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GuideA 30 minute guide to the Lisbon Treaty
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Introduction 1
What is the Lisbon Treaty?
The Lisbon Treaty negotiations
Developments since the June 2008 referendum
Legal Guarantees and Assurances for Ireland
Why are we holding a referendum?
Democratic controls 4
The role of National Parliaments
The role of the European Parliament
The citizens initiative
Decision-making 6
The European Council
The Council of Ministers
The European Commission
The European Parliament
The Court of Justice
The European Central Bank
The European Court of Auditors
The EUs powers and their limits 8
The nature and competences of the Union
Future amendments to the EU Treaties
New policy areas covered by the Lisbon Treaty
Justice and Home Affairs
Climate Change
Taxation
Citizens rights and freedoms 11
The Unions external role 12
Europe & the developing world
EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy
The Common Security and Defence Policy
Are there any implications for Irelands neutrality?
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What is the Lisbon Treaty?
The Lisbon Treaty was signed on 13
December 2007 at a meeting of European
leaders in Lisbon, Portugal. The Lisbon Treaty
amends the current EU Treaties, but does not
replace them. Its official name is the Treaty
of Lisbon amending the Treaty on European
Union (TEU) and the Treaty establishing the
European Community.
The stated purpose of the Lisbon Treaty is
to enhance the efficiency and democratic
legitimacy of the Unionand to improve its
coherence. Among other things, the Treaty
contains provisions:
1. on democratic controls, with a greater
role in EU decision-making for national
parliaments, including the Dil and
Seanad; the European Parliament; and
citizens;
2. reforming decision-making procedures
within the Union;
3. setting out the powers given to the EU
by its Member States and the limits ofthose powers;
4. on fundamental rights, giving legal status
to the Charter of Fundamental Rights
and allowing for EU ratification of the
European Convention on Human Rights;
5. on the Unions external role, giving it a
greater capacity to prevent and resolve
conflicts in other parts of the world;
6. obliging the Union, when implementing
its policies and activities, to take into
account the promotion of a high level
of employment and the guarantee ofadequate social protection.
7. on justice issues, which have the aim
of making the EU more effective in
combating cross-border crime.
For the Lisbon Treaty to come into effect, it
must first be ratified by all 27 European Union
Member States.
The full texts of the Lisbon Treaty, the
consolidated versions of the Treaty on
European Union and the Treaty on the
Functioning of the European Union as well
as the Charter of Fundamental Rights can be
found at www.lisbontreaty.ie.
Why and how the Lisbon Treaty was
negotiated?
It is now more than 50 years since the
original European Community was setup. At that time it had six Member States.
Todays European Union has a membership
of 27 countries, which means that it cannot
function in the same manner as it did in 1957.
The Lisbon Treaty is designed to provide the
Union with the institutional means to deal with
such 21st century issues as the impact of
globalisation, climate change, energy security,
Introduction:
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sustainable development, cross-border crime
and immigration. These challenges are such
that they cannot be dealt with effectively by
individual countries, whether they are large
or small.
The Union is founded on the
values of respect for human dignity,
freedom, democracy, equality,the rule of law and respect for
human rights, including the rights
of persons belonging to minorities.
These values are common to the
Member States in a society in which
pluralism, non-discrimination,
tolerance, justice, solidarity and
equality between men and women
prevail.
Art 2 Treaty on European Union
The Lisbon Treaty has its roots in the
European Convention a body of more than
200 public representatives from the Member
States governments and parliaments and the
EU institutions - which met from February
2002 to July 2003.
Much of the content of the Lisbon Treatywas negotiated in 2004 under Irelands EU
Presidency when agreement was reached on
an EU Constitutional Treaty. When that Treaty
could not be brought into effect, further
negotiations took place among the Member
States and the Lisbon Treaty was signed in
Lisbon on 13 December 2007.
