International Policy Analysis Unit Working Group on European Integration Working Paper No. 8 November 1999 The EU Must Concentrate its Constitutional Reform on a Few Essentials The EU is set to enlarge for the fifth time. One cannot foresee how many member countries will make up the European Union in the course of the next century. But it is certain that the number will exceed 30 and that the process of enlargement will take place in stages, the first most likely between 2003 and 2005, depending on the state of preparedness of the Union and the accession countries. There is general agreement that the EU must put its house in order before any further enlargement. But views differ on the scope and the substance of the changes which will have to be made. The European Council has decided to limit the reform to three issues: the size and composition of the Commission, the weighting of the voting power in the Council and the possibility of extending majority voting. The present paper advocates solutions to each of these three questions which go deliberately be­yond traditional patterns of thinking. I. Qualified Majority Voting in the Council The most important reform in view of the future enlargement concerns the way in which the Council will take its decisions. Maintaining the rule of unanimity will be fatal for the functioning of the enlarged Union. It would allow any member state to delay legislative acts or political decisions indefinitely or to blackmail the majority of member states. The history of the EU is full of examples of important dossiers hav­ing been blocked for years and of costly and painful compromise enforced upon member states because of the unanimity rule. It is therefore vital for the Union to agree on generalising the possibility of deciding by qualified majority before any further accession of new member states. Friedrich Ebert Foundation, International Policy Analysis Unit, Godesberger Allee 149, 53170 Bonn Tel.:(xx49.228)883-212 or-230, Fax:-625; e-mail: kamppetW@fes.de