Romania Opposes Amendment of EU Treaty which Green Lights Two-Speed EU

The Conference on the Future of Europe concluded with the final report given to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, and French President Emmanuel Macron, whose country now holds the EU Council presidency for six months, in Strasbourg.

The report’s 49 recommendations include revising European treaties, with the veto being the major tendency. As a result, 13 of the 27 member states have voted against the amendment, and Romania is among them.

On May 9, French President Emmanuel Macron called for a convention to consider amendments to the European Union’s treaties. According to AFP and DPA, in a speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, the Elysee chief said he was “for this institutional reform,” according to AFP and DPA.

We will have to reform our texts, obviously. One of the ways of this reform is to convene a treaty revision convention. It is a proposal of the European Parliament and I agree with it.

Emmanuel Macron, President of France

Why this amendment is unfair to the smaller states?

One of the plan’s main goals is to eliminate Member States’ veto power over sensitive policy areas like health, taxation, defence, and prospective members, which means reworking treaties.

Basically, this sort of amendment green lights the so-called “multi-speed” or “two-speed” Europe. This is a “European family” where stronger countries would be favoured and would also have more rights depending on their voting power.

In the absence of a veto, critical decisions might be made by a majority vote if 15 of the 27 member states vote in favour and represent more than 65% of the EU’s 450 million people.

On the other hand, this model favours the decisions of the bloc’s two most populous countries, Germany and France, and offends the smaller states, including Romania.

It’s easy to see why Emmanuel Macron and Ursula von der Leyen are among the treaty’s supporters. The European Commission President declared that she supported amending the European Union Treaties to eliminate unanimous votes in crucial issues “if required.”

The European Parliament, on its side, claims that the conference’s “ambitious and constructive proposals” necessitate amendments to the Treaties, such as making the Union more straightforward, more visible, accountable, and democratic.

To that aim, the plenary of Parliament requests that the Committee on Constitutional Affairs prepare ideas for the change of the EU Treaties, which would be carried out through a convention following Article 48 of the Treaty of the European Union.