《EU Constitutional Treaty》It is the first constitution of the European Union, whose purpose is to ensureeuropean unionAnd the smooth progress of European integration.In June 2004, the 25 member states of the EU unanimously adopted the final text of the draft EU Constitutional Treaty, and signed the EU Constitutional Treaty in October of the same year.
On December 5, 2001, the European Union decided to start formulating a constitution and set up a preparatory committee for the constitution in the Leken Declaration of the European Union Summit in Leken, Belgium.The constitutional work began in February 2002. After soliciting opinions, discussing and putting forward constitutional suggestions, on June 13, 105 members of the EU Constitutional Preparatory Committee reached an agreement on the draft EU constitutional treaty.On June 18, 2004, 25 EU member states were in the Belgian capitalBrusselsThe summit meeting was held and unanimously adopted《EU Constitutional Treaty》The final text of the draft.On October 29 of the same year, leaders of 25 EU member states signed the EU Constitutional Treaty in Rome.The treaty cannot enter into force until all EU member states ratify it by referendum or parliamentary vote in accordance with their national laws.If all member states andEuropean parliamentThe treaty should enter into force on November 1, 2006.
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The Constitution is divided intoFour partsThe first part stipulates the principles, functions and institutional settings of the EU;The second part is the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which clarifies the fundamental rights of European citizens;The third part is the EU's decision-making mechanism and detailed rules for implementing various policies, which is the longest part of the Constitution. Most of its provisions are from previous treaties;The fourth part stipulates how the treaty enters into force.
primary coverageIncluding: defining the competence between the EU and its member states;As a permanentPresident of the European CouncilReplacing the current semi annual rotating presidency system;European Commission The number of members has been reduced from 20 to 15 and the equality of member states has been ensured;Set up full-time EU foreign ministers;In most decision-making processesQualified Majority Voting Any decision requires at least half of the member states to vote in favour and can represent more than 60% of EU citizens;Member States should assist each other in case of terrorist attacks;The EU will have the status of "legal person" capable of signing international treaties;Member States have the right to voluntarily leave the EU.
From the perspective of its content, the EU constitutional treaty is based on the new situation of the development of the EU, which has reorganized its basic treaties and reformed some of the original contents.80% of the contents of the constitutional treaty text in Rio are the repetition or reorganization of the existing treaty provisions, which is the inheritance of the existing treaties of the EU. Only about 20% of the contents are innovative provisions, including theDecision making modeAnd institutional settings.It mainly includes:
To endow the EU with legal personality
Article I-6 of the Constitution stipulates that the Alliance shall have the status of a legal person.EU Foreign Minister andEuropean CommissionOn behalf of the EU, we have established various beneficial cooperation with countries and international organizations. Under the leadership of the Foreign Minister, the EU delegation has worked closely with foreign diplomatic missions of member countries to carry out work on behalf of the EU.The EU can conclude agreements with third countries and international organizations in its own name, and initiate legal proceedings in domestic or international courts.
Reform the decision-making and voting mechanism
The Constitution abolished the one vote veto system in the past 20 fields and replaced it with the implementation in most fieldsQualified Majority Voting So as to ensure that the decision-making process of the EU will not stagnate due to the different opinions of individual countries in the future.According to the treaty, in most cases, the so-called majority refers to more than half of the participating countries that support a decision and can represent more than two-thirds of the total population of the EU;If the Constitution does not requireCouncil of the European UnionorCouncil of Ministersaccording toEuropean CommissionIf it is proposed to make a decision, or if the Council of the European Union or the Council of Ministers does not make a decision based on the motion of the EU Foreign Minister, the majority required is defined as a two-thirds majority of the participating countries, and can represent more than three fifths of the EU population. However, in the fields of common diplomacy, security and defense, taxation, social security, and other fields, member states still retain the veto power and autonomy.
Organization establishment
Establishment of the President of the Council of Europe.Article I-21 of the Constitution stipulates that the EU establishes the permanent presidency of the European Council to replace the current semi annual rotating presidency system.The President is elected by the Council with a specific majority. The term of office is two and a half years. He can be re elected for one term. His main responsibilities include presidingEuropean Council And promote its work, and try to maintain the internal cohesion and consensus of the Council.The Constitution also stipulates that the President of the Council has the right to represent the EU in his own capacity on issues related to the common foreign and security policy without prejudice to the powers of the EU Foreign Minister.The President cannot serve in a Member State at the same time.
reformEuropean CommissionCurrent composition mode and operation system.According to the constitutional treaty, the Council of Europe will change from the current single composition system to a two-tier system.According to Articles I-25 of the Constitution, the Council of Europe shall be composed of a presidium, including its President, the Foreign Minister/Vice President of the Union, and 13 members of the European Union elected from the member states in accordance with the system of isochronous rotation.The above members have the right to vote.In addition, the President of the Council of Europe shall appoint non voting members from among those from other Member States who are selected according to certain criteria applicable to that term of membership.Such arrangements are scheduled to take effect from 1 November 2009.
