The European Commission has called on the 25 member states to relinquish their right to veto EU initiatives on criminal justice and police matters.
The Commission said decisions on such matters should be taken by majority rather than unanimity - effectively scrapping veto rights.
"We need better efficiency and accountability in decision-making and more judicial protection for our citizens," EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said in a statement accompanying long-awaited proposals.
The move faces opposition from EU states that have backed the proposed new EU constitution, such as Ireland and Germany, who argue that similar reforms were included in the treaty whose fate is now unclear after rejections by French and Dutch voters.
They fear that "cherry-picking" individual components of the charter will make it less likely for the whole constitutional treaty to be adopted.
Others fear losing national sovereignty in the deeply sensitive area of justice and police work. Progress in creating common EU crime-fighting policies has been painfully slow.
Last month, EU justice ministers dropped a proposal to allow cross-border police pursuits because they failed once more to reach consensus.
