European Union leaders on Thursday sighed in relief after they signed what has been described as a landmark treaty, a watered-down version of the failed EU Constitution, but doubts on the future of Europe as we know it today still remain.
The agreement will allow Europe to react more quickly to global concerns, once it is ratified by the 27 member states. But it is precisely the way the treaty will be endorsed that is leading to widespread protests in several countries.
Only Ireland is planning to hold a referendum to approve – or reject – the treaty. In the other 26 member states, it will be the country’s respective Parliament that will give – or deny – the green light. The aim is to complete the process by the end of next year, well in time for the next European Parliament elections to be held in 2009.
The signing comes after years of political wrangling following the scuttling of the European Constitution idea after the French and the Dutch voted against in referenda held in 2005. Other countries, including Malta, ratified the EU Constitution in Parliament or in referenda but now they have to do it all over again.
The ceremony that took place in Lisbon last Thursday was held amid complaints that the heads of government were not giving their own people the chance to express themselves over the issue.
The document changes the way the EU takes its decisions, most of which will now be taken by majority vote, removing the need for unanimous endorsement which in the past has often blocked the union’s efforts to present a common policy. Decisions will be passed if 55 per cent of member states representing 65 per cent of the EU’s 490 million population are in agreement.
Unanimity will still however be required in areas of foreign and defence policy, social security, taxation and culture.
The treaty also provides for a smaller European Commission – until now made up of a commissioner from each member state – and for a smaller European Parliament, down from the current 785 members to 751.
However, the treaty establishes a minimum of six seats for each and every country, and in a way Malta has registered its own little victory, considering that until now it had only five MEPs. It is good news that Malta will have another representative. An extra voice will certainly be beneficial for the country and will enable our representatives to have a better chance of keeping in touch with all that is happening in the EP.
The European Parliament will also have more power, and can modify or reject proposed EU legislation. This was done in a bid to further enhance the EU’s democratic credentials.
As current Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said after the signing, by resolving its institutional matters, Europe is preparing itself to address global problems. Europe has understood that it needs to show itself as being more united on the world front to face the challenges that are being created through globalisation.
Not all is rosy however. The leaders’ refusal to ask for public endorsement of the treaty has led to protests in several countries.
The treaty’s detractors claim that governments are afraid to put the document to a vote in a public referendum because they are afraid that the people will reject it, as the Dutch and French did to the Constitution in 2005. That time, the EU entered into what is probably its major political crisis since it was set up 50 years ago, a crisis that the union now wants to avoid at all costs.
It cannot afford to waste more time, but was it the right way to go about resolving the issue? Many doubt it.