1.1.3.     The Maastricht and Amsterdam Treaties: prospects for the European Union

I. THE MAASTRICHT TREATY

LEGAL BASIS
Treaty on European Union, signed in Maastricht on 7 February 1992; it came into force on 1 November 1993.

THE UNION'S STRUCTURE
By instituting a European Union, the Maastricht Treaty marks a new step in the process of creating an ever-closer union among the peoples of Europe. The Union is based on the European Communities (*1.1.1. and 1.1.2.) and supported by policies and forms of cooperation provided for in the Treaty on European Union. It has a single institutional structure, consisting of the European Council, the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission, the Court of Justice and the Court of Auditors. The European Council's task is to define general political guidelines. The Parliament, Council, Commission, Court of Justice and Court of Auditors (the Community Institutions) exercise their powers in accordance with the Treaties. The Council, Commission and Parliament are assisted by an Economic and Social Committee and a Committee of the Regions, which both have advisory powers. A European System of Central Banks, a European Central Bank and a European Investment Bank have been set up under the provisions of the Treaty. The Union's present structure is commonly described as being based on three pillars.

• The first pillar consists of the European Communities, providing a framework within which the Member States, through the Community Institutions, can jointly exercise their sovereignty in the areas covered by the Treaties.
• The second pillar is the common foreign and security policy laid down in Title V of the Treaty on European Union.
• The third pillar is cooperation in the fields of justice and home affairs laid down in Title VI of the Treaty on European Union.

Titles V and VI provide for intergovernmental cooperation using the common institutions, with certain supranational features such as associating the Commission and consulting Parliament.

OBJECTIVES

1. The European Community (first pillar)

The Community's task is to promote throughout the Community a harmonious, balanced and sustainable development of economic activities, a high level of employment and of social protection, equality between men and women, sustainable and non-inflationary growth, a high degree of competitiveness and convergence of economic performance, a high level of environmental protection, the raising of the standard of living and quality of life, economic and social cohesion and solidarity among Member States. The Community pursues these objectives, acting within the limits of its powers, by establishing a common market and related measures set out in Article 3 of the EC Treaty and by initiating the economic and single monetary policy referred to in Article 4 (3a). Community activities must respect the principle of proportionality and, in areas that do not fall within its exclusive competence, the principle of subsidiarity (Article 5 (3b) EC).

2. The common foreign and security policy (CFSP) (second pillar)

The Union has the task of defining and implementing, by intergovernmental methods, a common foreign and security policy (* 6.1.1.). The Member States must support this policy actively and unreservedly in a spirit of loyalty and mutual solidarity. Its objectives are:

• to safeguard the common values, fundamental interests, independence and integrity of the Union, in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter;
• to preserve peace and strengthen international security, in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter as well as the principles of the Helsinki Final Act and the objectives of the Paris Charter, including principles relating to external borders;
• to promote international cooperation;
• to develop and consolidate democracy and the rule of law, and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

3. Cooperation in the fields of justice and home affairs (third pillar)

The Union's objective is to develop common action in these areas by intergovernmental methods (* 4.11.1) to provide citizens with a high level of safety within an area of freedom, security and justice. It covers the following areas:

• rules and the exercise of controls on crossing the Community's external borders;
• combating terrorism, crime, drug trafficking and international fraud;
• judicial cooperation in criminal and civil matters;
• creation of a European Police Office (Europol) with a system for exchanging information between national police forces;
• combating unauthorised immigration;
• common asylum policy.

II. THE AMSTERDAM TREATY

LEGAL BASIS

Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty on European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related acts, signed in Amsterdam on 2 October 1997; it came into force on 1 May 1999.

OBJECTIVES

The Treaty of Amsterdam amends and amplifies the content of the Maastricht Treaty in five main areas:

• freedom, security and justice;
• citizenship of the Union;
• external policy;
• EU Institutions;
• closer cooperation.

It also contains provisions aiming to simplify and codify the Treaties.

