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Changes in how the EU governed

The Issues

Proposed changes – European Commission
At present, each Member State nominates one member of the Commission. A new Commission will be appointed in 2009 for a five year term with one member from each Member State.

If the Treaty comes into force then two-thirds of the Member States will nominate a Commissioner in 2014. There are 27 Member States at present. So, if the number of Member States remains the same, there will be 18 Commissioners in the period 2014 – 2019.

The right to nominate a Commissioner will rotate among the Member States on an equal basis. This means that each Member State will nominate a member of the Commission for two out of every three Commissions (that is, 10 of every 15 year cycle). The precise details of how this will operate in practice have yet to be decided. One Commissioner will hold the position of the newly created High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

Proposed Changes – Council (of Ministers)
Meetings
At present, the Council takes decisions in private and holds some policy debates in public. If the Treaty of Lisbon is ratified, the Council will meet in public when a law is being debated and approved.

Voting
At present, some decisions by the Council must be made unanimously while others are made by Qualified Majority Voting (QMV). Under the QMV system, each Member State’s vote is given a weighting. This is not directly proportionate to the population. The weighting arrangements give smaller countries a greater share than their populations would warrant if a directly proportional arrangement existed.

If ratified, the Treaty would:
• increase the number of areas where QMV will apply;
• change the QMV voting system within the Council from 2014.

Areas to which Qualified Majority Voting applies
At present, QMV applies to decisions on a wide range of issues including agriculture, competition rules, consumer protection, environment and judicial co-operation in criminal matters. It is proposed to apply QMV to a number of new areas – these include energy, asylum, immigration, judicial co-operation in civil matters and sport.

Certain decisions will continue to be made unanimously – they include decisions on defence and taxation. This means that any Member State may veto a proposed change in these areas.

Changes within Qualified Majority Voting (QVM)
At present, each member state has a weighted vote as follows:

A Qualified Majority Vote (QMV) at present requires 255 weighted votes – that is almost 74% of the total. This system would remain in place until 2014. If the Treaty is ratified, from 2014, a qualified majority (also to be known as a double majority) will require that decisions must meet two conditions:

a) 55% of the Member States must agree: (for example, while there are 27 Member States, 15 Member States must agree);
b) those Member States supporting the decision must represent 65% of the EU population.

In addition, at least four Member States must be opposed to a decision in order for it to be blocked. This ensures that decisions cannot be blocked by just 3 of the larger Member States acting together.

If there are fewer than 4 Member States opposed to a decision then the qualified majority will be deemed to have been reached even if the population criterion is not met.

Presidency of the Council
The present six month rotating Presidency will continue for all Councils except the Foreign Affairs Council which will be chaired by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

Proposed Changes - European Council (Heads of Government)
The European Council is chaired at present on a rotating basis by the head of government or state of the Member State holding the six month EU Presidency. The Treaty provides for a new post of President of the European Council. The President would be elected (by qualified majority) by the European Council for two and a half years and could be re-elected once for a similar term. The President would chair and co-ordinate the European Council’s work.

Proposed Changes - European Parliament
The Lisbon Treaty would extend the decision making powers of the European Parliament.

At present, the European Parliament makes decisions jointly with the Council in some areas, for example, in relation to consumer protection and environmental issues. This is known as co-decision. If the Treaty comes into force, co-decision would apply to a number of new areas. These include agriculture, asylum, immigration, judicial co-operation in criminal and civil matters, and measures relating to the internal market.

At present, the European Parliament and the Council have joint decision making powers over most of the EU’s budget but the Council has the final say over certain spending items.

If the Lisbon Treaty comes into force then the European Parliament and the Council will have joint decision making powers over the entire EU budget.

Proposed Changes - Role of National Parliaments
At present, national parliaments are not directly involved in EU decision making. If the Treaty enters into force then national parliaments – in Ireland’s case, the Dáil and Seanad - will have 8 weeks after the publication of an EU legislative proposal to vet that proposal and offer an opinion.

If a number of national parliaments object to the proposal it must be reviewed. Each national parliament has two votes; the Dáil and Seanad have one vote each. The review must take place if one third of the national parliaments request this. In the case of judicial co-operation in criminal matters and police co-operation, a quarter of the national parliaments would be able to require a review. The Treaty would also give national parliaments a specific role in relation to proposed changes to the Treaties.

Proposed Changes - Power to Change the Treaties
At present the Treaties governing the EU are amended only by the Member States agreeing to an amending treaty which must then be approved by the Member States in accordance with their own constitutional traditions. In almost all cases this involves parliamentary approval. In some cases, for example in Ireland, a referendum may be required.

The Lisbon Treaty now proposes to give the European Council (Heads of Government) the power to propose changes to certain parts of the governing Treaties. Any such changes cannot increase the competence of the EU. Any such proposals must be agreed unanimously by the European Council. This means that any national government may veto such a proposal. If the European Council does agree a proposed change, then in order for it to come into effect, it must be ratified by the Member States in accordance with their own constitutional traditions. This may require a referendum in Ireland as happens at present.

The Lisbon Treaty also proposes to give the European Council the power to amend the Treaties so as to allow Qualified Majority Voting to operate in certain areas where unanimity is now required. It will also give them the power to apply the Ordinary Legislative Procedure in certain areas where a Special Legislative Procedure applies at present. Any such proposals must be agreed unanimously by the European Council.

This means that any national government may veto such a proposal. If the European Council does agree a proposed change, any national parliament may prevent these changes coming into effect. Under the proposed amendment to the Constitution of Ireland the approval of the Dáil and Seanad will be required for Ireland to agree to such proposed changes. Such changes would not require a referendum in Ireland.

The power to change from unanimity to Qualified Majority Voting or from the Ordinary Legislative Procedure to a Special Legislative Procedure does not extend to military and defence issues.

It could apply, for example, to taxation where unanimity is required at present. However as outlined earlier in this website, any such proposed change could be vetoed by the Irish government.

Proposed changes - Decision Making Process
The Treaty proposes to rename the co-decision procedure, calling it the "Ordinary Legislative Procedure". It also proposes to rename the specific decision making procedures and call them the "Special Legislative Procedures". It also proposes to extend the Ordinary Legislative Procedure to a number of new areas.

What is the Ordinary Legislative Procedure?
This is the term used in the Treaty of Lisbon to describe the process whereby proposals for policies and laws are made by the Commission and decisions on those proposals are made jointly by the Council and the European Parliament. It replaces the term "co-decision".

What are the Special Legislative Procedures?
This is the term used in the Treaty to describe the procedures where the ordinary legislative procedure is not used. They apply mainly in the area of Common Foreign and Security Policy. These decisions are made by the Council and the European Parliament may have to be consulted in some cases.

Citizens’ Initiative
The Lisbon Treaty proposes that a citizens’ initiative would allow for at least one million citizens from a significant number of Member States to ask the Commission to bring forward proposals on a particular issue. The Commission would be obliged to consider the proposal. The details of how this would operate have yet to be decided.

Information from The Referendum Commission.