Laeken Declaration on the future of the European Union (15 December
2001)
Caption: One year after the Intergovernmental Conference held in Nice in December 2000 which launched
the ‘Debate on the future of the European Union', the Laeken Declaration of 15 December 2001 redrafts and
gives tangible form to the issues raised in Nice regarding a reform of the institutions. Accordingly, the
Declaration sets out the key issues to be discussed at a Convention on the Future of Europe, whose inaugural
session is to take place in Brussels on 28 February 2002: the division of competences between the Union and
its Member States, the simplification of the Union's legislative instruments, the maintenance of
interinstitutional balance and an improvement to the efficacy of the decision-making procedure, and the
constitutionalisation of the Treaties.
Source: Bulletin of the European Union. 2001, No 12. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the
European Communities. "Presidency Conclusions of the Laeken European Council (14 and 15 December
2001)", p. 19-23.
Copyright: (c) European Union
URL:
http://www.cvce.eu/obj/laeken_declaration_on_the_future_of_the_european_union
_15_december_2001-en-a76801d5-4bf0-4483-9000-e6df94b07a55.html
Last updated: 06/01/2017
, Laeken Declaration of 15 December 2001 on the future of the European Union
I. Europe at a crossroads
I.27. For centuries, peoples and States have taken up arms and waged war to win control of the European
continent. The debilitating effects of two bloody wars and the weakening of Europe's position in the world
brought a growing realisation that only peace and concerted action could make the dream of a strong, unified
Europe come true. In order to banish once and for all the demons of the past, a start was made with a coal
and steel community. Other economic activities, such as agriculture, were subsequently added in. A genuine
single market was eventually established for goods, persons, services and capital, and a single currency was
added in 1999. On 1 January 2002, the euro is to become a day-to-day reality for 300 million European
citizens.
The European Union has thus gradually come into being. In the beginning, it was more of an economic and
technical collaboration. Twenty years ago, with the first direct elections to the European Parliament, the
Community's democratic legitimacy, which until then had lain with the Council alone, was considerably
strengthened. Over the last ten years, construction of a political union has begun and cooperation has been
established on social policy, employment, asylum, immigration, police, justice, foreign policy and a
common security and defence policy.
The European Union is a success story. For over half a century now, Europe has been at peace. Along with
North America and Japan, the Union forms one of the three most prosperous parts of the world. As a result
of mutual solidarity and fair distribution of the benefits of economic development, moreover, the standard of
living in the Union's weaker regions has increased enormously and they have made good much of the
disadvantage they were at.
Fifty years on, however, the Union stands at a crossroads, a defining moment in its existence. The
unification of Europe is near. The Union is about to expand to bring in more than ten new Member States,
predominantly Central and Eastern European, thereby finally closing one of the darkest chapters in
European history: the Second World War and the ensuing artificial division of Europe. At long last, Europe
is on its way to becoming one big family, without bloodshed, a real transformation clearly calling for a
different approach from fifty years ago, when six countries first took the lead.
The democratic challenge facing Europe
At the same time, the Union faces twin challenges, one within and the other beyond its borders.
Within the Union, the European institutions must be brought closer to its citizens. Citizens undoubtedly
support the Union's broad aims, but they do not always see a connection between those goals and the
Union's everyday action. They want the European institutions to be less unwieldy and rigid and, above all,
more efficient and open. Many also feel that the Union should involve itself more with their particular
concerns, instead of intervening, in every detail, in matters by their nature better left to Member States' and
regions' elected representatives. This is even perceived by some as a threat to their identity. More
importantly, however, they feel that deals are all too often cut out of their sight and they want better
democratic scrutiny.
Europe's new role in a globalised world
Beyond its borders, in turn, the European Union is confronted with a fast-changing, globalised world.
Following the fall of the Berlin Wall, it looked briefly as though we would for a long while be living in a
stable world order, free from conflict, founded upon human rights. Just a few years later, however, there is
no such certainty. The eleventh of September has brought a rude awakening. The opposing forces have not
gone away: religious fanaticism, ethnic nationalism, racism and terrorism are on the increase, and regional
conflicts, poverty and underdevelopment still provide a constant seedbed for them.
