On 13 December 2007, the representatives of the Member States solemnly signed the Reform Treaty, which has been titled the Lisbon Treaty since.
On 12 December 2007, the representatives of the European institutions – the EU Council, the European Commission and European Parliament, signed the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which will become legally binding upon the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty.
The signing of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (http://ec.europa.eu/index_en.htm)
The Lisbon Treaty thus amends both the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC) according to the classical method. Henceforth, the EC Treaty will be called Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
Major new features of the Reform Treaty, compared to the treaties on which the European Union is founded:
• the European Union has a single legal personality,
• abolition of the three-pillar structure, while maintaining a special character of common foreign and security policy,
• president of the European Council with a mandate for two and a half years,
• High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy,
• the possibility for Member States to withdraw from the EU,
• postponing double majority voting in the Council to 2014, with a transitional period until 2017,
• certain legal safeguards shall apply to the United Kingdom and partially to Ireland as regards strengthening judicial cooperation in criminal matters,
• reference to the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union,
• new reference to solidarity between the Member States in the field of energy, as well as tackling climate change,
• increased role of the national parliaments in the European legislation process,
• criteria and procedures for the accession of new Member States foresee a reference to Union’s values and a reference to the membership criteria agreed by the European Council,
• under certain conditions, Ioannina mechanism allows postponing the adoption of a legal act in case it is disputable for certain Member States which do not represent a minority which could prevent its adoption
• changed composition of the European Parliament – upon the Lisbon Treaty entering into force, the EP will number 750 + 1 Member of European Parliament,
• the number of Advocates-General is increased by three; Poland will therefore acquire a permanent Advocate-General and the European Court of Justice will employ 11 Advocates General, 6 of which permanent.
After the signing of the Lisbon Treaty, ratification procedures started in the Member States in accordance with their national rules.
Seals of signatures of the Treaty of Lisbon, 12 December 2007 (http://ec.europa.eu/index_en.htm)
The National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia ratified the Treaty of Lisbon on 29 January 2008 by a convincing majority of 74 positive votes out of the total of 90 votes. So far, beside Slovenia, Hungary, Malta, Romania, France, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Austria, Denmark, Portugal, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, Luxembourg, Finland, Estonia, Greece, Great Britain, Cyprus, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Italy and Sweden have already ratified the Treaty.
Ratification by the Czech Presidency is expected in the first half on 2009.
After the negative outcome of the referendum in Ireland, Heads of State and Government, during their meeting at the European Council on 19 and 20 June 2008, conducted the first analysis of the reasons for the rejection of the Treaty and called for the continuation of ratification procedures in those Member States that have not endorsed it yet. They also agreed to address the possible ways out of this situation at the next meeting of the European Council.
In December 2008 the European Council discussed the Lisbon Treaty ratification process and, in line with the conclusions of the October meeting, laid down further steps for tackling this issue, taking into account that the Lisbon Treaty would enter into force at the beginning of 2010. At the same time the European Council defined in more detail expectations regarding the elections to the European Parliament, the composition and appointment of the Commission and the functioning of the Council.
The leaders noted the major concerns of the Irish citizens relating to budgetary policy, social and family policy, security and defence policy, and the question of Irish neutrality. They assured that in this regard legal commitments will be taken, which will be appropriate for the Irish. On the other hand, the Irish government committed to reach ratification of the Lisbon Treaty by the end of the current Commission’s mandate, by the end of October 2009, when a new referendum is expected to take place. The European Council unanimously approved these solutions.
With regard to the appointment of the Commission, the European Council concluded that in case the Lisbon Treaty is enforced, a decision will be taken in accordance with the legal provisions that the Commission will continue to consist of one member from every Member State. Elections to the European Parliament will be held on the existing legal basis – the Treaty of Nice. On that point, the European Council agreed on transitional measures for the composition of the European Parliament. In the case of the Lisbon Treaty entering into force after the parliamentary elections in June 2010, it is expected that by the end of the next parliamentary term of office, the number of MEPs will increase from those Member States which gained the number of MEPs by agreement within the intergovernmental conference on the Lisbon Treaty. Thus the number of Slovenian MEPs would be increased form seven to eight. This is expected to occur in 2010.
The European Council also laid down transitional measures for the composition of the European Council and the External Relations Council which shall change considerably with the Lisbon Treaty. Should the Lisbon Treaty enter into force at the time when the six-month Council Presidency of any of Member States has already been initiated, that Presidency will be completed according to the current arrangement, i.e. it will preside over all compositions of the Council and European Council.
Presumably, the decision to take into account the Irish concerns shall be directed towards Member States agreeing on these legally binding guarantees within the scope of an intergovernmental agreement, following the pattern of solving the Danish problems in the case of the "no" vote for the Maastricht Treaty.
Treaty of Lisbon amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community, signed at Lisbon, 13 December 2007
EUROPA - Treaty of Lisbon
Contact:
Veronika Bošković Pohar
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e-mail: veronika.boskovic(at)gov.si
Archives (Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe)
(last changes: 07 January 2009)
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