Looking Beyond Lisbon

What if the President of the European Council was also the President of the European Commission? And what if candidates for that President were put before the people in European Parliament elections? Has the Lisbon Treaty the potential for European citizens to elect their Union's President?

Some may think it's a bit premature to be talking as if the Lisbon Treaty has been passed - and it is - but as an exercise, let's engage in some wishful thinking. And keeping in the spirit of optimism, the Treaty articles in this post are those of the post-Lisbon consolidated Treaties.

Article 16.5 TEU will provide that the President of the European Council will be appointed by qualified majority of the European Council. His duties in Article 16.6 TEU are those of leadership without power - to "chair [the Council] and drive forward its work". He must work with the President of the Commission, and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs, who will work with both Presidents in their respective institutions.

Some might justly ask, why end double-hatting in foreign affairs, only to create a second hat in domestic leadership? Article 16.6 TEU stops the Council President holding national office. But nothing in the Treaties (Articles 17.3 TEU and 245 TFEU included) prevents the same person being appointed to both Presidencies. Sure, there's a difference in terms - the Council President is for 2.5 years, renewable once; the Commission President is for 5 years, renewable - but they can solve this by deciding to renew the Council office at the outset.

Is it possible that after ten years or so of two leaders - one with power and a parliamentary mandate; the other powerless but with the backing of the national governments - our enlightened leaders might decide to remove the potential for unnecessary conflict? If anyone thinks this sounds ridiculous, it's actually on the European Commission's own summary.

But let's go one step further. Article 17.7 TEU will require the Council's choice of Commission President to reflect Parliamentary elections, and to be elected by majority of the European Parliament. It's not inconceivable - indeed, leaders are already talking about it - that at the 2009 or 2014 elections, candidates for Commission President will be endorsed by the European parties prior to the European Parliament elections. Thus, a vote for Gay Mitchell could be a vote for Chancellor Merkel; a vote for Marian Harkin could be a vote for Guy Verhofstadt.

What if you combined the two? Could we have an elected President of the Commission and Council? And, as Article 17.7 TEU allows the Commission President to veto Council proposals of Commissioners, and as the entire Commission must be approved of by the Parliament, the Commission as a whole could directly result from the European Parliament elections.

A President of the Union, together with his college of commissioners, directly elected by the votes of its 500 million citizens? Could a more democratic, more efficient Europe finally be in reach, made possible under Lisbon?

We can only hope.