Еўрапейская канстытуцыя как пишется

Фраза «европейская конституция»

Фраза состоит из двух слов и 22 букв без пробелов.

Написание фразы «европейская конституция» наоборот

Как эта фраза пишется в обратной последовательности.

яицутитснок яаксйепорве 😀

Написание фразы «европейская конституция» в транслите

Как эта фраза пишется в транслитерации.

в латинской🇬🇧 yevropeyskaya konstitutsia

Как эта фраза пишется в пьюникоде — Punycode, ACE-последовательность IDN

xn--80adibugziho0n xn--h1aaemethbj4a4h

Как эта фраза пишется в английской Qwerty-раскладке клавиатуры.

tdhjgtqcrfzrjycnbnewbz

Написание фразы «европейская конституция» шрифтом Брайля

Как эта фраза пишется рельефно-точечным тактильным шрифтом.

⠑⠺⠗⠕⠏⠑⠯⠎⠅⠁⠫⠀⠅⠕⠝⠎⠞⠊⠞⠥⠉⠊⠫

Передача фразы «европейская конституция» на азбуке Морзе

Как эта фраза передаётся на морзянке.

⋅ ⋅ – – ⋅ – ⋅ – – – ⋅ – – ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ – – – ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ – ⋅ – ⋅ – ⋅ – ⋅ – – ⋅ – – – – – ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ – ⋅ ⋅ – ⋅ ⋅ – – ⋅ – ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ – ⋅ –

Произношение фразы «европейская конституция» на дактильной азбуке

Как эта фраза произносится на ручной азбуке глухонемых (но не на языке жестов).

Передача фразы «европейская конституция» семафорной азбукой

Как эта фраза передаётся флажковой сигнализацией.

Остальные фразы со слова «европейская»

Какие ещё фразы начинаются с этого слова.

• европейская авиагруппа
• европейская академия
• европейская арноглосса
• европейская архитектура
• европейская ассоциация бильярда и снукера
• европейская бельдюга
• европейская библиотека
• европейская болотная черепаха
• европейская валютная змея
• европейская валютная система
• европейская вещательная зона
• европейская война
• европейская гражданская инициатива
• европейская держава
• европейская евдошка
• европейская жандармерия
• европейская женщина
• европейская жизнь
• европейская интеграция
• европейская история
• европейская книжная премия
• европейская колея
• европейская комиссия
• европейская комиссия по борьбе с расизмом и нетерпимостью

Ваша фраза добавлена!

Остальные фразы из 2 слов

Какие ещё фразы состоят из такого же количества слов.

• а вдобавок
• а вдруг
• а ведь
• а вот
• а если
• а ещё
• а именно
• а капелла
• а каторга
• а ну-ка
• а приятно
• а также
• а там
• а то
• аа говорит
• аа отвечает
• аа рассказывает
• ааронов жезл
• аароново благословение
• аароново согласие
• аб ово
• абажур лампы
• абазинская аристократия
• абазинская литература

Комментарии

@dblx 01.01.2020 17:55

Что значит фраза «европейская конституция»? Как это понять?..

Ответить

@eugbnng 29.09.2022 09:38

1

Народный словарь великого и могучего живого великорусского языка.

Онлайн-словарь слов и выражений русского языка. Ассоциации к словам, синонимы слов, сочетаемость фраз. Морфологический разбор: склонение существительных и прилагательных, а также спряжение глаголов. Морфемный разбор по составу словоформ.

По всем вопросам просьба обращаться в письмошную.

Конституция ЕС (полное официальное название — Договор о введении Конституции для Европы) — международный договор, призванный играть роль конституции Европейского союза и заменить все прежние учредительные акты ЕС. Подписан в Риме 20 октября 2004. В силу не вступил. В настоящее время возможность вступления его в силу не рассматривается ввиду подписания Лиссабонского договора.

История

Вопрос о необходимости изменения принципов управления Евросоюзом и структуры руководящих органов встал в 1990-е годы, когда стало очевидно, что в ближайшем будущем произойдёт самое масштабное в истории расширение ЕС (с 15 до 25 членов). До сих пор в ЕС при принятии важнейших решений действовал принцип консенсуса — но с расширением состава возникала вероятность того, что самые важные решения окажутся надолго заблокированными.

Решение о начале работ по созданию общеевропейской конституции было принято на саммите ЕС в декабре 2001. Рабочий орган по разработке проекта конституции получил название конвент, возглавил его бывший Президент Франции Валери Жискар д`Эстен.

Работа над проектом конституции длилась три года. Окончательный текст документа был одобрен на специальном саммите ЕС в июне 2004.

29 октября 2004 главы всех 25-ти государств-членов Евросоюза подписали в Риме новую европейскую конституцию. Уникальность этого документа состоит в том, что он появился сразу на 20-ти языках и стал самой пространной и всеобъемлющей конституцией в мире. Европейская конституция, по мнению её авторов, должна была способствовать появлению общеевропейского самосознания и сделать ЕС моделью нового миропорядка.

Церемония прошла в зале Горациев и Куриациев римского дворца Киджи на Капитолийском холме. Именно здесь 25 марта 1957 года главы Бельгии, Германии, Франции, Италии, Люксембурга и Нидерландов подписали Римский договор о ликвидации торговых барьеров, совместной экономической политике и унификации жизненных стандартов в своих странах.

Предлагаемые изменения

Проект Конституции упорядочивает правовые основы всех договоров, заключённых между странами Евросоюза.

265-страничный документ содержит 450 статей и 60 000 слов, что сделало европейскую конституцию второй по многословности в мире (на первом месте Конституция Республики Калифорния).

Конституция меняет структуру и функции институтов ЕС:

• В Совете ЕС предусмотрена должность президента. Сейчас пост главы Совета по принципу ротации каждые полгода передаётся от одной страны ЕС другой — согласно Конституции, президент должен был назначаться Советом сроком на 2,5 года.
• Предусмотрена также должность министра иностранных дел ЕС, который, по мысли авторов, должен представлять единую европейскую внешнюю политику — ныне внешнеполитические функции разделены между верховным представителем ЕС по внешней политике (сегодня этот пост занимает Хавьер Солана) и членом Еврокомиссии, ответственным за внешние связи (Бенита Ферреро-Вальднер). Однако страны — члены ЕС по-прежнему могут вырабатывать собственную позицию по любому вопросу, и глава МИД Европы сможет говорить от имени ЕС только в том случае, если будет достигнут консенсус.
• Проект Конституции предполагал сокращение состава Еврокомиссии: сейчас действует принцип «одна страна — один еврокомиссар», но с 2014 года число еврокомиссаров должно было составить две трети от числа стран-членов.
• Проект Конституции расширял полномочия Европарламента, который, как предполагалось, должен был не только утверждать бюджет, но и заниматься проблемами, связанными с состоянием гражданских свобод, пограничного контроля и иммиграции, сотрудничества судебных и правоохранительных структур всех стран ЕС.

Проект конституции, среди прочего, предполагал отказ от принципа консенсуса и замену его на принцип так называемого «двойного большинства»: решение по большинству вопросов (кроме вопросов внешней политики и безопасности, социального обеспечения, налогообложения и культуры, где сохраняется принцип консенсуса) считается принятым, если за него проголосовали не менее 15 стран-членов, представляющих не менее 65 % населения всего союза. У отдельных государств не будет существовать «права вето», однако, если постановление Совета ЕС вызывает недовольство одной страны, она сможет остановить его действие при условии, что её поддержат ещё как минимум 3 других государства.

Ратификация

Для вступления Конституции в силу её должны были ратифицировать все страны ЕС. Если хотя бы одна страна-член не ратифицирует Конституцию, она не вступит в силу; но это не приведёт к распаду ЕС, поскольку в таком случае все предыдущие договоры, подписанные его членами, останутся в силе.

Разные страны приняли различные варианты ратификации — голосованием в парламенте или на всенародном референдуме. Стран, решивших принимать конституцию на референдуме, десять:

Дата проведения	Страна	Результат
20 февраля 2005	Испания	проект принят
29 мая 2005	Франция	проект отвергнут
1 июня 2005	Нидерланды	проект отвергнут
10 июля 2005	Люксембург	проект принят
27 сентября 2005	Дания
декабрь 2005	Португалия
начало 2006	Великобритания
референдум отменён	Чехия
не определена	Ирландия
не определена	Польша

В половине стран, руководство которых решилось на референдумы, имеется сильная оппозиция идее общеевропейского единства: к ним относятся Дания, Великобритания, Польша (она вступила в Евросоюз лишь в 2004, но с самого начала заявляла о своих особых претензиях на одно из лидирующих мест в ЕС), Франция и Нидерланды.

