The 'Reform Treaty' (also referred to as; "future institutional settlement" or "new legal basis", among others) is a proposed replacement for the
Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (European Constitution). The current draft is entitled the "'Draft Treaty amending the
Treaty on European Union and
the Treaty establishing the European Community'" but it may soon become known as the 'Lisbon Treaty' due to it being proposed to be signed on a European council meeting in Lisbon in October 2007.
The proposed Constitution had failed ratification in
France and the
Netherlands in 2005. It had been ratified by 15
European Union member states but due to the requirement of unanimity in amending the EU's consitutional framework, the French and Dutch votes required EU leaders to amend the procedures and content of a new EU treaty. In June 2007, the
European Council reached an agreement on the framework of a new treaty, which shall be finalised during an
Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) that started on 23 July of the same year and is expected to last about 3 months. It is expected to be signed by all member states in October of 2007 and ratified by all member countries in time to come into force before the
2009 European elections.
[1]
Events leading to the first draft of the Reform Treaty
The failed European Constitution
Versions of the ''Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe''.
The need to review the EU's constitutional framework, particularly in light of the impending accession of ten new member states in 2004, was highlighted in a declaration annexed to the
Treaty of Nice in 2001. The agreements at Nice had paved the way for further
enlargement of the Union by reforming voting procedures, but the treaty was widely regarded as not having gone far enough. The
Laeken declaration of December 2001 committed the EU to improving
democracy,
transparency and efficiency, and set out the process by which a constitution could be arrived at. The
European Convention was established, presided over by former
French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, and was given the task of consulting as widely as possible across Europe with the aim of producing a first draft of the Constitution. The Convention consisted mainly of representatives of national parliaments, not only from existing member states but also from candidate countries, as well as representatives of
heads of state and
government. It published its final draft in July 2003. The final text of the proposed Constitution was agreed upon at the summit meeting on 18–19 June 2004 under the presidency of
Ireland.
The Constitution, having been agreed by heads of government from the
25 member states, was signed at a ceremony in Rome on
29 October 2004. Before it could enter into force, however, it had to be unanimously
ratified by each member state. Ratification took different forms in each country, depending on the traditions, constitutional arrangements, and political processes of each country. In
2005,
Dutch and
French voters rejected the European Constitution in national
referendums. While the majority of the EU member states already had ratified the European Constitution, due to the requirement of unanimity to amend the constitutional treates of the EU, this led to a "period of reflection" and the political end of the proposed European Constitution.
Reaching agreement on an amended new EU treaty
In
2007,
Germany took over the rotating
EU Presidency and declared the period of reflection over. By
March, the 50th anniversary of the
Treaties of Rome, the
Berlin Declaration was adopted by all member states. This declaration outlined the intention of all member states to agree on a new treaty in time for the
2009 Parliamentary elections, that is to have a ratified treaty before mid-2009.
[2]
Already before the Berlin Declaration, the
Amato Group (officially the Action Committee for European Democracy, ACED) – a group of European politicians, backed by the
Barroso Commission with two representatives in the group – worked unofficially on rewriting the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (EU Constitution). On
4 June 2007 the group released their text in French – cut from 63,000 words in 448 articles in the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe to 12,800 in 70 articles.
Timeline for the new Reform Treaty
In the Berlin Declaration, the EU leaders unofficially set a new timeline for the new treaty:
:''(actual, or proposed)''
★ | 21–22 (23) June 2007 | | European Council meeting in Brussels, mandate for IGC |
★ | 23 July 2007 | launch of Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) in Lisbon, text of Reform Treaty |
★ | 7–8 September 2007 | Foreign Ministers’ meeting |
★ | 18–19 October 2007 | European Council in Lisbon (IGC closes 17–18 Oct), final agreement on Reform Treaty |
★ | by mid 2009 | ratification by all member states |
June negotiations
Angela Merkel brokered a treaty agreement in June 2007
On
21 June 2007 the
European Council met in
Brussels to agree upon the foundation of a new treaty to replace the rejected Constitution. The meeting took place under the German Presidency of the Union, with
Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel leading the negotiations as President-in-Office of the European Council. After the Council quickly dealt with its other business, such as deciding on the accession of
Cyprus and
Malta to the
Eurozone, negotiations on the Treaty took over and lasted till 5 a.m. on Saturday morning,
23 June 2007.
Agreement was reached on a 16-page "mandate" that proposed removing much of the constitutional terminology and many of the symbols from the old European Constitution text. In addition it was agreed to recommend to the IGC that the text of the old European Constitution should be amended in certain key aspects (such as voting or foreign policy). Due to pressure from the United Kingdom and Poland, it was also decided to recommend limiting the application of Charter of fundamental human rights within the EU (a potential opting-out provision for the UK). Among the specific changes were greater ability to opt-out in certain areas of legislation and that the proposed new voting system that was part of the European Constitution would not be used before 2014 (see Provisions below).
