Treaty Reform Research Articles

Nation, Separation and Threat: An Analysis of British Media Discourses on the European Union Treaty Reform Process*

AbstractThis article examines the framing of the European Union in British media debates surrounding the negotiation of the Lisbon Treaty. As such, it analyzes the discursive context in which both citizens' attitudes and government policies towards the EU are formed. It identifies a predominant, Eurosceptic discourse that dictates the terrain on which wider debates about the EU are conducted. This discourse views the EU through the lens of the nation‐state and frames the relationship between the United Kingdom and the EU in terms of separation and threat. The United Kingdom is excluded from the EU mainstream, which works to undermine its interests.

Institutional Change in Europe: Co‐decision and Comitology Transformed*

AbstractThis article explains how institutional rules changeafterthey have been established in two important areas of European decision‐making: co‐decision and comitology. It shows how legislation under co‐decision was transformed into fast‐track legislation and why the Parliament gradually – between treaty reforms – gained more institutional power in comitology. The rational choice institutionalist explanation applied here focuses on the efficiency increasing/transaction cost saving aspects of interstitial institutional change, but also on the question of who gains and who loses in power under specific rules and how power may subsequently be shifted. The hypotheses derived from the theoretical considerations are subject to empirical (dis)confirmation on the basis of quantitative and qualitative empirical data collected on co‐decision and delegation over time. The conclusion summarizes the argument and explores the applicability of the explanations to two other polities of regional integration: North Atlantic Free Trade Association (Nafta) and Mercosur (the Common Southern Market).

Environmental Governance and the Legal Bases Conundrum

Although it was not mentioned in the 1957 Treaty of Rome, environmental concerns have, through the various treaty reforms, gradually been able to establish themselves as one of the greatest values enshrined in the treaties. Attention should be drawn to the fact that Article 3(3) of the Treaty of the European Union (TEU) and Articles 11, 114(3), 191 to 193 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) are dedicated to environmental issues. Driven by the fear of a disintegration of the internal market, concerns over portraying a less mercantile image of the EU, as well as the intention to safeguard ecosystems and species under threat, a European environmental policy has thus gradually emerged. Starting from a range of action programmes, EU secondary environmental law has progressively grown from a sparse set of directives to a vast body of regulatory measures aiming both to regulate the main forms of pollution as well as to protect the main ecosystems along with some of their composite elements. Today it is possible to count more than 300 EU regulatory measures, that is around eight per cent of EU law. 1 Several EU agencies, twenty-seven Member States, three EFTA States, hundreds of Regions and Länder, and thousands of municipalities now implement EU secondary environmental law through a complex web of regulations that affect virtually every aspect of our life. Thanks to EU environmental law, much has been achieved over these last thirty years: the ban on lead in petroleum products, phasing out ozone depleting substances, reduction of nitrogen oxide emissions from road transport, improvement of waste water treatment, improvement of some aspects of air quality, increase in the number of protected species and habitats thanks to the Natura 2000 network, etc. 2 These significant progresses demonstrate the key role played by EU environmental policy and law.

Media Reporting Patterns in Europe

The mass media are key social actors in the articulation of themes of common concern in the European public space, nowadays. Through mediation of messages, symbols and visions on important issues the media may influence on which themes to dominate the European public sphere. In this article we examine the patterns of media reporting on important EU-related issues, particularly the issues of Construction of the EU and Reform Treaty, in 16 European countries, incl. Turkey. We analyse the EU-related content of 77 print and broadcast media actors by focusing on two dimensions of media reporting: the frequency of reporting and the attitudes manifested by the media actors while reporting on EU-related issues. Our general findings suggest that at the time of data collection (May-October 2008) there was a prevailing country-specific, instead of a unified pattern of media reporting in Europe. Significant interdependencies between the types of state membership (old, new and non-member) and the articulation of both discussed cases, as well as other topics of the EU integration in media are outlined.

The Participation of the European Union in Global Economic Governance Fora

AbstractDespite its economic importance and successive Treaty reforms, the EU does not always succeed in asserting itself as a leading actor on the international stage. Both internal and external factors influence the EU's participation in international economic governance institutions. They constitute a definite handicap concerning the EU's potential role as a real normative power. At the same time, as indispensable reforms of global economic governance are in the offing, the EU seems to be giving up any claims for better representation within competent organisations and forums, such as the International Monetary Fund.

