lisbon treaty guide english

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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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A 30 minute guide to the Lisbon Treaty


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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.

3


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.


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.


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.

5


Whats the

Citizens

Initiative?


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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.

7


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.


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.

10

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

11


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.


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.


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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.

13


What legal status

has the Charter?

Is Irelands

traditional

policy of military

neutrality

secure?


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