ABSTRACT
Imagine the year is 2007, the fiftieth anniversary of the Treaty of Rome. With the continuing concerns about the democratic deficit in the wake of the Treaty of Amsterdam, a new Inter-Governmental Conference (IGC) is established. Contrary to expectations it proves to be a more radical body than observers and decision makers expect. Indeed, its report issued within one month of its first meeting consists solely of the following short statement:
We unanimously recommend the abolition of the democratic deficit in accordance with the fundamental principles of parliamentary government. We thus recommend that the sole legislative body of the European Union shall be the European Parliament. No other body shall legislate in matters constitutionally reserved to the European Union. The European Council and the Council of Ministers should be abolished, and the sole right of initiative in matters of European Legislation should pass from the Commission to the European Parliament. The Commission should henceforth work as the civil service of the government that enjoys the confidence of the Parliament.