The European Union Act 2011: Locks, limits and legality

The European Union Act 2011 imposes a complex set of constraints on the acceptance of EU law within the UK. It stipulates the need for an Act of Parliament and a referendum in a wide range of circumstances - notably Treaty amendment pursuant to the ordinary revision procedure in Article 48(2)-(5) TEU and Treaty reform pursuant to the simplified revision procedure in Article 48(6) TEU - and in addition sets out requirements for statutory approval and other forms of Parliamentary approval in relation to certain EU measures. The 2011 statute raises issues of principle that are relevant for all Member States of the EU. This article explicates the provisions of the European Union Act 2011, and then examines their legal and political implications from the perspective of both UK law and EU law. The article concludes by reflecting more broadly on the implications of the 2011 Act for other forms of constitutional constraint on the acceptance of EU law by the Member States'.

Unrecognized and Unwelcome? The Role of the EU in Preventing the Proliferation of CBRN Weapons, Materials and Knowledge

This article assesses the role of the EU as an actor in the area of non-proliferation of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) weapons, materials and know-how. It focuses primarily on the Russian Federation. Russia's extensive CBRN programmes, combined with bad economy, weak security and high unemployment among CBRN scientists, have become a major source of concern for the international community following the end of the cold war and after the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. The EU is the only non-state actor that got involved in addressing this threat right at the beginning of the 1990s, renewing its commitments after 9/11. This article revisits the concept of ‘actorness’ in order to examine the past, present and possibly future role of the EU in preventing the proliferation of CBRN capabilities. This means that in addition to evaluating past policies, this contribution analyses the impact of the Lisbon Treaty reforms and the changing international security environment on the position of the EU as an aspiring international non-proliferation actor.

National parliaments within the EU polity—no longer losers but hardly victorious

This article considers the impact of the Treaty of Lisbon on national parliaments. The Laeken declaration singled out the role of national parliaments as one of the key issues to be considered in Treaty reform, and the Constitutional Convention identified that their enhanced involvement would help to ‘strengthen the democratic legitimacy of the Union and bring it closer to its citizens’. The article evaluates the subsidiarity monitoring arrangements for national parliaments introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon and argues that, notwithstanding improved procedures and opportunities for participation in EU affairs, these changes will only have a marginal effect upon legislative accountability.

The European Union (EU) after the Treaty of Lisbon

The Reform Treaty of Lisbon amending the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC) was signed at Lisbon on December 13, 2007. The TEU radically altered the structure of what used to be the TEC, now called Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). It does away with the former pillar structure, thus abolishing the institutional structure of separate policy areas with regard to police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters. Until the Lisbon Treaty came into force in December 2009, the EU Data Protection Directive (95/46/EC) exempted second and third pillar issues from data protection scrutiny. The Lisbon Treaty now makes such scrutiny possible. With the planned revision of the Data Protection Directive in November 2011, data controllers processing sensitive data, including surveillance systems, may be obliged to subject them to privacy impact assessment.

Treaty reform and the Commission’s appointment and policy-making role in the European Union

This article analyses the role of the Commission in the European Union (EU). We present a game-theoretical model of two EU processes — Commission appointment and the adoption of legislation — and apply this model to the appointment of recent Commissions and their legislative programmes. Institutional reforms of the EU have led to more involvement of the European Parliament and majority voting in the Council in both processes. We find that the introduction of majority voting in the legislative process in the mid-1980s let the Commission move policy further from the status quo. Yet unanimity for appointing the Commission still allowed the member states to commit to a legislative programme that was preferred by all of them. More recently, the move to majority voting for appointing the Commission, combined with the ability of the European Parliament to amend Commission proposals, has moved the EU towards a more majoritarian political system. However, the potential policy consequences of these changes have been limited thus far because of the particular configuration of policy preferences of the governments and the European Parliament.

Support for Europe among Europe's Ethnic, Religious, and Immigrant Minorities

The defeat of the Reform treaty in the June 2008 Irish referendum, after the French and Dutch rejections of the Constitutional Treaty in 2005, made public support for European integration a central concern among those interested in the fate of the project. We examine the attitudes of individuals who belong to minority groups within EU countries toward European integration, relying on the 2006 European Social Survey in 21 countries. We find that minority populations, defined in terms of language, self-identification, religion, and immigrant status, are nearly universally more likely to favor further integration of Europe. Minority group members have come to see the EU as a potential ally in promoting their rights and welfare.