[3][4]
In the June meeting, the name "Reform Treaty" also emerged, finally eliminating the name "Constitution for Europe" for the new EU treaty. Technically it was agreed that the Reform Treaty would amend both the
Treaty on European Union and the
Treaty establishing the European Community to include most provisions of the European Constitution, however not to combine them into one document. It was also agreed to rename the Treaty establishing the European Community (EC-Treaty), which is the main functional agreement including most of the substantive provisions of European primary law, to "
Treaty on the Functioning of the Union". In addition it was agreed, that just like in the European Constitution, there would be a reference to the
Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union to make it legally binding.
Many of the amendments followed the procedures as suggested by the
Amato Group.
Portugese Intergovernmental Conference
Start of the Intergovermental Conference (IGC)
Portugal had pressed and supported Germany to reach an agreement on a mandate for an
Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) under their presidency. After the June negotiations and final settlement on a 16 page framework for the new Reform Treaty, the Intergovernmental conference on actually drafting the new treaty commenced on
July 23,
2007. The IGC opened following a short ceremony. The Portuguese presidency presented a 145 page document (with an extra 132 pages of 12 protocols and 51 declarations) entitled the '''"Draft Treaty amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community"''' and made it available on the
Council of the European Union website as a starting point for the drafting process.
[5]
Participants
In addition to government representatives and legal scholars from each member state, the European Parliament sent three representatives. These were
conservative Elmar Brok,
social democratic Enrique Baron Crespo and
liberal Andrew Duff.
[6]
Desire for renegotiating following the June agreement
Before the opening of the IGC, the Polish government expressed a desire to go back on the June agreement, notably over the voting system, but relented due to a desire not to be seen as the sole trouble maker over the negotiations and due to political pressure by most other European member states.
[7] However, according to some media reports, during the drafting process, Poland and Ireland may join the UK in its opt-out of the Charter on human rights, and Poland may call for further codification of rules regarding the ability of countries to delay legislation.
[8][9] Despite an opt-out for Ireland having been negotiated, the
ICTU has has stated it will push for a no vote, if the opt-out is exercised.
[10]
Proposed end of the IGC and signing of the Reform Treaty
It is currently planned to close this conference, mainly consisting of legal experts of all member states, at Council meetings on 18 and 19 October, 2007. As the IGC is held in
Lisbon and the European Council meeting in October will take place in Lisbon as well, it is likely the treaty will be called the '''"Lisbon Treaty"''' in the style of past treaties (excluding the Constitution's IGC in Rome); the
Maastricht Treaty in
Maastricht (1992), the
Amsterdam Treaty in
Amsterdam (1997), and the
Nice Treaty in
Nice (2001). It would be signed either at the conclusion of the IGC or if an agreement is not reached by then, probably in December.
Content of the Reform Treaty
Key features
★ 'More majority voting from 2014'
:
— Double majority voting in the European Council delayed by Poland.
★ 'A
European Council President'
:
— Would have few formal powers, but would give the EU strategic leadership and represent the bloc on the world stage. 2.5 year term.
★ 'Commission to Parliament power-transfer'
:
— The directly elected European Parliament gain power and the European Commission (chosen by the EU Council) loses power and importance.
★ 'A
merged foreign representative post'
:
— The External Relations Commissioner post merged into the current seat held by Javier Solana.
★ 'A single
legal personality'
:
— Enables the EU to sign international treaties.
★ 'A legally binding
Rights Charter'
:
— The Fundamental Rights Charter that was proclaimed by the EU in 2000 would be made legally binding. UK opt-out.
