The Lisbon Treaty
The Lisbon Treaty – new horizons
Celebrating 50 years from the signing of the Rome treaties, the Heads of State and the Prime Ministers of the Member States have adopted a statement in Berlin concerning the acceleration of the institutional reforms. After consulting sessions, which involved the States and the European Union Institutions, in December the same year (2007), the Lisbon Treaty was signed. This treaty, also called the reforming treaty, modifies and brings amendments to the institutive treaties without uniting them in a single act. The treaty is in force since the 1st of December 2009. The aim of the treaty, as stated in the preamble was "to complete the process started by the Treaty of Amsterdam [1997] and by the Treaty of Nice [2001] with a view to enhancing the efficiency and democratic legitimacy of the Union and to improving the coherence of its action." The most important change brought by this treaty to the EU is the juridic personality, which wasn’t mentioned in any previous treaties. However, this juridic personality is not clearly defined, leaving room to interpretation concerning the federal, confederal or international organization character of the Union. Moreover, the Lisbon Treaty brings among the European Institution: the European Council and the European Central Bank. These institutions join the previous ones: The European Parliament, The European Union Council, The European Commission, The Court of Justice of The European Union and The Court of Accounts. The European Parliament becomes more involved in the legislation process, gains more political control and increased bugetary functions. The legislative power of the European Parliament is increased by the ruling to extend the codecision procedure to new areas. This procedure means that the parliament has equal say in legislative matters, along with the European Union Council. The Parliament now chooses the president of the European Commission. Concerning the structure of
Celebrating 50 years from the signing of the Rome treaties, the Heads of State and the Prime Ministers of the Member States have adopted a statement in Berlin concerning the acceleration of the institutional reforms. After consulting sessions, which involved the States and the European Union Institutions, in December the same year (2007), the Lisbon Treaty was signed. This treaty, also called the reforming treaty, modifies and brings amendments to the institutive treaties without uniting them in a single act. The treaty is in force since the 1st of December 2009. The aim of the treaty, as stated in the preamble was "to complete the process started by the Treaty of Amsterdam [1997] and by the Treaty of Nice [2001] with a view to enhancing the efficiency and democratic legitimacy of the Union and to improving the coherence of its action." The most important change brought by this treaty to the EU is the juridic personality, which wasn’t mentioned in any previous treaties. However, this juridic personality is not clearly defined, leaving room to interpretation concerning the federal, confederal or international organization character of the Union. Moreover, the Lisbon Treaty brings among the European Institution: the European Council and the European Central Bank. These institutions join the previous ones: The European Parliament, The European Union Council, The European Commission, The Court of Justice of The European Union and The Court of Accounts. The European Parliament becomes more involved in the legislation process, gains more political control and increased bugetary functions. The legislative power of the European Parliament is increased by the ruling to extend the codecision procedure to new areas. This procedure means that the parliament has equal say in legislative matters, along with the European Union Council. The Parliament now chooses the president of the European Commission. Concerning the structure of