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Speech delivered by H.E. Ambassador David Daly,
Head of Delegation of the European Union to Australia,
Monash University, Melbourne, 23 April 2010
“The Lisbon Treaty – A stronger Europe in the World”
"A day will come when all the nations of this continent, without losing their distinct qualities or their glorious individuality, will fuse together in a higher unity and form the European brotherhood. A day will come when the only battlefield will be the market-place for competing ideas. A day will come when bullets and bombs will be replaced by votes" Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo spoke those prophetic words in 1849, but it took more than a century for his utopian predictions to start coming true.
At the end of World War II, conservative estimates put the death toll at over 60 million dead, and hundreds of millions more injured. Large parts of Europe lay in ruins with much of its population suffering acute deprivation of the basic needs for life.
Today, with a population of some 500 million, the EU economy generates 22% of global GDP and is the world's largest trader in both goods and services. The 27 Member States have come together to create an integrated Single Market where goods, services, labour and capital can move freely throughout the Union. With the euro, the EU launched a new currency on the world, now the second reserve currency after the US dollar, with 28% of world currency reserves. In economic terms, and increasingly in political terms, the EU is a genuine world power.
How did we get to this position today?
The multifaceted answer to this question lies, in part, to Paris, Rome, Maastricht, Amsterdam, and Nice. These are not just beautiful, famous European cities - which of course they are - but they are also the nom de plumes of a series of European treaties which form the legal basis of the European Union; they dictate the rules by which the Union functions. Now we have added Lisbon to this list.
The Road to Lisbon
Every year, on May 9, wherever the European Union has Delegations throughout the world, we celebrate Europe Day. We do this because it was on this day in 1950 that the French Foreign Minister, Robert Schuman, proposed that the countries of Europe place their industries of war (for the EU was born out of war) – coal and steel – under a joint supranational control. Thus in 1951 we signed the Treaty of Paris to form the European Coal and Steel Community – the embryo of the EU today.
This success saw us expand the coal and steel community to other sectors of the economy to create the European Economic Community , with the signing the Treaty of Rome in 1957 . This is the founding and primary treaty of the EU, signed originally by "The Six" member states. All subsequent treaties, Maastricht, Amsterdam and Nice are in fact amendments to the Treaty of Rome, each bringing with it some important aspect of reform or innovation.
During the 1990s and early 200s, the EU engaged upon a deep reflection on issues such as how to make the EU more democratic, more efficient and more effective at home and on the world stage through a series of new treaties.
On 29 October 2004, a treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe was signed by Member States in Rome but following its rejection by referendum in France and the Netherlands in 2005, European leaders were forced to revise their approach. This culminated in the signing of the Treaty of Lisbon in December 2007. Following 2009, the Treaty came into force on 1 December 2009.
In a nutshell, the Treaty is all about making the EU stronger by making it more democratic, more efficient and giving it a more effective international voice.
Why a new treaty?
The EU has changed. From the just six Member States when it was formed there are now 27, and more wait in the wings. The Enlargement process begun in the early 1990s foresaw the need for institutional changes to reflect the new Europe.
At the same time voices were raised in terms of Europe needing to get closer to the citizens, addressing the so-called “democratic deficit”.
The world too has changed and Europe faces global challenges such as economic and financial crises, climate change, sustainable development, energy security, terrorism and international crime such as people smuggling, drugs and arms running.
The EU's policies and values are shaped for our perception of where we want Europe to be and whe re we want Europe to be in the world. But as HRVP Ashton said in a recent speech, ‘No one can hope to be an island of stability and prosperity in a sea of insecurity and injustice. Ours is a world in flux. To engage with it effectively, we need to frame it first'. To do this, the EU has needed to give itself new and/or improved tools in terms of how it does its business.
The Lisbon Treaty provides the new instruments needed to meet these challenges.
Back to basics: Aims and Values
The EU is fundamentally a Union of values. The Lisbon Treaty clearly sets out the EU's aims and values of peace, democracy, respect for human rights, justice, equality, rule of law and sustainability.
These are the values which Europe brings to the world in terms of its policies.
Making the Europe Union more democratic
The Lisbon treaty makes the EU more democratic and transparent by giving European citizens a greater voice through greater powers for the European Parliament and giving Member State parliaments greater opportunities to be involved in the work of the EU.
The European Parliament now elects the President of the European Commission.
The European Parliament becomes a legislator of equal importance to the Council across the vast majority of EU law – including in terms of trade agreements, agricultural policy and other areas. This is through the so-called “Co-decision procedure” which now is called the “Ordinary legislative procedure”.
Clearer demarcation between EU and Member State competences are also a feature of the new treaty, where decision-making is taken as close to the people as possible – the so-called principle of subsidiarity.
Now the MS national parliaments get a new role in sending EU proposals back for further consideration if they feel that the proposal offends against the principle of subsidiarity.
