The Failure of the Constitutional Treaty: Causes and Consequences

1
The Failure of the Constitutional Treaty Causes
and Consequences

• Christophe Crombez

2
Outline

• Toward an EU Constitution Origins and Process
• Structure of the Constitution
• Evaluation of the Contents
• What Went Wrong?
• Prospects for Adoption

3
Toward an EU Constitution

• The first steps towards a Constitution were made
  at the European Council meeting in Laeken in
  December 2001.
• At that European Council meeting the heads of
  state and government issued the Declaration of
  Laeken.

4

• In the Declaration the European Council
  identified three principal challenges for the EU.
• Bring the institutions closer to its citizens, do
  something about the democratic deficit.
• Reform the institutions to prepare for
  enlargement.
• Render the EU more effective in world politics
• Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP)

5

• Previous attempts to reform the institutions
  through Intergovernmental Conferences had failed
  (Amsterdam 1997, Nice 2001).
• For this reason the EU decided to try a different
  route and call a Convention.
• The Convention was a group of politicians of
  various European institutions (EU and national)
  brought together to discuss the main challenges
  the EU was/is facing.
• It submitted a draft Constitution to the European
  Council in Thessaloniki in June 2003.
• The European Council then called a new IGC and
  agreed on the Treaty Establishing a Constitution
  For Europe at the European Council in Brussels
  in June 2004.

6

• The Treaty was signed in Rome in October 2004.
• It currently awaits ratification by the member
  states.
• 13 MS have already ratified it.
• Austria, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Hungary,
  Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta,
  Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain
• France and the Netherlands rejected it in
  referendums.
• 5 more MS would hold referendums.
• The Czech Republic, Denmark, Ireland, Portugal
  and the United Kingdom

7
Structure

• Part I The Basics, the real Constitution
• 60 articles, 30 pages
• Definition and objectives
• Competences
• Institutions,
• Part II The Charter of Fundamental Rights
• 54 articles, 14 pages
• This is the text of a declaration approved in
  Nice in 2000.
• Part III The Policies and Functioning of the
  Union
• 322 articles, 131 pages
• These are the old treaties.
• Part IV General and Final Provisions ( 12
  articles, 6 pages)
• Protocols and Annexes

8
Evaluation

• Democracy
• Vote weights in the Council QMV
• 55 of MS, 15 MS, 65 of population
• Blocking minority is at least 4 MS
• Old rules 232/321 votes, 50 of MS, 62 of
  population
• Parliament Powers
• More codecision
• This is a move toward a more uniform legislative
  process.
• Transparency and simplicity
• Legislative Council meetings will be open.
• A single treaty, a single legal personality

9

• Enlargement
• Decision Rule in the Council more QMV
• Council Presidency
• Commission Composition
• Max. 2/3 of MS from 2014 onward (old Max. 27)
• Enhanced Cooperation min. 1/3 of MS
• Effectiveness in World Politics
• EU Minister of Foreign Affairs
• Will also be Vice-President of the Commission
• Is thus the result of a merger of two current
  positions
• High Representative for the CFSP
• Commissioner for External Relations
• The Council still decides by unanimity, but it
  can decide by unanimity no longer to use
  unanimity.

10

• The Constitution represents a small step toward a
  more democratic, more efficient and more
  effective EU.
• Some of these steps can be achieved without a new
  treaty.
• Steps in EU integration are results of
  compromises, they do not correspond to an
  elegant, well-thought through plan.

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What Went Wrong?

• With ratification by all 25 MS required, it was
  long clear that this would be a problem.
• Calling referenda on a treaty that changes so
  little seems pointless.
• Voters are unhappy for unrelated reasons.
• Turkey, the Euro, immigration, the welfare state
• The unpopularity of national leaders
• There are a lot of misunderstandings about what
  is really new in the Constitution.
• It was probably not a good idea to refer to the
  new treaty as a Constitution.

12
Prospects

• Right now we are nearing the end of the
  reflection period.
• The Austrian Presidency is to revive the
  ratification process.
• The expectation is that not much will happen till
  the German Presidency a year from now.
• The three most likely scenarios
• The ratification process is resumed. A statement
  on social policy is added to the Treaty.
• A few important elements on the functioning of
  the institutions, etc. are adopted separately.
• The Constitution is dead. Some elements may be
  implemented without Treaty reform.