Developments since the June 2008
referendum
On 12 June 2008, the people of Ireland
voted not to ratify the Lisbon Treaty.
Since the June 2008 referendum, the
Irish Government worked intensively to
find a way forward for Ireland in Europe.
The Government commissioned in-depth
research in order to identify the reasons
behind the outcome. The research showed
that most people want Ireland to remain fully
and actively involved in the EU, with 70%
believing that membership is a good thing
and only 8% disagreeing. The research
also illustrated that the main reason cited
for voting No was a lack of information and
knowledge (42%). Of those who decided
to abstain from voting, 46% did so for
this reason.
A number of other issues emerged from the
research as being significant concerns for
Irish voters. These included: the composition
of the European Commission; taxation;
ethical issues, including the right to life;
security and defence issues, including
conscription; and workers rights.
An all-party Oireachtas Sub-Committee
on Irelands Future in the European Union
reported in November 2008. This reportconcluded that Irelands best interests would
be served by remaining at the heart of the
European Union. The report recommended
that the electorates key concerns be
addressed and that public understanding
of the EU be improved, with the Oireachtas
playing a more active role in EU affairs.
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Legal Guarantees and Assurances for
Ireland
Following intensive negotiations at meetings
of European leaders in December 2008 and
June 2009, it was agreed that, if the Lisbon
Treaty enters into force, each Member State
would retain a right to nominate a member
of the European Commission. The European
Council also agreed a set of legal guarantees
and assurances for Ireland in the areas of key
concern to Irish voters.
The legal guarantees confirm that:
nothing in the Lisbon Treaty makes any
change of any kind, for any Member
State, to the extent or operation of the
Unions competences in relation to
taxation;
the Lisbon Treaty does not affect or
prejudice Irelands traditional policyof military neutrality it confirms that
the Lisbon Treaty does not create a
European army, nor does it provide for
conscription; and
nothing in the Lisbon Treaty or the
Charter of Fundamental Rights affects
in any way the scope and applicability of
the provisions of the Irish Constitution
relating to the protection of the right to
life, family and education.
The European Council also agreed a Solemn
Declaration on workers rights which confirms
the high importance that the Union attaches to:
social progress and the protection of
workers rights;
public services;
the responsibility of Member States for
the delivery of education and health
services.
Why are we holding a referendum?
For the Lisbon Treaty to enter into force,
each of the 27 Member States must
ratify the Treaty, according to its own
constitutional arrangements. For Ireland,
ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, as with a
number of previous EU treaties, requires our
Constitution to be amended. Each time the
Government proposes to change or amend
the Constitution, it must hold a referendum to
seek the agreement of the people.
Following agreement at the European
Council in June 2009 on a package of legal
guarantees and assurances for Ireland, the
28th Amendment to the Constitution (Treaty
of Lisbon) Bill 2009 was passed by the Dil
and Seanad in early July and a referendum
will be held on Friday, 2 October.
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A 30 minute guide to the Lisbon Treaty
Whats in the
package of legal
guarantees and
assurances?
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Democratic controls
A key section of the Lisbon Treaty is devoted
to setting out the values and democratic
principles on which the EU is based.It specifies that the Union is founded on
representative democracy and makes it
clear that every citizen shall have the right
to participate in the democratic life of the
Union.
The Treaty will:-
I. Provide National Parliaments with a
new and wider role in EU affairs;
II. Develop the role of the European
Parliament;
III. Introduce a Citizens Initiative.
I The role of National Parliaments
The Lisbon Treaty will give the National
Parliaments of EU Member States a direct
input into European legislation.
All proposals for EU legislation will be
sent directly to National Parliaments. The
Parliaments will have the right to offer
reasoned opinions.
If a sufficient number of National Parliaments
object to a particular proposal, it can either
be amended or withdrawn. This yellow card
procedure is designed to give National
Parliaments an important role in ensuring that
the Union does not exceed its authority by
involving itself in matters which can best be
dealt with at national, regional or local level.
