see also:

• European Union (main page)
• European Union - enlargement   
• European Union Institutions and political framework
• changing patterns of European migration (immigration and emigration)
• Language and Culture in the European Union
• Europe and global credit crisis
• Forum-Nexus Introduction to the European Union  

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Table of Contents

European Union Treaties:

including The Treaty of Paris, The Treaty of Rome, The Single European Act, The Maastricht treaty, Amsterdam Treaty, Nice Treaty, the (failed) Constitutional treaty, and the Lisbon Treaty

Basics for class to understand:

1. There is no "constitution" for the EU (although one was recently proposed, it was rejected and was repackaged as the "Lisbon Treaty")
2. For the EU, it is the series of Treaties that forms the legal foundation for the EU
3. The treaties have been signed between heads of governments at summits (outside the Treaty of Rome, outside of the EU legal framework).  This is an example of how national governments control the speed of EU integration (rather than Brussels)

Treaties - in the context of history

     see our page:  European history

Nothing about the treaties can be thought of without FIRST remembering what was going on in Europe and the world

Before trying to memorize dates of treaties, make sure you first understand 

1. European Union - enlargement 
1. what were the key dates that countries joined the EU?
2. what was going on in the world that made these countries WANT to join the EU (at that time)? 
2. Key events to remember:
1. 1940's - war in Europe
2. 1950's - cold war begins (war in the Koreas)
3. 1960's - Vietnam war, Cold War escalates
4. 1970's - oil crisis, Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates ends.  Enlargement:  UK, Ireland & Denmark all join the EU (then called the EEC)
5. 1980's - Japan & US seen as economically pulling ahead of Europe.  European desire to regain competitiveness leads to greater emphasis on "single market".  Early 80's see the entrance of Greece.  Mid 80's Spain & Portugal (after the end of dictatorships).  Late 80's fall of Berlin Wall, nearing end of Cold War.
6. 1990's- German reunification. USSR collapse.  Eastern European countries turn toward West.  New members to the EU (formally neutral countries of Austria, Sweden, Finland).  Plans put in place for monetary union, and for the Euro (by 1999-2002)
7. 2000's - Euro currency starts.  9/11 happens in New York, then Afghanistan & Iraq wars.  In Europe there is a BIG enlargement of 10 new EU members in 2004, then 2 more in 2007.  Attempts to approve  a Constitution is rejected and then later repackaged (as the Lisbon treaty) and approved.  Financial crisis hits in 2008.  Fiscal and debt crisis in Europe starts in May 2010.

Treaty overview:

1. The main treaties you must remember are:
1. In the 1950's there were two Treaties: 
1. Treaty of Paris - before everything... 1951-2 - just 5-6 years after the end of WWII  -- Paris was heart of integration (along with BENELUX countries).  Treaty of Paris - founded ECSC (European Coal and Steel Community) - this was a test to prove that countries could work together.  When satisfied that it was possible... the next step was...
2. Treaty of Rome - 1957 - founded the EEC (European Economic Community) a customs union, or "common market" - which would later become the EC, and then the European Union.  There were actually 2 treaties, one formed the EEC, the other an energy agreement focused on atomic energy (Euratom).  
2. Lots of time passed
3. In the 1980's, just after the first enlargement (UK, Ireland & Denmark in '73)... and before the end of the Cold war, and corresponding to the second wave of enlargement (Greece '81, and Spain Portugal '86)
1. Single European Act '86-'87 (see wikipedia article here) - same year Spain & Portugal joined - the Single European act was the first major revision to the treaty of Rome.  Goal was to re-focus efforts on finalizing the dream of: free movement of people, goods, services and capital.  Target date was 1992 for completion.  Aggressive goal.   
4. In the 1990's, and early 2000's - just after Berlin Wall fell, USSR collapsed, and another wave of enlargement (Austria, Sweden & Finland in '95, and getting ready for the big enlargements of '04-07): 
1. Maastricht Treaty - The "Treaty of the European Union" - 91-93   (with 2 ammendments - Amsterdam '91 & Nice '97)  - (Maastricht) - changed the name from the EC to the EU.   Plans formalized to launch the Single currency (euro) by 1999.   Confusion - the Maastricht treaty created a 3-pillar structure to the EU, which was later abandoned in 2007 with the Lisbon Treaty.  Controversy - when creating the framework for the Euro, the Maastricht treaty laid out "convergence criteria" which proposed limits to government debt, inflation and fiscal deficits.  Many countries ignored these rules (German included) which might be a cause of the on going fiscal and debt crisis in Europe .   Problems led to the UK's forced exit from the fixed currency system in 1992 (see our discussion on Why is the UK not in the Eurozone?).
5. In the (mid-late) 2000's -  
1. failed constitution - rejected by French and Danish voters in referendum in 2005 (after "The Treaty was signed on 29 October 2004 by representatives of the then 25 EU member states. It was later ratified by 18 member states, which included referendums endorsing it in Spain and Luxembourg. However the rejection of the document by French and Dutch voters in May and June 2005 brought the ratification process to an end.")^[1]
2. Lisbon Treaty - 2007 (same year of Romania & Bulgaria EU enlargement) - Lisbon is actually just a "repackaged Constitution" - so referendum not necessary - passed 2009 after a failed referendum in Ireland  (note that 2009 is in the middle of the global economic crisis, but just before the intensity of the European fiscal crisis hits in 2010)  - Lisbon introduced major changes - created two new High-Profile positions: (a) the  President of the European Council and (b) High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.  The purpose is to help the EU speak more clearly on the international stage.  The result is more confusion (now there are presidents of each country, the president of the European Commission, a new president of the European Council, and rotating presidencies of the Council of Ministers, and a newly formed "High Representative" for foreign affairs.   See our discussion on European Union Institutions and political framework for more details...
3. 2010... talk of further amendments proposed by Germany to address the current Fiscal Crisis in Europe

