EU leaders seal landmark reform treaty in Lisbon, specifying main issues of the Union

EU leaders seal landmark reform treaty

www.chinaview.cn 2007-10-19 08:26:40 Print

LISBON, Oct. 19, 2007, (Xinhua) --

European Union (EU) leaders reached an agreement on the landmark reform treaty early Friday, laying foundations to reform the 27-nation bloc.

"The Lisbon summit has achieved an agreement on a new treaty for Europe's future," Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates, whose country holds the EU presidency, told reporters after marathon talks dragging into midnight.

The so-called reform treaty will soon obtain its formal name as Lisbon Treaty as EU leaders will officially sign it in Portuguese capital Lisbon at their next summit scheduled for Dec. 13.

It is designed to replace the defunct Constitution Treaty rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005, aiming to streamline the EU's decision-making mechanism in face of a globalized world and an enlarged bloc.

Describing the deal as a victory for Europe, Socrates said the EU now managed to get out of an institutional crisis which lasted around six years.

"We no longer have an institutional crisis. We are going to be ready to tackle the challenges of the future," he said at a joint press conference with European Commission President Jose Barroso.

Calling the treaty "a great achievement", Barroso said, "I believe we have a treaty that will give us now the capacity to act."

Among other institutional changes, the reform treaty installs anew foreign policy chief for the EU and a long-term president for the European Council to replace the current six-month rotating presidency, but it avoids any mentioning which may implicate a constitutional nature, such as EU symbols -- the flag, the anthem and the motto.

It also introduces the double majority voting system in decision-making, reduces the size of the executive European Commission, and gives national parliaments more power.

The deal was possible after last-minute concessions were made to some aggressive demanders, notably Poland and Italy.

Poland threatened to veto the treaty unless the so-called "Ioannina" mechanism, which allows a minority group of states disagreeing with a resolution to freeze it for a considerable period of time, was written into the new treaty, claiming the double majority voting system envisaged in the treaty would give bigger member states more leverage than before.

The double majority voting system requires at least 55 percent of the number of member states representing 65 percent of the EU's total population to make a decision at the Council of the EU, a decision-making body composed of member states' ministers.

Under a compromised arrangement, though there will be no Ioannina clause in the treaty, the European Council, composed of 27 EU leaders, will adopt a declaration on the substance of the Ioannina mechanism, making it legally binding. In addition, the declaration will be attached with a protocol, which requires consensus in any change to the Ioannina mechanism.

Another Polish demand, a permanent advocate general on the European Court of Justice, was also satisfied.

"Poland has got everything it asked for," said Polish President Lech Kaczynski after the talks.

Italy disagreed with the plan to redistribute EU parliamentary seats. According to the new rules, Rome's seats in the European Parliament should be cut from 78 to 72 in 2009, the biggest decline among member states.

In concession to Italy, the EU leaders finally agreed to add one more seat to the parliament, increasing the limit to 751 from the originally planned 750.

"The new extra member will be for Italy," Socrates confirmed. This will bring Italy's seats to the same number with Britain and one less than France.

Austria, which complained about a big influx of German students in its medical schools, demanded certain limits on foreign students who could be enrolled in its universities. This issue was also settled, the Portuguese presidency said earlier.

After signed in December, the EU reform treaty will be open for national ratification. It is expected to enter into force on Jan. 1, 2009 before the elections to the European Parliament in the same year.

Currently, an imminent test of the new treaty would be the call in some countries for referendum. At the press conference, Socrates shied away from saying whether his country will go to polls on the treaty.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, in his debut show at an EU summit as government leader, was facing tremendous pressure from his countrymen to hold a referendum on the Reform Treaty, although Britain negotiated complex opt-outs on police and judicial cooperation and from the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which will be given legally binding force by the treaty.

The late-night deal marked the end of the first-day meeting of EU leaders, who opened a two-day informal summit here.

"Tomorrow, Friday, we will be beginning to discuss the external dimension of the Lisbon Agenda. We will be discussing preparing Europe for the future," Socrates said when it was actually already in the early hours of Friday.

The Lisbon Agenda, set out by EU leaders also in Lisbon in March 2000, was originally aimed at making the EU the most competitive economy in the world and achieving full employment by 2010.

Its goals were later lowered to the achievement of stronger, lasting growth and the creation of more and better jobs after the previous ambition was proved too aggressive.