The Treaty also gives any National Parliament
a right to veto any move to allow issues
still requiring a unanimous decision of the
European Council or the Council of Ministers
to be decided by a majority vote.
National Parliaments contribute
actively to the good functioning of
the Union: through being informedby the institutions of the Union
and having draft legislative acts
of the Union forwarded to them in
accordance with the Protocol on the
role of National Parliaments in the
European Union.
Art 12 Treaty on European Union
II The role of the European Parliament
The European Parliament is elected every
five years (most recently in June 2009) to
represent the people of the EUs member
countries. Its role is defined by the EU
Treaties.
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The functioning of the Union
shall be founded on representative
democracy. Citizens are directly
represented at Union level in the
European Parliament.
Art 10 Treaty on European Union
Under the Lisbon Treaty, its membership
will be capped at 751 from 2014. Seats will
be distributed in such a way that smaller
countries will get more seats than their
population would warrant. No country can
have fewer than 6 MEPs or more than 96
MEPs. Ireland elects 12 MEPs.
The Treaty increases the number of areas
in which the European Parliament will share
the task of lawmaking with the Council of
Ministers through a process known as co-
decision. The Treaty will also strengthen the
European Parliaments role in relation to the
EUs budget.
III The citizens initiative
For the first time, the Treaty provides for a
Europe-wide citizens initiative which will
allow citizens of the Union to have a more
direct say on European matters.
Under the Treaty, a petition with at least one
million signatures obtained from a number of
Member States can request the European
Commission to propose EU legislation on a
particular subject.
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Citizens
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Decision-making
The European Union works through a number
of EU institutions. These are:
the European Council the Council of Ministers,
the European Commission,
the European Parliament,
the Court of Justice,
the European Central Bank and
the European Court of Auditors.
The Lisbon Treaty introduces a number of
changes designed to make these bodies
function more effectively.
The EU institutions and how they will be
affected by the Lisbon Treaty:
I European Council
The European Council consists of the
Heads of State or Government of the
Member States, assisted by Foreign
Ministers, together with its President and the
President of the European Commission. It is
responsible for major policy decisions.
At present, the role of the European Council
is loosely defined and it is chaired by the
Head of State or Government of the country
holding the rotating six-month Presidency of
the European Union. Under the Lisbon Treaty,
the European Council is to be given a clearer
role. It would meet on a quarterly basis and
would generally take decisions by consensus.
Under the Lisbon Treaty, a President of
the European Council will be elected for a
once-renewable two and a half year term.The election will be by a qualified majority
of the members of the European Council
(15 Member States representing 65% of
the EUs population). The President of the
European Council can be removed by the
same procedure.
The main task of the President of the
European Council, which is not a decision-
making role, will be to prepare the Councils
work, ensure continuity and seek consensus
within the Council.
II The Council of Ministers
The Council of Ministers consists of
representatives of the EUs member
governments. Under the Lisbon Treaty, the
Council will continue to share law-making
power with the European Parliament and
will maintain its central role in the foreignand security policy area, and in coordinating
economic policies.
The main change is that new voting
arrangements will come into effect from
2014. These are designed to make the work
of the Council of Ministers more efficient.
The new system requires that proposals
will normally need to have the support of
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a majority (55%) of EU Member States
representing at least 65% of the EUs
population.
The new Treaty will make this system of
qualified majority voting the norm when
decisions are being taken by the Union,
except where the EU Treaties require a
different procedure (e.g. a unanimous vote).
Important policy areas for Ireland such
as taxation and defence will continue to
require a unanimous vote, thus maintaining a
national veto on these sensitive issues.
The Treaty also changes the arrangements for
the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.
At present the Presidency, or chair, of the
Council changes every six months. In the
future, the Presidency will be provided by
a team of three Member States working
together over an 18-month period. This is
designed to make the Presidency system
more coherent and more efficient.
