Federalism

The time has come to review the democratic workings of the European Union. Ideally, this should be the subject of a new Convention, but it is also possible to strengthen, here and now, European democracy.

Federalism in Spain is singularly paradoxical. Although federalism seems, a priori, the most logical politico-juridical solution for a territorial reality as diverse as that of Spain, in fact, it has been and continues to be rejected as much by the main political parties—the Spanish Socialist Worker’s Party (PSOE) and the People’s Party (PP)—as by the nationalist parties.

A Federal Europe cannot come about solely through disparaging national identity. Rather, a Federal Europe needs to be built based around concepts that are understandable to citizens: democratic accountability, transparency and a refrain from simple centralisation.

It is more vital than ever to transform the porous structure of the EU into a stable, federal house. A key instrument for this is the budget of the EU, through which European problem-solving capacities can be enhanced.

These four debates are gateways to penetrating the transnational complexity of the European environmental debate, interconnecting national public spaces where debates on the fundamental issues for our future are still being carried out in an overly compartmentalised fashion.

In a context of an economic crisis and with public finances under stress, the on-going round of negotiations over the next EU Budget and the European legislation for the regulation of the financial industry have taken the British debate on Europe to a new level.

The Eurozone crisis appears to have receeded, but threats of it still loom.

The Eurozone crisis is driving further integration and exposing weaknesses in the Union’s structure. However, the need for reform shouldn’t be used as a cloak to introduce further neoliberal measures.

The EU cannot be conceived of as a democracy in the traditional sense and its methods of making decisions to date has been ineffective and brought about a crisis of confidence. As the EU’s powers have grown, this problem has become more acute. What is needed is a more transparent form of democracy, with European Citizens given a means of deciding between competing visions and policies.

The crisis of the Eurozone has given new arguments for a radically more federal Europe. But what does it concretely mean from a Green European point of view? An interview with Monica Frassoni, co-chair of the European Green Party and Per Garthon, former Swedish MEP.