На саммите ЕС 22-23 июня 2007 достигнута принципиальная договорённость о разработке вместо Конституции «Договора о реформе» — облегчённой версии, содержащей главным образом положения о порядке функционирования институтов ЕС в новых условиях. Такой договор был подписан в Лиссабоне 13 декабря 2007.

См. также

• Лиссабонское соглашение

Ссылки

• Страны Евросоюза подписали новое базовое соглашение

Европа в темах
Как континент	Политическая система (Европоцентризм • Европейская интеграция) • Герб • Флаг • Гимн • Страны • География • Города • Население • История • Экономика • Валюты • Культура • Всемирное наследие • Философия • Религия (Ислам) • Литература • Архитектура • Музыка • Праздники • Кухня • Парки развлечений • Спорт (Чемпионаты) • Образование • Наука • Транспорт • Военное дело (ДОВСЕ) • Правовая система
Европейский союз	Политическая система • Страны ЕС • Население • Языки • История • Культурная столица • Религия • День Европы • Экономика (Евро ЦБ • Ассоциация свободной торговли • Еврозона • Евро) • Спорт • Образование • Наука • Транспорт • Военное дело • Внешняя политика • Конституция • Шенгенское соглашение • Расширение
Организации в Европе	Совет Европы • ЕАСТ • ОБСЕ • Северный Совет • НАТО • СНГ
Портал «Европа» • Портал «Европейский союз» • Проект «Европа»

Всего найдено: 19

Подскажите, пожалуйста, «основной закон» пишется со строчных букв или с прописных? Спасибо.

Ответ справочной службы русского языка

Правильно: _Основной Закон_ (как второе название официального документа), например: _Устав (Основной Закон) Томской области_; _основной закон_ (при неофициальном употреблении), например: _в нашей стране основным законом является Конституция_.

Здравстуйте! Скажите пожалуйста, со строчной или с прописной буквы пишутся слова «конституция» и «министерство» в выражениях «конституция РФ» и «министерство культуры РФ» ? Заранее благодарю за ответ.

Ответ справочной службы русского языка

Правильно: _Конституция РФ, Министерство культуры РФ_.

Речь идет о Древнем Риме. В разных статьях БСЭ встречаю различное написание слова «(Р)республика». Так как же правильно писать в учебном пособии для вузов: «Утверждение (С)сервианской (К)конституции: от царей к (Р)республике» или «Установление (Р)республики: торжество (К)конституции или «патрицианская реакция»?»

Ответ справочной службы русского языка

Слово _республика_ пишется с прописной в официальных названиях, поэтому в данном случае корректно со строчной. Слово _конституция_ пишется со строчной в исторических названиях некоторых законодательных документов. Как основной закон государства может писаться как со строчной, так и с прописной: _принята новая конституция / Конституция_.

Здравствуйте, уважаемые сотрудники «Грамоты»!
Ну никак не дождусь ответа!!! В пятый раз пытаюсь узнать ответы на интересующие меня вопросы. ОТВЕТЬТЕ, ПОЖАЛУЙСТА!!!
1. С какими падежами согласуется слово «инвазия» («вторжение», «нашествие» в переводе с английского; «внедрение в организм человека, животного или растения паразитов, возбудителей инфекционных болезней» – толково-словообразовательный словарь): инвазия НА территорИЮ – инвазия территорИИ – инвазия НА территорИИ? Первый вариант кажется мне более предпочтительным.
2. На портале «Грамота.ру» утверждается, что «официальные названия республик согласуются со словом «республика», если имеют форму женского рода, оканчивающуюся на -ия и -ея: Правительство Республики Кореи, в Республике Швейцарии. Но почему же даже в конституциях Республики Адыгеи, Республики Калмыкии «не выполняется» данное правило? В каком документе оно зафиксировано

Ответ справочной службы русского языка

Извините за задержку с ответом.
1. _Инвазия_ — заражение организма человека, животных и растений глистами, насекомыми и т. п. Поэтому возможно только _инвазия кого-либо_. Или: _инвазия кого-либо на какой-либо территории_, например: _инвазия скота на территории Смоленской области_. В случае переносного употребления возможно _инвазия территории_.
2. В деловых документах возможна несклоняемость топонимов в косвенных падежах. Однако в газетной и разговорной речи следует склонять.

Конституция ЕС (полное официальное название — Договор о введении Конституции для Европы) — международный договор, призванный играть роль конституции Европейского союза и заменить все прежние учредительные акты ЕС. Подписан в Риме 29 октября 2004. В силу не вступил. В настоящее время возможность вступления его в силу не рассматривается ввиду подписания Лиссабонского договора.

История[править | править код]

Вопрос о необходимости изменения принципов управления Евросоюзом и структуры руководящих органов встал в 1990-е годы, когда стало очевидно, что в ближайшем будущем произойдёт самое масштабное в истории расширение ЕС (с 15 до 25 членов). До сих пор в ЕС при принятии важнейших решений действовал принцип консенсуса — но с расширением состава возникала вероятность того, что самые важные решения окажутся надолго заблокированными.

Решение о начале работ по созданию общеевропейской конституции было принято на саммите ЕС в декабре 2001. Рабочий орган по разработке проекта конституции получил название конвент, возглавил его бывший Президент Франции Валери Жискар д`Эстен.

Работа над проектом конституции длилась три года. Окончательный текст документа был одобрен на специальном саммите ЕС в июне 2004.

29 октября 2004 главы всех 25-ти государств-членов Евросоюза подписали в Риме новую европейскую конституцию. Уникальность этого документа состоит в том, что он появился сразу на 20-ти языках и стал самой пространной и всеобъемлющей конституцией в мире. Европейская конституция, по мнению её авторов, должна была способствовать появлению общеевропейского самосознания и сделать ЕС моделью нового миропорядка.

Церемония прошла в зале Горациев и Куриациев римского дворца Киджи на Капитолийском холме. Именно здесь 25 марта 1957 года главы Бельгии, Германии, Франции, Италии, Люксембурга и Нидерландов подписали Римский договор о ликвидации торговых барьеров, совместной экономической политике и унификации жизненных стандартов в своих странах.

Предлагаемые изменения[править | править код]

Проект Конституции упорядочивает правовые основы всех договоров, заключённых между странами Евросоюза.

Документ содержал 450 статей и 60 000 слов, что сделало европейскую конституцию сопоставимой по своему объёму с наиболее масштабным и подробным конституционным актом в мире, Конституцией Индии от 1950 года^[1].

Конституция меняет структуру и функции институтов ЕС:

• В Совете ЕС предусмотрена должность президента. Сейчас пост главы Совета по принципу ротации каждые полгода передаётся от одной страны ЕС другой — согласно Конституции, президент должен был назначаться Советом сроком на 2,5 года.
• Предусмотрена также должность министра иностранных дел ЕС, который, по мысли авторов, должен представлять единую европейскую внешнюю политику — ныне внешнеполитические функции разделены между верховным представителем ЕС по внешней политике (с 2009 года этот пост занимала Кэтрин Эштон, а с 2014 — Федерика Могерини) и членом Еврокомиссии, ответственным за внешние связи (Бенита Ферреро-Вальднер). Однако страны — члены ЕС по-прежнему могут вырабатывать собственную позицию по любому вопросу, и глава МИД Европы сможет говорить от имени ЕС только в том случае, если будет достигнут консенсус.
• Проект Конституции предполагал сокращение состава Еврокомиссии: сейчас действует принцип «одна страна — один еврокомиссар», но с 2014 года число еврокомиссаров должно было составить две трети от числа стран-членов.
• Проект Конституции расширял полномочия Европарламента, который, как предполагалось, должен был не только утверждать бюджет, но и заниматься проблемами, связанными с состоянием гражданских свобод, пограничного контроля и иммиграции, сотрудничества судебных и правоохранительных структур всех стран ЕС.

Проект конституции, среди прочего, предполагал отказ от принципа консенсуса и замену его на принцип так называемого «двойного большинства»: решение по большинству вопросов (кроме вопросов внешней политики и безопасности, социального обеспечения, налогообложения и культуры, где сохраняется принцип консенсуса) считается принятым, если за него проголосовали не менее 15 стран-членов, представляющих не менее 65 % населения всего союза. У отдельных государств не будет существовать «права вето», однако, если постановление Совета ЕС вызывает недовольство одной страны, она сможет остановить его действие при условии, что её поддержат ещё как минимум 3 других государства.