One of the three Member States in each
team will chair all meetings of the Council
of Ministers, except those concerned with
Foreign Affairs, for a six-month period with
the support of the rest of the team (Ireland,
Greece and Lithuania will take on teamPresidency responsibilities in 2013).
III European Commission
The European Commission is an independent
institution charged with representing and
upholding the interests of the EU as a whole.
It submits proposals for new EU legislation,
policies and programmes to the Council of
Ministers and to the European Parliament,
as appropriate. It is also responsible for
implementing EU decisions. The Commission
ensures that the Member States abide by
the EU treaties and give proper effect to
the legislation adopted by the Council of
Ministers and the European Parliament.
Following the June 2008 referendum, and
in response to the concerns of the Irishpeople about the planned changes to
the composition of the Commission, the
European Council agreed in December
2008 that, provided the Lisbon Treaty enters
into force, the European Commission will
continue to include one member from each
Member State. In other words Ireland will
retain a Commissioner, if the Lisbon Treaty
enters into force.
On the other hand, if the Lisbon Treaty is not
ratified and the current Nice Treaty remains in
force, the European Commission that is due
to be appointed in November 2009 would
need to have fewer than 27 members. This
would mean that it could not be guaranteed
that an Irish person would be a member of
the next Commission.
IV The European Parliament see above
V The Other institutions
No significant changes have been made to
the role of the European Central Bank or the
Court of Auditors. The new Treaty extends the
jurisdiction of the Court of Justice in relation
to judicial cooperation in criminal matters and
police cooperation, and changes some of its
procedures.
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Will we keep our
Commissioner
under Lisbon?
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The EUs powers
and their limitsI The nature and competences of
the Union
The Lisbon Treaty highlights the unique
relationship that exists between the Union
and the Member States and defines the
scope and limits of the Unions powers more
clearly than before.
The Treaty makes it clear that the Union can
only act within the limits of the responsibilities
that have been conferred upon it by the
Member States as set out in the EU Treaties.
All other powers remain with the Member
States. In other words, the EU does not have
any power in its own right, but derives its
powers from the Member States.
... the Union shall act only within
the limits of the competences
conferred upon it by the Member
States in the Treaties to attain
the objectives set out therein.
Competences not conferred uponthe Union in the Treaties remain
with the Member States.
Art 5 Treaty on European Union
The Union is also required to respect the
principle of subsidiarity, which means that
decisions should, if possible, be taken at
local, regional or national level. As already
mentioned, National Parliaments are given
the role of overseeing the application of thiscentral EU principle.
The Treaty also requires that action by the
Union may not exceed what is necessary to
achieve the objectives of the Treaties.
The Treaty sets out three categories of EU
competence:
exclusive competence where the Union
has the sole right to act (for example,
monetary policy for the euro);
areas where competence is shared
between the Union and the Member
States (for example, agriculture and
energy policy);
and areas in which the Union may
only take supporting or coordinating
action (for example, sport, culture and
education).
II Future amendments to the
EU Treaties
Under the Lisbon Treaty, there are a number
of ways in which future changes can be made
to the EU Treaties.
The ordinary procedure involves the holding
of an inter-Governmental Conference to
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agree any Treaty changes. (This is usually
preceded by a Convention, in the case of
major amendments to the Treaties.)
There is also a simplified procedure for Treaty
changes that do not increase the Unions
powers. This procedure requires a unanimous
decision by the European Council.
The Treaty makes it clear that, in both ofthese cases, the proposed changes would
have to be ratified in accordance with the
constitutional requirements of each Member
State. In Irelands case, this could require a
referendum.
III Changes in voting rules
There is also provision in the Treaty for
moving some policy areas from unanimityto majority voting in the Council of Ministers
or the European Council or for extending the
powers of the European Parliament to
co-decide matters with the Council.