BACKGROUND

Article N.2 of the Maastricht Treaty laid down that a conference of representatives of the Member States' Governments (IGC) was to be convened in 1996, to examine the Treaty provisions for which revision was provided. At its meetings in Brussels and Corfu, the European Council widened the mandate of this IGC to include institutional issues thrown up by the enlargement process.

A reflection group was set up, and on 5 December 1995 it approved a report which in its first part set out a strategy for Europe and in its second part proposed an annotated agenda for the IGC.

At its meeting of 15 and 16 December 1995 in Madrid, the European Council considered that the guidelines set out by the reflection group constituted a good basis for the IGC's work, and decided that Parliament should be closely involved in this work. On the basis of a first draft put forward by the Irish Presidency and further versions of these texts proposed by the Netherlands Presidency, the Amsterdam European Council at its meeting of 16 and 17 June 1997 formally brought the IGC to a conclusion in the morning of 18 June and, after legal and linguistic editing, the new Treaty was signed on 2 October 1997 in Amsterdam.

SUBSTANCE

The Amsterdam Treaty represents substantial progress on the 'constitutional' bases of EU and Community policies and the process of democratisation. However, it does not include all the institutional reforms which enlargement will render necessary. While removing the much-criticised social policy opt-out, the new Treaty lays the foundation for closer cooperation between some Member States within the framework of EU Institutions. It has also simplified the Treaties to a certain extent, in particular by renumbering the articles.

1. Increase in EU powers

a. European Community

• With regard to objectives, special prominence has been given to balanced and sustainable development and a high level of employment.
• A mechanism has been set up to coordinate Member States' policies on employment, and there is a possibility of some Community measures in this area..
• The Agreement on Social Policy has been incorporated into the EC treaty with some improvements.
• The Community method now applies to some major areas which hitherto came under the 'third pillar' such as asylum, immigration, crossing external borders, combating fraud, customs cooperation and some of the cooperation under the Schengen Agreement, which the EU and Communities have endorsed in full.

b. European Union

• Intergovernmental cooperation in the areas of police and judicial cooperation has been strengthened by defining objectives and precise tasks and creating a new legal instrument similar to a directive.
• There are changes in the policy areas of the environment, public health and consumer protection.
• There are new provisions with regard to specific problems such as general interest services, cultural diversity and the use of languages and measures applicable to very remote and island regions and overseas countries and territories.
• The instruments of the common foreign and security policy were developed later, in particular by creating a new instrument, the common strategy, which should normally be implemented by a majority decision, a new office, the Secretary-General of the Council responsible for the CFSP, and a new structure, the Policy Planning and Early Warning Unit. With regard to security, a reference to 'Petersberg' missions defines the scope of any future joint action.
• In the area of external economic policy, the Council has been empowered to extend the field of application to services and intellectual property rights.

2. A stronger position for Parliament

a. Legislative power

• The codecision procedure now applies to most areas of legislation; the Amsterdam Treaty extends it to 15 legal bases which were already in the EC Treaty:
  • Article 12(6) prohibition of discrimination,
  • Article 18 (8a) free movement of EU citizens,
  • Article 42 (51) free movement of workers,
  • Article 47(1) (57(1)) recognition of qualifications,
  • Article 67 (73o, 100c) visa procedures,
  • Article 71 (75) transport policy, including air transport,
  • Article 141(3) (119(3)) implementation of equal pay for equal work,
  • Article 148 (125) implementation of the Social Fund,
  • Article 150(4) (127(4)) vocational training measures,
  • Article 153(4) (129a(4)) consumer protection,
  • Article 156 (129d) trans-European networks ('other measures'),
  • Article 162 (130e) implementation of the Regional Development Fund,
  • Article 172 (130o) implementation of framework research programmes,
  • Article 175(3) (130s (3)) environment protection measures,
  • Article 179 (130w) development cooperation;
    and to eight new legal bases:
  • Article 129 (109r) measures to promote employment,
  • Article 135 (116) customs cooperation,
  • Article 137(1) (118(1)) social policy,
  • Article 152(4) 129(4) health protection, veterinary and plant health measures,
  • Article 255 (191a) principles governing access to documents,
  • Article 280 (209a) combating fraud,
  • Article 285 (213a) Community statistics,
  • Article 286 (213b) establishment of a body to monitor protection of individuals with regard to data processing.
• Excepting only agriculture and competition policy, the codecision procedure applies to all the areas of legislation where the Council may decide by qualified majority. In four cases (Articles 18 (8a), 42 (51) and 47 (57) and Article 151 (128) on cultural policy, which remains unchanged) the codecision procedure is still combined with a requirement for a unanimous decision in the Council. The other legislative areas where unanimity is required are not subject to codecision (qualified majority decisions are now required under Article 166 (130i) on framework research programmes, which was previously subject to unanimity).
• Under the simplified codecision procedure (Article 251 (189b)), Parliament and the Council have become co-legislators on a practically equal footing, in particular because it is now possible to adopt an act at first reading if there is agreement between the two branches of the legislative authority, and because the power of the Council unilaterally to impose its decision at third reading has been removed. However, there is still no satisfactory solution to the problems raised by delegating implementing acts; Declaration 31 confines itself to calling on the Commission to submit a new proposal on commitology.

