The way to the Treaty of Lisbon

Treaties of Rome:

• originally (1957 – 1993) Treaty Establishing the European Economic Community
• succeeded by (1993 – 2009) Treaty Establishing the European Community and (2009 – ) Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union; also called, together with the Treaty Establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, Treaties of Rome
• international agreement signed in Rome on 25th March 1957
• by Belgium, France, the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands
• established the European Economic Community (EEC), creating a common market and customs union among its members
• the Treaty Establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, for the purpose of developing peaceful applications of atomic energy, was signed by the same countries on the same day, and therefore the two treaties together are often called the Treaties of Rome
• the treaty that had established the EEC remained one of the EU’s core documents, though the EEC itself was renamed the European Community (EC), and the EC was embedded into the EU.
• with the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty in 2009, the EC was eliminated, and the Treaty of Rome that had established it was formally renamed the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union

Maastricht Treaty:

• formally Treaty on European Union
• international agreement approved by the heads of government of the states of the European Community (EC) in Maastricht, Netherlands, in December 1991
• ratified by all EC member states (voters in Denmark rejected the original treaty but later approved a slightly modified version), the treaty was signed on 7 February 1992, and entered into force on 1 November 1993
• established the European Union (EU), with EU citizenship granted to every person who was a citizen of a member state: enabled people to vote and run for office in local and European Parliament elections in the EU country in which they lived, regardless of their nationality
• the introduction of a central banking system and a common currency (the euro – €)
• committed members to implementing common foreign and security policies
• called for greater cooperation on various other issues, including the environment, policing, and social policy

Lisbon Treaty:

• international agreement that amended the Maastricht Treaty, Treaties of Rome, and other documents to simplify and streamline the institutions that govern the European Union (EU)
• proposed in 2007
• ratified by most member states in 2008 but
  • a referendum in Ireland—the only country that put the Lisbon agreement to a public vote – rejected it on 12 June 2008 and on 2 October 2009, a second referendum – passed;
  • Poland’s government also had expressed reservations, but it ratified a week after the Irish vote, after securing opt-outs from EU policy on some social issues, such as abortion
  • the Czech Republic was the last remaining: Parliament ratified, President Václav Klaus withheld his signature, the Czech courts » not violate the country’s constitution » Klaus signed it on 3 November 2009
• ratified by all 27 member states and entered into force on 1 December 2009
• not explicitly called a European constitution
• addressed a number of issues that had been central to the 2004 EU draft constitution, an initiative that was scuttled after voters in France and the Netherlands rejected it in 2005
• the European Community (which had provided the economic framework upon which the EU was built disappeared and its powers and structure were incorporated into the EU
• the office of a permanent EU president was created: with the president chosen by the leaders of the member countries from a pool of candidates that they had selected; a 2.5-year post, officially called the president of the European Council, would provide a “face” for the EU in matters of Union policy
• the rotating EU presidency, whereby each member country assumes a leadership role for a period of six months, was retained, although its mandate would be narrowed
• high representative for foreign affairs and security policy – gathered the EU’s two foreign affairs portfolios into a single office, with the goal of creating a more robust and unified European foreign policy
• the power of the European Parliament also was enhanced and its number of seats revised
• the Charter of Fundamental Rights – initially proposed at the Council of Nice in 2000, entered into force as a part of the Lisbon Treaty – civil, political, economic, and social rights guaranteed to all citizens of the EU
• changes – voting mechanisms that determined EU policy
  • within the Council of the European Union, the EU’s main decision-making body, the system of qualified majority voting (QMV) (previously used only in certain circumstances) was extended to more policy areas » easing the decision-making process
  • for most decisions, 55% of member states representing 65% of the population » able to approve a measure
  • double majority” voting rule (which represents a simplification of the former system of weighted votes) phased in over time
  • matters of defence, foreign policy, social security, and taxation » require unanimous approval
  • QMV and the “double majority” rule designed to streamline decision making at the highest levels (critics argued that they would reduce the influence of smaller countries at the expense of larger ones)
  • introduced the European Citizens’ Initiative, a process by which EU citizens could directly petition the European Commission (the EU’s main executive body) by gathering 1,000,000 signatures from a number of member states