Modifying treaty

The modifying Traité is the French name of the treated prepared by the intergovernmental Conférence (IGC) during the second half-year 2007, to replace the treated establishing a constitution for Europe. Once this ratified treaty, there will remain two different treaties, that on the European Union and a second treaty entitled “on the operation of the Union” which will replace that instituting the European Community.

The text of the modifying treaty was approved by the European Council of Lisbon, the October 19th 2007. It will be signed the December 13rd 2007, also in Lisbon, then will have to be ratified by each Member State according to its own procedures of ratification.

The mandate given to the “IGC 2007” results from the “project of mandate for the IGC”, a document of fifteen pages, annexed with the conclusions of the European Council of Brussels of June 23rd, 2007.

History

Because of the rejection by referendum, in 2005, of the European Constitution by the French and Dutch voters, one period known as of reflection had opened. In January 2007, whereas it assumed the chairmanship of the European Union, the Germany declared this period closed.

In March 2007, at the time of the celebrations of the 50e birthday of the Treated of Rome of 1957, a declaration of Berlin was signed in order to give a new dash to European construction, before the elections of the the European Parliament, in June 2009.

Following the rejection chief clerk, a Group Amato (Committee of action for the democracy European, chaired by Giuliano Amato, officially in English Action Committee for European Democracy , ACED), composed of “wise” and supported by the Commission Barroso, worked in an not-official way, by rewriting the treaty. June 4th, 2007, the group stopped a text in French, while reducing in 70 articles and: 12,800 words the the Treaty of Rome of 2004 (which was composed of 448 articles and of: 63,000 words).

June 21st, 2007, at the time of the European Council of Brussels, the negotiations began on a project from 11 pages, of a “modifying treaty” (in English, Reform Treaty ) which resulted from bilateral negotiations under the German presidency. After one day and half of intense discussions, tended enough, a compromise was found towards 4:30 of the morning of the Saturday, June 23, 2007.

The adopted procedure in fine to leave the crisis corresponds about to the recommendations of the Groupe Amato.

General information

Name

The name finally retained for this treaty (“treated modifying”, in English “ Reform Treaty ”), which was the subject of intense negotiations, which had proposed the Groupe Amato is that (initially “New Treaty”) and not that of “simplified treaty” or “mini-treaty” that Nicolas Sarkozy had advanced.

Indeed, the German presidency but also the 7 Member States which would have liked to preserve name “Constitution European” supported a technical denomination and not a “reduced” denomination.

On the other hand, it was also necessary to satisfy the States which did not wish to have to turn over in front of their voters and for which new name was to appear as neutral as possible. The final compromise went on this denomination.

It is also called in the Nouveau press “institutional Treaty” or, anticipating in fact on its signature envisaged the December 13rd 2007, “Treated of Lisbon”, with the image of its predecessors (Treated of Maastricht in 1992, of Amsterdam in 1997, Nice in 2000).

Calendar

IGC must begin, under the Portuguese presidency, before the end of the month of July 2007 and finish before the end of the year 2007, so that the treaty can be ratified before the elections of the the European Parliament of June 2009. The discussion on this treaty will begin the July 23rd with Brussels to be completed, normally, the 18 and October 19th with Lisbon. The Secretary of State to the Portuguese European Businesses, Manuel Lobo Antunes declared: “It will be our priority task”. According to him, the European Council gave clear mandate a “and precis” which calls only one working of the text, from a legal point of view. But this rewriting will not go without discussions. The Prime Minister, Jose Sócrates, declared in front of the Portuguese Parlement which it was not made “illusions in this respect”: “A mandate is not a treaty. Thanks to this mandate, Europe chose the way which she intends to follow. But it remains us to traverse it. ”

The IGC should be according to Mr. Lobo Antunes “a political exercise” and not only technical and the Foreign Minister, Luis Amado, estimates that divergences of interpretation are possible, in particular with Poland, which has its own reading of the Compromis of Ioannina.

