From Lisbon to Deauville: Practicalities of the Lisbon Treaty Revision(s)

CEPS Policy Brief No. 216

6 Pages Posted: 13 Nov 2010

See all articles by Piotr Maciej Kaczyński

Piotr Maciej Kaczyński

Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)

Peadar ó Broin

Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)

Date Written: October 27, 2010

Abstract

This paper explores the political difficulties of treaty reform in the context of five pending revisions under the rules of the Treaty of Lisbon. It first looks at the Deauville Declaration and its translation into political and legal reality. The second part is dedicated to the four other treaty revisions on the European agenda. Finally, it focuses on some of the potential problems in the ratification phase.

The Deauville Declaration of Chancellor Merkel and President Sarkozy represents the most visible of the five treaty changes on the table since the Lisbon Treaty came into effect. This treaty change cannot increase Union’s powers. Even if it was feasible to write a treaty change in such a way that would include both a provision on the suspension of the voting rights (using the Art. 7 TEU) and provisions establishing “a permanent and robust framework to ensure orderly crisis management in the future”, the idea of suspending voting rights should be dropped. It is antagonising many national governments and could trigger – largely unwanted – referenda and court cases. It is important, however, to insert into the treaties an EFSF-type solution to equip the EU with a mechanism to address future crises.

Keywords: political difficulties, treaty, treaty reform, revisions, pending revisions, Treaty of Lisbon, Lisbon Treaty, Deauville, Deauville Declaration, ratification, Chancellor Merkel, President Sarkozy, Union, rights, voting rights, Art. 7 TEU, EFSF

Suggested Citation

Kaczyński, Piotr Maciej and ó Broin, Peadar, From Lisbon to Deauville: Practicalities of the Lisbon Treaty Revision(s) (October 27, 2010). CEPS Policy Brief No. 216, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1706767

Piotr Maciej Kaczyński (Contact Author)

Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) ( email )

1 Place du Congres
Brussels, 1000
Belgium

Peadar Ó Broin

Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) ( email )

1 Place du Congres
Brussels, 1000
Belgium

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