To face the great challenges of our century, from the green transition to fighting growing inequalities and protecting democracy, the European Union needs to reform its treaties and move forward towards a federal Europe able to act and welcome new members.
At the Conference on the Future of Europe, European citizens gave a clear message that they support new treaties giving the EU greater competences. They called for deepened European democracy, with more power for the European Parliament, an end to national vetoes, a larger EU budget, and stronger EU competences on key issues such as health, tax, and social protection. As Greens, we stand behind their proposals.
Extending democracy at the heart of Europe
We stand for a federal Europe, for a fully fledged supranational democracy able to deliver.
The need for unanimity between European member states on matters from tax and foreign policy to anti-discrimination and Article 7 procedures to protect democracy prevents the EU from taking decisions for the common good.
The European Parliament must have the right to propose legislation and equal budgetary power. The Council of the European Union should act as a second chamber for EU law-making, not the venue for late-night haggling over inter-governmental deals. The President of the European Commission should be proposed by the European Parliament.
The current EU budget is patently insufficient to address the challenges Europe faces. Supported by its own resources, such as EU-level fossil and wealth taxes, the EU budget should be raised significantly with an expanded role of the European Parliament and civil society in monitoring EU spending. EU competences should be expanded to ensure the EU can deliver. This truly transnational democracy must also ensure a residence-based European citizenship.
For Europe to take this much needed step, a democratic mandate from citizens is vital. That is why an EU-wide inclusive constituent process should lead to these treaty changes.
Treaty changes should then be ratified through a Europe-wide referendum according to a double majority system of votes cast: Europe-wide and in a majority of member states.
We will set up enhanced cooperation if a handful of member states try to hold progress back. Enhanced cooperation will allow an ambitious ecological and social transition now, without waiting for treaty change.
Bringing Europe to life with citizens’ participation
Public participation and engagement strengthen the European Union. The EU institutions should take steps to make voting in EU elections more accessible, including for people with disabilities. To increase democratic participation, we want online voting to be piloted for the 2029 EU election, at least for mobile European citizens. Transnational lists for the European Parliament should be introduced alongside national lists, creating an additional single EU-wide constituency to which citizens elect a large number of MEPs.
As democracy is about more than elections, the Greens will push for the introduction of citizens’ panels to make EU policy choices more inclusive. The framework for petitions and specifically the European Citizens Initiative must be strengthened to open more channels for citizens to influence EU policy and oblige the European institutions to respond with legislative proposals. A framework for EU-wide referenda should be introduced.
Stronger together: enlarging the Union
Many people in the European neighbourhood long to become EU citizens, first and foremost with Ukraine fighting for our values and European security. Our Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights. It holds the promise of peace, justice, shared values and prosperity and each member, old and new, is responsible for upholding these principles and objectives.
A new push for enlargement is long overdue. The EU has always been a project with geopolitical implications. As the EU is built on shared rules and values, it helps make borders less important. The EU’s enlargement is therefore the best prospect for lasting peace and security in Europe.
All European countries who strive to be part of or re-join the EU and who share our values must be welcomed on the path to EU membership and given all the support they require to fulfil the criteria.
Keeping our promises: a pathway to joining the European Union
The European Union must keep its promises to candidate countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Ukraine and Georgia. We support Kosovo’s efforts to become a candidate for EU membership. We will support these countries on their paths to meet the Copenhagen Criteria, those concerning democracy and the rule of law must be dealt with as a priority.
Accessing the single market and EU budget requires meeting these criteria and progress in the process must be based on merit. As Greens, we believe that the EU must work more closely with civil society in the accession process. We will work towards overcoming unanimity in the Council that is currently hindering accession.
The future of Ukraine lies in the European Union. We will support Ukrainian authorities in introducing the reforms required for EU membership. EU assistance to Ukraine should, insofar as possible, enable a climate-resilient reconstruction and recovery, built on renewable energy, modern infrastructure, and a sustainable and inclusive economy.
Welcoming new members must serve as a vital push for internal reforms to make it easier for the EU to make decisions efficiently and effectively. Each candidate country should be able to follow its own path into the EU independently of the progress of other candidate countries.
Taking rapid action for democracy and the rule of law
One of the biggest blows to European progress in recent years has been the development of authoritarian tendencies in the heart of Europe. Citizens of the affected countries are EU citizens, and the EU must defend their rights against government power grabs. We want rapid action to put an end to EU law’s violations by member states through infringement procedures. This needs a clear timeframe, including for the Article 7 procedure.
We will introduce a Fundamental Values Annual Review to monitor, enforce and sanction the infringement of fundamental values across the EU.
We must ensure that EU funds strengthen prosperity, democracy and the rule of law and do not disappear into the pockets of autocrats and their friends. We have made important progress in equipping the EU with better tools to do so, but they need to be fully implemented.
Access to justice must become a reality for all people in the European Union. It is essential that vulnerable groups, such as people on low incomes and from marginalized communities, can access their right to seek responses and remedies for injustice.
Fighting corruption! Politics need to be transparent and accountable
Citizens’ trust in democracy rests on political integrity. Transparency and accountability are vital for democratic scrutiny and public oversight. When trust in politicians and democratic institutions is under serious threat, we must act.
The Qatargate scandal showed that the EU institutions are not equipped to prevent corruption and massive misconduct. Rather than another advisory body, the EU institutions need an independent Ethics Authority with the power and resources to investigate and sanction unethical conduct and abuse of office. We need comprehensive legislation on lobbying activities at EU level, including a mandatory EU transparency register.
The EU institutions must become more transparent, including through the pro-active publication of all documents on ongoing legislation. These should also include member state positions as it remains virtually impossible for citizens to understand how decisions are made in the Council.
Members and senior staff of EU institutions must declare their assets transparently, as required in many member states, and must not be allowed to have paid side-activities for lobbying organisations.
Corruption and misuse of the EU budget undermines the entire European project. We support the bodies responsible for protecting the EU’s financial interest, OLAF and the European Public Prosecutors Office, and call for greater resources for anti-corruption efforts.