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How the EU Treaties are modified
With the Conference on the Future of Europe now at an end, a new phase has started: that of following up on the more than 320 recommendations it produced. This process is however a complicated one. Legally, ways to implement the Conference's recommendations may require changes to the European Union (EU) Treaties, which is a complex and challenging process. Politically, debating how to implement reforms and deciding to what extent to modify the EU legal system may require intense negotiations. The ...
The proposed amendments to the Treaty establishing the European Stability Mechanism
This document presents the proposed amendments to the Treaty establishing the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). The note outlines the relevant changes and provides a comparison between the current ESM Treaty and the proposed amended one. This note will be updated in light of relevant developments and it complements two separate EGOV briefings: The European Stability Mechanism: Main Features, Instruments and Accountability and the ESM Pandemic Crisis Support.
How EU Treaties are changed
The EU's founding Treaties have been revised by the Member States in numerous rounds of reforms. Such Treaty revision is a way to ensure that EU primary law evolves, adapts, and responds to new developments and changing needs. The last comprehensive Treaty reform dates back to the Lisbon Treaty, which entered into force on 1 December 2009. While another comprehensive Treaty change is not yet on the agenda, the recent debates on the 'Future of Europe' triggered a number of reform proposals, some of ...
The power of the European Parliament: Examples of EP impact during the 2014-19 legislative term
As the only European Union institution elected directly, the European Parliament is at the heart of representative democracy, the foundation upon which the EU is built. Since its creation, the Parliament’s powers have evolved significantly, transforming it into a full-fledged legislative body and forum of discussion and engagement, whose influence is felt in virtually all areas of EU activity. This paper provides an overview of the European Parliament's main powers, demonstrating how they interact ...
Constitutional Challenges of the Enlargement – Is Further Enlargement Feasible without Constitutional Changes?
This in-depth analysis, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, recalls the earlier debates linking the enlargement of the Union with the need to adapt its constitutional framework, and discusses whether further constitutional reforms, involving Treaty change or not, are necessary when a further enlargement of the Union will take place in the near future. It focuses on three ...
Mapping the 'Future of the EU' debate
Although calls for reform of the EU have increased in recent years, in particular as a consequence of the various challenges the EU has faced, the UK's vote in June 2016 on its EU membership has accelerated this process. In this context, the main EU institutions have all contributed to the debate, while individual Member States or groups of Member States have also brought forward initiatives. The main positions are outlined in this 'at a glance' note.
El Tratado de Lisboa
En esta ficha se presentan los antecedentes y las principales disposiciones del Tratado de Lisboa. Tiene por objeto situar en un contexto histórico la aparición de este último texto fundamental de la Unión Europea en relación con los que le han precedido. Las disposiciones específicas (con referencias a los artículos) y sus repercusiones en las políticas de la Unión se explican con mayor detalle en las fichas técnicas que abordan políticas y cuestiones concretas.
La evolución hacia el Acta Única Europea
Los principales avances tras los primeros Tratados están relacionados con la creación de los recursos propios de la Comunidad, el refuerzo de las competencias presupuestarias del Parlamento, la elección por sufragio universal directo y la creación del Sistema Monetario Europeo. En 1986, la entrada en vigor del Acta Única Europea, que modificó sustancialmente el Tratado de Roma, reforzó la integración europea mediante la constitución de un gran mercado interior.
Los procedimientos intergubernamentales de adopción de decisiones
En materia de política exterior y de seguridad común y en otros ámbitos como la cooperación reforzada, determinados nombramientos o la revisión de tratados, el procedimiento de adopción de decisiones es diferente del utilizado para el procedimiento legislativo ordinario. La característica predominante en estos ámbitos es un refuerzo de la cooperación intergubernamental. El desafío de la crisis de la deuda pública provocó un aumento del uso de este tipo de mecanismos de adopción de decisiones, en ...
Public expectations and EU policies - Identifying the gaps
Citizens’ expectations of the European Union vary widely across policy areas. A Eurobarometer survey – Europeans in 2016: Perceptions and expectations, fight against terrorism and radicalisation – seeks to identify those areas in which EU citizens want to see the Union doing more. Having identified areas in which there is a gap between the EU’s current action and citizens’ expectations of the Union, the next step is to look at the potential – within the constraints of the EU legal foundations – for ...