For the coming into effect of certain provisions of the future treaty:

2014 : coming into effect of the new voting system to double majority with one transitional period until in 2017 (cf provisions governing the institutions).

Precise details of legal order

The treaty will contain two essential clauses:

a clause modifying the Treated on the European Union (treated EU, at the origin the treaty of Maastricht);
a clause modifying the Treated establishing the European Community (treated EC, at the origin the Treaty of Rome of 1957).

The treaty EU will preserve her current name, the treaty THIS will become “a Traité on the operation of the Union”, the Union being equipped with a single legal personality.

The term “the Community” will be replaced by “Union” and it will be indicated that the two treaties constitute the treaties on which the Union will be founded.

The constitutional concept, which consisted in repealing all the current treaties to replace them by a single text entitled treated establishing a constitution for Europe is abandoned. The modifying treaty will introduce into the current treaties, which will remain in force, the innovations rising from work of the IGC of 2004.

Political tendencies

the engineering changes of the treaty Euratom and the various current protocols, which were agreed by the IGC of 2004, will be taken again by the means of protocols attached to this modifying treaty.

the “Foreign Minister of the Union” will be called “high representative of the Union for the foreign affairs and the security policy”.

the terms “law” and “outline law” will be abandoned with the profit of the maintenance of the current terms of “regulations”, “directives” and “decisions”.

the treaties will not contain any article mentioning the symbols of the Union (European Drapeau, European Hymne, European Devise).

With regard to the rule of the law of the Union, the IGC will adopt a declaration pointing out the jurisprudence of the Court of justice of the European Union.

the article on the basic rights will contain a mention of the Charte of the basic rights of the European Union, like agreed at the time of the IGC of 2004, on which it will confer a juridically constraining value (except for the the United Kingdom which makes annex a protocol ad hoc ; Poland unilaterally declares in addition that “the charter does not carry reached in any manner to the right of the Member States to legislate in the field of the public morality, the right of the family as well as protection of the human dignity and respect of the physical integrity and morals”).

Text of the treaty

October 5th, 2007, the Portuguese presidency of the Union diffused the text of the modifying treaty (in English and French), such as it results from the work of the members of 7th IGC, in accordance with the mandate which it received (the agreement had been reached on October 2nd, 2007). Length of 256 pages, this text consists of the modification of existing articles, as the mandate of the IGC requires it.

The observers consider it “indigestible”. Christian Lequesne, holder of the pulpit Sciences Po - LSE Alliance with the London School off Economics and Political Science , thus describes it “muddled” and even as “gas works”. It should not however not be presented later on to the populations of the States in readable” or “accessible” form more a “(known as “consolidated”) before its ratification.

The IGC concluded its work at the time of the European Council from the October 18th and 19th (in the small hour, in the night of the 18 to 19), after later discussions on two points:

Poland insisted to put the Compromis of Ioannina, a mechanism which allows the reference of the decisions taken by the Council of the Union countries in minority, inside even of the treaty, rather than in a separate declaration. The compromise which was found is to include it in a protocol, which has a major legal force that a declaration. But this compromise could be abandoned by the Council unanimously, whereas Poland claimed a new intergovernmental conference;
Italy disputed the new distribution of the number of members of Parliament, proposed by the the European Parliament and which saw for the first time an unhooking between the three Member States most populated after Germany: France with 74 European deputies, the United Kingdom with 73 and Italy with only 72 deputies. This distribution took account of the population resident in these three countries and not of the number of citizens of the Union as the treaty envisaged it. Finally, an additional deputy was granted to Italy, by removing account the president of the European Parliament (there will be thus 751 deputies with this last which traditionally does not vote). A new redistribution of the seats will be done before the European elections of 2014.

Ratification

This agreement puts an end to two years and half of institutional uncertainty, after “not” with the French and Dutch referendums. But it must be ratified after its signature in Lisbon on December 13rd, 2007, to be able to come into effect on January 1st, 2009, in time for the elections of the European Parliament of June 2009.

