EUxit or EU-turn? The quiet abandoning of the EU order

On Wednesday Commission President Von der Leyen will deliver her annual State of the European Union address before the European Parliament. While this year’s SOTEU will likely be the same self-congratulatory ritual as usual, the state of the European Union is critical, possibly terminal.

Superficially there seem to be signs of a (timid) European revival, but look closer and you see that most actions and initiatives circumvent and exclude the EU. Instead of bolstering the EU in response to the big political challenges, it is being quietly stripped and undermined. The façade is still standing, but inside the building is crumbling.

A new kind of amorphous Europe is emerging, one without structures, rules, nor checks and balances. Intergovernmental ad hoc alliances replacing EU institutions, informal deals instead of official agreements based on EU law, new financial vehicles set up outside the EU budget. Enforcement of EU law has become a political currency, to be used in trade offs with governments. The next EU budget will likely be even more inadequate than the current one, further clipping the wings of the EU. Independent EU bodies such as the EU Public Prosecutor, the Data Protection Supervisor or the Ombudsman are being neutered. Implementation of court rulings on EU laws is in steep decline. The Single Market has entered the phase of “slow agony”.

In short: while “Europe” is becoming somewhat more active and present, the European Union as a constitutional framework is being abandoned and falling into decay. It is becoming an empty shell. As there is more European cooperation on an ad hoc and intergovernmental basis, European integration has come to a halt.

Some people argue that we have to be pragmatic and respond to exceptional circumstances, and not fuss over petty rules. Indeed in an emergency situation, when the regular legal and constitutional instruments are not sufficient, improvisation and flexibility may be necessary. But it has to be temporary and a measure of last resort and subsequently incorporated into the Treaties. But today we witness the inverse: existing EU instruments are ignored, not just in emergency situations, but increasingly also for regular policy issues, like migration or climate policies. Instead all power is now concentrated in the hands of small informal groups of government leaders, often accompanied by Von der Leyen. Outside the EU framework they are not bound by annoying democratic checks and balances.

The EU is providing a constitutional framework for European action. With all its imperfections it contains the necessary checks and balances that make up a democracy. It foresees democratic, financial and judicial oversight. It enables citizens through elections, the right to information and legal remedy against EU action. It establishes a balance between the institutions, accountability and separation of powers. It creates a system where powers are kept in check by countervailing powers.

While it is obvious why national governments find the EU rules annoying, they are not an unnecessary straightjacket but the defence walls of our democratic rule of law. We are remarkably sloppy and careless when it comes to our own EU Treaties, while obsessing over Trump’s attacks on the US Constitution.

Europe’s rivals and its enemies dread a powerful supranational EU. They much prefer a loosely organised intergovernmental Europe and bilateral contacts with national government leaders.

We don’t just need new policies, we need new politics. For decades we knew very well what needed to be done for our security, prosperity and freedom, but politics prevented us from doing it. Circumventing and ignoring the EU Treaties is not the answer.

We have the choice between EUxit – Europe abandoning the EU as its constitutional home – or a EU-turn: a radical bolstering of the European Union. The 2025 EU State of the Union must herald a new era of European integration.

NOTE: Please find official blog of Sophie in ‘t Veld here.