A Fundamental Law of the European Union

Book excerpt: The financial crash and lengthy economic recession have tested the institutions of the European Union as never before. Debate about the future of Europe has polarized: Some want no more integration; others campaign for disintegration. Those who believe in deeper unity and a stronger federal Europe have yet to make their case. "A Fundamental Law" does that by offering a prospectus for radical reform. It amends the Lisbon Treaty to make the government of the EU more powerful and democratic. It embraces banking and fiscal union while showing the way forward to a legitimate settlement of Europe's constitutional dilemma. Ten years after the Convention on the Future of Europe proposed its constitutional treaty, the Spinelli Group of federalist MEPs has drafted comprehensive proposals for an ambitious new treaty. Anyone who wonders how a more united Europe should best be governed should read this. The members of the next Convention will.