From a patchwork to a stable federal house

The author contends that current EU crisis management is a 'patchwork' where binding austerity rules are imposed on Member States while the responsibility for economic growth and unemployment remains national. To resolve this, the document proposes a federal structure characterized by a substantially increased EU budget, the mutualisation of debts through 'Eurobonds', and the implementation of EU-wide taxes following tax harmonisation. Central to this transition is the empowerment of the European Parliament with sole legislative initiative and budgetary sovereignty to ensure democratic legitimacy.

• Current EU crisis management is characterized by a divergence where binding budgetary rules and austerity are enforced at the European level, while the responsibility for combating unemployment and recession remains with individual nation states.
• The EU budget is considered insufficient for federal problem-solving, currently representing only 1% of the EU's GNP compared to the USA's federal budget of approximately 22% of GDP.
• To foster economic stabilization and a 'Green New Deal', the EU budget should be increased to focus on climate protection, ecological renewal, and the production of public goods with cross-border synergies.
• The document advocates for the mutualisation of debts via 'Eurobonds' and the creation of a European fiscal equalisation scheme to address unequal development among Member States.
• The author proposes replacing the principle of unanimity with a qualified majority to achieve tax harmonisation and implement EU-wide taxes, such as financial transaction, environmental, and company taxes.
• Democratic legitimacy requires the European Parliament to be granted the sole authority to initiate legislative proposals and full budgetary sovereignty, acting as the central decision-making body.

APA

Feigl-Heihs, B. R. M. (2013). From a patchwork to a stable federal house. Green European Journal. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/from-a-patchwork-to-a-stable-federal-house/

Chicago

Feigl-Heihs, Bruno Rossmann, Monika. From a patchwork to a stable federal house. Green European Journal, 2013. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/from-a-patchwork-to-a-stable-federal-house/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Feigl-Heihs |first1=Bruno Rossmann, Monika |title=From a patchwork to a stable federal house |publisher=Green European Journal |date=1 July 2013 |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/from-a-patchwork-to-a-stable-federal-house/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{feiglheihs2013from, author = {Feigl-Heihs, Bruno Rossmann, Monika}, title = {{From a patchwork to a stable federal house}}, publisher = {Green European Journal}, year = {2013}, month = jul, url = {https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/from-a-patchwork-to-a-stable-federal-house/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }