STRASBOURG (Reuters) – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen voiced her support on Wednesday for the idea of reforming EU institutions through an update of the European Union’s treaties, something she said citizens had shown they wanted.
“We need to improve the way we do things and the way we decide things,” von der Leyen said in her annual address to the European Parliament, which has been pushing for treaty changes.
She told lawmakers she supported their call for a convention to debate potential reforms, needed in particular if the European Union continues to expand beyond its 27 members. Von der Leyen noted some people believed now was not the right time.
In May, 13 EU countries largely from the Nordics and Eastern Europe said they did not support “unconsidered and premature” attempts to launch a process of treaty change.
This would entail a serious risk of drawing political energy away from the important tasks of handling urgent geopolitical challenges facing Europe, they said in a joint statement.
“We already have a Europe that works. We do not need to rush into institutional reforms in order to deliver results,” they said.
(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop)