Ратификация[править | править код]

Для вступления Конституции в силу её должны были ратифицировать все страны ЕС. Если хотя бы одна страна-член не ратифицирует Конституцию, она не вступит в силу; но это не приведёт к распаду ЕС, поскольку в таком случае все предыдущие договоры, подписанные его членами, останутся в силе.

Разные страны приняли различные варианты ратификации — голосованием в парламенте или на всенародном референдуме. Стран, решивших принимать конституцию на референдуме, десять:^[2]

Страна	Метод принятия	Результат
Австрия	Голосование в парламенте	Принята[3]
Бельгия	Голосование в парламенте	Принята[4]
Великобритания	Референдум	Референдум отменен[5]
Венгрия	Голосование в парламенте	Принята[6]
Германия	Голосование в парламенте	Принята[7]
Греция	Голосование в парламенте	Принята[7]
Дания	Референдум	Референдум отменен[8]
Ирландия	Референдум	Референдум отменен[8]
Испания	Референдум	Принята[9]
Италия	Голосование в парламенте	Принята[10]
Кипр	Голосование в парламенте	Принята[11]
Латвия	Голосование в парламенте	Принята[12]
Литва	Голосование в парламенте	Принята[13]
Люксембург	Референдум	Принята[14]
Мальта	Голосование в парламенте	Принята[15]
Нидерланды	Референдум	Не принята[16]
Польша	Референдум	Референдум отменен[17]
Португалия	Референдум	Референдум отменен[8]
Словакия	Голосование в парламенте	Принята[18]
Словения	Голосование в парламенте	Принята[19]
Финляндия	Голосование в парламенте	Принята[20]
Франция	Референдум	Не принята[21]
Чехия	Голосование в парламенте	Не проводилось[22]
Швеция	Голосование в парламенте	Не проводилось[23]
Эстония	Голосование в парламенте	Принята[24]

В половине стран, руководство которых решилось на референдумы, имеется сильная оппозиция идее общеевропейского единства: к ним относятся Дания, Великобритания, Польша (она вступила в Евросоюз лишь в 2004, но с самого начала заявляла о своих особых претензиях на одно из лидирующих мест в ЕС), Франция и Нидерланды.

На саммите ЕС 22-23 июня 2007 достигнута принципиальная договорённость о разработке вместо Конституции «Договора о реформе» — облегчённой версии, содержащей главным образом положения о порядке функционирования институтов ЕС в новых условиях. Такой договор был подписан в Лиссабоне 13 декабря 2007.

См. также[править | править код]

• Лиссабонское соглашение

Примечания[править | править код]

Ссылки[править | править код]

• Официальный текст конституции ЕС (англ.) и на других языках стран ЕС
• Lenta.ru: Комментарии: Принята самая толстая в мире конституция, lenta.ru (1 ноября 2004). Дата обращения 9 октября 2009.
• Объединенные в разнообразии. 18 июня на саммите Евросоюза была принята общеевропейская конституция, lenta.ru (21 июня 2004). Дата обращения 9 октября 2009.
• Европейская конституция в вопросах и ответах. news.bbc.co.uk (21 июня 2004). Дата обращения 9 октября 2009. Архивировано 25 февраля 2012 года.
• И. Ямпольская,. Что предусматривает Конституция Европейского союза? (рус.) : журнал. — «Теория и практика управления», N 6, 2005. — 1 июня. Архивировано 29 декабря 2005 года.
• Юлия Крук. Конституция Европейского союза: история подготовки и причины провала её ратификации (рус.) : журнал. — журнал международного права и международных отношений 2009 — № 2, 2009.
• Александр Лебедев, Михаил Горбачев. О будущем Евросоюза. «Российская газета» — Федеральный выпуск №3832 (28 июля 2005). Дата обращения 9 октября 2009.

This article is about the abandoned 2004 proposal. For the constitutional basis of the EU, see Treaties of the European Union.

Treaty establishing a
Constitution for Europe

Draft of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, 17 June 2004
Type	Unratified treaty
Drafted	June 2004
Signed	29 October 2004
Location	Rome, Italy
Sealed	8 November 2004
Signatories	EU member states
Full text
Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe at Wikisource

The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE; commonly referred to as the European Constitution or as the Constitutional Treaty) was an unratified international treaty intended to create a consolidated constitution for the European Union (EU). It would have replaced the existing European Union treaties with a single text, given legal force to the Charter of Fundamental Rights, and expanded qualified majority voting into policy areas which had previously been decided by unanimity among member states.

The Treaty was signed on 29 October 2004 by representatives of the then 25 member states of the European Union. It was later ratified by 18 member states, which included referendums endorsing it in Spain and Luxembourg. However, the rejection of the document by French and Dutch voters in May and June 2005 brought the ratification process to an end.

Following a period of reflection, the Treaty of Lisbon was created to replace the Constitutional Treaty. This contained many of the changes that were originally placed in the Constitutional Treaty but, instead of repealing and replacing the existing treaties, simply amended them and abandoned the idea of a single codified constitution. Signed on 13 December 2007, the Lisbon Treaty entered into force on 1 December 2009.

History[edit]

Drafting[edit]

The drafting of the European Constitution began in a call for a new debate on the future of Europe, made at the Laeken European Council in December 2001. A European Convention was founded shortly afterward; this was chaired by former French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing and composed of two Members of Parliament (generally one from the governing majority and one from the opposition) of each Member State and applicant state, 16 MEPs, two members of the European Commission^[1] and a representative from each government. It met in public. Giscard d’Estaing proposed to draft a Constitution. Romano Prodi, the President of the European Commission, backed a draft text, termed the ‘Penelope Project’, which contained a deeper integration of the countries and a clearer institutional model.^[2]

After protracted negotiations in the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) during the Italian presidency, disputes arose over the proposed framework for qualified majority voting: the final text of the TCE was settled in June 2004 under the Irish presidency.

Mention of Christianity in the preamble[edit]

Several countries urged that the preamble of the Constitution include a reference to Christianity. Among these were Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, which in May 2004 sent a letter to the Irish Presidency, saying «the governments of those countries consider as a priority the recognition of the Christian tradition in the Preamble» and noting that the list of signatories was not exhaustive as they hoped other countries would join their initiative. The Greek government likewise supported a reference to Christianity.

The strongest opponents of any reference to Christianity were France and Belgium. Other countries opposing such a reference were Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Slovenia, and Cyprus. Among other nations, Spain originally supported the inclusion of a reference to Christianity, but the incoming Zapatero government reversed the stance of its predecessor.

Eventually the agreed-upon Constitution made no explicit references to Christianity, only mentioning the «cultural, religious and humanist inheritance of Europe». This decision caused disappointment in the Vatican, but satisfaction from candidate state Turkey.

Signing[edit]

The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe was signed in Rome on 29 October 2004 by 53 senior political figures from the 25 member states of the European Union. In most cases heads of state designated plenipotentiaries to sign the treaty, but some presidents also signed on behalf of states which were republics. Most designated plenipotentiaries were prime ministers and foreign ministers.

Ratification[edit]

On 12 January 2005 the European Parliament voted a legally non-binding resolution in support of the Constitution by 500 votes in favour to 137 votes against, with 40 abstentions.^[3]

Before an EU treaty can enter into force, it must be ratified by all member states. Ratification takes different forms in each country, depending on its traditions, constitutional arrangements and political processes. Most member states ratify EU treaties following parliamentary votes, while some — notably Ireland and Denmark — sometimes hold referendums, in Ireland’s case where the treaty requires a constitutional amendment, for all amendments have to be approved by referendum. As a reaction to what was seen as the novel nature of the Constitution, many advocates and opponents of the Constitution argued that it should be subjected to referendums across the European Union.^[4]

On 20 April 2004, the then British prime minister Tony Blair unexpectedly announced an intention to hold a referendum, a proposal which he had previously rejected. A further seven member states announced or had already announced that they would hold referendums on the Constitution, these being Denmark, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal.

Spain was the first country to hold a referendum on the Constitution. On 20 February 2005, Spanish voters backed the treaty with 76% voting in favour to 24% against, on a turnout of 43%.^[5]

On 29 May 2005, the French people rejected the Constitution by a margin of 55% to 45% on a turnout of 69%. On 1 June, the Dutch people rejected the constitution by a margin of 61% to 39% on a turnout of 62%.

Notwithstanding the rejection in France and the Netherlands, Luxembourg held a referendum on 10 July 2005 approving the Constitution by 57% to 43%. It was the last referendum to be held on the Constitution, for all of the other member states that had proposed to hold referendums cancelled them.