The Reform Treaty is intended to keep most of the institutional innovations that were agreed upon in the European Constitution, such as a permanent EU president, a foreign minister (renamed "
High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy"), the same distribution of parliamentary seats, a reduced number of commissioners, a clause on withdrawal from the EU and a full
legal personality (currently held only by the
European Community) allowing it to sign international agreements. In addition many of the political changes and substantial amendments to the old treaties in the European Constitution have also been kept. The following points are the major changes with regard to the European Constitution and the old treaties:
Elimination of all "state-like" symbols and terminology
It was agreed to drop most of the state-like features such as the name "constitution", as well as reference to EU symbols (flag, anthem, motto) that had been subject to major controversy in some European member states, particularly in the Netherlands and France, where voters rejected the European Constitution in referendums. In line with eliminating all "state-like" terminology and symbols, new names for various types of EU legislation have been dropped, in particular the proposal to rename EU regulations and directives to be EU "laws".
Opting-out of certain areas of European law
In addition to the change in terminology and symbols, the Treaty will most probably provide countries with a chance to opt out of EU policies in the area of police and criminal law – as pushed for by the UK, supported by the Czech Republic.
[11] Provisions in the Treaty framework draft from the June 2007 summit stated that the division of power between member states and the Union is a two-way process, implying that powers can be taken back from the union.
Voting in the Council of the European Union
Main articles: Voting in the Council of the European Union
One of the key sticking points before the European Council meeting in June 2007 was Poland's demand for a change in the proposed voting system in the
Council of the European Union. The new proposed voting rule is intended to be more democratically balanced combining a qualified majority vote of all member countries (55%) with a 65% majority of all citizens (that is the total population in all member states that are for a proposal), in order to pass most of the legislation within the European Union. The new voting system favours large and small countries, while being problematic for mid-sized countries such as Poland due to the population requirement that decreases their political power.
After hard negotiations the summit eventually agreed on a compromise in the early morning of
June 23,
2007. According to the compromise, the current Nice treaty voting rules (that do not include combined vote and population criteria) remain in place until 2014. Between 2014 and 2017 a transitional phase is to take place where the new
qualified majority voting rules apply, but where the old Nice treaty voting weights can be applied when a member state wishes so. Also from 2014 a new version of the 1994 "
Ioannina Compromise" will take effect, which allows small minorities of EU states to call for re-examination of EU decisions they do not like.
[12]
Charter of Fundamental Rights
Main articles: Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union
The 54-article Charter of Fundamental Rights lists citizens' political, social and economic rights. In the rejected EU Constitution it was integrated into the text of the treaty and was legally binding. The UK, however, was strongly against making it legally binding.
[13] The German presidency suggested a reference to it with a single article in the "Reform Treaty" but maintained that it should be legally binding, with possibly some extra safeguards to prevent the EU court's interpretation of the charter forcing a change of national laws.
[14] Due to the UK's insisting during the June 2007 summit, the Reform Treaty draft and/or the Charter will include a statement to the effect that it will not create new rights or encroach on UK law:
Poland has got the following phrase into the IGC mandate stating the Charter cannot affect national governments' power to legislate in the sphere of "public morality [and] family law". This change will affect all countries, the Charter will, however, still be legally binding and it is unclear how the addition will restrict the applicabiliy of the Charter.
The EU would also accede to the
European Convention on Human Rights under the treaty.
5
EU pillars
Main articles: Three pillars of the European Union
Under the Constitution, the EU's "pillar" structure would be scrapped with the union's competencies in two major legislative areas or "pillars" – foreign and security policy (second pillar) and justice and home affairs (third pillar) boosted. However the UK was opposed to extension of supranational powers in these areas in order to avoid a national referendum. Under the June agreement, the UK will also not be obliged to take part in EU cooperation in judicial and police affairs. On foreign policy and defence, the national veto will be retained but other innovations from the constitution are retained.
EU Foreign Relations
Main articles: High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Foreign Relations is a policy area which requires unanimity among the members of the EU according to the reform treaty. It will merge the post of
High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy with the
European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy in an effort to reduce the number of Commissioners in the European Commission. The High Representative will also become a Commission vice-president and get a diplomatic corps. The Constitution called this post the 'Union Foreign Minister'. In the Reform Treaty this post will be called 'High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy'.
Several member states feared that this post will undermine their national foreign policy, so the EU summit mandated that the IGC will agree to the following Declaration:
.jpg)
The High Representative would be combined with the Commissioner for External Relations
The changes in foreign relations have been seen by some as the core changes in the treaty, in the same way the
Single European Act had created a single market, the
Maastricht Treaty had created the euro or the
Treaty of Amsterdam created greater cooperation in justice and home affairs.
