Maros Sefcovic, European Commission Vice-President and Commissioner for Inter-Institutional Relations and Administration, gave an address to the Institute on Friday 17 February 2012 on the strength of the Community Method in tackling the crisis and the role of the Lisbon Treaty.

 

Europe’s response to the crisis requires more, not less, Europe and the Lisbon Treaty has “allowed us more effectively than ever to do more together,” Commissioner Sefcovic began.

 

Responding to criticisms that the balance of power has shifted away from the Commission following the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, Commissioner Sefcovic maintained that the Treaty in fact strengthened the European Parliament, the European Council and the Commission. 

 

The European Parliament’s role as co-legislator has been bolstered, and it has been assertive in its dealings with the Commission. Equally the creation of a permanent President of the European Council has given that institution additional effectiveness, particularly in the midst of economic crisis. The Commission’s vital role in the legislative process, including its role as honest broker, technical adviser and initiator of legislation, has also been reinforced, he argued. The Commissioner acknowledged that there had been ”intergovernmental reflexes” in the response to the crisis, even amongst small and medium sized Member States, but welcomed the “renaissance for appreciation of the Community Method” that he has noted over the past year. Member States now realise that the Community Method balances and respects the interests of big and small, north and south, he argued.

 

While it is “only natural” that the two biggest Eurozone economies play a part in responding to the economic crisis, the Commissioner maintained that Chancellor Merkel and President Sarkozy’s interventions have only been “a part of the process” of finding a solution.  In fact, he argued, many of the recipes and measures to respond to the crisis have been adopted through the Community Method, including the economic governance six-pack of legislation. Indeed, he argued, the six-pack itself reinforces the Community Method, giving the Commission a central role in the surveillance of the macro-economic situation at national level. Commissioner Sefcovic indicated that the Commission would use its new powers of economic governance to the fullest.

 

With respect to the role of national parliaments under the Lisbon Treaty, the Commissioner pointed to the 60% annual increase in opinions received from national parliaments under the Lisbon Treaty’s subsidiarity provisions and to the increasing emphasis on budgetary surveillance on the COSAC agenda.

 

Commissioner Sefcovic stressed that, while the Commission “did not ask for” the new Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the EMU, it concentrated on the content and spirit of the treaty during the negotiations and was broadly pleased with the outcome.

 

In particular, Commissioner Sefcovic stressed the following ‘wins’ for the Commission:
 

- No new institutions were created;
 

- The primacy of EU law is clearly acknowledged;
 

- The Commission has a central role in the delivery of the treaty objectives, in conformity with the Lisbon Treaty and the Community method; and
 

- The treaty will become part of the EU legal framework within five years. In this respect, the Commissioner pointed to precedents for the re-Europeanisation of extra-EU law, including Schengen.

Looking beyond the crisis, the Commissioner emphasised that growth and jobs are a key priority of the Commission and discussed the measures being undertaken to tackle youth unemployment. Ireland will be one of eight member states where the Commission will focus its efforts in this regard in the coming months. 

 

Increased funding for SMEs will be a central feature of the Commission’s ‘quick win’ growth and jobs initiatives in an Irish context. In this respect, Commissioner Sefcovic dubbed Ireland a “scientific superpower,” which has managed to secure 20.7% of the overall EU research and innovation funding for SMEs. In order to bolster growth and jobs, however, the Commissioner stressed the need for better use of the single market, in the absence of opportunities for fiscal stimulus. 

 

The Commissioner concluded by stressing that “working together” can achieve much more than operating according to “national self-interest” and called on Member States to support the European Commission in this respect.