“Consultation has been the heart of our proposal,” says Baron Alexandre Lamfalussy. His words provide a valuable insight into the right way to construct workable legislation at the European level.
He says the process that bears his name – while not necessarily making disagreements disappear, does at least bring them out into the open.
He talks of the “absolute necessity” for initial consultation before legislation is drafted. “You have to identify if there is a need” for the new legislation in the first place.
And he emphasises that consultation is an ongoing process. He says it’s “not a one-shot affair. It is only productive if its is a process, a dialogue. And dialogue is a difficult process.”
It is important, he says, to be constructive – and not simply opt for the lowest possible common denominator to get different parties on board. “You need to recognise that consultation is time consuming and labour-intensive.”
“A good consultation requires good people and a heavy workload for the consulted. This means that at the highest level in your institutions that you to devote time and resources. You need to adopt a deliberate policy to devote time.”
“Consultation without transparency is of no use,” he adds. “Transparency is the absolute pre-condition for an effective consultation.”
One example of where the consultation process had broken down, Lamfalussy argues, is in the seemingly never-ending saga of the cross-border takeover directive. This, he sees as a ‘horror story’.
“You would have discovered the difficulties much earlier,” he maintains, under his procedure. “You have to face to the basic core principles and possible conflicts of interest.”

Topics