Radical reform plan gets first Euro-test

The Franco-German plan was agreed over dinner

A controversial Franco-German plan to revolutionise the way the European Union is run gets its first real test on Monday, when it is discussed by the EU's constitutional convention.

The convention's 105 members, who are charged with deciding how the European Union should be run in future, have been meeting to examine the proposal to give the EU two presidents.

When Germany and France get along, Europe advances - when they don't, Europe stops

Jacques Chirac
French President

Under the plan, put forward by France and Germany last week, one president would head the European Commission while the other would take charge at the European Council, which brings together the leaders of individual member states.

The debate is key, because it will ultimately decide who runs the European Union and where the real power lies.

France and Germany believe the current system of a rotating EU presidency, where each member state is in charge for six months, will no longer work when the union expands next year to include 25 countries.

Balancing demands

Instead, they want a permanent president of the European Council, elected by European governments, to represent the EU around the world.

TWIN PRESIDENCY

European Commission president - elected by Parliament, responsible for day-to-day running

European Council president - elected by governments, responsible for strategic leadership, speaking on world stage

They have also called for the president of the European Commission to be elected by the European Parliament, giving the post greater democratic legitimacy.

It is part of an effort to balance the demands of countries including the UK and Spain, which want to increase the power of nation states within the union, and smaller countries which want to strengthen the commission and its central authority.

The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Finland, Belgium and Portugal have all found fault with the plan, believing it could concentrate too much power in the hands of the EU's bigger countries.

"What Europe does not need at the moment is a new president," said Gijs de Vries, Dutch representative at the convention.

"The institutional balance would be... badly affected," said Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel.

Other critics - including spokesmen at the European Commission itself - say the Franco-German plan is a recipe for chaos, potentially creating two power centres which could clash with each other or create confusion.

'No president needed'

But the convention's leader, former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing, has praised the idea, saying it guarantees the stability of EU institutions.

Giscard D'Estaing has welcomed the proposal

And Britain's leading member on the convention, Welsh Secretary Peter Hain, said on Monday that the commission needed strong leadership, balanced by a European Council headed by a "long-term" chairman.

"We do not want a President of Europe" said Mr Hain. "But we need a chair of the council working in partnership with the president of the commission, as France and Germany have proposed in their welcome contribution."

The convention must now decide whether the plan should become reality.

By the middle of the year, the convention is expected to present a draft constitution, setting the tone for the way Europe works for the next generation.

The BBC's Chris Morris in Brussels says that when the convention opened, there were suspicions that the public debate was just for show, with national leaders making the real decisions behind closed doors.

But now, he says, everyone takes it seriously, and this is probably its most important meeting so far.

The convention has been meeting for nearly a year. The current round of talks started on Monday afternoon and is to end on Tuesday.

The plan is part of a series of initiatives by France and Germany to give fresh impetus to their relationship, traditionally at the heart of Europe.