds are that if Europe's leaders spend another three years wrangling about constitutional details at the expense of showing concern with jobs, transport infrastructures and keeping the EU competititve with the rest of the world they will produce nothing more than another gigantic yawn from their electorates..