The treaty gives citizens the right to petition the European Commission to bring forward new policy proposals.
Making the EU more efficient
Simplified working methods and voting rules makes for a more efficient Europe where the number of policy decisions taken by qualified majority voting, rather than unanimity, becomes the norm with only some exceptions.
Streamlining at the highest level. The Treaty creates the function of President of the European Council elected for two and a half years (renewable once). On 1 January 2010, former Belgian Prime Minister, Herman Van Rompuy was chosen by EU Heads of State and Government as the new President of the European Council. His appointment replaces the six-monthly rotating presidency previously in place. He therefore brings greater strategic continuity to the EU at its highest political level.
What are his duties?
Van Rompuy now chairs the European Council (EU Heads of State and Government) and drives forward its work;
He ensures the preparation and continuity of the work of the European Council in cooperation with the President of the Commission, and on the basis of the work of the General Affairs Council (EU Foreign Affairs Ministers);
He facilitates cohesion and consensus within the European Council;
In keeping with the strengthened democratic principles, Van Rompuy presents a report to the European Parliament after each of the meetings of the European Council.
He also ensures the external representation of the Union on issues concerning its Common Foreign and Security Policy at his level i.e. at Prime ministerial level. This is without prejudice to the powers of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
The Treaty also improves the EU's ability to act in several policy areas particularly in the areas of freedom, security and justice, such as combating terrorism or tackling crime. The substantial changes in this area aim to make it easier and quicker for actions to be taken at the European level by invoking QMV (qualified majority voting) in almost all circumstances.
Energy policy, public health, civil protection, climate change, services of general interest, research, space, sport and tourism are other areas where the EU has enhanced ability to act.
I will highlight some of these new areas because they are especially relevant in today's world.
Climate Change: The Treaty gives priority to the EU's objective of promoting sustainable development in Europe, based on a high–level of environmental protection and enhancement. The Treaty pledges to promote, at the international level, measures to tackle regional and global environmental problems, and in particular climate change. Strengthening the EU's role on climate change will help Europe continue to take the lead in combating global warming.
Energy: The Treaty has new provisions ensuring that the energy market in Europe functions well, in particular with regard to energy supply, and that energy efficiency and savings are achieved, as well as the development of new and renewable energy sources. The Treaty affirms the EU's commitment to a united European policy on sustainable energy.
The protection of Human Rights has always been at the core of the European Union from its very beginnings.
Now the Lisbon Treaty introduces the Charter of Fundamental Rights into European primary law. The Charter covers individual rights related to dignity, freedom, equality, solidarity, rights linked to citizenship status, and justice. The institutions of the Union and Member States must respect the rights written into the Charter with the European Court of Justice ensuring the Charter is applied correctly.
The Lisbon treaty also opened the way for the Union to seek accession to the European Convention for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, an action which the European Commission moved in March this year by proposing negotiation directives for the Union's accession to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
The ECHR is an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. It is supervised by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg and is binding for 47 European countries, including all EU Member States.
Given that the protection of fundamental rights afforded by the Charter must be at least as high as that of the ECHR, the EU will not have problems meeting the Convention's standards. The EU will become an important contributor to the further strengthening of the Convention's system of fundamental rights.
Accession will also help develop a common culture of fundamental rights in the EU and reinforce the credibility of the EU's human rights' system and EU external policy.
Finally, the Lisbon treaty also proclaims additional rights not contained in the ECHR, such as data protection, public health matters, and the right to good administration.
Making Europe stronger on the World stage
Already by making the EU more democratic and efficient in its everyday policy business, the Lisbon treaty strengthens the EU in its capacity to act; but this capacity to act works in both the internal and external spheres. Clearly, if we are better able to act internally as regards, say, Climate change, then this also makes us a stronger partner on the external front in that area.
However, the Lisbon Treaty also gives us explicit streamlined instruments in the foreign affairs area.
To start with, Lisbon creates the new position of the High Representative for the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (Baroness Catherine Ashton) that enhances continuity and strengthens the Union's role in the international arena.
What are her duties?
The High Representative exercises, in foreign affairs, the functions which previously were exercised by three people; the six-monthly rotating Presidency represented by the respective Foreign Affairs Minister), the High Representative for CFSP and the Commissioner for External Relations. For example, last October Foreign Minister Smith participated in the EU-Australia Ministerial meeting in Stockholm. He sat across the table from three politicians on the EU side – Swedish Presidency Foreign Minister Carl Bild, a representative of EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, (Dr. Solana), and European Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner. The Lisbon Treaty simplifies things – now Foreign Minister Smith will just have to sit across from one EU politician – HR/VP Baroness Catherine Ashton.
Catherine Ashton now conducts the Union's Common Foreign and Security Policy, and contributes to it by her proposals to the development of that policy, which she will carry out as mandated by the Council. She is also mandated to ensure implementation of the decisions adopted in this field.