b. Power of control

• As well as its vote to approve the Commission as a body, Parliament also has a vote to approve in advance the person nominated as President of the future Commission (Article 214(158)).
• The Amsterdam Treaty expressly confirms the protection of fundamental rights through the application of Community law, which until then had been a matter for Court of Justice case-law. The Treaty adds a system of political sanctions which may be decided on in the event of serious and persistent violation by a Member State of the founding principles of the EU (freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law).

c. Election and Statute of Members

With regard to the procedure for elections to Parliament by direct universal suffrage (Article 190 (138)), the Community's power to adopt common principles has been added to the existing power to adopt a uniform procedure. A legal basis making it possible to adopt a single statute for Members of the European Parliament has been included in the same article. However, there is still no provision allowing measures to develop political parties at European level (cf. Article 191 (138a)).

3. Closer cooperation

For the first time, the founding Treaties contain general provisions allowing some Member States under certain conditions to take advantage of common institutions to organise closer cooperation between themselves. This option is in addition to the closer cooperation covered by specific provisions, such as economic and monetary union, creation of the area of freedom, security and justice and incorporating the Schengen provisions. The areas where there may be closer cooperation are the third pillar and, under particularly restrictive conditions, matters subject to non-exclusive Community competence. The conditions which any closer cooperation must fulfil and the planned decision-making procedures have been drawn up in such a way as to ensure that this new factor in the process of integration will remain exceptional and, at all events, can only be used to move further towards integration and not to take retrograde steps.

4. Simplification

The Amsterdam Treaty removes from the European Treaties all provisions which the passage of time has rendered void or obsolete, while ensuring that this does not affect the legal effects which derived from them in the past. It also renumbers the Treaty articles. For legal and political reasons the Treaty was signed and submitted for ratification in the form of amendments to the existing Treaties. In order to make it more comprehensible and facilitate practical work, the Council Secretariat, responding to a request from the IGC, has published a consolidated version of the EU Treaty and the Treaty establishing the European Community, incorporating all the changes made by the Amsterdam Treaty.

5. Institutional reforms with a view to enlargement

The Amsterdam Treaty has set the maximum number of Members of the European Parliament, in line with Parliament's request, at 700 (Article 189 (137)).

Composition of the Commission and the question of weighted votes is covered by a 'Protocol on the Institutions' attached to the Treaty. This provides that, in a Union of up to 20 Member States, the Commission will comprise one national of each Member State, provided that by that date, weighting of the votes in the Council has been modified. At all events, at least a year before the 21stMember State joins, a new IGC must comprehensively review the Treaties' provisions on the Institutions.

There is certainly provision for the Council to use qualified majority voting in a number of the legal bases newly established by the Amsterdam Treaty (see above and the decisions on employment guidelines (Article 128(2) (109a(2)) and on very remote regions (Article 229(2) (227(2))). However, of the existing Community policies, only research policy has new provisions on qualified majority voting, at Articles 166(130i) and 172 (130o). In the EC Treaty alone, 44 articles still require unanimity, of which 20 concern legislative areas such as tax harmonisation (Article 93 (99)), approximation of laws (Article 94 (100)), culture (Article 151 (128)), industrial policy (Article 157 (130)), the Structural Funds (Article 161 (130d)) and some aspects of environmental policy (Article 175 (130s(2)).

