International Policy Analysis Unit European Policy, April 2007 Working group on European Integration* Plea for a European Social Protocol The future of the European Union depends on the other politicians, contributed the idea of a European social issue social protocol to the debate. This paper is to objecti­vate and to check various options in the discussion The European unification process has come to a halt. Reforms that are urgently required with regard to the way institutions operate have not materialised, despite the enlargement to 27 member states, clear compe­tence delimitations are lacking just as is a definition of the values and targets of concerning the social dimension of the European con­stitution. A social protocol is the only option which makes it possible to align the constitution, on the one hand, to be more social, on the other hand, to avoid conjuring up a total failure by opening up the entire contents for new negotiations. the EU. The European con­Summary It has to be borne in stitution – after the at­tempts of Amsterdam (1997) and Nice(2000) – marks an important break­through for an EU more capable of taking action, more democratic and more transparent. It is regretta­ble that despite the citizen­oriented approach striven for, it is exactly these citi­zens themselves who, in France and the Nether­lands, rejected the consti­tution with their No, even if this No only marginally and to a slight extent ap­plied to the treaty itself. The European Peace and Single Market Project is no longer enough as foundation for the European integra­tion for many a citizen. They demand a more active composition of the globalisation by the EU based on the understanding of a European social and community model. The future of the European Union thus depends decisively on the social problem. The revival of the European constitutional process paves the way to the opportunity to lay down the con­tents of a"Social Europe" at contractual level for the member states. The paper discusses the various options on the way to a more social EU constitution and advo­cates a supplementary social protocol. Such a social pro­tocol must contain a commitment to social market economy and equality between the targets of competi­tiveness on the one hand, and combating social margin­alisation and unemployment on the other hand. mind in the debate, that apart from the social ar­gument, other reasons are given for the rejection of the constitution. It is therefore necessary to supplement the European constitution by a climate and energy protocol and a protocol on national sovereignty. Thus a "bridge", particularly for the citizens of Great Brit­ain and the Netherlands, could be built to accept the constitution after all. As already found in the protocols appended to Many opponents of the constitution criticize that the EU policies are too orientated towards economy, the constitution, the additional protocols must be binding for all the member states. the constitution itself does not make an adequate con­The criticism concerning the lacking social orienta­tribution towards the development of a socially­tion of the European constitution particularly refers to minded EU. Corrections in this respect were necessary the contradiction regarding the significance imparted to achieve greater acceptance of the constitution to the social dimension in the EU. In the first section, among the citizens of the Union. Particularly in France, the constitution supplies qualitative progress in com­where a repeated referendum is possible, modifica­parison to the current treaties. Pluralism, non­tions of the social alignment may be essential for the discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and the success of the constitution in face of the current dis­equality of man and woman are defined as values of cussion. A greater emphasis should be placed on the the Union. The set-up of a social market economy, full social components and thus be a prerequisite for the employment and social progress are among the targets democratisation of the EU as intended by the constitu­of the European Union. In addition, a fixed constant is tion. In this connection Chancellor Angela Merkel and that the Union fights against social marginalisation and