Post-rejection[edit]

After the French and Dutch referendum results, European leaders decided to hold a «period of reflection» on what to do next.^[6] As part of this reflection period, a «group of wise men» was set up to consider possible courses of action.^[7] This group of high-level European politicians – former prime ministers, ministers and members of the European Commission – first met on 30 September 2006 in Rome.^[8]

On 4 June 2007, this group, known as the Amato Group, presented its report. They proposed to establish a new Inter-Governmental Conference with a view to writing a new treaty which would rewrite the Maastricht Treaty, amend the Treaty of Rome and give the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union a legally binding status. The new treaty would be based on the first and fourth parts of the Constitution, the rest of the Constitution’s changes being achieved through amendments to the Treaty of Rome.^[9]

In the June 2007 European summit meeting, member states agreed to abandon the constitution and to amend the existing treaties, which would remain in force. They also agreed a detailed mandate for a new intergovernmental conference to negotiate a new treaty containing such amendments to the existing treaties (primarily the Treaty of Rome and the Treaty of Maastricht). These negotiations were completed by the end of the year. The new treaty, which had previously been referred to as the Reform Treaty, became the Lisbon Treaty on its signing in Lisbon on 13 December 2007.

National processes at a glance[edit]

Member state[10]	Date	Result[11]	Deposition with Italian Government[12]
Lithuania	11 November 2004	Yes. Seimas: 84 to 4 in favour, 3 abstentions.[13]	17 December 2004
Hungary	20 December 2004	Yes. Országgyűlés: 323 to 12 in favour, 8 abstention.[14]	30 December 2004
Slovenia	1 February 2005	Yes. Državni zbor: 79 to 4 in favour, 0 abstentions.[15]	9 May 2005
Italy	25 January 2005 6 April 2005	Yes. Camera dei Deputati: 436 to 28 in favour, 5 abstentions.[16] Yes. Senato della Repubblica: 217 to 16 in favour, 0 abstentions.[17]	25 May 2005
Spain	20 February 2005 28 April 2005 18 May 2005 20 May 2005	Yes. Consultive referendum: 76.73% to 17.24% in favour, 6.03% blanks, 42.32% participation.[18][19] Yes. Congreso de los Diputados: 311 to 19 in favour, 0 abstentions.[20] Yes. Senado: 225 to 6 in favour, 1 abstention.[21] Royal Assent. King Juan Carlos I[22]	15 June 2005
Austria	11 May 2005 25 May 2005	Yes. Nationalrat: Approved by show of hands with 1 against.[23] Yes. Bundesrat: Approved by show of hands with three against.[24]	17 June 2005
Greece	19 April 2005	Yes. Hellenic Parliament: 268 to 17 in favour, 15 abstentions.[25]	28 July 2005
Malta	6 July 2005	Yes. Il-Kamra: Agreed without a division.[26]	2 August 2005
Cyprus	30 June 2005	Yes. Cyprus Parliament: 30 to 19 in favour, one abstention.[27]	6 October 2005
Latvia	2 June 2005	Yes. Saeima: 71 to 5 in favour, six abstentions.[28]	3 January 2006
Luxembourg	10 July 2005 25 October 2005	Yes. Consultative referendum: 56.52% to 43.48% in favour, 87.77% participation.[29][30] Yes. Châmber: 57 to 1 in favour, no abstentions.[31]	30 January 2006
Belgium	28 April 2005 19 May 2005 17 June 2005 20 June 2005 29 June 2005 19 July 2005 8 February 2006	Yes. Senaat/Sénat: 54 to 9 in favour, one abstention.[32] Yes. Kamer/Chambre: 118 to 18 in favour, one abstention.[33] Yes. Parlement Bruxellois/Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Parlement: 70 to 10 in favour, 0 abstentions.[34] Yes. Parlament der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft: 21 to 2 in favour, no abstentions.[35] Yes. Parlement wallon: 55 to 2 in favour, 0 abstention.[36] Yes. Parlement de la Communauté française: 79 to 0 in favour, no abstentions.[37] Yes. Vlaams Parlement: 84 to 29 in favour, one abstention.[38]	13 June 2006
Estonia	9 May 2006	Yes. Riigikogu: 73 to 1 in favour, no abstentions.[39]	26 September 2006
Bulgaria	1 January 2007	Yes. Due to the provisions of Treaty of Accession 2005	Not required
Romania	1 January 2007	Yes. Due to the provisions of Treaty of Accession 2005	Not required
Slovakia	11 May 2005	Yes. Národná rada: 116 to 27 in favour, four abstentions.[40]
Germany	12 May 2005 27 May 2005 31 October 2006	Yes. Bundestag: 569 to 23 in favour, two abstentions.[41] Yes. Bundesrat: 66 to 0 in favour, three abstentions.[42] Frozen. Constitutional Court
Finland incl.  Åland[43]	5 December 2006 Cancelled	Yes. Eduskunta/Riksdag: 125 to 39 in favour, four abstentions.[44] Lagting[45]
France	29 May 2005 Cancelled Cancelled	No. Referendum: 54.68% to 45.32% against, 69.34% participation.[46][47] Assemblée Nationale: Sénat:
Netherlands	1 June 2005 Cancelled Cancelled	No. Consultative referendum: 61.54% to 38.46% against, 63.30% participation.[48][49] Tweede Kamer: Eerste Kamer:
Czech Republic	Cancelled Cancelled Cancelled	Referendum: Senát: Poslanecká sněmovna:
Denmark	Cancelled Cancelled	Referendum: Folketinget:
Ireland	Cancelled Cancelled Cancelled	Referendum: Dáil Éireann: Seanad Éireann:
Poland	Cancelled Cancelled Cancelled	Referendum: Sejm: Senat:
Portugal	Cancelled Cancelled	Referendum: Assembleia da Republica:
Sweden	Cancelled	Riksdag:
United Kingdom	Cancelled Cancelled Cancelled Cancelled	Referendum: House of Commons: House of Lords: Queen Elizabeth II:

Content[edit]

Institutional structure[edit]

Under the TCE, the Council of the European Union would have been formally renamed the «Council of Ministers», which is already its informal title. The «General Affairs Council» would have been formally split from the «Foreign Affairs Council», which had informally held meetings separately since June 2002.

The TCE proposed the formal recognition of a flag, an anthem and a motto for the Union, although none of them were new.

Conferral, subsidiarity, proportionality[edit]

The TCE would have reiterated several key principles of how the Union functions:

• the principle of conferral: that all EU competences are conferred on it voluntarily by member states;
• the principle of subsidiarity: that governmental decisions should be taken at the lowest level possible while still remaining effective;
• the principle of proportionality: that the EU may only act exactly to the extent that is needed to achieve its objectives;
• the primacy of EU law: in areas where member states have made legally binding agreements at EU level, they may not then pass national laws incompatible with those EU laws.

The TCE would have specified that the EU is a union of member states, and that all its competences (areas of responsibility) are voluntarily conferred on it by its member states according to the principle of conferral. The EU would have no competences by right, and thus any areas of policy not explicitly specified in the Constitution would have remained the domain of the sovereign member states (notwithstanding the ‘flexibility clause’).

According to the TCE, the EU may act (i.e. make laws) only where its member states agree unanimously that actions by individual countries would be insufficient. This is the principle of subsidiarity and is based on the legal and political principle that governmental decisions should be taken as close to the people as possible while still remaining effective. It is a main argument against claims that Europe limits national sovereignty, but critics say that it is a principle to which lip service only is paid and, in practice, the reach of the EU has been increasingly ambitious.^{[citation needed]}

Primacy of Union law[edit]

Amongst European countries, the European Court of Justice has consistently ruled since 1964 that EU law has primacy over the laws of member states in the areas where member states allow it to legislate. National law that is incompatible with an agreement already made at European level is deemed to be ‘disapplied’ when questions arise in courts. This controversial and fundamental principle of European Community law was first recognised in the case of Van Gend en Loos in 1963 which was followed in Costa v. ENEL in 1964.

Judicial protection and fundamental rights[edit]

The TCE would have maintained the role of the Court of Justice of the European Union (articles III-353 et seq.).

It would further have rendered the (at that point) non-binding Charter of Fundamental Rights legally binding. Unlike the Treaty of Lisbon, it incorporated the text of the Charter in the Treaty itself (see Part II of the TCE). This included various adjustments to the Charter as promulgated in 2000, including granting persuasive value to the Explanations to the Charter (see article II-112(7) and Declaration 12 to the TCE).

This would continue to exist alongside the protection of fundamental rights as general principles of EU law (article (I-9(3) TCE). Further, article I-9(2) TCE required the EU to accede to the European Convention on Human Rights.