On the second day, Barroso was invited to give a key-note presentation, helping structure discussions with focus on two specific subjects, namely the recent financial turmoil and climate change, Socrates said in its invitation letter to his counterparts ahead of the summit.

Main points of the EU reform treaty as agreed at Lisbon summit

www.chinaview.cn 2007-10-19 14:54:17 Print

LISBON, Oct. 19, 2007, (Xinhua) --

European Union (EU) leaders reached an agreement on a landmark reform treaty early Friday, laying the foundation for reforming the 27-nation bloc.

The new treaty, in place of the defunct constitution treaty rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005, aims to streamline the EU's decision-making mechanism in face of a globalized world and an enlarged bloc.

Concessions were made to several countries after marathon talks, which dragged into early hours of Friday. The following are the main points of the treaty finally agreed on by all EU members.

Without constitutional or super state suggestion

This was unchanged from what had been agreed on by EU leaders at their previous summit in June. The reform treaty drops the constitutional concept and the term "constitution" is abandoned.

There is no article mentioning the symbols of the EU such as the flag, the anthem or the motto, which may suggest a super state nature for the EU. Even the denominations like "law" and "framework law" are also rejected.

It is no longer a single document replacing the complex and overlapping set of EU treaties, but an "amending treaty" to the previous ones, such as Maastricht and Nice treaties.

Voting mechanism

A double majority voting system is introduced to the Council of the EU, a decision-making body composed of member states' ministers, which means a decision needs approval from at least 55 percent of the number of member states representing 65 percent of EU's total population. Member states will cede the present veto powers.

More policy areas will be governed by the double majority voting system, notably in justice and home affairs, but subjects that are sensitive for national sovereignty, such as tax, social security, foreign policy and defense will continue to require unanimity.

Under a compromise, the reform treaty will allow Britain and Ireland to opt out of the judicial cooperation in criminal matters and police cooperation, but they can not prevent others from moving forward without them.

In order to overcome determined objection of Poland, the EU leaders reached a compromise deal in June, under which the voting scheme will apply as from 2014, with a three-year transition period until 2017. During the transition period, any country can invoke the old voting rules.

Poland's last-ditch demand for the so-called "Ioannina" mechanism, which allows a minority group of states disagreeing with a resolution to freeze it for a considerable period of time to be planted into the treaty, was also satisfied in effect.

Under a compromised arrangement, though there will be no Ioannina clause in the treaty, the European Council will adopt a declaration on the substance of the Ioannina mechanism, making it legally binding. In addition, the declaration will be attached with a protocol, which requires consensus in any change to the Ioannina mechanism.

Institution

The European Council, which comprises 27 leaders of member states, will have a new president, in place of the current six-month rotating presidency. The president will be elected by the EU leaders to serve a renewable term of two years and a half.

In an effort to improve efficiency, the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, will be reduced in size, with the total number of its commissioners to be two-thirds of member states. Currently, each of the 27 member states appoints a member to the commission. Meanwhile, the role of the commission's president will be strengthened.

The number of the European Parliament members will be reduced from 785 to 751, instead of 750 as originally planned in the draft. The allocation of national seats will be based on each country's total population, and the extra seat is for Italy, which complained about losing the most seats under the original plan.

New EU foreign policy chief

A new post of EU foreign policy chief will be created in the treaty. The formal title is High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, instead of Foreign Minister of the EU as envisaged in the constitutional treaty, due to Britain's opposition.

The new foreign policy chief will take over the jobs from present foreign policy chief Javier Solana and EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner.

The new chief, who is at the same time a Vice President of the European Commission, will chair meetings of the 27 EU foreign ministers and head a combined foreign service with both national and EU diplomats.

More saying for national parliaments

National parliaments will have more power to influence the EU decision-making, as demanded by the Netherlands.

The period given to national parliaments to examine draft legislative texts and to give a reasoned opinion will be extended from six to eight weeks.

If a draft legislative act is contested by at least one third of national legislatures as beyond the EU's competence, it will be sent back to the European Commission for re-examination.

Charter of Fundamental Rights

The reform treaty will make an EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights legally binding on all member states except Britain, who won an exemption to relieve its concern that the Charter may affect its labor laws.

Poland is also seeking an opt-out from the Charter for fear of conflicts with its laws on family and morality.

Get-out clause

The treaty introduces the possibility for a country to leave the EU under conditions to be negotiated with its partners.

Editor: Feng Tao

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