24 - EU Treaties Flashcards
Treaty of Paris
TheTreaty of Paris(formally theTreaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community) was signed on 18th April 1951 betweenFrance,West Germany,Italyand the threeBeneluxcountries (Belgium,Luxembourg, and theNetherlands), establishing theEuropean Coal and Steel Community(ECSC), which subsequently became part of theEuropean Union.
The treaty came into force on 23 July 1952 and expired on 23 July 2002, exactly fifty years after it came into effect.
It is traditionally regarded as the foundation of the EU because it led to political and economic stability in western Europe as well as provided the basis for the modern EU
The purpose was to create interdependence in coal and steel so that one country could no longer mobilize its armed forces without others knowing. This eased distrust and tensions after World War II
Treaty of Rome
TheTreaty of Rome, officially theTreaty establishing the European Economic Community(TEEC), is an international agreement that brought about the creation of theEuropean Economic Community(EEC).
It was signed on 25th March 1957 byBelgium,France,Italy,Luxembourg, theNetherlandsandWest Germanyand came into force on 1 January 1958.
The purpose was to set up the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom)
The Treaty of proposed the progressive reduction ofcustoms dutiesand the establishment of acustoms union. It proposed to create a single market for goods, labour, services, and capital across the EEC’s member states. It also proposed the creation of aCommon Agriculture Policy, aCommon Transport Policy and aEuropean Social Fund, and established theEuropean Commission.
Treaty of Lisbon
TheTreaty of Lisbon(initially known as theReform Treaty) is an international agreement which amends the twotreatieswhich form the constitutional basis of theEuropean Union(EU).
The Treaty of Lisbon was signed by theEU member stateson 13 December 2007, and entered into force on 1 December 2009.
It amends theMaastricht Treaty(1993), known in updated form as theTreaty on European Union(2007), and theTreaty of Rome(1957), known in updated form as theTreaty on the Functioning of the European Union(2007)
The purpose of the Treaty was to make the EU more democratic, more efficient and better able to address global problems, such as climate change, with one voice.
Prominent changes included themovefrom unanimity to qualified majority voting inat least 45 policy areasin theCouncil of Ministers, a change in calculating such a majority to a newdouble majority, a more powerfulEuropean Parliamentforming a bicameral legislature alongside the Council of Ministers under theordinary legislative procedure, a consolidatedlegal personalityfor the EU and the creation of a long-termPresident of the European Counciland aHigh Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. The Treaty also made the Union’s bill of rights, theCharter of Fundamental Rights, legally binding. The Treaty for the first time gave member states the explicit legal right toleave the EUand the procedure to do so.
Treaty of Nice
TheTreaty of Nicewas signed by European leaders on 26 February 2001 and came into force on 1 February 2003.
It amended theMaastricht Treaty(or the Treaty on European Union) and theTreaty of Rome
The Treaty of Nice reformed the institutional structure of the European Union to withstand eastward expansion, a task which was originally intended to have been done by theAmsterdam Treaty, but failed to be addressed at the time.
The main changes made by the treaty were the methods for changing the composition of the Commission and redefining the voting system in the Council.
Maastricht Treaty
TheMaastricht Treaty undertaken to integrate Europe was signed on 7 February 1992 by the members of theEuropean CommunityinMaastricht,Netherlands.
On 9/10th December 1991, the same city hosted theEuropean Councilwhich drafted the treaty.
The Maastricht Treaty has been amended by the treaties ofAmsterdam,NiceandLisbon
The purpose of the treaty was to prepare for European Monetary Union and introduce elements of a political union (citizenship, common foreign and internal affairs policy)
The main changes made by the Treaty were the establishment of the European Union and introduction of the co-decision procedure, giving Parliament more say in decision-making. New forms of cooperation between EU governments – for example on defence and justice and home affairs.
Treaty of Brussels
TheTreaty of Brusselswas signed on 17 March 1948 betweenBelgium,France,Luxembourg, theNetherlandsand theUnited Kingdom, as an expansion to the preceding year’s defence pledge, theDunkirk Treatysigned between Britain and France.
As the Treaty of Brussels contained a mutual defence clause, it provided a basis upon which the 1954Paris Conferenceestablished theWestern European Union(WEU). It was terminated on 31 March 2010.
The main changes made by the Treaty were the creation of a single Commission and a single Council to serve the then three European Communities (EEC, Euratom, ECSC). Repealed by the Treaty of Amsterdam.
Treaty of Dunkirk
TheTreaty of Dunkirkwas signed on 4 March 1947, betweenFranceand theUnited KingdominDunkirk (France) as aTreaty of Alliance and Mutual Assistanceagainst a possibleGermanattack in the aftermath ofWorld War II.
The Dunkirk Treaty entered into force on 8 September 1947 and it preceded theTreaty of Brussels of 1948.
North Atlantic Treaty
TheNorth Atlantic Treaty, signed inWashington, D.C.on 4 April 1949, is thetreatyestablishing theNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO).
The treaty was created with an armed attack by theSoviet Unionagainst Western Europe in mind, but the mutual self-defense clause was never invoked during theCold War. Rather, it was invoked for the first time in 2001 in response to the11 September 2001 attacksagainst theWorld Trade CenterandThe PentagoninOperation Eagle Assist.
The European Defense Community Treaty
TheEuropean Defence Community(EDC) emerged from thePleven Plan proposed in 1950 byRené Pleven, the French Prime Minister, in response to the American call for the rearmament ofWest Germany.
The intention was to form a pan-European defence force as an alternative to Germany’s proposed accession toNATO, meant to harness its military potential in case of conflict with theSoviet Bloc.
The European Defense Community was to include West Germany, France, Italy, and theBeneluxcountries.
Just as theSchuman Planwas designed to end the risk Germany having the economic power on its own to make war again, the Pleven Plan and EDC were meant to prevent the military possibility of Germany’s making war again.
A treaty was signed on 27 May 1952, but the plan never went into effect. Instead Germany was admitted into NATO.
Single European Act
TheSingle European Act(SEA) was the first major revision of the 1957Treaty of Rome.
It was signed atLuxembourgon 17 February 1986, and at The Hagueon 28 February 1986. It came into effect on 1 July 1987, under theDelors Commission.
The Act set theEuropean Communityan objective of establishing asingle marketby 31 December 1992, and codifiedEuropean Political Cooperation, the forerunner of theEuropean Union’sCommon Foreign and Security Policy.
The purpose of the Treaty was to reform the European institutions in preparation for Portugal and Spain’s membership and speed up decision-making in preparation for the single market.
The main changes made by the Treaty were the extension of qualified majority voting in the Council (making it harder for a single country to veto proposed legislation), creation of the cooperation and assent procedures, giving Parliament more influence. It swept away restrictive practices in a range of areas of private enterprise, as well as, in the public sector. It also pursued deeper integration by making it easier to pass laws, strengthening the EU Parliament and laying the basis for a European foreign policy