Common values of the Union’s member states[edit]

As stated in Articles I-1 and I-2, the Union is open to all European States that respect the member states’ common values, namely:

• human dignity
• freedom
• democracy
• equality
• the rule of law
• respect for human rights
• minority rights.

Member states also declare that the following principles prevail in their society:

• pluralism
• non-discrimination
• tolerance
• justice
• solidarity
• equality of the sexes.

Some of these provisions would have been codified for the first time in the TCE.

Aims of the Union[edit]

The aims of the EU were stated to be (Article I-3):

• promotion of peace, its values and the well-being of its people.
• maintenance of freedom, security and justice without internal borders, and an internal market where competition is free and undistorted.
• sustainable development based on balanced economic growth and price stability, a highly competitive social market economy.
• social justice and protection, equality between women and men, solidarity between generations and protection of the rights of the child.
• economic, social and territorial cohesion, and solidarity among member states.
• respect for linguistic and cultural diversity.

In its relations with the wider world the Union’s objectives are:

• to uphold and promote its values and interests.
• to contribute to peace, security, the sustainable development of the Earth.
• solidarity and mutual respect among people.
• free and fair trade.
• eradication of poverty and the protection of human rights, in particular the rights of the child.
• strict observance and development of international law, including respect for the principles of the United Nations Charter.

Scope of the Union[edit]

Competences[edit]

The EU has six exclusive competences, policy areas in which member states have agreed that they should act exclusively through the EU and not legislate at a national level. The list remains unchanged from the previous treaties:

• customs union;
• those competition rules that govern the internal market;
• eurozone monetary policy;
• conservation of marine biological resources (the Common Fisheries Policy);
• common commercial policy;
• the conclusion of certain limited international agreements.

There are a number of shared competences. These are areas in which member states agree to act individually only where they have not already acted through the EU, or where the EU has ceased to act (though these are areas where member states may act both nationally and through the EU if they wish). Three new competences have been added to those in previous treaties.

There are a number of areas where the EU may take only supporting, coordinating or complementary action. In these areas, member states do not confer any competences on the Union, but they agree to act through the Union in order to support their work at national level. Again, three new competences have been added to those from previous treaties.

Flexibility clause[edit]

The TCE’s flexibility clause allows the EU to act in areas not made explicit in the TCE, but only:

• if all member states agree;
• with the consent of the European Parliament; and
• where this is necessary to achieve an agreed objective under the TCE.

This clause has been present in EU law since the original Treaty of Rome, which established the EEC in 1958.

Common foreign and security policy[edit]

The EU is charged with defining and implementing a common foreign and security policy in due time. The wording of this article is taken from the existing Treaty on European Union.

New provisions[edit]

Legal personality[edit]

The TCE was going to state explicitly that the EU had a legal personality. Prior to this, the treaties explicitly stated that the European Community, the European Coal and Steel Community and Euratom each had their own separate legal personality, but remained silent over whether the European Union itself had one. They did mandate the EU «to assert its identity on the international scene»,^[50] and permitted the European Union to enter into treaties. Brsakoska-Bazerkoska,^[51] and Choutheete and Ndoura^[52] argue that the EU had an implicit legal personality prior to the Treaty of Lisbon; the latter treaty also contained an express statement that the EU had a legal personality.

New competences[edit]

The TCE would have conferred upon the EU as new ‘shared competences’ the areas of territorial cohesion, energy, and space. These are areas where the EU may act alongside its individual member states. The EU has conferred upon it as new areas of ‘supporting, coordinating or complementary action’ the areas of tourism, sport, and administrative co-operation.

Criminal justice proceedings[edit]

Member states would have continued to co-operate in some areas of criminal judicial proceedings where they agree to do so, as at present. Under the TCE, seven new areas of co-operation would have been added:

• Child abuse
• Drug trafficking
• Fraud
• Human trafficking
• Political corruption
• Terrorism
• Trafficking of arms

Solidarity clause[edit]

The new solidarity clause of the TCE specifies that any member state which falls victim to a terrorist attack or other disaster will receive assistance from other member states, if it requests it. The type of assistance to be offered is not specified. Instead, the arrangements are to be decided by the Council of Ministers should the situation arise.^[53]

European Public Prosecutor[edit]

Provision exists for the creation of a European Public Prosecutor’s Office, if all member states agree to it and if the European Parliament gives its consent.

Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union[edit]

The TCE includes a copy of the Charter already agreed to by all EU member states. This is included in the Constitution so that EU institutions themselves are obliged to conform to the same standards of fundamental rights. At the time of the Charter’s original agreement, the British Government said that it did not have binding effect. Incorporation into TCE would have put its importance beyond doubt.

Simplification[edit]

Simplified jargon and legal instruments[edit]

The TCE made an effort to simplify jargon and reduce the number of EU legal instruments. However, it is a long document couched in technical terms, which proved unpopular when presented (for example) to French voters in their referendum on the TCE.

The TCE unifies legal instruments across areas of policy (referred to as pillars of the European Union in previous treaties). Specifically:

• ‘Regulations’ (of the Community pillar) and ‘Decisions’ (of the Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters (PJC) pillar) both become referred to as European laws.
• ‘Directives’ (of the Community pillar) and ‘Framework Decisions’ (of the PJC pillar) both become referred to as European framework laws.
• ‘Conventions’ (of the PJC pillar) are done away with, replaced in every case by either European laws or European framework laws.
• ‘Joint actions’ and ‘Common positions’ (of what is now the Common Foreign and Security Policy Pillar) are both replaced by Decisions.

Position of Union Minister for Foreign Affairs[edit]

Under the TCE, the role of High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy would be amalgamated with the role of the Commissioner for External Relations. This would create a new Union Minister for Foreign Affairs who would also be a Vice President of the Commission. This individual would be responsible for co-ordinating foreign policy across the Union, representing the EU abroad in areas where member states agree to speak with one voice.

Functioning of the institutions[edit]

Qualified majority voting[edit]

More day-to-day decisions in the Council of Ministers would be to be taken by qualified majority voting, requiring a 55% majority of members of the Council representing a 65% majority of citizens. (The 55% is raised to 72% when the Council acts on its own initiative rather than on a legislative proposal from the Commission or the Union Minister for Foreign Affairs.) The unanimous agreement of all member states would only be required for decisions on more sensitive issues, such as tax, social security, foreign policy and defence.

President of the European Council[edit]

The six-month rotating Presidency of the European Council would switch to a chair chosen by the heads of government, in office for 2½ years and renewable once. The role itself would remain administrative and non-executive, but rather than the Presidency being held by a member state as at present, it would be held by an individual elected by and accountable to the Council.

President of the Council of Ministers[edit]

The six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of Ministers, which currently coincides with the Presidency of the European Council, would be changed to an 18-month rotating Presidency shared by a trio of member countries, in an attempt to provide more continuity. The exception would be the Council’s Foreign Affairs configuration, which would be chaired by the newly created Union Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Smaller Commission[edit]

The Commission would be reduced in size from 27 to 18 by the year 2014. There would be fewer Commissioners, with member states taking it in turn to nominate Commissioners two times out of three.

Parliamentary power and transparency[edit]

• President of the Commission: The candidate for President of the European Commission would be proposed by the European Council, after consultation with the European Parliament, and would be elected by the European Parliament. Parliament would have the final say.
• Parliament as co-legislature: The European Parliament would acquire equal legislative power under the codecision procedure with the Council in virtually all areas of policy. Previously, it had this power in most cases but not all.
• Meeting in public: The Council of Ministers would be required to meet in public when debating all new laws. Currently, it meets in public only for texts covered under the codecision procedure.
• Budget: The final say over the EU’s annual budget would be given to the European Parliament. Agricultural spending would no longer be ring-fenced, and would be brought under the Parliament’s control.
• Role of national parliaments: Member states’ national parliaments would be given a new role in scrutinising proposed EU laws, and would be entitled to object if they feel a proposal oversteps the boundary of the Union’s agreed areas of responsibility. If the Commission wishes to ignore such an objection, it would be forced to submit an explanation to the parliament concerned and to the Council of Ministers.
• Popular initiative: The Commission would be invited to consider any proposal «on matters where citizens consider that a legal act of the Union is required for the purpose of implementing the Constitution» which has the support of one million citizens. The mechanism by which this would be put into practice has yet to be agreed. (See Article I-46(4) for details.)

Further integration, amendment and withdrawal[edit]

Enhanced co-operation[edit]

There would have been a tightening of existing rules for ‘enhanced cooperation’, where some member states would have chosen to act together more closely and others not. A minimum of one third of member states would now be forced to participate in any enhanced cooperation, and the agreement of the European Parliament is needed. The option for enhanced cooperation would also be widened to all areas of agreed EU policy.