In these cases, any national parliament can
block such a move. In Irelands case, the prior
approval of the Dil and Seanad would be
required, under the terms of the proposed
constitutional amendment, before the Irish
Government could agree to any such move.It would also require a unanimous decision
of the European Council (with each national
Government having a veto) and the consent
of the European Parliament. No new powers
may be conferred on the Union under this
provision. The Treaty specifically states that
this arrangement does not apply to matters
with military or defence implications.
The European Council may adopt
a decision amending all or part of
the provisions of Part 3 of the Treaty
on the Functioning of the European
Union. ... That decision shall not
enter into force until it is approved
by the Member States in accordance
with their respective constitutional
requirements.
Art 48.6 Treaty on European Union
The Lisbon Treaty provides for certain
policies to be decided by majority voting
rather than by unanimity. In a 27 member
Union, this is intended to make decision-
making more efficient and effective. However,
sensitive subjects like defence and taxation
will continue to require a unanimous decision.
IV New policy areas covered by the
Lisbon Treaty
The Lisbon Treaty makes various adjustments
and additions to the Treaty on the Functioning
of the European Union which will set out in
detail the responsibilities of the Union.
The Treaty provides a new basis for EU
activity in certain areas:- energy, climate
change, sport, humanitarian aid, civil
protection, space research, tourism and
administrative cooperation.
Most of these are areas where the Union
already undertakes some activity; in
most cases, its role will be limited to
complementing or coordinating national
actions.
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...the Union shall take into account
requirements linked to the promotion
of a high level of employment,
the guarantee of adequate social
protection, the fight against social
exclusion, and a high level of
education, training and protection of
human health.
Art 9 Treaty on the Functioning of
the European Union
V Justice and Home Affairs
In the area of justice and home affairs, the
Lisbon Treaty provides for majority voting
in the fields of criminal law and police
cooperation. This is designed to facilitatemore effective EU action in the fight against
cross-border crime.
Because of the especially sensitive nature
of criminal law cooperation and the fact
that Ireland has a distinctive common
law system, Ireland will avail of a special
arrangement which will allow the State to
participate in EU criminal law and police
cooperation measures on a case-by-case
basis.
A declaration has been made indicating
the Governments intention to participate
in future measures in these areas to the
maximum possible extent and to review these
arrangements after three years.
VI Climate Change
The Lisbon Treaty makes specific provision,
for the first time in the Treaties, for EU action
to combat climate change.
VII Taxation
During negotiations that led to agreement
on the Treaty, it was agreed that unanimitywill continue to apply in all taxation matters.
This means that no changes can be made in
this area without the approval of all Member
States, including Ireland.
Following the June 2008 referendum, Ireland
secured a legal guarantee which states
that nothing in the Lisbon Treaty makes any
change of any kind for any Member State, to
the extent or operation of the competence of
the EU in relation to taxation.
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Are there
any changes
concerning
taxation?
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The Lisbon Treaty raises the protection of the
rights of Europes citizens to a new level.
The Treaty makes the Charter of Fundamental
Rights legally-binding on the Unions
institutions and on the Member States when
they are implementing EU law.
The Charter sets out the range of rights
enjoyed by EU citizens, for example the right
to life, the prohibition of torture and inhuman
or degrading treatment, the right to liberty
and security, freedom of thought, conscience
and religion, and workers rights such as the
prohibition of child labour and the protection
of young people at work. The Charter draws
its inspiration from the EU treaties, from
international human rights law and from the
Constitutions of the Member States.
The Treaty will allow the Union to accede to
the European Convention on Human Rights.
The European Convention on Human Rights,
and the European Court of Human Rights
which oversees it, are the foundation stones
of human rights protection in Europe.
Citizens rightsand freedoms
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What legal status
has the Charter?
What are your
rights as a Union
citizen?
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The Unions
external roleI Europe & the developing world
The Treaty defines the Unions primary
development cooperation objective as
the reduction and, in the long term, the
eradication of poverty. The Treaty introduces
a specific legal basis for the Union to act in
response to the need for humanitarian aid.
