The European Reform Treaty

What is the European Reform Treaty?

Following the rejection of the European Constitution by voters in France and the Netherlands in 2005, a decision was taken at the European summit meeting held in June 2007 to drop the idea of a European Constitution and replace it with a new Reform Treaty.

The Reform Treaty will amend two existing treaties, namely the Treaty on the European Union (Maastricht) and the Treaty establishing the European Community (Rome) in an effort to make the EU work better following its expansion to 27 members.

What will it do?

The final wording of the Reform Treaty has yet to be agreed but the final text is expected to include:

• A strengthened role for national parliaments in EU decision-making;
• A new post of full-time President of the European Council who would serve a two-and-a-half-year term, to replace the current system of a rolling six-month presidency;
• An EU High Representative for foreign affairs (combining the existing posts of foreign affairs supremo Javier Solana and the external affairs commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner;
• Reducing the size of the European Commission, with only two-thirds of the Member States supplying a commissioner on a rota basis from 2014;
• A new double majority voting system to be phased in from 2014;
• New powers for the European Commission, European Parliament and European Court of Justice;
• The removal of the national veto in a number of areas.

How does it differ from the original constitution?

Changes from the original constitution include:

• No references to European flags or anthems;
• The European motto – “United in Diversity” is omitted from the treaty (though the motto, flag and anthem will continue to exist);
• Instead of a European Foreign Minister, there will be a High Representative of the Union for foreign affairs and security policy;
• The removal of any mention of European laws, referring instead to regulations.

Why is the Reform Treaty controversial?

Simply because many people believe that it is just a rehash of the EU constitution that was rejected in 2005. Opponents say that, just like the original constitution, the Reform Treaty removes too much sovereignty from the member states.

In the UK the Labour Party’s 2005 manifesto gave a commitment to hold a referendum on the constitution. However, following the decision by French and Dutch voters to reject the constitution (in effect killing it off) a UK poll became unnecessary.

As the British government is currently refusing to hold a referendum on the new Reform Treaty this has added to the controversy within the UK. Government ministers argue that a referendum is not necessary as the UK has secured a number of “red lines” or opt-outs from certain areas of the document.

What are Britain’s “Red Lines?”

The UK Government insists that it will not agree to any deal which removes Britain’s control over areas it regards as fundamental to its sovereignty. These areas include:

• Control over foreign and security policy;
• Justice and home affairs issues;
• The Charter of Fundamental Rights – Britain is seeking a cast-iron guarantee that the Charter will not change UK social legislation;
• Social security measures – Britain must be offered an ‘emergency brake’ on measures it cannot agree to. By doing so Britain can block future welfare or tax initiatives before they become EU directives.

Now what?

Gordon Brown will use the forthcoming European summit to ensure that Britain’s ‘red lines’ have been enshrined in the draft document. It is also expected that Poland and to a lesser extent Bulgaria may also be prepared to block the treaty if their respective concerns are not met.

The formal signing off of the document is expected to take place at the following European summit in Brussels in December. If the document reaches this stage it is then up to each of the 27 member states to ratify the Treaty. Most member states, including the UK, will leave the ratification of the treaty up to their national parliaments while others such as Ireland have agreed to hold a referendum.

Northern Ireland and the Reform Treaty

The Northern Ireland Assembly recently debated and passed a motion that:
‘This Assembly calls on the United Kingdom Government to hold a referendum on the new European Union treaty.’

The debate provides a useful insight into the viewpoint of the local political parties on the Reform Treaty as well as outlining the views of the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister (the Government department with responsibility for the co-ordination of EU policy in Northern Ireland) regarding the Reform Treaty and wider European policy issues that affect Northern Ireland. A full copy of this debate can be found here.

Further Information on the Reform Treaty

There are several websites representing a wide range of views and standpoints on the Reform Treaty many of which contain useful ‘Questions & Answers’ sections. These websites include:

European Commission Representation in the UK

The Foreign & Commonwealth Office

The Daily Telegraph

The Guardian