Treaty revisions[edit]

Traditionally amendments to the EU treaties were considered in inter-governmental conferences in which the European Council would meet in long private sessions in order to reach unanimous agreement on the proposed changes. The Convention which wrote the draft constitutional treaty was quite different in this regard. It met in public and was composed of a mix of national and European politicians. The Constitution proposed that amendments to the Constitution would be drafted by a convention unless both the Council of Minister and the European Parliament agreed otherwise.

A simplified revision was created for changes which might be proposed to be made to Title III of Part III of the TCE on the internal policies and action of the Union. Changes to this Title could be made by a decision of the European Council subject to it being ratified by all member states.

The Constitution also proposed a general ‘passerelle clause’ (Article IV-444) with which the European Council could agree to:

• move from unanimity voting to qualified majority voting, or
• move from a special legislative procedure to the ordinary legislative procedure

in a specific policy area.

Although the Lisbon Treaty was itself drafted behind closed doors, it adopted the amendment procedures proposed by the Constitution.

Withdrawal clause[edit]

A new clause in the TCE provided for the unilateral withdrawal of any member state from the Union (clause I-60). Under this clause, when a country notifies the Council of its intent to withdraw, a settlement is agreed in the Council with the consent of Parliament. If negotiations are not agreed within two years, the country leaves anyway. An identical provision was subsequently inserted into the treaties by the Lisbon Treaty.

See also[edit]

• Treaties of the European Union

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• History of the Constitution – Academic site linking to many documents concerning the preparation, negotiation and ratification stages of the TCE and previous treaties.
• The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe on CVCE website

Media overviews[edit]

• BBC: Questions and answers about the TCE
  • BBC: Quick guide to the Constitution
• BBC: Progress of ratification

This article is about the abandoned 2004 proposal. For the constitutional basis of the EU, see Treaties of the European Union.

Treaty establishing a
Constitution for Europe

Draft of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, 17 June 2004
Type	Unratified treaty
Drafted	June 2004
Signed	29 October 2004
Location	Rome, Italy
Sealed	8 November 2004
Signatories	EU member states
Full text
Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe at Wikisource

The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE; commonly referred to as the European Constitution or as the Constitutional Treaty) was an unratified international treaty intended to create a consolidated constitution for the European Union (EU). It would have replaced the existing European Union treaties with a single text, given legal force to the Charter of Fundamental Rights, and expanded qualified majority voting into policy areas which had previously been decided by unanimity among member states.

The Treaty was signed on 29 October 2004 by representatives of the then 25 member states of the European Union. It was later ratified by 18 member states, which included referendums endorsing it in Spain and Luxembourg. However, the rejection of the document by French and Dutch voters in May and June 2005 brought the ratification process to an end.

Following a period of reflection, the Treaty of Lisbon was created to replace the Constitutional Treaty. This contained many of the changes that were originally placed in the Constitutional Treaty but, instead of repealing and replacing the existing treaties, simply amended them and abandoned the idea of a single codified constitution. Signed on 13 December 2007, the Lisbon Treaty entered into force on 1 December 2009.

History[edit]

Drafting[edit]

The drafting of the European Constitution began in a call for a new debate on the future of Europe, made at the Laeken European Council in December 2001. A European Convention was founded shortly afterward; this was chaired by former French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing and composed of two Members of Parliament (generally one from the governing majority and one from the opposition) of each Member State and applicant state, 16 MEPs, two members of the European Commission^[1] and a representative from each government. It met in public. Giscard d’Estaing proposed to draft a Constitution. Romano Prodi, the President of the European Commission, backed a draft text, termed the ‘Penelope Project’, which contained a deeper integration of the countries and a clearer institutional model.^[2]

After protracted negotiations in the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) during the Italian presidency, disputes arose over the proposed framework for qualified majority voting: the final text of the TCE was settled in June 2004 under the Irish presidency.

Mention of Christianity in the preamble[edit]

Several countries urged that the preamble of the Constitution include a reference to Christianity. Among these were Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, which in May 2004 sent a letter to the Irish Presidency, saying «the governments of those countries consider as a priority the recognition of the Christian tradition in the Preamble» and noting that the list of signatories was not exhaustive as they hoped other countries would join their initiative. The Greek government likewise supported a reference to Christianity.

The strongest opponents of any reference to Christianity were France and Belgium. Other countries opposing such a reference were Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Slovenia, and Cyprus. Among other nations, Spain originally supported the inclusion of a reference to Christianity, but the incoming Zapatero government reversed the stance of its predecessor.

Eventually the agreed-upon Constitution made no explicit references to Christianity, only mentioning the «cultural, religious and humanist inheritance of Europe». This decision caused disappointment in the Vatican, but satisfaction from candidate state Turkey.

Signing[edit]

The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe was signed in Rome on 29 October 2004 by 53 senior political figures from the 25 member states of the European Union. In most cases heads of state designated plenipotentiaries to sign the treaty, but some presidents also signed on behalf of states which were republics. Most designated plenipotentiaries were prime ministers and foreign ministers.

Ratification[edit]

On 12 January 2005 the European Parliament voted a legally non-binding resolution in support of the Constitution by 500 votes in favour to 137 votes against, with 40 abstentions.^[3]

Before an EU treaty can enter into force, it must be ratified by all member states. Ratification takes different forms in each country, depending on its traditions, constitutional arrangements and political processes. Most member states ratify EU treaties following parliamentary votes, while some — notably Ireland and Denmark — sometimes hold referendums, in Ireland’s case where the treaty requires a constitutional amendment, for all amendments have to be approved by referendum. As a reaction to what was seen as the novel nature of the Constitution, many advocates and opponents of the Constitution argued that it should be subjected to referendums across the European Union.^[4]

On 20 April 2004, the then British prime minister Tony Blair unexpectedly announced an intention to hold a referendum, a proposal which he had previously rejected. A further seven member states announced or had already announced that they would hold referendums on the Constitution, these being Denmark, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal.

Spain was the first country to hold a referendum on the Constitution. On 20 February 2005, Spanish voters backed the treaty with 76% voting in favour to 24% against, on a turnout of 43%.^[5]

On 29 May 2005, the French people rejected the Constitution by a margin of 55% to 45% on a turnout of 69%. On 1 June, the Dutch people rejected the constitution by a margin of 61% to 39% on a turnout of 62%.

Notwithstanding the rejection in France and the Netherlands, Luxembourg held a referendum on 10 July 2005 approving the Constitution by 57% to 43%. It was the last referendum to be held on the Constitution, for all of the other member states that had proposed to hold referendums cancelled them.

Post-rejection[edit]

After the French and Dutch referendum results, European leaders decided to hold a «period of reflection» on what to do next.^[6] As part of this reflection period, a «group of wise men» was set up to consider possible courses of action.^[7] This group of high-level European politicians – former prime ministers, ministers and members of the European Commission – first met on 30 September 2006 in Rome.^[8]

On 4 June 2007, this group, known as the Amato Group, presented its report. They proposed to establish a new Inter-Governmental Conference with a view to writing a new treaty which would rewrite the Maastricht Treaty, amend the Treaty of Rome and give the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union a legally binding status. The new treaty would be based on the first and fourth parts of the Constitution, the rest of the Constitution’s changes being achieved through amendments to the Treaty of Rome.^[9]

In the June 2007 European summit meeting, member states agreed to abandon the constitution and to amend the existing treaties, which would remain in force. They also agreed a detailed mandate for a new intergovernmental conference to negotiate a new treaty containing such amendments to the existing treaties (primarily the Treaty of Rome and the Treaty of Maastricht). These negotiations were completed by the end of the year. The new treaty, which had previously been referred to as the Reform Treaty, became the Lisbon Treaty on its signing in Lisbon on 13 December 2007.