The European Union’s Trap of Constitutional Politics: From the Convention Towards the Failure of the Treaty of Lisbon

In a national referendum held on 12 June 2008, 53.4 percent of Irish citizens voted “no” to the Treaty of Lisbon. As its provisions require ratification by all member states, the Irish vote marks a further setback for attempts at consti- tutional reform of the European Union (EU). The Lisbon reform treaty, officially entitled the Treaty of Lisbon amending the Treaty on Euro- pean Union and the Treaty establishing the Eu- ropean Community,1 was signed by the prime ministers and presidents of EU member states in December 2007. It was the result of a pro- cess set in motion by the European Council in a meeting held in Laeken, Belgium in December 2001. Intended to make the “ever closer union” more democratic, and to facilitate the adjust- ment of European institutions to the new po- litical situation brought on by the accession to the EU of Central and Eastern European states, the “Laeken Council” issued a declaration trig- gering efforts to constitutionalize the European Union. To this end, a reform process was ini- tiated involving a body called the Convention on the Future of Europe (Convention), made up of European and member state government representatives and parliamentarians.2 This re- form process resulted in the recommendation in 2003 of a draft Treaty Establishing a Constitu- tion for Europe (Constitutional Treaty),3 which was subsequently approved by the Intergovern- mental Conference and the European Council in Rome in October 2004. Despite several mem- ber states ratifying the Constitutional Treaty, it was rejected by popular referenda in France and the Netherlands in the spring of 2005. At that time, and in view of the obvious risks to ratifi- cation in some other member states, the process of constitutionalization ground to a halt.

Poland as a Policy Entrepreneur in European External Energy Policy: Towards Greater Energy Solidarity vis-à-vis Russia?

This article draws on concepts from public policy analysis and the literature on EU member state influence to examine Poland's efforts to project its preferences onto European external energy policy. It argues that Poland's attempts to ‘upload’ its preferences are motivated by a perceived ‘misfit’ between European external energy policy and Warsaw's broader geopolitical priorities concerning Russia. The main aim of the article is to assess the impact of Poland's entrepreneurial efforts on the EU level and to review the relevance of several factors contributing to their success or failure. For this purpose, the article provides an in-depth, empirically rich case study focusing on Warsaw's call for ‘energy solidarity’ in the context of its ‘Energy NATO’ initiative in 2006 and the reform treaty negotiations in 2007. It concludes that Warsaw's ‘uploading’ efforts have faced very considerable constraints, but nevertheless succeeded at placing the notion of ‘energy solidarity’ onto the EU agenda.

The Impact of the Lisbon Reform Treaty in the Field of Criminal Procedural Law

The Impact of the Lisbon Reform Treaty in the Field of Criminal Procedural Law

The Ongoing Business of Treaty Reform

The Ongoing Business of Treaty Reform

The European Union: A Schumpeterian Model of Democracy

One of the most discussed aspects of the so called democratic deficit of the EU is the lack of a European Public Sphere. The Union's democracy is perceived by its citizens as Schumpeterian in nature and this perception corresponds to a large extent to reality. Schumpeter described democracy as the rule of the politician, who gains decision making power in the free competition over votes. The parliament's role is of minor importance; it decides more by acceptance than by initiative. Citizens can neither bring up the issues nor decide them. The European Union is indeed an ideal platform for such a model, because it is complicated, technocratic and rather opaque. European integration was and still is an elite-dominated project, where citizens do not have many possibilities to intervene during legislation-periods. Over many years, the consensual behaviour of the political elites hindered the emergence of broad debate and of conflict in a European Public Sphere. Only in the last years, politicians tried to turn the table by stressing the importance of the European citizens. A convention was installed to work out a Constitutional Treaty. But once again, the debate remained elite-dominated. The heads of governments finally signed another elitist compromise without listening to the citizens. In consequence, the rejection of the Constitutional Treaty in France and the Netherlands in 2005 is the result of an elitist and Schumpeterian model of democracy which is perpetuated by the new reform treaty of Lisbon. Thus, the claim for a European public sphere remains relevant. But scholars differently define such a sphere. The argument of this paper is that besides the often claimed Europeanization and transnationalisation of European debate the notion of broad conflict is of high importance for the emergence of a European public sphere.

