Re: What the EU Constitution says
- From: creusa <suewhiteman2706@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 17 Dec 2007 09:41:18 -0800 (PST)
On 14 Dec, 09:49, "Dr. Barry Worthington" <sh...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Dec 13, 10:45 pm, "DVH" <d...@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
An analysis by Prof Anthony Coughlan.
Today the European Union leaders signed the Lisbon Treaty. This treaty gives
the EU the constitutional form of a state. These are the ten most important
things the Lisbon Treaty does:
1. It establishes a legally new European Union in the constitutional form of
a supranational European State.
2. It empowers this new European Union to act as a State vis-a-vis other
States and its own citizens.
3. It makes us all citizens of this new European Union.
4. To hide the enormity of the change, the same name - European Union - will
be kept while the Lisbon Treaty changes fundamentally the legal and
constitutional nature of the Union.
5. It creates a Union Parliament for the Union's new citizens.
6. It creates a Cabinet Government of the new Union.
7. It creates a new Union political President.
8. It creates a civil rights code for the new Union's citizens.
9. It makes national Parliaments subordinate to the new Union.
10. It gives the new Union self-empowerment powers.
1. The Lisbon Treaty establishes a legally quite new European Union.
Yes, that is legally necessary. The EU has been created by a series of
international treaties. It needs a legal understanding to codify and
give some kind of form to this evolved entity.
This is
a Union in the constitutional form of a supranational European State:
If only it was! But it isn't. It does clear the way for further
developments, though....
The Treaty gives this new Union a State Constitution which is identical in
its legal effects to the EU Constitution that French and Dutch voters
rejected in their 2005 referendums.
Yes. Some people who voted against it suggested it didn't go far
enough! It seemed to continue to permit untramelled international neo-
conservatism.
It does this by amending the two existing basic European Treaties, the
"Treaty on European Union" (TEU) and the "Treaty Establishing the European
Community" (TEC). The former retains its name, while the latter is renamed
the "Treaty on the Functioning of the Union" (TFU). These two amended
Treaties become the de facto Constitution of the new Union which they
constitute or establish, although they are not called a Constitution. The EU
has thus been given a Constitution indirectly rather than in direct form, as
had been proposed in the Treaty which the peoples of France and Holland
rejected in 2005.
So what!
The provision of the Lisbon Treaty that "The Union shall replace and succeed
the European Community" (Art.1.3, amended TEU) makes absolutely clear that
the post-Lisbon Union will be quite a new entity, as the European Community
of which our countries are all currently members ceases to exist.
But everyone knew that! That's one of the purposes of the new
agreement.
2. The Treaty empowers this new European Union to act as a State vis-a-vis
other States and its own citizens:
But it does that already!
To understand the change introduced by the Lisbon Treaty one needs to
understand that what we call the European Union today is not a State. It is
not even a legal or corporate entity in its own right, for it does not have
legal personality.
Yes! By jove, he's got it! That's why the agreement was necessary...
The name "European Union" at present is a descriptive
term for all the relations between its 27 Member States.
Indeed.
At present these relations cover both the "European Community" area where
supranational European law is operative, and the "intergovernmental" areas
of foreign policy and justice and home affairs where Member States cooperate
with one another on the basis of keeping their sovereignty and where
European laws do not apply.
But this arrengement or state of affairs has not changed. Would that
it had!
The Lisbon Treaty changes this situation by creating a constitutionally and
legally quite new EU, while retaining the same name, the "Union".
How many times have you said this? But it isn't 'you' is it?
>Unlike the
present European Union, this legally new EU will be separate from and
superior to its Member States, just as the USA is separate from and superior
to California or New York, or Federal Germany to Bavaria or Brandenburg.
But without the powers of these august bodies.....
This new European Union can sign treaties with other States in all areas of
its competence and conduct itself as a State in the international community
of States.
And about time too!
It can speak at the United Nations on agreed foreign policy
positions of its Member States, just as in the days of the Soviet Union the
USSR had a UN seat while Russia, Ukraine and Byelorussia had UN seats also.
Well, it already does this to some extent....