National processes at a glance[edit]

Member state[10]	Date	Result[11]	Deposition with Italian Government[12]
Lithuania	11 November 2004	Yes. Seimas: 84 to 4 in favour, 3 abstentions.[13]	17 December 2004
Hungary	20 December 2004	Yes. Országgyűlés: 323 to 12 in favour, 8 abstention.[14]	30 December 2004
Slovenia	1 February 2005	Yes. Državni zbor: 79 to 4 in favour, 0 abstentions.[15]	9 May 2005
Italy	25 January 2005 6 April 2005	Yes. Camera dei Deputati: 436 to 28 in favour, 5 abstentions.[16] Yes. Senato della Repubblica: 217 to 16 in favour, 0 abstentions.[17]	25 May 2005
Spain	20 February 2005 28 April 2005 18 May 2005 20 May 2005	Yes. Consultive referendum: 76.73% to 17.24% in favour, 6.03% blanks, 42.32% participation.[18][19] Yes. Congreso de los Diputados: 311 to 19 in favour, 0 abstentions.[20] Yes. Senado: 225 to 6 in favour, 1 abstention.[21] Royal Assent. King Juan Carlos I[22]	15 June 2005
Austria	11 May 2005 25 May 2005	Yes. Nationalrat: Approved by show of hands with 1 against.[23] Yes. Bundesrat: Approved by show of hands with three against.[24]	17 June 2005
Greece	19 April 2005	Yes. Hellenic Parliament: 268 to 17 in favour, 15 abstentions.[25]	28 July 2005
Malta	6 July 2005	Yes. Il-Kamra: Agreed without a division.[26]	2 August 2005
Cyprus	30 June 2005	Yes. Cyprus Parliament: 30 to 19 in favour, one abstention.[27]	6 October 2005
Latvia	2 June 2005	Yes. Saeima: 71 to 5 in favour, six abstentions.[28]	3 January 2006
Luxembourg	10 July 2005 25 October 2005	Yes. Consultative referendum: 56.52% to 43.48% in favour, 87.77% participation.[29][30] Yes. Châmber: 57 to 1 in favour, no abstentions.[31]	30 January 2006
Belgium	28 April 2005 19 May 2005 17 June 2005 20 June 2005 29 June 2005 19 July 2005 8 February 2006	Yes. Senaat/Sénat: 54 to 9 in favour, one abstention.[32] Yes. Kamer/Chambre: 118 to 18 in favour, one abstention.[33] Yes. Parlement Bruxellois/Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Parlement: 70 to 10 in favour, 0 abstentions.[34] Yes. Parlament der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft: 21 to 2 in favour, no abstentions.[35] Yes. Parlement wallon: 55 to 2 in favour, 0 abstention.[36] Yes. Parlement de la Communauté française: 79 to 0 in favour, no abstentions.[37] Yes. Vlaams Parlement: 84 to 29 in favour, one abstention.[38]	13 June 2006
Estonia	9 May 2006	Yes. Riigikogu: 73 to 1 in favour, no abstentions.[39]	26 September 2006
Bulgaria	1 January 2007	Yes. Due to the provisions of Treaty of Accession 2005	Not required
Romania	1 January 2007	Yes. Due to the provisions of Treaty of Accession 2005	Not required
Slovakia	11 May 2005	Yes. Národná rada: 116 to 27 in favour, four abstentions.[40]
Germany	12 May 2005 27 May 2005 31 October 2006	Yes. Bundestag: 569 to 23 in favour, two abstentions.[41] Yes. Bundesrat: 66 to 0 in favour, three abstentions.[42] Frozen. Constitutional Court
Finland incl.  Åland[43]	5 December 2006 Cancelled	Yes. Eduskunta/Riksdag: 125 to 39 in favour, four abstentions.[44] Lagting[45]
France	29 May 2005 Cancelled Cancelled	No. Referendum: 54.68% to 45.32% against, 69.34% participation.[46][47] Assemblée Nationale: Sénat:
Netherlands	1 June 2005 Cancelled Cancelled	No. Consultative referendum: 61.54% to 38.46% against, 63.30% participation.[48][49] Tweede Kamer: Eerste Kamer:
Czech Republic	Cancelled Cancelled Cancelled	Referendum: Senát: Poslanecká sněmovna:
Denmark	Cancelled Cancelled	Referendum: Folketinget:
Ireland	Cancelled Cancelled Cancelled	Referendum: Dáil Éireann: Seanad Éireann:
Poland	Cancelled Cancelled Cancelled	Referendum: Sejm: Senat:
Portugal	Cancelled Cancelled	Referendum: Assembleia da Republica:
Sweden	Cancelled	Riksdag:
United Kingdom	Cancelled Cancelled Cancelled Cancelled	Referendum: House of Commons: House of Lords: Queen Elizabeth II:

Content[edit]

Institutional structure[edit]

Under the TCE, the Council of the European Union would have been formally renamed the «Council of Ministers», which is already its informal title. The «General Affairs Council» would have been formally split from the «Foreign Affairs Council», which had informally held meetings separately since June 2002.

The TCE proposed the formal recognition of a flag, an anthem and a motto for the Union, although none of them were new.

Conferral, subsidiarity, proportionality[edit]

The TCE would have reiterated several key principles of how the Union functions:

• the principle of conferral: that all EU competences are conferred on it voluntarily by member states;
• the principle of subsidiarity: that governmental decisions should be taken at the lowest level possible while still remaining effective;
• the principle of proportionality: that the EU may only act exactly to the extent that is needed to achieve its objectives;
• the primacy of EU law: in areas where member states have made legally binding agreements at EU level, they may not then pass national laws incompatible with those EU laws.

The TCE would have specified that the EU is a union of member states, and that all its competences (areas of responsibility) are voluntarily conferred on it by its member states according to the principle of conferral. The EU would have no competences by right, and thus any areas of policy not explicitly specified in the Constitution would have remained the domain of the sovereign member states (notwithstanding the ‘flexibility clause’).

According to the TCE, the EU may act (i.e. make laws) only where its member states agree unanimously that actions by individual countries would be insufficient. This is the principle of subsidiarity and is based on the legal and political principle that governmental decisions should be taken as close to the people as possible while still remaining effective. It is a main argument against claims that Europe limits national sovereignty, but critics say that it is a principle to which lip service only is paid and, in practice, the reach of the EU has been increasingly ambitious.^{[citation needed]}

Primacy of Union law[edit]

Amongst European countries, the European Court of Justice has consistently ruled since 1964 that EU law has primacy over the laws of member states in the areas where member states allow it to legislate. National law that is incompatible with an agreement already made at European level is deemed to be ‘disapplied’ when questions arise in courts. This controversial and fundamental principle of European Community law was first recognised in the case of Van Gend en Loos in 1963 which was followed in Costa v. ENEL in 1964.

Judicial protection and fundamental rights[edit]

The TCE would have maintained the role of the Court of Justice of the European Union (articles III-353 et seq.).

It would further have rendered the (at that point) non-binding Charter of Fundamental Rights legally binding. Unlike the Treaty of Lisbon, it incorporated the text of the Charter in the Treaty itself (see Part II of the TCE). This included various adjustments to the Charter as promulgated in 2000, including granting persuasive value to the Explanations to the Charter (see article II-112(7) and Declaration 12 to the TCE).

This would continue to exist alongside the protection of fundamental rights as general principles of EU law (article (I-9(3) TCE). Further, article I-9(2) TCE required the EU to accede to the European Convention on Human Rights.

Common values of the Union’s member states[edit]

As stated in Articles I-1 and I-2, the Union is open to all European States that respect the member states’ common values, namely:

• human dignity
• freedom
• democracy
• equality
• the rule of law
• respect for human rights
• minority rights.

Member states also declare that the following principles prevail in their society:

• pluralism
• non-discrimination
• tolerance
• justice
• solidarity
• equality of the sexes.

Some of these provisions would have been codified for the first time in the TCE.

Aims of the Union[edit]

The aims of the EU were stated to be (Article I-3):

• promotion of peace, its values and the well-being of its people.
• maintenance of freedom, security and justice without internal borders, and an internal market where competition is free and undistorted.
• sustainable development based on balanced economic growth and price stability, a highly competitive social market economy.
• social justice and protection, equality between women and men, solidarity between generations and protection of the rights of the child.
• economic, social and territorial cohesion, and solidarity among member states.
• respect for linguistic and cultural diversity.

In its relations with the wider world the Union’s objectives are:

• to uphold and promote its values and interests.
• to contribute to peace, security, the sustainable development of the Earth.
• solidarity and mutual respect among people.
• free and fair trade.
• eradication of poverty and the protection of human rights, in particular the rights of the child.
• strict observance and development of international law, including respect for the principles of the United Nations Charter.

Scope of the Union[edit]

Competences[edit]

The EU has six exclusive competences, policy areas in which member states have agreed that they should act exclusively through the EU and not legislate at a national level. The list remains unchanged from the previous treaties:

• customs union;
• those competition rules that govern the internal market;
• eurozone monetary policy;
• conservation of marine biological resources (the Common Fisheries Policy);
• common commercial policy;
• the conclusion of certain limited international agreements.

There are a number of shared competences. These are areas in which member states agree to act individually only where they have not already acted through the EU, or where the EU has ceased to act (though these are areas where member states may act both nationally and through the EU if they wish). Three new competences have been added to those in previous treaties.

