With the question of subsidiarity or devolving power to the member States on the agenda for EU leaders meeting informally over the weekend at Portschach in Austria, Commission President Jacques Santer defended the Commission's role in his annual State of the Union message to MEPs.
As he put it, some 35 per cent of legislative proposals flowed from international agreement, while another 25 to 30 per cent consist of adaptation of existing, legislation, and a further 20 per cent issued in response to requests from other EU institutions, in particular the European Parliament and Council. For example, a proposal to introduce safety belts on buses came from several member States following serious accidents but when it was issued the Commission was then criticised for going beyond its brief. The reality is that the Commission is proposing less and listening more.
The volume of legislative proposals declined from 790 in 1990, to 555 in 1997, and consultation documents, seven green papers and two white papers were published in 1997. In addition, a further 70 proposals no longer considered necessary are due to be withdrawn in November 1998. Yet, this does not mean the Commission is abdicating its responsibility. Mr Santer emphasised that the introduction of a single currency did have implications for some kind of tax harmonisation, although the Commission President did acknowledge that the national governments needed to be convinced on this point.
He also felt there was a corresponding need to introduce more flexibility on Europe's jobs markets, if the current high level of unemployment in many EU countries is to come down. The Commission's latest economic forecasts show an extra 1.7 million jobs created in 1998 and a further 1.3 million in 1999. Unemployment on average across the EU is forecast to drop from a peak of 11.2 per cent in 1994 to 9.0 per cent by the year 2000.