Today's Date:

Contribution to the joint reflection on the European institutions

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Since last June, the government has given priority to the “project-based Europe”, to building a more efficient, more concrete Europe, more effectively addressing people’s concerns regarding growth and employment, security, to increasing investment in research and education, and the energy sphere.

But at the same time, last June’s European Council decided to open a period of reflection on the institutions and Europe’s future, from which it is due to draw the conclusions this June.

So our country has drawn up proposals on the basis of the current treaties, in the form of a contribution to the joint reflection, conveyed to our partners last week, in line with our Head of State's wishes. It is indeed both possible and necessary to end the institutional status quo, irrespective of the future of the Constitutional Treaty.

Improving what already exists is not only not prohibited but is even strongly recommended, because Europe has to function better, more efficiently and more democratically.

There could be a long list of possible improvements in the framework of the existing treaties. We have concentrated on a few issues, all reflecting people's expectations.

- strengthening the role of the national parliaments and the European Parliament, for example in the framework of criminal judicial cooperation;

- using qualified majority voting where possible and permitted under the legislation, for example in counter terrorism, and for increasing the European Union's social dimension;

- we also propose improving the coordination of the EU's external action, as regards both its conduct and the European Union's external representation;

- finally, there has to be better coordination of economic policies, because the Europeans will be more effective if they act in an orderly manner and do not each go their own way.

These are our proposals, we have conveyed them to our partners, to the European Parliament and to the Commission in a letter which Philippe Douste-Blazy and I have co-signed. I went to Vienna to present them to the Austrian Presidency. President Barroso has already welcomed them. As you see, on Europe, France is taking the initiative./.