Treaty Timeline

The road to Lisbon:   The Lisbon Treaty was agreed after six years of discussion among the Member States about what reforms were needed to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

• 1952: Treaty of Paris establishing the European Coal and Steel Community
• 1957: Treaties of Rome establishing the European Economic Community and Euratom
• 1986: Single European Act
• 1992: Treaty of Maastricht
• 1997: Treaty of Amsterdam
• 2001: Treaty of Nice
• 29 October 2004: Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe signed by Member States in Rome
• May-June 2005: France and The Netherlands reject the Treaty by referendum
• 13 December 2007: Signature of the Lisbon Treaty by the 27 Member States
• 2007 to May 2009: Lisbon Treaty obtains parliamentary approval in 26 out of 27 Member States
• 12 June 2008: Referendum in Ireland fails to secure majority in favour of ratifi cation
• 19 June 2009: The European Council confirmed that the European Commission shall continue to include one national of each Member State. The Heads of State or Government agreed legally binding guarantees in respect of particular areas identifi ed by the Irish authorities in respect of taxation, the right to life, education and the family, and Ireland’s traditional policy of military neutrality, these guarantees to be incorporated by way of a Protocol in the EU Treaties after the Lisbon Treaty enters into force. A solemn declaration on the importance of workers’ rights and public services is also adopted.
• 2 October 2009: Second referendum in Ireland.

see: History of the European Union from Wikipedia

Treaties timeline - graphics:

Signed In force Document

1948 1948 Brussels Treaty

1951 1952 Paris Treaty

1954 1955 Modified Brussels Treaty

1957 1958 Rome Treaties

1965 1967 Merger Treaty

1975 N/A European Council conclusion

1986 1987 Single European Act

1992 1993 Maastricht Treaty

1997 1999 Amsterdam Treaty

2001 2003 Nice Treaty

2007 2009 Lisbon Treaty

Three pillars of the European Union:

European Communities:

European Atomic Energy Community(EURATOM)

European Coal and Steel Community(ECSC)

Treaty expired in 2002

European Union(EU)

European Economic Community (EEC)

European Community (EC)

TREVI

Justice and Home Affairs(JHA)

Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters(PJCC)

European Political Cooperation (EPC)

Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP)

Unconsolidated bodies

Western European Union (WEU)

Treaty terminated in 2010

v • d • e

Issues, Debates + Future Treaties...

Maastrich Treaty:

"no bail out clause":  The Maastricht Treaty forbids the ECB to monetize any member country's deficit...which could be quite a problem if any EUR nation defaults.

...see here .... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_on_European_Union

In 2010 this became a serious issue as the Fiscal Crisis in Europe hit countries such as Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Spain...

Future treaties^[2]

Despite a reluctance to pursue new treaties following the painful ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, there are three sources of potential new treaties. The first is that any new enlargement (next expected to be Croatia) requires a new treaty. Secondly, opt-outs secured by some members during the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty will gain legal standing in the next treaty. Finally, since October 2010 there has been a new move for a treaty on reform of the Eurozone.

Eurozone reform

Following the 2010 economic crisis that resulted in the bail-out of EU state Greece there has been a drive to reform the functioning of the Eurozone in the event of a crisis. Germany fears that in addition to further changes beyond the temporary bail-out mechanism agreed during the crisis, the bail-out mechanism lacks legitimacy and may be struck down by Germany's constitutional court. In order to resolve the issue, the German government felt a treaty amendment would be required. After the difficult ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, many states and statesmen opposed reopening treaty amendment and the British government opposes changes affecting the United Kingdom.^[10][11]

However, after winning the support of French President Nicolas Sarkozy^[12] Germany won support from the European Council in October 2010 for a new treaty. It would be a minimal amendment to strengthen sanctions and create a permanent bail-out mechanism. It would not fulfil the German demand to have the removal of voting rights as a sanction as that would require deeper treaty amendment. The treaty would be designed so there would be no need for referenda and for it to come into force in 2013 when the temporary bail-out mechanism expires. European Council President Herman Van Rompuy is to explore the changes through the simplified revision procedure.^[13]

Opt-outs

As a result of the various compromises during the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon, there are a number of protocols which leaders have stated will be added to the next treaty, probably the accession treaty of Croatia or Iceland no sooner than 2011. These protocols related to opt-outs and guarantees to Ireland and the Czech Republic in order to get support from their public and president respectively.^[14][15] Following the rejection of the treaty by the Irish electorate in 2008, a number of guarantees (on security and defence, ethical issues and tax) were given to the Irish in return for a second attempt. On the second attempt in 2009 the treaty was approved. Rather than repeat the ratification procedure, the guarantees were merely declarations with a promise to append them to the next treaty.^[14][16]

Czech President Václav Klaus refused to complete ratification of the treaty unless the Czech Republic was given an opt-out from the Charter of Fundamental Rights (as Poland and theUnited Kingdom had) due to his claim it could be used by Germans expelled from the Eastern bloc after the Second World War. Thus the Irish solution was used again to satisfy his demand.^[15][17] Liberal MEP Andrew Duff has however raised the issue that accession treaties are legally only allowed to detail a state's accession and appending these issues to one would leave the treaty open to attack in the courts. However a new general reform treaty is unforeseeable in the current climate and leaders may not be willing to have a stand alone treaty on these issues.^[16]

Other Important European Treaties: