Treaties of the European Union
The Treaty on European Union (EU Treaty, the EU Treaty) is the European Union's ( EU) founding treaty. Together with the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU ), it forms, specifically as the contracts called the primary legal basis of the EU's political system. Sometimes these contracts are therefore also referred to as " European Constitutional Law ", but formally they are international agreements between the EU Member States.
The Treaty was signed in Maastricht in 1992 and is therefore in its original version as well as the Treaty of Maastricht known. He subsequently underwent several changes, namely by
- The Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997,
- The Treaty of Nice in 2001 and
- The Treaty of Lisbon in 2007.
It consists of 55 articles in which the provisions on democratic principles of the European Union, its institutions and the common foreign and security policy are laid down in particular. The other rules on the functioning of the EU can be found in much larger TFEU. Both contracts have the same legal and complement each other. Your planned merger the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe failed in 2005 at the rejection in referenda in France and the Netherlands (see Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe).
The EU Treaty is drafted in the 24 official languages of the European Union and in any language version equally legally binding.
Structure
The EU Treaty consists of a preamble and 55 articles, which are aggregated into six titles. Specifically, it is structured as follows:
Appended to the Treaty, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union ( cf. Article 6 TEU ) and 37 minutes and 2 annexes ( cf. Article 51 TEU), which also belong to the primary law of the European Union.
No legal force or binding effect have the explanations relating to the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the 50 joint declarations lodged the IGC during the contract reform of Lisbon. Both serve as an aid to interpretation and can be used to assist (see interpretation ( law) ) for about court decisions. The 15 unilateral declarations of individual member states clarify their positions on certain aspects; they likewise have no legal force.
Content
Preamble
Emphasizes the preamble to the Treaty on European Union, among others, the decision of the Member States, " the initiated with the establishment of the European Communities process of European integration to a new level to lift " and " the process of creating an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe [... ] to continue. " In this formulation, which goes back to the original 1992 version, it was a compromise between Member States such as Germany and France, who wanted to refer to the goal of European federalism, and Britain, which saw in it a threat to national sovereignty. Thus, the preamble leaves the question of the finality of the European Union open, but indicated the objective of further integration on.
In the course of debate on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe in 2004 also discussed the inclusion of a reference to God in the preamble. This was requested by countries such as Italy and Poland, and Christian Democratic parties in several other countries, but failed in particular to the refusal of France. As a compromise, it was agreed that the phrase " drawing from the cultural, religious and humanist inheritance of Europe ", which was introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon in the preamble to the Treaty on European Union.
Common provisions
Article 1 TEU stipulates the establishment of the European Union since the Lisbon Treaty as the legal successor of the European Community. Then in Article 2 TEU, the EU's values are set. These include in particular the respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality and the rule of law. Article 3 TEU sets out the aims of the EU, which are to be compared with national state goals. Compared to the national constitutions of the Union's objectives, however, a more important role to take, since they form the basis for legitimizing the supranational powers of the EU: The EU can only act to meet the objectives set. The target catalog is therefore quite extensive and covers, inter alia, the promotion of peace, the formation of an area of freedom, security and justice, the European single market, the environment, combating social exclusion, respect for cultural diversity, etc. The formulation of objectives are rather general and are partially specified in the TFEU even closer.
Article 4f. EUV regulates the basic principles for the exercise of EU competences. He committed the European Union and the Member States on mutual respect and loyal cooperation. Article 5 of the Treaty leads to the principle of conferral, under which the EU may only act in the areas for which it is expressly been given responsibility in the treaty text. He also establishes the principle of subsidiarity, according to which the Union shall act only if the desired objectives could not equally well be achieved at national or local level. The principle of proportionality finally determined that the EU measures shall not extend further than is necessary to fulfill the Union's objectives.
Article 6 EUV regulates the protection of fundamental rights in the EU and refers in that regard to the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights as well as the " common constitutional traditions " of the Member States. Article 7 TEU stipulates a procedure, certain rights may be revoked by the EU member states that violate human rights, arising out of membership arising ( suspension of EU membership ). This concerns in particular the voting in the EU Council. Given that no country can be excluded from the European Union and also the German Forced corresponding regulation in the EU Treaty does not exist, the suspension of membership of the EU is the hardest means of pressuring the Member States. However, it was never applied. Article 8 TEU finally commits the EU to good relations with its neighbors.
Provisions on democratic principles
The second title of the EU Treaty lays down the provisions on European citizenship ( Article 9 TEU), emphasizes the role of representative democracy and of European political parties (Article 10 TEU). He stressed the importance of citizen participation and establishes principles of the European Citizens' Initiative (Art. 11 TEU ). Article 12 regulates the role of national parliaments, particularly in meeting the political system of the EU, the role of a " subsidiarity Guardian ".
