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On 1 July Belgium assumed the presidency of the EU, taking over from Spain. For six months, the main task of the country which holds the presidency is to organise and manage the work of the Council of the European Union where the member states are represented.
The Spanish Presidency coincided with the beginning of a new phase for the EU, with a renewed Parliament and Commission and a new treaty in effect since 1 December. With this outlook, Spain, Belgium and Hungary have drawn up a work programme for the 18-month period (January 2010 to July 2011) during which they will hold the Presidency in succession, according to the new regulations which apply in Europe.
It will be the first ‘trio’ of presidencies to be formalised and perform its functions in accordance with the Treaty of Lisbon. The aim of this new procedure is to provide the work and initiatives of the EU with more continuity.
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EU Treaty Reform
Background
In seeking to move forward with institutional reform in the European Union, the European Council in June 2006 invited the German EU Presidency to present a report (a ‘road map’) on a way forward for the EU to the June 2007 European Council. The intention was to have an institutional settlement in place before the European Parliament elections in 2009 so that the new Parliament could begin its mandate under the new Treaty.
In fulfilling its task the German Presidency engaged in informal bilateral discussions with member states in order to find agreement on the necessary changes to the existing draft Treaty that had the support of all member states. The Presidency presented its Report to the European Council at its meeting on 21-22 June 2007. The Report allowed the European Council to make progress on moving forward with institutional reform in the European Union.
In June 2007 the European Council agreed to bring forward a Reform Treaty to replace the European Constitution. The Council agreed to convene an Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) with a specific Mandate to draw up the new treaty. The Portuguese Presidency presented a draft reform treaty to the IGC on 23 July 2007.
The Way Forward - EU treaty Reform
The June European Council agreed to bring forward a new treaty to replace the European Constitution which was rejected by the French and Dutch electorates in 2005. The Council agreed to convene an Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) with a specific Mandate to draw up the new treaty with a view to enhancing the efficiency and democratic legitimacy of the enlarged Union, as well as the coherence of its external action.
The new treaty is to be defined as a ‘Reform Treaty’. The Reform Treaty will amend, rather than replace, the existing treaties; the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC). According to the IGC mandate the TEU will keep its present name; the TEC will be called the Treaty on the Functioning of the Union.
The European Council decided not to proceed with the concept of a constitution. The IGC mandate removes any reference to the term ‘constitution’. The word ‘Community’ will be replaced by the word ‘Union’. It will be stated that the two Treaties constitute the Treaties on which the Union is founded and that the Union replaces and succeeds the Community.
The IGC will be convened under the Portuguese EU Presidency and will carry out its work under the overall responsibility of the European Council. It will be composed of foreign ministers from all the member states, three members of the European Parliament and one representative of the European Commission.
In order to ensure transparency in the work of the IGC, the Portuguese Presidency has undertaken to make all Conference documents public and accessible on the internet site of the Council.
Completing the Treaty Reform Process
Amending the treaties requires the unanimous agreement of all Member States. It also requires ratification by all Member States in accordance with their own respective internal procedures before a new treaty can enter into force.
The European Council agreed on a strict timetable for completing the treaty reform process. It is hoped that agreement on the new text can be reached by the informal European Council in October 2007 so that the ratification process can be completed before the European Parliament election in June 2009.
The Portuguese Presidency opened the Intergovernmental Conference on 23-24 July. The IGC is expected to complete its task in October. Signature of the new document is envisaged for the informal European Council in October 2007 in Lisbon. The new Treaty must then be ratified in each of the 27 Member States according to each State’s constitutional requirements. If ratified, the new treaty will enter into force before the European Parliament elections in June 2009.
European Parliament will participate in the work of the IGC
According to the European Council conclusions, the European Parliament will be closely involved in the work of the IGC. Three MEPs will join the Conference.
The European Parliament aims at ensuring full transparency in the work of the IGC. In its Opinion on the convening of the IGC the Parliament states that it will publish all the working documents submitted to the Conference. It also states the intention to keep an open dialogue with national parliaments and civil society throughout the IGC and during the following ratification procedure.
National Parliaments and the IGC
The COSAC Chairpersons’ Meeting in July under the Portuguese Presidency decided to establish a Working Group pursuant to rule 2.6 of the COSAC Rules of Procedure, composed of representatives of the 27 national parliaments, with the mandate to follow the work of the IGC. The reports of the Working Group will facilitate national parliaments in scrutinising the work of their governments in the IGC as it proceeds.
The European Council conclusions do not provide for representatives of national parliaments to be involved in the Intergovernmental Conference. Recalling the Contribution addressed to the EU Institutions by the XXXVII COSAC meeting that COSAC expects that national parliaments and the European Parliament will be kept fully involved and that their views will be duly taken into account [by the IGC], the COSAC Chairpersons’ Meeting in July under the Portuguese Presidency issued a Joint Declaration to the EU Council Presidency requesting the Presidency to examine the possibility of inviting representatives from national parliaments to attend the IGC as observers.
The Declaration states that if granted observer status, national parliament representatives would work in cooperation with representatives of the European Parliament at the Intergovernmental Conference and would report to the 27 national parliaments on the work of the IGC, in particular on matters relating the future role of the national parliaments in the European Union.
Future Role of National Parliaments
Under the mandate for the Reform Treaty, national parliaments will have greater opportunities to be involved in the work of the EU while respecting the established roles of the EU institutions. The period given to national parliaments to examine draft legislative texts and to give a reasoned opinion on subsidiarity will be extended from 6 to 8 weeks. The mechanism to monitor subsidiarity is to be supplemented by a new procedure. There will also be a new general Article included to reflect the role of the national parliaments.
Implementing the Early Warning System
Under the Protocol on the Application of the Principles of Subsidiarity and Proportionality, the European Commission would send its draft legislative proposals to national parliaments for a preliminary reading. Within a period of 8 weeks, parliaments may forward their opinion to the Commission on whether the proposal complies with the subsidiarity principle.
All opinions will be weighted and counted: unicameral parliaments have 2 votes; in the case of bicameral parliaments, each chamber has 1 vote. If the negative opinions represent one third of all votes allocated to national parliaments, the Commission must review its proposal and subsequently either maintain, amend or withdraw it. The Commission must give reasons for its decision. The threshold is one quarter of all votes for draft legislative acts concerning judicial and police cooperation in criminal matters.
If the Commission still wishes to maintain a proposal against opposition of a simple majority of national parliaments, the reasoned opinion from the Commission and the reasoned opinion of the national parliaments will be referred to the EU legislator (European Parliament and Council) during first reading for a final decision on compatibility with subsidiarity. Before concluding first reading the legislator must consider the compatibility of the proposal with the principle of subsidiarity, taking into account the reasoned opinion of the national parliaments as well as the reasoned opinion of the Commission.
If the legislator is of the opinion that the proposal is not compatible with the principle of subsidiarity it can then reject the proposal, either by the Council acting by a majority of 55% or by simple majority in the European Parliament. Any single national parliament will have the power to veto EU legislation in the field of family law.
Those parliaments which have forwarded a negative opinion may bring an annulment action against the Commission before the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on the grounds of an infringement of the subsidiarity principle by a European legislative act. National parliaments would be represented by their governments in proceedings before the ECJ.
The Protocol also provides that all Commission consultation documents, its Annual Policy Strategy and Legislative and Work Programme and the Council’s minutes and decisions will be forwarded to national parliaments. This will facilitate national parliaments in their contribution to European policy at the earliest possible stage in the EU policy-making process.