リスボン条約とイギリス

What was British role in the making of the Lisbon Treaty? Is Britain still “an awkward partner” in the European Union? This article aims to examine British policy towards the European Union from the failure of the ratification of European Constitutional Treaty in 2005 to the signing of the Lisbon Treaty in December 2007. Soon after the failures of the Treaty ratification both in France and in the Netherlands in June 2005, British Prime Minister Tony Blair declared to introduce “a period of reflection” to freeze the process of ratification. From the next month, Britain had hold the presidency of the European Council. Due partly to his domestic stalemate on the ratification, Blair exploited this opportunity to postpone difficult ratification of European Constitutional Treaty. This difficulty originated in Blair’s decision for a referendum on the ratification of the Constitutional Treaty in April 2004. European Constitutional Treaty which was signed on 29 October 2004 caused a big political debate in Britain. Both the Conservative Party and Eurosceptic medias represented by Rupert Murdoch criticized the government for its intention to further transfer political power to Brussels. Having faced with this serious political difficulty, Blair naturally was “off the hook”. He simply felt “the waves of relief”. Blair’s task was two-fold. First, he had to find a solution to this political stalemate as he would soon preside the European Council. Second, he was necessary to sell a new treaty to British people. To avoid a referendum, the British government needed to find a device which indicated that a new treaty was not “constitutional” one. In other words, a new treaty had to be a “reform treaty” without any new transfer of sovereignty. A new French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, supported Britain to advance towards a “reform treaty”. Both French and British governments were contended with omitting any symbol of “federalism” or “constitution”. Within British government, it was generally agreed that Britain needed to defend the “red line” which prevented further transfer of power to the European Union. After having persuaded Angela Merkel, German Chancellor, Britain successfully secured the “red line”, and this meant that British government did not have to go into a national referendum. With this “success”, the EU could reach an agreement on the drafting of the Lisbon Treaty which would become signed in December 2007. After the referendum crises of 2005, British government led the argument on the future of failed Constitutional Treaty. The answer was to save the essence of it by abandoning “federal” and “constitutional” features of the Treaty. This British policy was basically motivated by its own domestic rivalry on the future of Europe. Although Britain might be “an awkward partner” within the EU, the Labour governments tried to find out a way to go out of the crises of 2005 by abandoning some of hopes and wishes that people dreamed.

New External Rules, New Internal Games: How the EU Institutions Respond when Inter-institutional Rules Change

Agreements concerning inter-institutional rules in the treaties of the European Union often give rise to reactions and processes of adaptation within the EU institutions. Recent literature on EU legislative politics has increasingly examined decision-making within the EU institutions, but has largely overlooked how these internal processes react and adapt to changes in relations between the EU bodies. To fill this gap the authors present a series of empirical studies that examine how shifts in inter-institutional rules and procedures affect intra-institutional politics. They show that the resulting intra-institutional adaptations may in turn both have distributive consequences and affect the efficiency of the initial inter-institutional reforms. In addition, they provide some stepping stones for theory-building on how treaty reforms affect organisational structure and decision-making within the EU institutions by outlining a series of mediating variables that link these two types of change processes.

The Convention Method Revisited: Does It Have a Future and Does It Matter?

AbstractScholars have argued that the convention method has democratised the process of treaty reform and increased the legitimacy of EU constitutionalisation. This article finds that the convention method has contributed to a slightly more democratic process, but has not, in any fundamental way, improved the democratic status of the EU's treaty reform process. We should accordingly not be too concerned over the future fate of the convention method. From a democratic perspective, we should be more worried over the possible scenario that future changes to the EU's institutional structure will come about through implicit constitutional change without any formal changes being made to the treaties. The often cumbersome ratification process could thereby be bypassed, but this would also deprive EU citizens of the only real opportunity they have of influencing decisions on the overall design of the integration project.

The Uses of the Past and European Integration: Austria between Lisbon, Ireland, and EURO 08

This article examines Austrian national identity negotiations through a qualitative analysis of the country's ideologically heterogeneous media, with a focus on Austria's most widely read paper (and its popular readers’ letters pages) between April and August 2008. This turbulent period coincided with widening opposition to the EU's Lisbon reform treaty, Austria's co-hosting of the European football championship, and the collapse of the country's coalition government. This analysis of media coverage and readers’ letters focuses on the rhetorical strategies underpinning various discursive constructions of Austria's place within the EU. The following key findings are discussed: projections of perceived social ills and resulting anxieties onto the EU; the interpretative uses of the past—historical episodes selected from Austrian and other national contexts—to make sense of and politicize the present; constructions of ‘European ideals’ in juxtaposition to perceived ‘European realities’; and competing models of national identity in relation to the European ‘network state.’