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Cini: European Union Politics 2e

Chapter 27

A 'Plan D' for Europe

In the aftermath of the French and Dutch rejection of the Constitutional Treaty, the European Council decided to pause the ratification process for 'a period of reflection' in order to enable a broad debate on the future of Europe. The European Commission submitted its contribution to the 'reflection' in October 2005. The proposal is entitled 'Plan D for Democracy, Dialogue and Debate'. Its aim is to 'set out a long-term plan to reinvigorate European democracy and help the emergence of a European public sphere, where citizens are given the information and tolls to actively participate in the decision making process and gain ownership of the European project.'

It is not surprising that the referendum crisis alerted the EU about the deficiency of its democratic structure. Thirteen years earlier, as the French narrowly endorsed the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, Jacques Delors then the President of the European Commission also pointed out, 'it is our duty to respond both at the national level and at the European level by consolidating the democratic process [of European integration].' In quite a similar way, the current Commission's Plan D highlights the importance of promoting wider public debate on Europe in both national and European arenas. Detailed proposals include (i) visits by Commissioners to the member states; (ii) Commissioners' availability to national parliaments; (iii) more openness of the Commission Representation Offices; (iv) utilising European Direct centres for regional events; (v) establishing European Round Table for Democracy; and (vi) organising events with 'European Good will Ambassadors'.

At present, it remains unclear to what extent 'Plan D' will engage the public in the debates about the future of European integration. Yet, the wide-ranging discussions on the Constitutional Treaty have shown that public perceptions of the EU inevitably involve a domestic and a European dimension. The efforts to build 'a European-wide democratic infrastructure' will probably encounter the same problem of balancing diversity and unity in the near future.

Web Links

European Commission: 'Plan D for Democracy, Dialogue and Debate'
europa.eu.int/comm/commission_barroso/wallstrom/pdf/communication_planD_en.pdf

Archived documents which debate the future of the European Union
europa.eu.int/constitution/futurum/index_en.htm

'From Confederacy to Federation – Thoughts on the finality of European Integration', an influential speech by the former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer at the Humboldt University in Berlin on 12 May 2000
www.auswaertiges-amt.de/www/en/ausgabe_archiv?archiv_id=1027

Further Learning Resources

Gilmartin, Evelyn and Napieralski, Bartosz (2005), 'What Way out of the EU Constitutional Labyrinth?', working paper, Brussels: European Citizen Action Service (www.ecas.org/file_uploads/950.pdf).

Gowan, Peter and Anderson, Perry (eds.) (1997), The Question of Europe, London and New York: Verso.

Schmitter, Philippe C. (2000), How to Democratize the European Union… and Why Bother?, Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.