The ratifications should thus intervene during the year 2008, preferably by parliamentary way. Only Ireland stated to organize a referendum of confirmation, its constitution the there kind one, while the Netherlands and the Czech Republic already decided to give up a referendum.

Relative tendencies at the institutions

The institutional changes approved at the time of the IGC of 2004 will be integrated partly in the treaty EU and partly in the treaty on the operation of the Union. New title III will give an overall picture of the system of the institutions, with in particular:

the European Parliament (new composition);
European Council, transformation into a new institution and creation of the function of President of the Union;
the the Council of the European Union: introduction of the voting system to the double majority, semi-annual presidency of the Council;
European commission, new composition, reinforcement of the role of the president;
Court of justice of the European Union;
High representative of the Union for the foreign affairs and the security policy.

The voting system by the double majority, approved in 2004, will take effect at November 1st, 2014 and hitherto the current voting system to qualified majority (treated EC, Article 205, §2) will continue to apply. Then a transitional period ago until March 31st, 2017, where the compromised of Ioannina could be called upon. A minority of blocking will be instituted.

Certain elements of the treaty remained rather close even identical to the spirit to late European Constitution:

the presidency of the Union is stabilized, with a president elected by his pars, for two years and half;
the Commission will not comprise any more one police chief per State but two police chiefs for three Member States;
the role of the national parliaments is reinforced (lengthening of the duration of examination of the texts which passes from 6 to 8 weeks) and the obligation made at the Commission re-examine or even withdraw a text disputed in the majority of the voices.

Future adhesions and candidates

To article 49, first subparagraph (“Criteria of eligibility and procedure of adhesion to the Union”) is added the following sentence: “The criteria of eligibility having been the object of an agreement of the European Council are taken into account. ”.

What means that the candidates will have to respect the Critères of Copenhagen, relating in particular to the democratic development.

Reception and comments around the “modifying Treaty”

For much, it acts well of “an agreement, but with the reduction” and in a leading article titrated “retro Sarko”, the Corriere beyond Will be shows Nicolas Sarkozy to be “comprised like would have made its predecessor Jacques Chirac”.
Romano Prodi, Guy Verhofstadt and Jean-Claude Juncker (and other members of the group of the seven States which defended the European Constitution) denounces a “illegible treaty” and “retreat of the European spirit”.
On the questions of the European Anthem or the flag, Mr. Prodi “was deeply saddened” to note “the eagerness of certain governments to deny the emotional aspects of Europe”.
the suppression of the concept of “free competition and not distorted” caused the strong reaction of Giuliano Amato, president of the Groupe Amato, which proposed “once again, the protectionist DNA of the French policy” and considéréé it as “an absurdity cancellation” which “ humiliates and discourages ” the partisans of the single European market.
Guy Verhofstadt and Karel De Gucht estimated that they had preserved “essence” but not clearness: “the goal of the constitutional treaty was to be more readable, the goal of this treaty is to be illegible” estimated Mr. De Gucht who described it as “treaty of the footnotes”.
Daniel Cohn-Bendit was questioned: “What guarantees to us that the twin of the Polish twin and Gordon Brown will not reconsider the word given? I point out that the Charter, they all had signed it! ”.

After the definitive adoption of the text:

Valery Giscard d'Estaing, the president of the European Convention, declared that the differences between this treaty and the European Constitution were of a “cosmetic” nature
the “think tank” British Openeurope Eurosceptic carried out a detailed analysis and noted that this modifying treaty is to 96% identical to that of the European Constitution.
the daily newspaper, based in Brussels, Europolitique left a first precise comment. Written by specialized journalists in the European businesses, it reviews all the institutions and policies and comments on the various changes. A classification by stars (as in the gastronomical guides) makes it possible to determine the importance of the modifications.

The fact that the rule of double majority should not come into effect at the latest that in 2017 can appear as a victory of the Poland which delays 10 years the change of the rules of vote of the Traité of Nice today with its advantage. The European Union having to work during ten years with the current rules, it is possible that a new change is initiated meanwhile.

See too

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