There are a number of areas where the EU may take only supporting, coordinating or complementary action. In these areas, member states do not confer any competences on the Union, but they agree to act through the Union in order to support their work at national level. Again, three new competences have been added to those from previous treaties.

Flexibility clause[edit]

The TCE’s flexibility clause allows the EU to act in areas not made explicit in the TCE, but only:

• if all member states agree;
• with the consent of the European Parliament; and
• where this is necessary to achieve an agreed objective under the TCE.

This clause has been present in EU law since the original Treaty of Rome, which established the EEC in 1958.

Common foreign and security policy[edit]

The EU is charged with defining and implementing a common foreign and security policy in due time. The wording of this article is taken from the existing Treaty on European Union.

New provisions[edit]

Legal personality[edit]

The TCE was going to state explicitly that the EU had a legal personality. Prior to this, the treaties explicitly stated that the European Community, the European Coal and Steel Community and Euratom each had their own separate legal personality, but remained silent over whether the European Union itself had one. They did mandate the EU «to assert its identity on the international scene»,^[50] and permitted the European Union to enter into treaties. Brsakoska-Bazerkoska,^[51] and Choutheete and Ndoura^[52] argue that the EU had an implicit legal personality prior to the Treaty of Lisbon; the latter treaty also contained an express statement that the EU had a legal personality.

New competences[edit]

The TCE would have conferred upon the EU as new ‘shared competences’ the areas of territorial cohesion, energy, and space. These are areas where the EU may act alongside its individual member states. The EU has conferred upon it as new areas of ‘supporting, coordinating or complementary action’ the areas of tourism, sport, and administrative co-operation.

Criminal justice proceedings[edit]

Member states would have continued to co-operate in some areas of criminal judicial proceedings where they agree to do so, as at present. Under the TCE, seven new areas of co-operation would have been added:

• Child abuse
• Drug trafficking
• Fraud
• Human trafficking
• Political corruption
• Terrorism
• Trafficking of arms

Solidarity clause[edit]

The new solidarity clause of the TCE specifies that any member state which falls victim to a terrorist attack or other disaster will receive assistance from other member states, if it requests it. The type of assistance to be offered is not specified. Instead, the arrangements are to be decided by the Council of Ministers should the situation arise.^[53]

European Public Prosecutor[edit]

Provision exists for the creation of a European Public Prosecutor’s Office, if all member states agree to it and if the European Parliament gives its consent.

Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union[edit]

The TCE includes a copy of the Charter already agreed to by all EU member states. This is included in the Constitution so that EU institutions themselves are obliged to conform to the same standards of fundamental rights. At the time of the Charter’s original agreement, the British Government said that it did not have binding effect. Incorporation into TCE would have put its importance beyond doubt.

Simplification[edit]

Simplified jargon and legal instruments[edit]

The TCE made an effort to simplify jargon and reduce the number of EU legal instruments. However, it is a long document couched in technical terms, which proved unpopular when presented (for example) to French voters in their referendum on the TCE.

The TCE unifies legal instruments across areas of policy (referred to as pillars of the European Union in previous treaties). Specifically:

• ‘Regulations’ (of the Community pillar) and ‘Decisions’ (of the Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters (PJC) pillar) both become referred to as European laws.
• ‘Directives’ (of the Community pillar) and ‘Framework Decisions’ (of the PJC pillar) both become referred to as European framework laws.
• ‘Conventions’ (of the PJC pillar) are done away with, replaced in every case by either European laws or European framework laws.
• ‘Joint actions’ and ‘Common positions’ (of what is now the Common Foreign and Security Policy Pillar) are both replaced by Decisions.

Position of Union Minister for Foreign Affairs[edit]

Under the TCE, the role of High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy would be amalgamated with the role of the Commissioner for External Relations. This would create a new Union Minister for Foreign Affairs who would also be a Vice President of the Commission. This individual would be responsible for co-ordinating foreign policy across the Union, representing the EU abroad in areas where member states agree to speak with one voice.

Functioning of the institutions[edit]

Qualified majority voting[edit]

More day-to-day decisions in the Council of Ministers would be to be taken by qualified majority voting, requiring a 55% majority of members of the Council representing a 65% majority of citizens. (The 55% is raised to 72% when the Council acts on its own initiative rather than on a legislative proposal from the Commission or the Union Minister for Foreign Affairs.) The unanimous agreement of all member states would only be required for decisions on more sensitive issues, such as tax, social security, foreign policy and defence.

President of the European Council[edit]

The six-month rotating Presidency of the European Council would switch to a chair chosen by the heads of government, in office for 2½ years and renewable once. The role itself would remain administrative and non-executive, but rather than the Presidency being held by a member state as at present, it would be held by an individual elected by and accountable to the Council.

President of the Council of Ministers[edit]

The six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of Ministers, which currently coincides with the Presidency of the European Council, would be changed to an 18-month rotating Presidency shared by a trio of member countries, in an attempt to provide more continuity. The exception would be the Council’s Foreign Affairs configuration, which would be chaired by the newly created Union Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Smaller Commission[edit]

The Commission would be reduced in size from 27 to 18 by the year 2014. There would be fewer Commissioners, with member states taking it in turn to nominate Commissioners two times out of three.

Parliamentary power and transparency[edit]

• President of the Commission: The candidate for President of the European Commission would be proposed by the European Council, after consultation with the European Parliament, and would be elected by the European Parliament. Parliament would have the final say.
• Parliament as co-legislature: The European Parliament would acquire equal legislative power under the codecision procedure with the Council in virtually all areas of policy. Previously, it had this power in most cases but not all.
• Meeting in public: The Council of Ministers would be required to meet in public when debating all new laws. Currently, it meets in public only for texts covered under the codecision procedure.
• Budget: The final say over the EU’s annual budget would be given to the European Parliament. Agricultural spending would no longer be ring-fenced, and would be brought under the Parliament’s control.
• Role of national parliaments: Member states’ national parliaments would be given a new role in scrutinising proposed EU laws, and would be entitled to object if they feel a proposal oversteps the boundary of the Union’s agreed areas of responsibility. If the Commission wishes to ignore such an objection, it would be forced to submit an explanation to the parliament concerned and to the Council of Ministers.
• Popular initiative: The Commission would be invited to consider any proposal «on matters where citizens consider that a legal act of the Union is required for the purpose of implementing the Constitution» which has the support of one million citizens. The mechanism by which this would be put into practice has yet to be agreed. (See Article I-46(4) for details.)

Further integration, amendment and withdrawal[edit]

Enhanced co-operation[edit]

There would have been a tightening of existing rules for ‘enhanced cooperation’, where some member states would have chosen to act together more closely and others not. A minimum of one third of member states would now be forced to participate in any enhanced cooperation, and the agreement of the European Parliament is needed. The option for enhanced cooperation would also be widened to all areas of agreed EU policy.

Treaty revisions[edit]

Traditionally amendments to the EU treaties were considered in inter-governmental conferences in which the European Council would meet in long private sessions in order to reach unanimous agreement on the proposed changes. The Convention which wrote the draft constitutional treaty was quite different in this regard. It met in public and was composed of a mix of national and European politicians. The Constitution proposed that amendments to the Constitution would be drafted by a convention unless both the Council of Minister and the European Parliament agreed otherwise.

A simplified revision was created for changes which might be proposed to be made to Title III of Part III of the TCE on the internal policies and action of the Union. Changes to this Title could be made by a decision of the European Council subject to it being ratified by all member states.

The Constitution also proposed a general ‘passerelle clause’ (Article IV-444) with which the European Council could agree to:

• move from unanimity voting to qualified majority voting, or
• move from a special legislative procedure to the ordinary legislative procedure

in a specific policy area.

Although the Lisbon Treaty was itself drafted behind closed doors, it adopted the amendment procedures proposed by the Constitution.

Withdrawal clause[edit]

A new clause in the TCE provided for the unilateral withdrawal of any member state from the Union (clause I-60). Under this clause, when a country notifies the Council of its intent to withdraw, a settlement is agreed in the Council with the consent of Parliament. If negotiations are not agreed within two years, the country leaves anyway. An identical provision was subsequently inserted into the treaties by the Lisbon Treaty.

See also[edit]

• Treaties of the European Union

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• History of the Constitution – Academic site linking to many documents concerning the preparation, negotiation and ratification stages of the TCE and previous treaties.
• The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe on CVCE website

Media overviews[edit]

• BBC: Questions and answers about the TCE
  • BBC: Quick guide to the Constitution
• BBC: Progress of ratification