6. Other matters

• A protocol covers Community procedures for implementing the principle of subsidiarity.
• New provisions on access to documents (Article 255 (191a)) and greater openness in the Council's legislative work (Article 207(3) (151(3))) have improved transparency.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Parliament was involved in negotiations leading to the Maastricht Treaty through the Interinstitutional Conference. Before conclusion of the Amsterdam Treaty, Parliament was for the first time in the history of European integration directly involved in the procedure to amend the Treaties.

The principle of Parliament's involvement in the preparatory work was agreed at the meeting of Foreign Affairs Ministers at Ioannina on 29 March 1994, a few weeks before Parliament voted on the accession treaties with Austria, Finland, Norway and Sweden, which took place on 4 May 1994 under the assent procedure. On 17 May 1995, Parliament adopted its resolution on the functioning of the EU Treaty with a view to the 1996 IGC - implementation and development of the Union.

In its resolution of 13 March 1996, Parliament gave its opinion on the convening of the IGC, together with an evaluation of the work of the reflection group and a list of political priorities for the IGC. It confirmed Mrs Guigou and Mr Brok as its representatives to the IGC work. The Turin European Council at the opening of the IGC on 29 March 1996 approved the arrangements for Parliament's involvement with the IGC's work. In addition to the usual exchanges of views with Parliament's President at meetings of the European Council, ministerial sessions at the IGC were preceded by an exchange of views with Parliament's President and representatives. Every month during the IGC, representatives of the Ministers met representatives of Parliament, at least for an in-depth exchange of views; in addition, there were numerous informal meetings and bilateral contacts with the Presidency.

In its resolution of 19 November 1997 on the Amsterdam Treaty, Parliament recommended that the Member States ratify it and added a critical evaluation to this recommendation. Parliament endorsed a declaration that the Governments of Belgium, Italy and France had made when the Treaty was signed, and insisted in particular that before any enlargement:

• weighting of votes in the Council and the number of members of the Commission should be adjusted, maintaining parity between the Member States;
• qualified majority voting in the Council should become the general rule;
• unanimity should be confined to decisions of a constitutional nature (amendments to Treaties, accessions, decisions on own resources, electoral procedure and application of Article 308 (former Article 235) of the EC Treaty);
• all the other reforms required for enlargement should be adopted.

PROSPECTS
The Amsterdam Treaty has only partially satisfied expectations and makes provision for further institutional adjustments as the enlargement process proceeds. For this reason the Intergovernmental Conference convened in February 2000 was mostly concerned with points which had not been resolved in Amsterdam (extension of qualified majority voting, re-weighting of votes in the Council and composition of the Commission).

In the 'Protocol on the Institutions', the Amsterdam Treaty provides that in the event of up to five new Member States joining, the Commission should comprise one national of each of the Member States, provided that weighting of votes in the Council has been adjusted by then. The European Council meeting in Cardiff on 16 and 17 June 1998 recognised in principle the need for new reforms before enlargement.

The European Council meeting in Cologne on 3 and 4 June 1999 decided that a further intergovernmental conference should be convened at the beginning of 2000 and be wound up by the end of that year. The mandate of the conference should cover institutional issues which had not been resolved in Amsterdam and further amendments to the Treaty which would be deemed necessary in that context.

Accordingly, Parliament hoped that the negotiating brief for the Conference would cover as wide an area as possible. With regard to substance, it called for:

• qualified majority voting in the Council and codecision to become the normal method of decision-making in the EU;
• codecision to be extended to legislative areas and to the 'third pillar';
• a larger role for Parliament with regard to international agreements and common trade policy;
• greater powers with regard to economic and monetary union;
• the future Treaty to incorporate the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which was being drawn up, and for the Treaty to distinguish between constitutional principles and implementing legislation.

The Intergovernmental Conference opened on 14 February 2000 in Brussels.

16/11/2000