I nodi dell'Unione Europea

The article analyses the most crucial present bottlenecks in front of the European Union. The survey explains the nature of the issue, the difficulties caused and the possible ways out. With reference to the latter, the legal instrument within the frame of the present EU Treaties and EU law are identified. When appropriate, the need of a change of the EU Treaties is duly mentioned. The scrutiny goes through several EU policies and challenges, explaining in particular how the Union could achieve: a more effective foreign and defense policy, a modern economic and monetary policy, a better and more versatile EU budget, a revised common commercial policy (CCP), a satisfactory migration and asylum policy, an efficient and ‘green’ energy policy, an updated common agricultural policy (CAP), a fair and harmonized EU tax policy. Specific focus is given to the lack of a clear and understandable constitutional structure for the European Union; the conclusion is that, after more than 70 years of increasingly strict cooperation and common legislation among States within a peculiar system, it is worth moving to a well identifiable constitutional frame either federal (as foreseen at the origin) or genuinely confederal.