New Parliament, Commission and Treaty of Lisbon

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New Parliament, Commission and Treaty of Lisbon

The work this autumn will be affected by special institutional conditions. A new European Parliament is taking shape following the elections in June and a new Commission will be appointed. If the Treaty of Lisbon is ratified by all Member States, the foundation for EU work will change.

The Treaty of Lisbon will make the EU both more efficient and more democratic. The Presidency intends to act so that the Treaty is launched in a positive spirit. Good conditions must be created so that the practical application of the Treaty of Lisbon is smooth and effective from the very beginning.

During the autumn the Presidency will have close cooperation with all institutions and Member States. The Presidency will also make itself readily available to the European Parliament for dialogue and discussion on the Council’s work.

Work programme for the Swedish Presidency of the EU

Q&A Treaty of Lisbon

Here you can find answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about the Treaty of Lisbon. Click on the relevant question to reveal the answer.

  • When does the Treaty of Lisbon enter into force?

    On 13 December 2007 the EU heads of state and government signed the Lisbon Treaty after a number of years of discussion on institutional issues. Once the Czech Republic deposited its instrument of ratification in Rome on 13 November 2009, all 27 EU Member States had ratified the Lisbon Treaty and it therefore enters into force on 1 December 2009.

  • What does the Lisbon Treaty mean in broad terms?

    The Treaty of Lisbon contains a number of important new features to enable the EU to work more effectively, while becoming more modern, more democratic and clearer for citizens. The EU also becomes a stronger player on the international stage.

  • What happens with the other Treaties?

    The Treaty of Lisbon amends the existing EU and EC Treaties. The name of the EC Treaty will be changed to the “Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union”.

  • Will there still be the ‘three pillars’?

    No. The EU replaces and succeeds the EC and the division of the cooperation into three pillars ceases. However, certain special provisions will still apply for the Common Foreign and Security Policy.

  • Does the Treaty contain any values?

    Yes, the Treaty of Lisbon establishes a number of values such as respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights. It also says that the European Union shall promote peace, the Union’s values and the wellbeing of its peoples. But the Treaty also emphasises respect for each Member State’s national identity.

  • Does the Treaty address human rights?

    Yes, the Charter on Fundamental Rights becomes legally binding when the EU’s institutions and Member States apply EU laws and regulations. The Charter lists a number of rights that apply for all citizens of EU countries. These rights are civil, political, economic and social. The EU will also accede to the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

  • Does the EU become a state now?

    No, the Union essentially remains a cooperation between sovereign states. The EU may only act within the framework of the powers the Member States have transferred to it. The EU’s powers are described in the Treaty text in accordance with established legal practice in the European Court of Justice.

  • Does the EU get a President now?

    The role is more like that of a Chair, who will chair the meetings of the European Council, which the EU’s heads of state and government attend and which until now have been chaired by the head of state or government of the country holding the rotating Presidency. Another new aspect of the Treaty is that the European Council receives the status of an EU institution.

  • How is the President chosen and how long does he or she serve?

    The President is chosen by the EU’s heads of state and government, for a period of two and a half years. The President can be appointed for a second term and can therefore sit for a total of five years.

  • What will happen to the current rotating Presidency?

    The Presidency of the Council will continue to rotate between the Member States, with the exception of the External Relations Council, which will be chaired by the ‘High Representative’.

  • Has Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt chaired his last meeting as President of the European Council?

    No, in accordance with an agreement at the European Council in December 2008, the Swedish Presidency continues to chair the remaining meetings of the European Council, the External Relations Council and meetings with countries outside the EU, known as ‘third-country meetings’.

  • What is the role of the High Representative?

    He or she has two roles, one as a representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and Chair of the External Relations Council, and one as the Vice-President of the Commission with responsibility for the coordination of external relations issues within the Commission’s areas of responsibility. A European External Action Service will be established to support the High Representative. The External Action Service will bring together current functions from the Commission and the Council Secretariat.

  • Does the European Parliament get more power?

    The European Parliament gets extensive new powers with regard to EU legislation, the EU budget and international agreements. In principle, the European Parliament will be placed on a par with the Council of Ministers in the decision-making process and will have a power of ‘codecision’. This applies in area including criminal law cooperation and police cooperation and agriculture and fisheries policy.

