The Prague Post
Hotel booking
March 14th, 2010
Endowment Fund     Business Listings ONLINE      Reservations      Classifieds    star Gift Subscriptions
Prague Property

Home » Current Issue » News

What the Lisbon Treaty means for EU states

Unifying document divides Europe with relegation of power, oversight to Brussels

By Markéta Hulpachová
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
December 17th, 2008 issue

Lisbon Treaty timeline



December 2008 Ireland agrees in principle to hold a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty in autumn 2009. An official decision will not be made until June 2009 and depends upon a set of compromises still to be negotiated
Czech legislators vote to delay a ratification decision on the Lisbon Treaty; the Senate is to vote early in 2009 and the Chamber of Deputies Feb. 3.
The treaty has been put to vote in all countries but the Czech Republic. Poland and Germany have officially approved the document, but not yet submitted it to Brussels
November 2008 The Czech Republic's Constitutional Court rules that ratifying the Lisbon Treaty is in line with the domestic Constitution
June 2008 Irish voters reject the Lisbon Treaty in the only referendum held by EU member states
April 2008 Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern steps down from office, worried that allegations of corruption could affect an impending treaty referendum
December 2007 Hungary becomes the first country to ratify the Lisbon Treaty
December 2007 The Lisbon Treaty is signed by EU member states in Lisbon
October 2007 Under the Portuguese EU presidency, the Lisbon Treaty text is finalized and slated for ratification by the end of 2008, to come into force Jan. 1, 2009
June 2007 Under the German EU presidency, there is a call for an intergovernmental conference to produce a slimmed-down reform treaty
March 2007 Under the German EU presidency, member states agree on the Berlin Declaration, a statement of common values and the basis for the Lisbon Treaty
February 2006 Presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy argues a slimmed-down version of the constitution as a means of avoiding a French referendum
June 2005 Dutch voters reject the EU constitution with 62 percent opposed
May 2005 French voters reject the EU constitution with 55 percent opposed
June 2004 During the Irish EU presidency, member states agree to an EU constitution treaty
June 2001 Ireland rejects the Treaty of Nice, which sought to clear the way for EU expansion in Eastern Europe. A second vote in Ireland in October 2002 ratified the treaty
May 1999 The Treaty of Amsterdam extends the European Parliament's co-decision powers and creates a high representative for foreign policy to oversee external affairs
November 1993 The Treaty on the European Union (Maastricht Treaty) introduces EU common foreign and security policy as well as establishes the outline for an economic and monetary union and single currency

