Penelope Project

Last updated

'Penelope' was the code word given to a draft text of the EU Constitution prepared for the President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, in 2001. The text was named after Penelope, the wife of Odysseus in Greek Mythology, who was perpetually spinning a web which she never completed. [1]

History

After the creation of the European Single Currency, the European Commission decided that the EU should have a single constitution to replace the existing ad hoc system of multilateral treaties. The Convention on the Future of Europe, or the European Convention, was created by the European Council in December 2001 in order to propose a draft constitution for the European Union.

The Commission wanted to create an expanded system of Qualified Majority Voting to allow for more expediency in decision making.

In a speech in Strasbourg in May 2002, Romano Prodi stated that the proposed reforms had a further intention: 'As regards the institutions, our proposals have a clear aim: to define more clearly who does what in the European Union. In other words, who is accountable politically and institutionally for action undertaken.' [2] (emphasis in original)

However, the European Convention did not lead to agreement on a possible Constitution. According to a 2005 review of the treaty reform process:

"Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, the chair of the Praesidium, made clear at an early stage his lack of sympathy for the Commission and for its President’s ambition that it should become the government of Europe, suggesting that it had served purpose in establishing the single market." [3]

The European Commission presented two communications to the Convention in 2002 laying out its policy preferences for a future constitution. These communications left out discussion of the architecture of European institutions until after the 2002 Irish Referendum on the Treaty of Nice. [3]

Prodi signalled his intention to influence the 'listening phase' of the Treaty consultations by creating the 'Penelope Group', "a small group of senior officials to prepare a draft Constitution in secret (European Commission, 2002c), which would be submitted to the Convention in the beginning of the ‘drafting phase’." [3]

However, the existence of the Penelope Group led to a disagreement with Valéry Giscard D'Estaing, the chair of the Convention, who saw it as undermining his work. Secondly, "the ‘Penelope’ draft was leaked to Le Monde and newspapers in Germany, Italy and Spain only hours before the official December document (European Commission, 2002b) was approved by the college (Norman, 2003, 165). The appearance of two texts, virtually simultaneously, seriously undermined the commission's credibility, even if there was little difference in their substance." [3]

The Penelope Project document was seen by critics as an attempt to increase the importance and power of the Commission relative to the Parliament and Council, but the outcome of the treaty process saw the creation of the office of President of the European Union, rather than increasing the powers of the President of the commission. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Commission</span> Executive branch of the European Union

The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission headed by a President. It includes an administrative body of about 32,000 European civil servants. The Commission is divided into departments known as Directorates-General (DGs) that can be likened to departments or ministries each headed by a Director-General who is responsible to a Commissioner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Convention on the Future of Europe</span>

The Convention on the Future of the European Union, also known as the European Convention, was a body established by the European Council in December 2001 as a result of the Laeken Declaration. Inspired by the Philadelphia Convention that led to the adoption of the United States federal Constitution, its purpose was to produce a draft constitution for the European Union for the Council to finalise and adopt. The Convention finished its work in July 2003 with their Draft Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. See History of the European Constitution for developments after this point.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valéry Giscard d'Estaing</span> President of France from 1974 to 1981

Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing, also known as Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romano Prodi</span> Italian politician and economist (born 1939)

Romano Antonio Prodi is an Italian politician, economist, academic, senior civil servant, and business executive who served as the tenth president of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004. He served twice as Prime Minister of Italy, first from 18 May 1996 to 21 October 1998, and then from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008. Prodi is considered the founder of the Italian centre-left and one of the most prominent and iconic figures of the so-called Second Republic. He is often nicknamed Il Professore due to his academic career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe</span> 2004 failed attempt to formally establish a constitution of the European Union

The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe was an unratified international treaty intended to create a consolidated constitution for the European Union (EU). It would have replaced the existing European Union treaties with a single text, given legal force to the Charter of Fundamental Rights, and expanded qualified majority voting into policy areas which had previously been decided by unanimity among member states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">President of the European Council</span> Presidency of the council of EU heads of state or government

The president of the European Council is the person presiding over and driving forward the work of the European Council, as well as a principal representative of the European Union (EU) on the world stage. This institution comprises the college of heads of state or government of EU member states as well as the president of the European Commission, and provides political direction to the European Union (EU).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giuliano Amato</span> Italian politician

Giuliano Amato is an Italian politician who twice served as Prime Minister of Italy, first from 1992 to 1993 and again from 2000 to 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Commissioner</span> Member of the EU Commission; heads a government ministry

A European Commissioner is a member of the 27-member European Commission. Each member within the Commission holds a specific portfolio. The commission is led by the President of the European Commission. In simple terms they are the equivalent of government ministers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy</span> Official of the European Union

The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR/VP) is the chief co-ordinator and representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) within the European Union (EU). The position is currently held by Josep Borrell Fontelles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prodi Commission</span>

The Prodi Commission was the European Commission in office between 1999 and 2004. The administration was led by former Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi.

