The European Union Review 

La gouvernance européenne face aux récentes et futures transformations économiques et sociales

Pierre Maillet - Université de Lille I, France

Europe is in search of a better system of governance. There is a general consensus that the present arrangements, designed for an earlier and simpler situation, and with many serious imperfections, need to be seriously overhauled. The question is whether this should be through simple modifications or a profound reconstruction. The Treaty of Amsterdam was coy in its approach to this longstanding issue, which is one reason for the subject featuring prominently during the 2000 intergovernmental conference. A significant cause for concern is that the next geographic widening is being discussed without realistic consideration of the profound changes to the Union in recent years, in terms of its economic, social and political environment, and the extent to which the Union reflects the current aspiration (or aspirations) for a European society. This article sets out to analyse these changes and to reach some conclusions about the desirable organisation of the governance mechanisms of the Union. The argument proceeds in three stages: firstly, a synthetic look at the transformations in the environment, and how these impact on the margin of manoeuvre and priorities for the Union, and at the enlargement of the objectives pursued by European construction; secondly, a more detailed concrete analysis of the four great challenges (internal and external) facing the Union; finally, a discussion of the likely consequences of various models for institutional reconstruction in order to improve governance.