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Brussels, 15 May 2000 Florence Institute
Commission President, Romano Prodi, and Michel Barnier, Commissioner with responsibility ad personam for the reform of the institutions, today received the report from the Robert Schuman Centre of the European University Institute in Florence on the reorganisation of the European Treaties. This study, produced at the request of the Commission, proposes a basic treaty incorporating the essential constituent elements of the Union set out in a coherent and easy-to-read text. The Florence Institute has drafted a "Fundamental Treaty of the European Union" with less than a hundred articles setting out the institutional framework and the operating rules of the Union and the Union's policy objectives, without making any changes to the law as it is at present. The President has given the report to Commission departments to examine. The Commission will then present its conclusions to the Intergovernmental Conference. The first time such a study has been carried out The idea of reorganising the Treaties is not a new one. In the opinion it presented in 1996 for the Intergovernmental Conference which resulted in the Treaty of Amsterdam, the Commission underlined the importance of making a distinction between the fundamental articles of the Treaties and the others. The idea was taken up by Mr Dehaene, Mr von Weizsäcker and Lord Simon in the report on the institutional implications of enlargement which they presented to the Commission on 18 October last. The Commission wanted a full feasibility study to be conducted on the subject, something which has not been done before. This task was assigned to the European University Institute in Florence and it is presenting its findings today. Simpler Treaties The European Union has been built in stages over the past fifty years. The various treaties and annexed protocols now form a complex structure: the four basic treaties (EC Treaty, Treaty on European Union, ECSC Treaty and Euratom Treaty) have over 700 articles. There are also 38 protocols annexed to these basic treaties, plus the various accession treaties. Although the Treaty of Amsterdam went some way towards simplifying matters, this architecture does not offer the transparency and clarity sought by the public both in the Union and in the applicant countries. Reorganisation would make for a simpler and more logical approach to the objectives and resources of the European venture. More rational revision procedures With a reorganisation of the Treaties it might also be possible to differentiate between the revision procedures, according to the relative importance of the provisions to be amended. The full-dress revision procedure, with ratification by the national parliaments of each Member State, in some cases after a referendum, is fully justified for the fundamental provisions. After enlargement applying this procedure to simple implementing provisions would be an undue constraint. For reasons of method, however, the Commission wanted to separate the reorganisation of the Treaties, a technical feasibility exercise not involving any change in the law, from the more political matter of considering different revision methods. The Florence Institute will be presenting a further report before the summer on the possibilities of revising the Treaties. A detailed study The report was produced by a group of internationally renowned law professors representing a variety of nationalities and legal cultures. The work was coordinated by Yves Mény, Director of the Robert Schuman Centre of the European University Institute, and Claus Dieter Ehlermann, professor at the Institute.*(1) The conclusion reached is that a fundamental treaty can be produced in a manner compatible with the present legal and institutional situation. The Schuman Centre suggests replacing the present Treaty on European Union (the Treaty of Maastricht, as amended by the Treaty of Amsterdam) by a Fundamental Treaty of the European Union. This Treaty would comprise the essential provisions currently contained in the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community. The group proposes that this basic treaty should contain the provisions concerning the foundations of the Union, fundamental rights and European citizenship. The Fundamental Treaty will also contain the essential institutional provisions (composition, functions, voting procedures) and the objectives of the Union policies. The study points out that an important political choice will have to be made about whether or not to include, in addition to the list of Union policies and actions, provisions setting out in more detail the objectives of these policies. The group proposes incorporating provisions relating to the common foreign and security policy and police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters in two protocols attached to the Fundamental Treaty. The Treaty establishing the European Community, without the provisions transferred to the Fundamental Treaty, would remain in existence. The group has endeavoured to give substance to its proposals. Annex I contains an annotated draft Fundamental Treaty of the European Union with 95 clauses and the two protocols on the common foreign and security policy and police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters. Annex II provides a consolidated version of what is left of the Treaty establishing the European Community. To make the text easier to read, the group also presents a version of the Fundamental Treaty without the technical explanations. The next stages in the operation Apart from the issue of the legal feasibility of reorganising the Treaties, the question arises of whether it is politically expedient. The Commission will inform the Member States and the European Parliament of the findings of this study. After considering them carefully, it will present its own conclusions to the Intergovernmental Conference. The report is public: it can be consulted on Europa
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