Provisions on the institutions
Title III of the EU Treaty establishes the EU's institutional framework. This includes the European Parliament (Art. 14 TEU), the European Council (Art. 15 TEU), the Council of the European Union (hereinafter "the Council " in the Treaty, Article 16 TEU), the European Commission (Art. 17 TEU ), the Court of Justice of the European Union (Article 19 TEU ) and the European Central Bank and the European Court of Auditors ( mentioned in the contract only " Court ", Article 13 TEU). As advisory bodies of the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions are called. To all these institutions can be found in the TFEU, further regulations.
With a separate article (Article 18 TEU) also the role of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy will be explained.
Provisions on enhanced cooperation
Title IV of the Treaty on European Union, which consists of only one item, includes provisions on enhanced cooperation (Art. 20 TEU ). With this particular method, a group of EU Member States shall take deeper integration steps, even if other Member States do not want to participate.
Provisions on external action of the EU
The foreign policy is the only policy area of the European Union, which is not regulated in the TFEU, but in the EU Treaty. This has its historical origin in the EU three-pillar model that was established by the Maastricht Treaty originally: While for the economic policies were supra-national decision-making procedures that were established (later TFEU) in the EC Treaty, remained the indoor and foreign policy were purely intergovernmental and regulated in the EU Treaty. The Treaty of Lisbon, the three-pillar structure has been resolved; which now also supranational exerted EU internal policy was adopted in the TFEU. Only the foreign policy continues to apply to the intergovernmental method, remained in the EU Treaty.
Title V, which contains the provisions on the foreign policy of the EU, is the most extensive of the contract. He first sets out general principles on which the EU 's external action must be based, in particular the principles of democracy and respect for human rights and the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. Due to the coherence order of the EU 's various external policy actors are on a reciprocal coordination obligation (Art. 21 TEU). The European Council is determined as a crucial decision-making body for the strategic interests and objectives (Art. 22 TEU).
The procedures of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (Art. 22 ff EUV ) including the common security and defense policy are then (Art. 42 et seq EUV ) explained in detail.
Final provisions
The final title of the Treaty on European Union includes provisions of various kinds: Article 47 TEU defines the EU's legal personality and makes her so to act as an independent subject of international law. Article 48 TEU explains the amendment process for the contract ( see below). In Article 49 TEU, the procedure for accession of new Member States will be explained, defined the right of Member States to withdraw from the Union in Article 50 TEU. The remaining articles add the Protocols and Annexes to the Contract Law (Art. 51 TEU) and determine the extensive EU Member States territorial scope (Art. 52 TEU) and the unlimited time period (Art. 53 TEU) of the Treaty, determine the ratification procedure (Art. 54 TEU) and the 24 official language versions of the Treaty ( Article 55 TEU).
Process for treaty change
As international treaties, the wording of the EU Treaty and the FEU Treaty in principle be changed by amendment agreements, which also have the status of international treaties. This was done so far by the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997, the Treaty of Nice in 2001 and the Treaty of Lisbon in 2007. This treaty reforms have been developed by an intergovernmental conference and then individually ratified by all Member States. Even if the conditions of that treaty changes were enshrined in primary law in each case since the foundation of the ECSC, they essentially followed the standard procedures laid down in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. Since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, however, the EU Treaty itself determines specific change processes, such as treaty reforms should in future proceed (Article 48). A distinction is made between an ordinary revision procedure and the simplified amendment procedure, the latter not necessarily require ratification by the national parliaments in special cases. However, in any case, a unanimous decision by the national governments is necessary. A change of the EU Treaty is therefore usually much more difficult to achieve than a change in national constitutions.
The ordinary revision procedure may be initiated by the government of each Member State, the European Parliament or the European Commission, which referred to the Council draft reforms, which transmits the draft to the European Council and the national Parliaments shall regard. This then decide on the establishment of a European Convention, composed of representatives of the national parliaments, national governments, the European Parliament and the Commission. The Convention then developed recommendations that it accepts by consensus and submit an intergovernmental conference of the Member States. This will then work out a modification agreement, which must then be ratified by all Member States. With only minor changes, the European Council may waive the establishment of a Convention and set the mandate for the IGC itself. This would correspond to the usual procedure in the previous contract amendments.
The simplified revision procedure is only possible for the third part of the FEU Treaty, which the EU's internal policies are regulated. Here, the European Council may adopt a decision itself, by which the agreement is changed. He acting by unanimity after consulting the European Parliament, the Commission and, where appropriate, the European Central Bank, if monetary matters are concerned. The decision does not involve expansion of EU competences and enter into force only if all Member States have agreed to it in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements. In many Member States, including Germany, such a decision is possible only after the approval of the national parliament.
Another simplified amendment procedure concerns the policy areas in which the Council of the European Union, according to the text of the treaty unanimously. By a unanimous decision of the European Council may here be passed over to the majority method (so-called passerelle clause ). Excluded decisions are in the military or defense area where basically the unanimity principle. In addition, in areas for which a special legislative procedure, by a unanimous decision of the European Council, the ordinary legislative procedure shall be introduced. In both cases, the European Parliament must approve the decision of the European Council. In addition, each national parliament during a six-month period has the possibility to veto such a decision. In some Member States, including Germany, the national parliament the decision has even explicitly support, so that the government can vote in the European Council for it.