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Lisbon Treaty - the facts
The Lisbon Treaty is discussed a great deal by politicians but how much do the general public know about what it will do?
We spoke to some students to see what they knew about the Treaty. Listen to their views in the video, and then find out what the treaty really will do, with our list of key facts below.
Lisbon - the facts
The Treaty of Lisbon reforms the European Union (EU) and the way in which it functions. The impact will be an EU better able to act on the issues that matter for EU citizens, for example; economic growth and jobs, security and tackling crime, energy security, climate change, democratic accountability and Europe’s ability to shape events on the world stage.
The Treaty of Lisbon also protects the UK’s national interests and sets clear limits on the powers of the EU institutions by defining the categories and areas of EU competence and streamlining decision-making.
The EU is unique amongst international organisations because Member States have chosen unanimously, by signing the various treaties, to pool some of their sovereign powers and enable the EU institutions to act in certain defined areas.
Member States have done so because they believe that it is in the best interests for their citizens. Reform is necessary because the original treaties were designed for an EU with significantly fewer members. Today’s membership is 27 with more in line to join.
The Treaty of Lisbon was ratified by an Act of Parliament. The ultimate sovereignty of the UK Parliament is not affected by the UK’s membership of the EU or the Treaty of Lisbon.
See the full text of the treaty
Key Elements of the Treaty
• It reaffirms the EU’s 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 where pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail. These values are a central tenet in all that the EU does.
• It establishes overarching objectives to guide all of the EU’s work. These include the promotion of the EU’s values, the peace and well being of EU citizens, an area of freedom, security and justice without internal frontiers, the single market, economic and monetary union, and upholding and promoting its values in foreign relations.
• It defines clearly areas of EU competence i.e. the areas in which the EU has the power to act, and how it exercises those powers.
• It creates a President of the European Council (Herman Van Rompuy) to drive forward the work of the European Council and ensure greater continuity and coherence than the present system of six-monthly rotating presidencies can. The presidency is of the European Council i.e. the regular meetings of the Heads of Government of the Member States, and not the EU as a whole. The European Council is the EU institution which sets the EU’s overall strategic direction and priorities. The President of the European Council will also chair critical EU summits with, for example, Russia, China, the USA and India and play a leading role on key issues such as Climate Change, Economic Recovery and Growth and Energy Security. Mr Van Rompuy takes up his position on 1 January 2010.
• It creates a High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (Baroness Cathy Ashton). Her role is to ensure the consistency and effectiveness of EU external action, to implement and represent the EU’s commonly agreed policies, and to enhance the EU’s relations with other countries. The work of the High Representative will complement, not replace, UK Foreign Policy, providing a further important tool through which the UK can act. Baroness Ashton will take up her position on 1 December 2009.
• It creates a European External Action Service made up of diplomats drawn from the Commission, the Council Secretariat and Member States to assist the High Representative to carry out her duties and bring greater coherence to the EU’s overseas representation.
• It extends the areas in which decisions in the Council of Ministers are taken by Qualified Majority Voting (QMV). This will help unlock decision making in many areas that are in the UK’s interests. Without QMV the single market, with all its benefits for UK business, could never have been built.
• The main method of decision-making is co-decision, which will be renamed by the treaty as the Ordinary Legislative Procedure. Under this procedure proposals only become law if both the Council of Ministers (through QMV) and the directly elected European Parliament (by majority) agree it. The treaty extends the areas that will be decided under the Ordinary Legislative Procedure.
• The Ordinary Legislative procedure as described above will be extended to most decisions concerning criminal law and police co-operation. However, legislation in these areas will only apply in the UK if we specifically decide to opt-in.
• The Council is now formally required to deliberate and vote in public when discussing draft legislative acts.
• National parliaments are provided with a direct say in EU law-making for the first time, therefore increasing democratic accountability. If one third of national parliaments object to an EU proposal then it can be sent back to whoever made the proposal for it to be reviewed (the yellow card). If a majority of national parliaments oppose a proposal, and the Council or the European Parliament agrees, then it can be struck down (the orange card).
• A new, formal EU Citizens' Initiative enables EU citizens to ask the Commission to act in any area that the EU has the power to tackle. A petition of 1 million EU citizens from a significant number of Member States is the trigger.