PART 5  |  15 JANUARY – 5 FEBRUARY 2022

This article deals with the powers of the Executive branch under the direction of the President. Most European countries do not have a Presidential System, but a Parliamentary Democracy. This means that the Parliament is in charge of the Executive branch and can therefore call the Prime Minister and members of the government to account. But in the US, there is no ministerial responsibility, nor the so-called rule of confidence (= a minister must resign if he no longer has the confidence of parliament). In a Presidential System like the US, this does not exist. Congress and the President are elected by the people and answer to the people. This explains the extensive Committee system and Staff in both Houses, about which more in Chapter 10. But it also explains the extensive lobbying on the part of the Executive to convince members of the Houses of the need to make certain laws. The President and his Ministers do not sit around waiting for a bill to arrive from a House, but actively pursue policies behind the scenes of the Houses to provoke legislation.

Uitleg van deel 1

Clause 1 states that the Executive power lies with the President. It is important to emphasize here that that power is to execute what the legislative Houses of Congress decide. And so, in order to keep an eye on the President in this regard, Congress - as already discussed - exercises its 'Congressional Oversight': a deep oversight of the executive.

Clause 1 also stipulates that, unlike the American Constitution, we do not use the system of electoral votes per State, where the principle of 'the winner takes all' applies. Clause 1 is based on direct election by a simple majority of the votes (50%+) of the Citizens of the Federation of Europe, with the territory of the Federation forming a single electoral district. We therefore opt for the system of 'popular vote', whereby the candidate who receives the most votes, seen across the whole Federation, wins. The distribution of the elected representatives among the available seats is a matter of proportional representation.

In America, there are regular calls to adopt this system instead of the electoral system, because on a few occasions (George Bush versus Al Gore, Hilary Clinton versus Donald Trump), it turned out that a candidate had the most voters (Al Gore and Hilary Clinton) but not the most electoral votes. The President and Vice-President can serve a maximum of two four-year terms.

Clause 2 departs from the US Constitution. It stipulates that Congress sets the date for the election of the President. For the US, there is nothing against that. However, in view of the importance of a federal Europe to reposition itself swiftly and skillfully in the game of globalizing powers and forces, it seems sensible to us to synchronize the terms of office of the American and European Presidents from the outset. In this way, the two can get used to each other and, where necessary, cooperate, without there being a break in continuity because a new President is elected halfway through the term of one in the other continent. Before they remember each other's telephone number, valuable time is lost. 

As an aside, in the US, the day of the Presidential election is set for the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Generally speaking, that is between 2 and 8 November. In 2012, it fell on 6 November. In 2020 on 3 November. Considering European electoral traditions and public holidays in the month of November, we choose the third Friday in the month of October.

Furthermore, in derogation from the American Constitution, Clause 2 stipulates that, during the period between the creation of the United States of Europe and the first presidential elections, an acting President is appointed by and from the European Congress. He will then be ineligible at the first presidential election. The argument is that in the first presidential election of the United States of Europe, the candidates concerned should have a level playing field for the European presidency. Allowing the acting President to participate in that election could adversely affect the level playing field for the other candidates. Moreover, it seems wise that in the months, or perhaps years, preceding the first election of the President of the United States of Europe, someone should be appointed who has no personal interest in his or her election. A businesslike and professional approach to the young Federation is then required.

Clause 3 provides that a person can only become President if he or she has a personal link with the European Federation, namely, possesses the nationality of a State of the Federation and has lived somewhere officially in the Federation for a number of years.

Clause 4 provides for a salary of the President for the whole term of office. In addition, he/she may not accept any other income in cash or in kind - either public or private - other than that derived from his/her own assets that he/she had before taking the presidential office. Under Donald Trump's presidency, this has not been adhered to. It is to be hoped that this will not set a precedent for the conduct of any future President of the Federation of Europe.

Clause 5, the compulsory oath or promise of the President, to be taken at the hands of the President of the Court of Justice, is taken from the US Constitution. In the US, this is a quadrennial event that is graced with pomp and circumstance. By the way, the words "So help me God" are not in the US Constitution. It appears to have been added to the oath by the first President, George Washington, on his own authority.

Uitleg van deel 2

The first five Clauses of this Section are almost entirely taken from U.S. Amendment 25, ratified in February 1967. See Chapter 8. 

The first sentence of Clause 1 is the impeachment provision, used at the time to pressure Richard Nixon into resigning because of his part in the Watergate affair, after which his successor Gerald Ford pardoned him. President Trump has been impeached twice by the House of Representatives but also acquitted twice by the Senate. 

This first Clause also solves a problem that people in America have struggled with for a long time. Namely, the question: if the President is succeeded by the Vice President, is he/she then 'Acting President', i.e., the acting President with only presidential powers, or is he/she President, all the way? Well, the latter has been the case since 1967: the Vice President becomes the President. On that basis, Gerald Ford became President when Richard Nixon resigned because of the Watergate scandal.

Clause 2 was prompted by the concern to ensure continuity in the administration of the Federation. A Vice-President may be appointed by the President - with the consent of the European Congress - if for any reason there is no Vice-President, so that in this case there is no need to appeal to the Citizens.

Clauses 3 to 5, which relate to the President's inability to perform his duties, speak for themselves. They are taken from Amendment 25 of the US Constitution. When the Capitol was stormed on 6 January 2021 and the Democrats accused Trump of being the instigator, the Democrats put pressure on Vice-Presidential Mike Pence to use Amendment 25, Clause 4, to make it clear that President Trump could no longer be considered capable of carrying out the presidency. Pence did not accept that challenge. An impeachment procedure then followed, which obtained a majority of votes in the House of Representatives but not in the Senate. 

Clauses 6 and 7 are taken from American Amendment 20, ratified in January 1933.