  • Will a Member State still be able to apply a veto?

    Yes, on certain issues, for example, the possibility remains within foreign and security policy and taxation. However, majority voting will become the norm in the Council on areas such as criminal law cooperation and police cooperation.

  • What does the ‘ordinary legislative procedure’ mean?

    The legislative procedure is divided into two categories. The ordinary legislative procedure means that decisions are made in the Council by qualified majority and together with the Parliament. This corresponds to the current codecision procedure. Special legislative procedures can mean, for example, that a decision is made by unanimity or that there is no codecision with the Parliament, rather it is only consulted.

  • What does ‘qualified majority’ mean and what effect does the Treaty of Lisbon have on it?

    Qualified majority means that, in a vote, a proposal must be adopted by a majority greater than a simple majority (i.e. half). From 2014 a new system will be introduced, which means that there is a qualified majority when a decision is supported by 55% of the Member States. This is on the condition that these countries represent at least 65% of the population of the EU.

  • Does each Member State get to keep its EU Commissioner?

    Under the Lisbon Treaty, the Commission will have one member from each Member State until 2014. However, at the EU summit in December 2008 the heads of state and government agreed that the Commission will continue to have one member from each Member State.

  • How does the Treaty affect the national parliaments?

    Sweden’s Riksdag and the parliaments of the other Member States will be given more influence and a clearer role in monitoring whether decisions are to be taken at EU level or by the Member States, i.e. ensuring that the principle of subsidiarity is respected. If one third of parliaments consider that a proposal should not be dealt with at EU level, the Commission is obliged to reconsider the proposal. As more national parliaments say no, pressure on the Commission to withdraw or amend a proposal will increase.

  • What happens to the European Court of Justice?

    The court will change its name to the ‘Court of Justice of the European Union’. The court has jurisdiction over all areas of the Treaties if it is not expressly stated that its jurisdiction is limited. In the main, issues relating to the Common Foreign and Security Policy are not under the court’s jurisdiction.

  • How is the work of the police affected?

    The Lisbon Treaty means completely new powers to make decisions in the area of criminal law cooperation and police cooperation. By making the current horizontal provisions of Community law applicable in this area, the Commission, for example, can also control that EU regulations are incorporated and followed correctly in these areas. The area of policing and criminal law has a special nature as it concerns core responsibilities of the nation state, such as responsibility for exercising public authority over individuals. A number of separate rules have therefore been introduced in this area. One such special rule is the ‘emergency brake’ in the area of criminal law, which offers the possibility to ‘brake’ the decision-making process by qualified majority in certain cases.

  • How is transparency affected?

    The Lisbon Treaty establishes that the meetings of the Council of Ministers are to be open to the public when debating and passing laws. The EU principle of public access is given greater weight and now applies to almost all EU agencies.

  • Will it be easier for me as a member of the public to influence EU decisions?

    The EU institutions are to contribute towards an open debate on the EU’s activities and hold regular dialogue with associations and organisations. A special, new feature is the Citizens’ Initiative, which means that one million EU citizens together can urge the Commission to present a legislative proposal.

  • How is foreign policy affected?

    The High Representative gets a central role when it comes to coordinating and implementing the European Union’s foreign policy. An External Action Service will be established under the High Representative in order to improve coordination of external relations.

  • How is security and defence policy affected?

    Within security and defence policy, emergency management is developed further and streamlined as a task of the EU, so that it covers both conflict prevention and peace support operations with civil and military resources. As a rule, the Member States must make this type of decision unanimously.

  • Is the EU’s ability to act in the event of a disaster affected?

    A solidarity clause is introduced, which states that the Union shall mobilise all available instruments to support a Member State that is the victim of a terrorist attack or a natural or man-made disaster. Should this happen, the Member State concerned shall be able to request help and assistance from the other Member States.

  • Is environmental cooperation strengthened?

    A new feature of the Treaty of Lisbon is that the EU shall promote measures at international level to deal with environmental problems and climate change. This means, for example, that the fight against climate change is to be placed high on the EU agenda.

  • Can a Member State leave the Union?

    The Treaty of Lisbon for the first time gives the Member States the possibility to leave the EU by means of a procedure to be followed in the event that a Member State voluntarily requests to leave the Union.