Sources: European Voice and www.europa.eu

The eyes of Europe have become fixed on the Czech Republic in recent months, due to not only the country’s imminent presidency of the European Union but also its hesitance to ratify the Lisbon Treaty, a document intended to unify the expanding, 27-member bloc and increase its effectiveness.
Over the past year, the Lisbon approval process — which requires unanimous ratification by all member states — has hit several roadblocks, most notably the Irish “no” vote in a June national referendum. As Brussels lobbies a repeat vote in the country, other member states have continued the ratification process, approving the treaty through parliamentary votes.
At the end of 2008, the Czech Republic remains the only member state that has not yet submitted the treaty to vote, due in part to the reservations of a euroskeptical government wing led by President Václav Klaus.
In essence, the treaty is a replacement for the EU Constitution Treaty of 2005, which was returned to the drawing board when it failed to win approval in national referendums in France and the Netherlands. Unlike its predecessor, the Lisbon Treaty amends, rather than replaces, existing EU legislation, making it less ambitious but also less comprehensive.
As the domestic and EU-wide debate over the document heats up, The Prague Post has compiled a synopsis of the changes the Lisbon Treaty seeks to implement.
Qualified majority voting (QMV) will play an increased role in EU decision-making processes. Under QMV, legislation will need to be approved by 55 percent of member states representing at least 65 percent of the EU population to pass. To simplify the decision-making process, this principle would be expanded to new policy areas, including immigration, climate change, energy, and anti-terrorism. Other types of decisions — such as tax amendments, foreign and security affairs, social issues and changes to EU treaties — will still require unanimous approval.
The number of seats in the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, will be reduced by one-third — from 27 to 18. Commissioners will be elected for five-year terms, and each member state’s representation will rotate equally.
Currently, commissioners are appointed by the government of each member state. Each commissioner is assigned a portfolio that addresses a specific area of EU policy. The Czech appointee Vladimír Špidla, for example, is the EU commissioner for employment, social affairs and equal opportunities. Although selected by their respective countries, commissioners do not technically represent the interest of their member state. In practice, however, they tend to lobby for national interests to an extent as their member states’ highest representatives on the EU level.
The EU cabinet will be divided into a Council of Ministers and a European Council. The Council of Ministers, or the Council of the European Union, will continue to function as it does now. Platforms of national ministers will continue to meet on issues specific to their departments, such as agriculture or finance. The Council of Ministers will make decisions through qualified majority voting. A rotating 18-month presidency of three member states would oversee the council in all areas except foreign affairs. The European Council will comprise the heads of each member state. Depending on the setup of their government, these will be prime ministers, presidents or their equivalents. In the case of the Czech Republic, Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek represents the country in the European Council, and will become the body’s president in January, when the Czech Republic takes over the rotating six-month EU presidency.
The decision-making power of the European Parliament, which together with the European Council makes up the EU’s legislative body, will increase in an effort to strengthen the EU’s democratic functioning. The idea is to shift more areas of legislative decisions from the European Council, whose members are appointed by national governments, to the directly elected Parliament. The co-decision procedure, in which the council and Parliament jointly decide on legislation, would become standard. The number of members of European Parliament (MEPs) will be reduced from 785 to 750. Because the Lisbon Treaty has not been ratified by the January 2009 target date, the next parliamentary elections will proceed according to the Treaty of Nice, which will reduce the number of MEPs to 732. The treaty also lowers the maximum number of MEPs per country from 99 to 95 (in the case of large states like Germany) and raises the minimum number from five to six (in the case of small states like Cyprus and the Baltics).
A president of the European Council, elected by a qualified majority of the council, will chair the institution for a two and a half year term, replacing the current six-month rotating presidency held by member states. The role of this post will be mostly administrative. The president’s core responsibilities will include chairing council meetings and acting as its representative in communications with other EU institutions.
A new post of high representative of the Union for foreign affairs and security will be created, merging the current position of the high representative for the common foreign and security policy (currently held by Javier Solana) and the position of the European commissioner for external relations and European neighborhood policy. The new high representative would also serve as vice president of the European Commission and secretary-general of the council, and have the authority to propose defense and security measures. A new European External Action Service will provide support to the high representative.
The European Union will gain the status of a legal entity, essentially endowing it with the powers of a state. This move is considered a major step toward the unification of the EU, which has since the 1950s existed only through a series of treaties and organizations. Equipped with the powers of a state, the EU will have increased negotiating power among the international community, allowing it to sign treaties and negotiate with global organizations.
An exit clause will be created for the first time, allowing member states to secede from the union.
The Charter of Fundamental Rights will go into effect. The charter’s 55 articles aim to provide for new solidarity mechanisms and ensure better protection of European citizens.
The role of national parliaments will increase through the subsidiarity principle, a mechanism allowing decision-making in the EU to be made at the lowest possible level. National parliaments will act as watchdogs of this principle, ensuring that Brussels only acts in cases when policy is more effectively implemented on the EU level. If Czech deputies and senators oppose a certain EU decision, for example, they will newly possess the power to block it via the so-called yellow card veto.
The role of civic initiatives will strengthen, according to a new provision enabling 1 million citizens from more than one member state to petition the European Commission, which will then react by drafting corresponding legislation.

Markéta Hulpachová can be reached at mhulpachova@praguepost.com


Other articles in News:

If you enjoyed this article, why don't you subscribe to the print version!
We accept secure online transactions provided by PayPal and Moneybookers

Be the first to add a comment!


Full Name: *
City: *
E-mail: **
This comment can be published in the print version of The Prague Post
Enter the text on the right:
 visual captcha
Comment: *
* Required field. In order to be approved for display, comments must have a first and last name and a city.
** E-mails are required and will only be used for internal purposes.

Most visited in Business Listings

Hotel booking
The Prague Post Online contains a selection of articles that have been printed in
The Prague Post, a weekly newspaper published in the Czech Republic.
To subscribe to the print paper, click here.
Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.