Lisbon
treaty
In light of the failure of the Constitutional project, the main aim of the Lisbon treaty is to make the EU’s workings more efficient and transparent
read more
In light of the failure of the Constitutional project, the main aim of the Lisbon treaty is to make the EU’s workings more efficient and transparent
In Europe, the late 1990s and early 2000s were characterised by two events that fed into each other.
First, already from the early 1990s, trust in the European institutions began to fall throughout the continent, due to both domestic and international issues, including concerns for the enlargement of the EU and strong parallels between its growth model and the wider "globalisation" trend[23].
In order to reinforce trust in the EU, in addition, the 2001 Laeken Declaration proposed a new treaty, establishing a European Constitution[23]. Although this was meant less to endow the EU with further sovereign powers than to make its workings smoother, referenda held in France and Netherlands in 2005 made it apparent that their citizens did not see the treaty favourably[23]. Indeed, the concept of constitution engendered fear that the EU might become a supranational state, rather than a community of sovereign states[23]. People suspected that such a strong, optimistic "symbolic declaration of European values, identity, unification" may compromise the independence of individual states[24].
The EU constitution [13]
Signing of the treaty of Lisbon [14]
In light of the growing mistrust towards the EU and the abortion of the Constitutional treaty, the 2007 Berlin declaration stresses the need to introduce a new treaty, making the EU more effective and cohesive without compromising the sovereignty of individual nation-states[23]. On 13th December 2007, the Lisbon treaty is signed and ratified by all EU member states.
The treaty manages to implement the main policy reforms included in the Constitutional treaty, especially regarding the themes of legitimacy and effectiveness[23]. It clarifies the scope of the Union’s powers, presents a new institutional set-up and introduces the principles of democratic equality, representative democracy and participatory democracy[25]. However, when compared to the Constitutional treaty, two key elements have gone missing. First, both the concept of constitution and the associated symbolism are abandoned[23]. Second, as it follows, the treaty sees a broader renunciation to projects of further integration, stressing, to the contrary, the very limits of the EU as political entity[23]. In conclusion, the Lisbon treaty implements nearly the same executive tools as the Constitutional one, but it side-lines the underlying political project[23].
In light of the failure of the Constitutional project, the main aim of the Lisbon treaty is to make the EU’s workings more efficient and transparent, through political cooperation. Indeed, the preamble suggests that integration and political solidarity are to be guaranteed by a trustworthy supranational institution, not to be seen as a centralised state. As the treaty is not meant to forward specific political projects, the preamble makes no direct reference to any ongoing processes of integration.
The Lisbon preamble is short and straightforward. As a main goal, it claims willingness to "enhanc[e] the efficiency and democratic legitimacy of the Union and to improv[e] the coherence of its action"[26]. Moreover, it introduces the idea of a European common heritage, especially in the cultural, religious and humanist fields, suggesting that the inalienable rights of human beings (such as freedom, democracy, etc.) derive from it.
What is most interesting, nonetheless, is what the preamble omits, as compared to the Constitutional treaty. Four main differences can be highlighted. First, the Lisbon treaty does not take does not take the perspective of the European people, but that of the heads of state. Second, there is no mention of the World Wars, overlooking the (previously central) idea that "peoples of Europe are determined to transcend their former divisions"[22]. Third, the Lisbon treaty does not define any shared European goals, but merely focuses on how to make the EU more efficient and transparent. Fourth, most importantly, the preamble makes no reference to the idea of integration, which had been stressed, directly or indirectly, in all the previous preambles. More specifically, if compared to the Constitutional one, it completely neglects the idea that European citizens are determined to build an ever-closer union and forge a common destiny.
