28 February, 2008: The European Union (EU) Reform Treaty, formally known as the Treaty of Lisbon, amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community, is the document signed by all 27 EU states on December 13, 2007, in Lisbon, Portugal. This treaty addresses most of the reforms contained in the European Constitution, which attempted to unify the EU into a pseudo-state, and was resoundingly rejected in 2005. If ratified by all EU states in 2008, it will come into force in 2009. 

If ratified, the treaty would still carry out most of the reforms previously proposed in the rejected European Constitution, although, unlike the previous constitution, it would not replace existing treaties. Essentially, in a maneuver to garner support and dissuade those that are concerned with sovereign autonomy, the treaty seeks to amend the existing treaties, and is not labeled a Constitution. Additionally, the EU Reform Treaty drops some of state-like elements of the EU Constitution, such as the EU flag, and seeks to guarantee a number of opt-outs for certain states. 

Other changes include a Charter of Fundamental Rights, which would become legally binding on all signatories. There would also be a merged foreign representative post, which is essentially a foreign minister position, an EU public prosecutor, an extended role for national parliaments, restructured EU policy areas, qualified-majority voting in extra 51 areas of EU policy, and a President for the European Council. These facets would provide the EU with the teeth to act as a single entity. Additionally, the EU would assume a single legal personality, which would also enable it to sign international treaties.  

The overall essential legal effect of the EU Reform Treaty is that it creates a transfer of powers from member states to the European Council and European Commission, and solidifies the legal personality of these entities. EU member states will be restricted in their ability to unilaterally dictate their own foreign policy. Under the treaty, policy making powers in the areas of defense, security, and energy will shift away from the nation states and to the EU.   

Most EU nations have expressed hope that the treaty will pass, and argue that the 2005 EU constitution only failed to pass due to a lack of information and knowledge about the document. However, in France and the Netherlands, there were popular education campaigns regarding the EU Constitution, and in France, the constitution was a bestseller for several weeks. Obviously, the notion of a unified European entity poses problems for some Europeans.

In Britain, there were concerns over the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which could affect the nation’s labor laws and social policy. There were also concerns about maintaining sovereign autonomy and limiting the powers of the prime minister. These concerns were momentarily overridden by the desire to form a single entity with the European sister states, and the UK agreed in December 2007 to formally vote on the EU Reform Treaty in 2008. However, in the past month, four members of parliament have begun to call for a referendum on the treaty, despite threats from the Labor Party that such dissent will result in discipline. 

In Ireland, the only country in the EU that will hold a popular vote, there is also passionate debate about the EU Reform Treaty. A recent poll found that 62% of people are undecided, and the EU Reform Treaty is losing support. Some voice fears that the treaty will accelerate the militarization of Europe. Others find that the directives in the EU treaty may support neo-liberal policies. However, the Prime Minister of Foreign Affairs has voiced public support for the treaty, urging voters that such a treaty is in their best interest. Currently, the Government has plans to distribute bilingual booklets written in English and Irish, explaining the EU Reform Treaty, to every approximately two and a half million citizens.

In the United States, the subject of the EU Treaty has also generated interest, with some arguing that the document essentially creates a “United States of Europe” and a direct challenge to the U.S. global dominance. Some predict that as a single entity, the EU will prove to be less reasonable to U.S. interests, as evidenced by interactions in the few arenas where the EU already operates with one voice, i.e. the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). The greater fear is that the EU’s single personality as applied in wider areas of foreign policy will isolate the U.S., and even find the rise in hostile tensions between the U.S. and EU. 

Whether the U.S. will have to contend with another super power will be decided in 2008.  All signatures must be gathered throughout the year, with the January 2009 being the date the treaty should enter into force. France and Romania are first to vote in February 2008, with the United Kingdom and Cyprus voting the following month in March. By June, Germany, Ireland, and Austria will have voted, and the future of the EU Reform Treaty will be more certain. Until then, all eyes are on Europe as it pushes through the next frontier in international relations.