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A Europe of States versus a Federal Europe, by Robert Toulemon
The Convention on the future of the European Union will try to establish a broad coalition of support for its proposals to have the best chance of them being accepted by the 2004 intergovernmental conférence. Rather than coming up with a compromise that would maintain the present division of the EU between the community pillars and the intergovernmental pillars, it would be desirable if the members of the convention were to synthesise the two approaches, which should complement, not compete with, each other. It is necessary to balance the attachment of each state to its sovereignty, a désire to be directly linked to the definition and putting in place of the EU's policies, on the one hand, with the need to abolish the veto in an enlarged Europe, to bring Europe closer to its citizens, and to assure internal and external openness, on the other. By progressively enlarging the areas of competence or the EU through a well-adapted and flexible process, especially taking into account the diversity of expectations and the capabilities of present and future members, it might be possible to corne up with a satisfactory proposal.