Ashton now presides over the Foreign Affairs Council, again, like President Van Rompuy at his level, bringing greater strategic coherence.
As one of the Vice-Presidents of the Commission, she ensures the consistency of the Union's external action. She is responsible within the Commission for responsibilities incumbent on it in external relations and for coordinating other aspects of the Union's external action. This is a powerful amalgamation of policy instruments under a single political post.
As I said earlier, Ashton now solely represents the Union for matters relating to the Common Foreign and Security Policy at Foreign Ministerial level; she conducts political dialogue with third parties on the Union's behalf, and expresses the Union's position in international organisations and at international conferences.
And of course she is my boss in that she exercises authority over the European External Action Service and over the Union's delegations in third countries and at international organisations.
CFSP continues to require unanimity on major decisions in the FA Council but some implementing actions can be taken on the basis of QMV.
Defence issues will continue to need unanimous approval of the 27 Member States. However, progress in the Common Security and Defence Policy, while preserving special decision-making arrangements, also pave the way towards reinforced co-operation among a smaller group of Member States.
A different improvement in the foreign affairs area is the creation of the single legal personality for the Union. This strengthens the Union's negotiating power in international fora, making it more effective and a more visible partner for third countries and international organisations.
The European External Action Service (EEAS)
The Lisbon treaty foresaw the establishment of a new European External Action Service to provide back up and support to the High Representative. This includes the Commission's current external delegations throughout the world, including the one in Canberra, which became Delegations of the European Union.
The EEAS is the rather cumbersome name for the EU's new Foreign Service . While guidelines on the formation of the EEAS were agreed by the European Council on 30 October 2009, its exact shape is yet to take form and will probably take some years to establish its proper final form.
Catherine Ashton is currently discussing her proposal for the organisation and functioning of the EEAS with the FA Council.
What is the EEAS?
While the fine details are yet to be finalised, we do know that the EEAS will be a single service under the authority of the High Representative. It will have an organisational status reflecting and supporting the High Representative's unique role and functions in the EU system.
EEAS staff will be appointed by the High Representative and drawn from three sources: relevant departments of the General Secretariat of the Council, of the Commission and of national diplomatic services of the Member States.
The EEAS should be a service of a sui generis nature , separate from the Commission and the Council Secretariat. It should have autonomy in terms of administrative budget and management of staff. The EEAS will have its own section in the EU budget, to which the usual budgetary and control rules will apply. The High Representative will propose and implement the EEAS budget.
The Commission's delegations become Union delegations under the authority of the High Representative and are part of the EEAS structure. EU delegations work in close cooperation with diplomatic services of the Member States, and play a supporting role as regards diplomatic and consular protection of Union citizens in third countries.
All in all, the EEAS is a project of historical proportions as 27 sovereign states come together to effectively create a new, combined diplomatic service.
In some related areas, there are new developments which should be noted such as the Solidarity clause between Member States : the Treaty of Lisbon provides that the Union and its Member States act jointly in a spirit of solidarity if a Member State is the subject of a terrorist attack or the victim of a natural or man-made disaster. Solidarity in the area of energy is also emphasised.
Increased security for all: the Union gets an extended capacity to act on freedom, security and justice, which brings direct benefits in terms of the Union's ability to fight crime and terrorism. New provisions on civil protection, humanitarian aid and public health also aim at boosting the Union's ability to respond to threats to the security of European citizens.
Conclusion
I hope that this has given you a general overview of the Lisbon Treaty and an understanding of what it means for Europe and its partners across the world.
The Treaty puts citizens at the centre of the European project. We now have the right institutions to act and we expect a period of institutional stability. This long period of institutional debate in Europe is over for now; we can focus our energy on delivering on the policies which matter to our citizens.
The treaty provides the Union with the legal framework and tools necessary to meet future challenges both within Europe and the world at large as the EU is better equipped to meet expectations in the fields of energy, climate change, cross-border crime and immigration.
It will also be able to speak with a stronger voice on the international scene given the greater coherence between the different strands of its external policy, such as diplomacy, security, trade and humanitarian aid.
These changes will make Europe stronger, more efficient and better able to shape the effects of globalisation.
In closing I would like to leave you with a word of caution. In the scheme of things, the European Union is the world's greatest political experiment, which has been running now for 60 years. It remains a work in progress, both in terms of its members and in terms of in what areas its members want to pool their resources at European level.
Experience to date shows that there will always be new challenges and even setbacks along the way, but Europe has in a sense been founded on successfully dealing with each successive challenge. Lisbon will not be the last port of call. I am sure other European cities will emerge by way of new treaties over time to shed new light and innovation, to help ensure the words of Victor Hugo, and the ambitions of the EU's founding fathers, are realised.
Thank you for listening.
This page updated
April 27, 2010
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