The establishment of a European Voluntary
Humanitarian Aid Corps is also envisaged.
The Unions action on the
international scene shall be guided
by the principles (of)... democracy,
the rule of law, the universality and
indivisibility of human rights and
fundamental freedoms, respect
for human dignity, the principles of
equality and solidarity, and respect
for the principles of the United
Nations Charter and international
law.
Art 21 Treaty on European Union
II EU High Representative for Foreign
and Security Policy
The Treaty provides for the appointment of
an EU High Representative for Foreign and
Security Policy. The High Representatives
job will be to manage the EUs relations with
foreign countries and international bodies.
The High Representative will be appointed by
the European Council and will combine thefunctions of the current High Representative
of the Council for the Common Foreign and
Security Policy and the current External
Relations Commissioner.
The High Representative will act on the basis
of decisions taken unanimously by the 27
Member States.
The High Representative will have a dual role:
representing the Council on common foreign
and security policy matters and being Vice-
President of the EU Commission responsible
for external relations.
The High Representative will chair meetings
of foreign ministers - the Foreign Affairs
Council.
The High Representative will be assisted
by a new European external action service,
composed of officials from the Member
States diplomatic services, the Council and
the Commission.
In particular, national security
remains the sole responsibility of
each Member State.
Art 4 Treaty on European Union
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III The Common Security and Defence
Policy (CSDP)
The Common Security and Defence Policy
(CSDP) is an integral part of the Unions
Common Foreign and Security Policy. It
provides the Union with an operational
capacity to use on missions outside the
Union for peacekeeping, conflict prevention
and strengthening international security in
accordance with the principles of the United
Nations Charter.
The activities the Union may currently
undertake in the area of Common Security
and Defence Policy are humanitarian and
rescue tasks, peace-keeping, and the tasks
of combat forces in crisis management,
including peace-making.
The Treaty expands this list of possible EUtasks to include disarmament operations,
military advice and assistance tasks and
post-conflict stabilisation. The Government
supported this approach, which is fully in
keeping with Irelands tradition of peace-
keeping.
IV Are there any implications for
Irelands neutrality?
Irelands traditional policy of military neutrality
is maintained. Nothing in the Lisbon Treaty
changes this. No crisis management mission
can be launched without the approval of all
Member States. Ireland retains the sovereign
right to decide on participation in any such
mission, in accordance with our national
triple lock arrangements, which require a
UN mandate to be in place.
Irelands position on the question of an
EU common defence is clear. Under our
Constitution, Ireland cannot participate in
a common EU defence without the prior
consent of the people in a referendum.
The Treaty also states that if a Member
State is the victim of armed aggression on
its territory, the other Member States shall
provide aid and assistance by all means intheir power, in accordance with Article 51
of the United Nations Charter. However,
it is made clear that this obligation shall
not prejudice the specific character of
the security and defence policy of certain
Member States. Ireland would therefore
not be bound by any mutual defence
commitment.
In June 2009, Ireland secured a legal
guarantee on security and defence issues.
This legally-binding document, which will be
attached to the EU Treaties as a protocol
at a later date, explicitly guarantees that the
Lisbon Treaty does not affect or prejudice
Irelands traditional policy of military neutrality.
It also states that the Lisbon Treaty does
not provide for the creation of a European
army or for conscription to any military
formation. The guarantee makes it clear
that the Treaty does not affect the right ofIreland to determine the nature and volume
of its defence and security expenditure and
the nature of its defence capabilities. It is
also made clear in the legal guarantee that it
will be a matter for Ireland to determine the
nature of aid or assistance to be provided to
a Member State which is the victim of armed
aggression on its territory.
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What legal status
has the Charter?
Is Irelands
traditional
policy of military
neutrality
secure?
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www.lisbontreaty.ie