Intergovernmental method or community method: an irrelevant debate?

The recent positions taken by the German Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, in favour of applying the intergovernmental method to economic governance as well as the federal government’s proposals on the formation of an economic government in the eurozone, have relaunched the debate on the use of the intergovernmental method rather than the community method in the application of the Treaty of Lisbon and, more generally, in pursuing the European integration process.

That follows what was called the “Speech on the method of EU decision-making”, i.e. the speech given by Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel in Bruges on 2 November 2010, in which she suggested moving beyond the old argument between the community method and the intergovernmental method in favour of a new method, namely the “Union method”, which she defines as follows by first referring to a declaration by the European Council President Herman Van Rompuy: “In most cases, the choice is not between the community method and the intergovernmental method but between a coordinated European position and no position at all.” “In other words,” she goes on, “a coordinated European position is not necessarily the result of the application of the community method. This common position is sometimes an outcome of the intergovernmental method. The main thing is to have a common position on important issues.” Pursuing her reasoning, the chancellor added: “Perhaps we could agree on the following description of this approach: a coordinated action in a spirit of solidarity, each one of us [Ed: EU institutions and member states] in the sphere which comes under their responsibility but while focussing on the same aim. For me, that is the new ‘EU method’ which we so need […]”