Lisbon Treaty: Amendments to Treaties
Article 4 [ex Art. 48 TEU, replaced] is presented and discussed below
The government of any Member State or the Commission may submit to the Council proposals for the amendment of the Treaties on which the Union is founded.
If the Council, after consulting the European Parliament and, where appropriate, the Commission, delivers an opinion in favour of calling a conference of representatives of the governments of the Member States, the conference shall be convened by the President of the Council for the purpose of determining by common accord the amendments to be made to those Treaties. The European Central Bank shall also be consulted in the case of institutional changes in the monetary area.
The amendments shall enter into force after being ratified by all the Member States in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements.
1. The Treaties may be amended in accordance with an ordinary revision procedure. They may also be amended in accordance with simplified revision procedures.
Ordinary revision procedure
2. The Government of any Member State, the European Parliament or the Commission may submit to the Council proposals for the amendment of the Treaties. These proposals may, inter alia, serve either to increase or to reduce the competences conferred on the Union in the Treaties. These proposals shall be submitted to the European Council by the Council and the national Parliaments shall be notified.
3. If the European Council, after consulting the European Parliament and the Commission, adopts by a simple majority a decision in favour of examining the proposed amendments, the President of the European Council shall convene a Convention composed of representatives of the national Parliaments, of the Heads of State or Government of the Member States, of the European Parliament and of the Commission. The European Central Bank shall also be consulted in the case of institutional changes in the monetary area. The Convention shall examine the proposals for amendments and shall adopt by consensus a recommendation to a conference of representatives of the governments of the Member States as provided for in paragraph 4.
The European Council may decide by a simple majority, after obtaining the consent of the European Parliament, not to convene a Convention should this not be justified by the extent of the proposed amendments. In the latter case, the European Council shall define the terms of reference for a conference of representatives of the governments of the Member States.
4. A conference of representatives of the governments of the Member States shall be convened by the President of the Council for the purpose of determining by common accord the amendments to be made to the Treaties.
The amendments shall enter into force after being ratified by all the Member States in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements.
5. If, two years after the signature of a treaty amending the Treaties, four fifths of the Member States have ratified it and one or more Member States have encountered difficulties in proceeding with ratification, the matter shall be referred to the European Council.
Simplified revision procedures
6. The Government of any Member State, the European Parliament or the Commission may submit to the European Council proposals for revising all or part of the provisions of Part Three of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union relating to the internal policies and action of the Union.
The European Council may adopt a decision amending all or part of the provisions of Part Three of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The European Council shall act by unanimity after consulting the European Parliament and the Commission, and the European Central Bank in the case of institutional changes in the monetary area. That decision shall not enter into force until it is approved by the Member States in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements.
The decision referred to in the second subparagraph shall not increase the competences conferred on the Union in the Treaties.
7. Where the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union or Title V of this Treaty provides for the Council to act by unanimity in a given area or case, the European Council may adopt a decision authorising the Council to act by a qualified majority in that area or in that case. This subparagraph shall not apply to decisions with military implications or those in the area of defence.
Where the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union provides for legislative acts to be adopted by the Council in accordance with a special legislative procedure, the European Council may adopt a decision allowing for the adoption of such acts in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure.
Any initiative taken by the European Council on the basis of the first or the second subparagraph shall be notified to the national Parliaments. If a national Parliament makes known its opposition within six months of the date of such notification, the decision referred to in the first or the second subparagraph shall not be adopted. In the absence of opposition, the European Council may adopt the decision.
For the adoption of the decisions referred to in the first and second subparagraphs, the European Council shall act by unanimity after obtaining the consent of the European Parliament, which shall be given by a majority of its component members.
YES: Article 48 has two parts; how Europe proposes Treaty changes, and how Member States approve the changes. The first part, the negotiation of a Treaty, changes, but how each Member State approves changes remains untouched. So Ireland will continue to hold referenda on Treaties. That will not change. (Fine Gael)
This section in no way implies that the Treaty is self-amending. What it does instead is put in place procedures for technical changes which can only be made in accordance with the constitutional requirements of each Member State. (Irish Alliance For Europe)
The Government was clear throughout the negotiations on the Treaty, that any future changes to the Treaties would require the support of all Member States. This was achieved. The Treaty makes clear that any future move to confer additional powers on the EU and amend EU internal policies (e.g., economic, energy, agriculture policies), in a way that does not increase the Union's competence, must be approved in accordance with the constitutional requirements of each Member State. In Ireland, as is currently the case, this means that advice will be sought from the Attorney General as to whether a referendum is required. The Government would be guided by the advice of the Attorney General in each instance. This is what currently happens; the Lisbon Treaty contains nothing new in this regard. (Fianna Fail)
NO: The Referendum Commission has confirmed that the procedures provided for in relation to future amendments to the Treaties, that such amendments can occur by unanimity in the European Council and Member State parliaments, in accordance with constitutional provisions, which, in Ireland's case, “may” require a referendum. There would be no constitutional requirement for a referendum. This so called “Passarelle” clause could be used to change, for example, tax or defence policy, from unanimity to QMV, without the necessity for a referendum in Ireland. This is because the new procedure would already have been enshrined in the Irish Constitution and, reasonably, could be regarded as having been envisaged by the Lisbon Treaty. (Libertas)
This provides for a new mechanism for making changes to the existing treaties of the EU. The simplified revision procedure in the article allows the Council acting unanimously to alter any aspects of the internal policies of the Union. While this procedure would require consultation with Member State Parliaments, it undermines the automatic right of citizens to future referenda. Wide ranging changes could be made to the policies and procedures of the EU which would not require a referenda, such as the giving away of vetoes on issues such as tax. (Sinn Fein)
This is a self-amending Treaty which would permit the EU Prime Ministers to shift most of the remaining policy areas where unanimity still exists, to majority voting, without a need for new EU Treaties or referendums. (National Platform on EU Research and Information Centre)
Commentary : This does seem to leave open the possiblity of vetoes being removed in some areas related to the internal market but not to Common Foreign and Security Policy. But, for this to happen, the Irish Government and Parliament would have to agree, but, it seems, it might not require another referendum.