establishmentEU Foreign Minister。Article I-27 of the Constitution stipulates that the Council of the European Union shall appoint the Foreign Minister of the Union in accordance with the principle of qualified majority and with the consent of the Chairman of the Commission.The Foreign Minister of the Alliance has the right to implement the Alliance's common foreign and security defense policy, and shallCouncil of MinistersOrder of the Supreme People's Congress of the People's Republic of China to make suggestions on the common foreign and security defense policy;Foreign Minister concurrentlyEuropean Commission Vice President, responsible for handling EU external relations and coordinating other aspects of EU external action.In fact, this position combines the two positions of the EU High Representative for Common Diplomacy, Security and Defence and the European Commission Foreign Affairs Commissioner, and is responsible for the EU's external relations.
expandEuropean parliamentPower.According to the Constitution, the Parliament has the power to approve the appointment of the EU Foreign Minister and all members of the European Commission, and the election of the President of the European Commission must also be approved by a majority vote of the Parliament.In addition to the constitutional political control and advisory functions, the Parliament also formulates legislation and performs budgetary functions jointly with the Council of Ministers.In addition, the European Parliament has also gained more power in domestic affairs, justice and trade.In order to protect the rights and interests of member states with a small population, the Constitution stipulates that the number of members of the European Parliament cannot exceed 736, and the representatives of European citizens should be reduced proportionally, and each member state should not be less than 4.
In addition, the treaty also requires member states to unswervingly support the EU's common foreign and security policy in accordance with the principles of loyalty and mutual assistance. Member states must do their utmost to implement the common defense policy, whose ultimate goal is to develop the EU's common defense.In terms of defense and anti-terrorism, the constitutional treaty also contains provisions similar to "military alliance" (Articles I-42, solidarity provisions, and III-231, joint liability provisions), which stipulate that once a member state is subject to aggression or terrorist attacks, other member states must provide assistance, including military resources.
Rejected
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In November 2004,Lithuanian ParliamentFirst to ratify the constitutional treaty.In January 2005,European parliamentThe EU Constitutional Treaty was ratified.In February, Spain held a referendum and adopted the EU Constitutional Treaty with 76.7% of the support rate, becoming the first country among the 25 member states of the EU to adopt the constitutional treaty by referendum.However, France and the Netherlands, two founding members of the EU, rejected the treaty in the referendum in May and June 2005, respectively, and the EU Constitutional Treaty has been stranded since then.By June 2007, 16 countries had ratified the EU Constitutional Treaty, and another 7 countries had frozen or indefinitely postponed the ratification process.
Restart negotiations
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early stage
In January 2007, Germany took overEU Presidency After that, it will be one of the important tasks to restart the negotiation of the EU Constitution Treaty.On the basis of active consultations with EU member states and extensive listening to the views of all parties, Germany finally proposed a "road map" aimed at restarting the process of the EU Constitutional Treaty.Its main content is to replace the original version of the EU Constitution Treaty with an "amendment treaty" containing the core content of the original version, with a view toEuropean Parliament electionsIt was previously adopted by member states.
The opposition mainly came from Poland, Britain and other countries.Poland insists on using“square root”Substitution of voting mechanism“Effective majority”Voting system.Britain has always insisted that the EUBasic rights of citizensThe Charter is deleted from the EU Constitutional Treaty.
later stage
In June 2007, participated inEU Summit27 heads of stateBrusselsAn agreement was reached on a new draft treaty to replace the EU Constitutional Treaty, thus ending the two year long EU constitutional crisis.The new treaty plan will be put into effect before June 2009.According to the consensus finally reached by all parties, the name of the EU Constitutional Treaty will no longer be used, and the word "constitution" will not appear in the content of the new treaty.It is replaced by an amendment treaty in the usual sense, so that the enlarged EU canEffective decision-making。As opposed by the UK and the Netherlands, the new treaty will not stipulate that the EU flag, anthem and inscription may make the EU“Supranational institution”Content of.In terms of organizational structure reform, the new treaty will transform the highest authority of the EUEuropean Council The current mechanism of the Summit of Member States has been transformed into a fixed institution, and the post of permanent chairman has been established.EU leaders also agreed to establish a new post called "EU High Representative" through the new treaty to take charge of EU foreign and security affairs.The new EU High Representative will combine the responsibilities of the EU High Representative in charge of foreign and security policy and the European Commission on Foreign Relations, and will serve at the same timeEuropean Commission Vice President, and is responsible for presiding over the EU 27 Foreign Ministers' Meeting.
Superseded
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On October 19, 2007, the EU informal summit adopted the new EU treaty（“Lisbon Treaty ”）On December 13, 2007, EU Heads of StateLisbonSignature.“Lisbon Treaty ”It will replace the EU Constitutional Treaty rejected in the referendums of the Netherlands and France in 2005.