The Irish referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe was a vote that was planned but did not occur. The referendum was expected to take place in 2005 or 2006 to decide whether Ireland should ratify the proposed EU Constitution. Following the rejection of the Constitution by voters in the French referendum of May 2005 and the Dutch referendum of June 2005, the planned Irish referendum was postponed indefinitely.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3rd G7 summit</span>

The 3rd G7 Summit was held in London, United Kingdom between 7–8 May 1977. The venue for the summit meetings was the British Prime Minister's official residence at No. 10 Downing Street in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">24th G8 summit</span>

The 24th G8 Summit was held in Birmingham, England, United Kingdom on 15–17 May 1998. The venue for this summit meeting was the International Convention Centre, Birmingham.

European Referendum Campaign

The European Referendum Campaign (ERC) was an independent, Europe-wide, cross party network of NGOs and individuals which intended to bring together campaigners to fight for democratic development within the European Union. Its sole objective was to gain as many referendums on the 2007 EU Lisbon Treaty in as many EU member states as possible. The ERC was supported by the NGO Mehr Demokratie, and by Democracy International, a split-off of Mehr Demokratie, whose people also created the European Citizens' Initiative. The ERC cooperated with the European political party EUDemocrats – Alliance for a Europe of Democracies, as inspired and presided by Jens-Peter Bonde.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the European Union (1993–2004)</span> Aspect of history

The history of the European Union between 1993 and 2004 was the period between its creation and the 2004 enlargement. The European Union was created at the dawn of the post–Cold War era and saw a series of successive treaties laying the ground for the euro, foreign policy and future enlargement. Three new member states joined the previous twelve in this period and the European Economic Area extended the reach of the EU's markets to three more.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treaty of Lisbon</span> 2007 treaty amending the constitutional basis of the European Union

The Treaty of Lisbon is an international agreement that amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by the EU member states on 13 December 2007, entered into force on 1 December 2009. It amends the Maastricht Treaty (1992), known in updated form as the Treaty on European Union (2007) or TEU, as well as the Treaty of Rome (1957), known in updated form as the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (2007) or TFEU. It also amends the attached treaty protocols as well as the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM).

Atomium – European Institute for Science, Media and Democracy (EISMD) is an international non-profit organisation based in Brussels. The Institute convenes European universities, media, global businesses, governments and policymakers to develop innovative initiatives and frontier thinking based on scientific evidence to provide evidence-based analysis and advice in governmental and decision-making processes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the European Union (2004–present)</span> Aspect of history

The history of the European Union from 2004 to the present is the current timeline of the European union. It is a period of significant upheaval and reform following the 2004 enlargement of the European Union. The EU has taken on ten new members, eight of which were initially much poorer than the EU average, and took in a further two in 2007 with many more on the way. It created the euro a few years before and had to expand this, and the Schengen Area to its new members. However this was overshadowed by the late-2000s recession and damaging disputes over the European Constitution and its successor, the Treaty of Lisbon. Throughout this period, the European People's Party has been the largest group in the European Parliament and provides every President of the European Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut</span> German diplomat

Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut is a German diplomat currently serving as the Head of the EU Delegation to Turkey. He was previously German Ambassador to France from 2015 to 2020. Before that, he served as the chief adviser for European affairs to the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel.

References

  1. ↑ Tupy, Marian (December 30, 2002). "In Praise of Penelope: Prodi's Project and the Undoing of the European Union". Cato Institute. Cato Institute. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  2. ↑ Prodi, Romano (13 May 2002). "SPEECH/03/242 - Planning our work until the end of the term and the Convention". europa.eu. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Dimitrakopoulos, Dionyssis G.; Kassim, Hussein (14–19 April 2005). "Inside the European Commission: Preference Formation and the Convention on the Future of Europe" (PDF). Comparative European Politics. 3 (2): 180–203. doi:10.1057/palgrave.cep.6110056. S2CID   144271151 . Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  4. ↑ Ashtead, John (6 December 2002). "Penelope Puts European Union in Disarray". Pravda.ru. Pravda. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.