EU legitimacyEU's Rubik's cubeGermany & the EU
  • Can national parliaments make the EU more legitimate?
    Insight by Charles Grant, 10 June 2013
    Can national parliaments make the EU more legitimate?
  • The EU's Rubik's cube: Who will lead after 2014?
    Insight by Hugo Brady, 03 April 2013
    The EU's Rubik's cube: Who will lead after 2014?
  • Germany’s plans for treaty change – and what they mean for Britain
    Insight by Charles Grant, 28 March 2013
    Germany & Treaty change
  • The case for a stronger European Parliament
    Working paper by Lousewies van der Laan, 07 November 2003

    The EU urgently needs a stronger and reformed European Parliament (EP). With 60 per cent of all legislation affecting citizens' lives discussed in Brussels, EU decision-making must become more democratic.
  • The CER guide to the draft EU constitution
    Policy brief by Charles Grant, 03 October 2003

    For the fourth time in little more than a decade, the EU is trying to overhaul its institutions and policies. The EU’s previous attempts, which culminated in the treaties of Maastricht in 1992, Amsterdam in 1997 and Nice in 2000, were less than fully successful. Citizens still perceive the EU as overly complex and bureaucratic.
  • The CER guide to Giscard's draft EU constitution
    Briefing note by Charles Grant, 30 May 2003

    The draft constitution for the EU published on 26 and 27 May 2003 has provoked a ferocious debate in the British press. However, on closer inspection, the text would not fundamentally change the UK’s position in the EU, and it secures nearly all of the British government’s key objectives.
  • More power for the parliament
    Bulletin article by Pervenche Bérès MEP , 01 April 2003

    The Convention on the future of Europe is drawing up a constitution that is supposed to transform the EU. Much of the discussion has focused on the EU's executive: the powers of the Commission, the organisation of the EU presidency and the role of the European Council.
  • Why Europe does not need a new president
    Bulletin article by Peter Sutherland, 02 December 2002

    Powerful political forces in the Convention on the future of Europe and elsewhere, are calling for the appointment of a president of the European Council.
  • The future of European agriculture
    Report by Julie Wolf, 01 November 2002

    The need to reform European farm policies has never been clearer. Although the Brussels European Council in October put a ceiling on farm spending, the Commission's 'mid-term review' of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) will continue, and there is a real chance to change the policy's priorities over the next few years.
  • The timetable for enlargement
    Briefing note by Heather Grabbe, 21 October 2002

    The Irish referendum result has removed a major uncertainty in the enlargement process. The Nice treaty agreed in 2000 contains the key institutional principles for decision-making in a Union of up to 27 member-states: the number of votes that each country has in the Council of Ministers, and how many representatives each country can send to the European Parliament.
  • New designs for Europe
    Report by Charles Grant, , 04 October 2002

    Everybody agrees that the EU's institutions are in bad need of reform. In the Convention on the Future of Europe, and elsewhere, a real debate has begun on how Europe should be governed.