Berlin and Paris outline plan for EU makeover

Germany and France have drawn up a blueprint for a two-year “Conference on the Future of Europe” aimed at overhauling nearly all aspects of how the EU functions, including possible treaty changes if need be, with a goal of making the bloc “more united and sovereign,” according to a document seen by POLITICO.

The blueprint proposes that EU leaders hold a first discussion on the conference at their summit in Brussels next month. It calls for a two-phase initiative, with the first starting early next year and focused on “EU democratic functioning,” especially “regarding elections and designations in key positions.”

The document was circulated to EU member countries on Monday and is expected to be discussed by ambassadors on Wednesday.

The two-page blueprint does not offer a huge amount of detail, but calls for an event of large ambition, that would be led by a “senior European personality” who would chair a steering group of experts and require a major role of all three EU institutions: the Commission, Council and Parliament.

Former Belgian Prime Minister and longtime MEP Guy Verhofstadt has been mentioned frequently in Brussels as one of the potential contenders for the chair position.

Via Politico