Tag: treaty

If José Manuel Barroso's ideas for institutional reforms are established, the political consolidation cannot but stabilise the economy and the financial market. The implementation of fiscal union and of democratic union are not conflicting goals, argue Guido Montani and Antonio Padoa-Shioppa.

Romania has to learn that, just as there was no easy way in, there is no easy way inside the EU club either. The European Commission is the guardian of the treaties and will act as such, as it did with other countries as well. This is one important lesson, says Radu Magdin.

For the first time, the European Commission has rejected a proposed European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), one that sought to phase out the use of all nuclear energy within the EU.

The EU's new commissioner for climate action wants Europe to continue leading global negotiations and pursue deeper emission cuts, even if its current pledge of 20% reductions by 2020 is not matched by other developed countries. 

"There is unlikely to be anyone with locus standi who would challenge non-compliance with Community law [in the European Court of Justice]" on the Irish protocol issue, writes Stanley Crossick, the founder of the European Policy Centre and a commentator on EU policies, on his blog.

The citizens of the only EU country to hold a popular vote on the Lisbon Treaty have rebuffed the Union's entire political class with a resounding 'no' to the reform text, throwing the EU into yet another political crisis.

Developing a procedure for the appointment of the first permanent president of the European Council would be more useful at this stage than putting forward names of individuals, according to French MEP Alain Lamassoure.

Slovenia and Malta have become the latest countries to ratify the new EU Treaty agreed upon by EU leaders in December last year.

Only 25% of Irish citizens would currently vote in favour of the Lisbon Treaty about to be signed by EU leaders on 13 December, according to a recent poll, which also showed many voters still need to make up their minds ahead of a referendum on the new EU treaty.

61% of French citizens would like to see a referendum on the 'Lisbon Treaty' set to be signed by EU leaders in December, according to a recent poll. However, President Nicolas Sarkozy remains determined to pass the document by parliamentary vote.

Last week's treaty summit may mark the end of an entire phase of the European integration process in which progress has chiefly been made through institutional "giant leaps forward", argues a post-summit analysis from the European Policy Centre (EPC).

It is not a foregone conclusion that the 'committee of wise men' proposed by Nicolas Sarkozy to reshape the EU's future will be a success, and it is vital to prevent it from being "instrumentalised in the political arena", argues a new Spotlight Europe paper.

European leaders on Thursday (18 October) reached a deal on a new 'Reform Treaty', ending two years of stalemate following the rejection of the draft EU Constitution in 2005. But attention is now soon to turn to ratification, with several countries under pressure to hold a referendum on the new text.

With most disagreements on the draft 'Reform Treaty' ironed out, the Portuguese Presidency has decided to shift EU leaders' attention to a general debate on globalisation at an informal summit in Lisbon. Meanwhile, a new opinion poll shows citizens in the EU's five largest member states are in favour of holding a referendum on the new text.

The Portuguese Presidency and the Commission have shown optimism that an agreement can be found on the proposed Reform Treaty at a crucial summit in Lisbon next week. They were in Parliament yesterday to update MEPs on the issue as Poland remains the last stumbling block.

A draft version of the EU's new Reform Treaty was provisionally approved by legal experts yesterday (2 October), but some political issues, such as the Polish demand to add the 'Ioannina compromise' on voting rights, could resurface at an informal summit two weeks from now.

On a visit to Warsaw, Commission President José Manuel Barroso called on Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski to 'find technical solutions' to the EU's draft Reform Treaty, as Poland is again making Council voting rights a stumbling block in the negotiations, due to be finalised in October.

The EU is hopeful of finalising its new 'Reform Treaty' in less than six weeks, despite renewed worries over the upcoming Polish elections to be held on 21 October, foreign ministers announced after an informal meeting on 7-8 September. 

The UK opt-out on the charter of fundamental rights is among the issues in need of "further legal clarification", according to the three MEPs taking part in the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) after a meeting with Commission President José Manuel Barroso.

On 23 July, the EU launched an Intergovernmental Conference to provide a legal basis for the June Summit's political agreement, and prepare a text to revise the current treaties. Jean-Dominique Giuliani of the Robert Schuman Foundation outlines the new perspectives that will potentially become European policy following this turning point.

Despite some criticism, Socialist MEP Jo Leinen thinks the EU's draft ‘Reform Treaty’ represents a ‘huge improvement’ compared to the Nice Treaty currently in force. But he warns that if Poland tries to drive the rest of the EU crazy once more, it may receive a 'red card' from the Portuguese Presidency.

Several member states added their voices to the US and NATO's "disappointment" on 14 July 2007 over Russian President Vladimir Putin's suspension of Russia's participation in a key arms-control treaty.

EU member states have agreed on a blueprint for a new Treaty, rescuing a number of key institutional reforms but amending only the existing EU Framework. Hugo Brady, research fellow at the Centre for European Reform (CER), states that the Treaty is an admission that the enlarged Union has become much more diverse.

Those member states who supported the original Constitutional Treaty (CT) should demand a radical revision of the current treaty amendment procedure in return for their readiness to compromise in the forthcoming intergovernmental conference (IGC), writes Janis A. Emmanouilidis of the Centre for Applied Policy Research (CAP) in a June 2007 paper.