The Lisbon Treaty also gives the EU a political President, a Foreign
Minister - to be called a High Representative - a diplomatic corps and a
Public Prosecutor.
All of which will make life very much easier....
The new EU will accede to the European Convention on
Human Rights, as all other European States have already done, including
those outside the EU.
Of course!
The Treaty also sets out the principle of the primacy of the laws of the new
Union over the laws of its Member States (Declaration 27). The new EU makes
the majority of laws for its Member States each year and under the Lisbon
Treaty the new Union, which will replace the European Community, gets
further power to make laws or take decisions by qualified majority vote in
relation to some 68 new policy areas or matters where Member States
currently have a veto.
But we are still left with a hybrid system. The EU cannot really
progress beyond that which the member governments agree to!
3. The Treaty makes us all real citizens of this new European Union for the
first time, instead of our being notional or honorary European "citizens" as
at present:
Good!
A State must have citizens and one can only be a citizen of a State.
Especially if it has a successful currency....
Citizenship of the European Union at present is stated to "complement"
national citizenship, the latter being clearly primary, not least because
the present EU is not a State. It is not even a corporate entity that can
have individuals as members, not to mind citizens.
Again, that's why we need a constitution...
By transforming the legal character of the Union, the Lisbon Treaty
transforms the meaning of Union citizenship. Article.17b.1 TEC/TFU replace
the word "complement" in the sentence "Citizenship of the Union shall
complement national citizenship", so that the new sentence reads:
"Citizenship of the Union shall be in addition to national citizenship."
And you have a problem with this?
This gives the 500 million inhabitants of the present EU Member States a
real separate citizenship from citizenship of their national States for the
first time. It gives a treble citizenship to citizens of Bavaria and
Brandenburg within a Federal State like Germany. The rights and duties
attaching to this citizenship of the new Union are be superior to those
attaching to citizenship of one's own national State in any case of conflict
between the two, because of the superiority of EU law over national law and
constitutions.
And that is, more or less, the case at the moment.
As most States only recognise that one can have a single citizenship,
henceforth it is one's Union citizenship which will be regarded by other
countries as primary and superior to one's national citizenship.
So what?
Although we will be given rights as EU citizens, we should not forget that
as real citizens of the new European Union we also owe it the normal
citizens' duty of obedience to its laws and loyalty to its authority, which
will be a higher authority than that of our national States and
constitutions.
And that changes what, exactly?
Member States retain their national constitutions, but they are subordinate
to the new Union Constitution. As such they will no longer be constitutions
of sovereign States, just as the various local states of the USA retain
their constitutions although they are subordinate to the Federal US
Constitution.
The two are not comparable. The States of the United States do not run
a central government, as in the EU. The EU has no distinct fedearl
administration.
4. To hide the enormity of the change, the same name - European Union - will
be kept while the Lisbon Treaty changes fundamentally the legal and
constitutional nature of the Union. By this means the importance of the
proposed change is kept hidden from the people:
And that is just being silly. What is there to hide?
The change in the constitutional nature of both the Union and its Member
States will be made in three legal steps that are set out in the Treaty:
(a) It establishes a European Union with an entire legal personality and
independent corporate existence in all Union areas for the first time, so
that it can function as a State vis-a-vis other States and in relation to
its own citizens (Art.32, amended TEU);
How many times are you going to say this?
(b) This new European Union replaces the existing European Community and
takes over all of its powers and institutions. It takes over as well the
"intergovernmental" powers over foreign policy and crime, justice and home
affairs which at present are outside the scope of European law, leaving only
the Common Foreign and Security Policy outside the scope of its
supranational power (Art.11.1, amended TEU).
And this changes what, exactly?
It thereby gives a unified constitutional structure to the new Union which
it will constitute or establish. The European Community disappears and all
spheres of public policy will come within the scope of
...
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Actually, the statement about a citizen being able to be a citizen of
only one state is not correct. I am a citizen of two states...British
by birth and American by naturalisation. All perfectly legal. NOW I
have a third citizenship!! WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
.
- References:
- What the EU Constitution says
- From: DVH
- Re: What the EU Constitution says
- From: Dr. Barry Worthington
- What the EU Constitution says
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