Constitutional Reform

Reform and integrate the European Union

The current form of Union is not strong enough to safeguard our interests; it is in our best interest to pool our sovereignty into a stronger, more efficient form of unity.

The European Union is, by most measures, the most successful political project of the twentieth century. The process of European unification brought unprecedented peace and freedom to a continent historically defined by conflict, and extended humanitarian aid and civil protection to the most vulnerable groups in the world.

European unity is the continuation and natural consequence of the European tradition of Enlightenment, and in many ways, Europe remains the primary defender of reason, human rights, and freedom in the world today.

Despite its notable achievements, the European Union’s current form has proven itself vulnerable to a number of challenges:

Violations of international law and human rights by China and Russia
Continued interference in European political process by foreign actors
Emerging technologies giving rise to a new source of economic competitiveness
Significant loss of global scale and competitiveness for major European companies
Foreign powers adopting increasingly aggressive posturing towards Europe

While attempts have been made to deal with these issues individually, the root cause continues to remain unaddressed: the European Union is not designed to be a globally competitive structure.

Structure of the European Union

To effectively address these challenges, legislation along the following lines should be adopted:

Establish a Federal Republic of Europe with nine Founder States (Art.20 TEU)

A Federal Republic of Europe shall be established through the Mechanism of Enhanced Cooperation, following the provisions of Article 20 of TEU, consisting of a core of a minimum nine Founder States, and shall engage with remaining EU States in a process to reform the EU to better accommodate the new reality.

Provide a standing offer for Federation membership to remaining EU States, open indefinitely

Membership in the Federal Republic shall be available indefinitely for the remaining EU Partner States, in accordance with Article 328 of the TFEU, provided they adopt the Constitution of the Republic.

Federal responsibilities to include defense, foreign policy, and immigration

Federal responsibilities shall primarily include all areas where significant synergies can be achieved: defense, foreign policy, immigration, patents, and competition. State responsibilities should primarily include all local matters, including criminal, real estate, domestic, welfare, and healthcare matters.

Federal Executive branch to consist of elected President and Prime Minister

The Federal Executive branch shall consist of a directly elected office of the President of the Federal Republic of Europe, and a Prime Minister nominated by the President and validated by the European Parliament, serving on the basis of parliamentary confidence

President to direct foreign policy and defense; Prime Minister to form government

The President of Europe shall be responsible to direct, in cooperation with the Prime Minister, foreign policy, trade agreements, and defense policy as Commander in Chief of the European Armed Forces. The Prime Minister of Europe shall form a government on the basis of parliamentary confidence, and shall be responsible for implementation of domestic and economic policy, in cooperation with the President.

European Parliament to consist of Senate and Chamber of Deputies

The European Parliament shall consist of a Senate with two senators per state, directly appointed by state legislatures, and a Chamber of Deputies with seats distributed based on the principle of degressive proportionality, elected by popular state vote.

Chamber of Deputies to have legislative initiative; President to have one veto per quarter

The European Chamber of Deputies shall have legislative initiative, while the Senate shall act as a chamber of revision; the President can only veto legislation once per quarter.

Invest judicial power in European Federal Courts responsible for disputes involving constitution and federal law

The judicial power of the Federal Republic of Europe shall be invested in a system of European Federal Courts, responsible for disputes involving European constitution, treaties and federal law, and disputes between Founder States or citizens thereof.

Taxation to consist of federal, state, and local taxes; capital gains taxed at state and federal level

Taxation shall consist of federal taxes primarily based on indirect taxes (sales taxes, VAT, excises, and tariffs), state taxes primarily based on income taxes, and local taxes mainly consisting of property taxes; in addition, capital gains taxes shall be taxed at both state and federal level.

Federal Republic to have Euro as currency; other States have the option to withdraw from Monetary Union if desired

The Federal Republic of Europe shall have as its currency the Euro; Partner States who decline membership in the Republic shall have the option to voluntarily withdraw from the European Monetary Union .

Drafting and Ratification

To implement this legislation, we distinguish between two main phases of constitutional establishment: drafting and ratification.

The drafting of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Europe should be undertaken by a Drafting College, a European group of legislators tasked with negotiating and drafting the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Europe.

All interested Member States should nominate five elected legislative representatives (e.g. senators) to participate in the Drafting College, which should take place at a neutral, independently selected location for a period of three months.

With respect to the ratification of the Constitution, one of the most critical aspects in the long-term success of the Republic is that the people should be given a direct voice in adopting it. No other process can have the credibility needed to ensure long-term stability.

However, the topic of a continental constitution is too abstract to be submitted to a public referendum. Instead, interested Member States should elect, through direct popular vote, a Ratification Convention with the explicit and only task of approving or rejecting the proposed constitution.

In summary, each interested Member State should immediately establish two processes.

Drafting Process

Each interested Member State should nominate five elected legislative representatives (e.g. senators) to participate in a European Drafting Convention, tasked with drafting the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Europe

Ratification Process

Each interested Member State should elect a Ratification College, according to the following terms:

Citizens shall directly elect a number of three Ratifiers per one million citizens, but no less than 30 Ratifiers and no more than 60 Ratifiers for each National Convention
Elected Ratifiers may be elected officials (e.g. Senators), but to participate in the Ratification Convention they need to be elected specifically for this purpose
In Member States where the national constitution permits it, the Convention shall be invested with the legal authority to ratify the Constitution directly
The Convention holds office for three months, at the end of which it shall issue its decision recommendation to the national legislative body
The Convention cannot amend or propose changes to the Constitution, it can only approve or reject the proposed draft
All Convention deliberations shall be livestreamed, recorded, and available publicly

This process helps establish the credibility and validity of the national decision to join the Republic, and establishes the foundation of a strong new political entity with the overarching goal of securing a competitive place on the world stage for the emerging nation of Europe.

Europe requires a new model of unity, one focused on transforming Europe into a political entity which can be competitive on the world stage. To achieve that goal, however, Europe will first need to address its deepest, most fundamental flaw: its introversion.