[15]
National parliaments
The Reform Treaty may slightly strengthen the role of national parliaments in EU decision-making by granting them eight rather than six weeks to study
European Commission law proposals before they proceed into the bloc's legislative institutions. Germany has suggested that if a third of national parliaments object to a proposal, then the Commission will have to submit a "reasoned opinion" as to why it is bringing the law, but will not be obliged to withdraw it.
Enlargement of and Exiting the European Union
Main articles: Enlargement of the European Union
The Reform Treaty just like the European Constitution will include language on potential member states having to adhere to the bloc's values if they want to become members of the union. A Dutch suggestion to enshrine the
Copenhagen Criteria for
further enlargement in the new treaty has not been fully taken on board as there are fears it would lead to
ECJ judges having the last word on who could join the EU, rather than its political leaders.
During the June 2007 summit Dutch prime minister
Jan Peter Balkenende, secured stronger enlargement criteria in the treaty. They make it more difficult for would-be member states to get their applications approved, give slightly more power to national parliaments over proposed EU legislation and add a protocol stating that the new treaty does not affect the right of member states to provide
services of general interest.
Just like the European Constitution the Reform Treaty will include a provision that makes it possible for EU member states for the first time to legally and officially terminate their membership. While there has been an instance where a territory has ceased to be part of the EC (Greenland in 1985), there is currently no regulated opportunity to exit the European Union.
Climate change and Energy solidarity
The Reform Treaty has additional agreements regarding
climate change and the fight against
global warming, which have been added as targets for the European Union. In addition, several provisions of the treaties have been amended to include solidarity in matters of energy supply and changes to the energy policy within the European Union.
Name changes
The "Treaty Establishing the European Community" (
Treaty of Rome) will be renamed the “Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union”. However, in contrast to the European Constitution, the two main treaties of the European Union will not be combined to one single constitutional treaty.
In addition there will be some changes to the institutions of the Union: the European Council and
European Central Bank will both become official institutions; the Council of the European Union will be known in the treaty as 'the Council' or the 'Council of Ministers'; the Court of Justice of the European Communities shall be known as the 'Court of Justice of the European Union', and the term 'European Commission' will also be used in the treaties instead of the Commission of the European Communities.
5
Ratification
Under a timetable envisioned by Germany and agreed by the June 2007 summit, all member states will use the mandate agreed at the June 2007 summit as the basis for negotiations on a new Treaty, which should be finished by the end of the year and ratified in all member states by mid 2009, ahead of the next
European elections. Most states are likely to try to avoid having a referendum on the treaty – with only Ireland obliged to – and will aim to ratify it by their national parliaments. Pressure remains in the United Kingdom and Denmark
[16][17] to hold a referendum on the treaty.
Reactions
In Poland
Arguments on the redistribution of voting weights have been a source of controversy in Poland; Poland's Prime Minister argued that Poland would have a substantially larger population were it not for
World War II.
[18]
In the United Kingdom
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair agreed to the new Reform Treaty in June 2007
The Reform Treaty has been greeted with controversy in the United Kingdom.
[19] The ruling Labour Party had promised a referendum over the UK's ratification of the constitution, however
Tony Blair announced that the new Reform Treaty would not be subject to a referendum. Due to the Reform Treaty including many changes to the old European constitutional framework that the European Constitution proposed, media reported that the British public felt a referendum should still be held over the new Reform Treaty.
[20] In response, Blair, and his successor
Gordon Brown, claimed that the treaty would not require a referendum so long as certain 'red lines' were not crossed; i.e., that the UK continued to retain her vetoes over collective foreign policy,
common law (so the Charter of Fundamental Rights would be without legal effect) and social security and tax laws.
[21] While Blair claimed to have reached this compromise, doubt was cast over the legal efficacy of his foreign policy opt-out, especially since the EU retained an extensive array of diplomatic machinery – implying that the EU would indeed be conducting collective diplomatic policies, regardless of Britain's feelings in the matter.
[22]
Also of concern was the removal of the term "free and undistorted" from the objectives of the EU. This was made by the request of French president Sarkozy who felt that this is not a philosophical objective but rather an tool to reach the objective.
