The Future of the Conventional Treaty: Positions and proposals of the Greens and other European political actors

The European Union urgently needs new impetus. The European Constitutional Treaty – which carried so many hopes, maybe too many hopes – is at a standstill after its rejection in France and the Netherlands. At the same time “enlargement-fatigue,” which has been spreading through the Member States since the major round of accessions in 2004, is spilling over into the parliaments and governments. Accession negotiations with Turkey have ground to a halt. In this critical phase it is clear that no sustainable consensus exists between the States and peoples of Europe as to where the EU journey should lead: What form should the future division of power between the European institutions and the Member States take? Where should the external borders of the European Union be situated in the future? How can the political, social, and cultural diversity of Europe be harmonized with the common capacity to act? And how can we prevent the transfer of further competences to “Brussels” from also reducing the democratic influence of the citizens?