Members of Parliament in the UK have also criticised that during the first few days of drafting the Reform Treaty only a French version was available, which they claim prevented proper scrutiny of the new European Union treaty by failing to provide the House of Commons with an English version.
[23]
European Union officials
Jose Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission stated that he is 'confident' that the 27 EU member states will reach a political agreement on a new reform treaty for the bloc by October. He added that "We now have the draft treaty text. The political consensus that was reached at the last European council is now translated into legal language."
[24]
The president of the European Parliament
Hans-Gert Pöttering declared that there should not be new negotiations on substance and that no agreement on a re-opening, as suggested for instance by Poland, should occur.
Elmar Brok, who is part of the Delegation of the European Parliament added "This mandate now needs to be implemented into a draft" right now.
[25]
German and Austrian reactions
German foreign minister
Frank-Walter Steinmeier declared that in his view the only thing left to do is to draft the legal compromise reached in June into "legal provisions". Austrian foreign minister
Ursula Plassnik concurred and added "the only thing left to do is get the language right and work on the legal details, and announced her confidence that within 12 weeks a treaty ready to sign could be prepared.
25
Quotations
★ ''"The one who wins in these kinds of situations is the one with the strongest nerves."''
::
Lech Kaczyński,
President of Poland,
22 June 2007★ ''"The constitutional treaty was an easily understandable treaty. This is a simplified treaty which is very complicated."''
::
Jean-Claude Juncker,
Prime Minister of Luxembourg,
23 June 2007[26]
★ ''“The good thing is that all the symbolic elements are gone, and that which really matters – the core – is left."''
::
Anders Fogh Rasmussen,
Prime Minister of Denmark, in ''
Jyllands-Posten'',
25 June 2007
References
1. Deal paves way for EU to move on
2. Constitutional Treaty: the "reflection period"
3. Presidency Conclusions Brussels European Council 21/22 June 2007
4. Stakes high as EU tries to put 2005 referendums behind it Honor Mahony
5.
Draft Reform Treaty – Projet de traité modificatif
6. Parliament to give green light for IGC
7. Poland indicates it is ready to compromise on EU voting rights
8. EU talks to thrash out new treaty
9. EU unveils bulky new treaty draft
10. ICTU threatens to oppose EU treaty
11. EU treaty blueprint sets stage for bitter negotiations Honor Mahony
12. EU leaders scrape treaty deal at 11th hour Honor Mahony
13. How the German EU proposals differ from the constitution Mark Tran
14. LinksDossier: EU in search of a new Treaty
15. A treaty for foreign policy Richard Lamming
16. DF forsøger at true VK til EU-afstemning
17. Danskerne vil stemme om EU-traktat
18. EU can't mention the war
19. BBC News looks at press responses to the treaty
20. New treaty is just 'constitution in disguise'
21. Blair lays down lines over EU deal
22. Referendum demand over Blair 'sell-out'
23. EU treaty published - but only in French
24. EU's Barroso confident on EU reform treaty agreement by October
25. Konferenz über neuen EU-Reformvertrag eröffnet
26. EU leaders hammer out treaty deal
External links
Official documents
★ '
Draft Reform Treaty'
★
Intergovernmental Conference 2007
★ ''
Brussels European Council 21/22 June 2007 – Presidency Conclusions'' with ''Annex I – Draft IGC Mandate'', 23 June 2007
★
★ ''
Brussels European Council 21/22 June 2007 – Presidency Conclusions'', Corrigendum(?), 20 July 2007
Other
★ ''
10 Myths about the Reform Treaty'', UK
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
★ ''
LinksDossier: EU in search of a new Treaty'',
EurActiv.com, updated (26 April 2007)
★
David Charter: ''
Q&A: the EU reform treaty'',
Times, 21 June 2007
★ ''
Key points of EU reform treaty draft'',
AFP /
EUbusiness, 21 June 2007
★ ''
EU leaders to discuss new treaty'',
BBC News, 21 June 2007
★ ''
A close look at the Reform Treaty'', Stephen Mulvey,
BBC News website, 3 August 2007
★ ''
The new treaty: what will it mean, and do we need a referendum?'' (PDF),
Open Europe, 7 May 2007
★ ''
Treaty on European Union – How does it compare to the Constitution?'' (PDF), Open Europe, July 2007
★ ''
The new EU reform treaty'' (PDF)
Federal Union, 23 June 2007
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