There at last

Now we’re getting there. The Lisbon Treaty has finally come into force, thus ending the ten-year-long quibble on the envisioned European Union Constitution. A new page was turned in Europe’s long history of unification.The new Treaty regulations grant the European Union the much-awaited renewed status. Indeed, the EU now enjoys legal status, Member States’ governments and EU bodies’ responsibilities have been regulated; the Commission and the Council of Ministers’ decisional powers have been stepped up. In the legislative framework, in principle, the Parliament (the body representing the citizens) is granted equal authority as the Council of Ministers (the body representing the States), EU citizenship is equally established. Furthermore, the new Treaty introduces the principle of the double majority whereby for democracy purposes, Member States’ national demography is the criteria to value the importance of each during voting procedures. An EU Foreign Minister will act in his capacities as Vice-President of the Commission with the support of a diplomatic service. The European Council of the Heads of Government and State maintains its permanent Presidency as the primary activity with a two-and-a-half year mandate (in place of a six-month rotating presidency occupied by the Head of a national Government); financial adjustment among Member States is enforced along with the Charter of the Fundamental Rights of the EU, which steps up the EU’s founding values. With regard to its concrete activity and future development, the EU thus achieves institutional stability along with a political perspective that was deemed necessary ensuing the past 15 years’ enlargement process, (from 12 to 27 Member States). The concrete political life of the EU, expressed within and beyond the Treaties, also benefited from the reform. Political dynamics, the ongoing interaction of organs and actors, the developing bond among the different decision-making systems (at European, national, regional and local level), the role and the influence of European political parties and their supranational political groups, the gradual trans-nationalization of civil society, the ongoing Europeanization of the population, and last but not least, the federal monetary union successfully established. These developments confer increasing transnational traits to the European Union. However, in order to prevent its growth from progressing beyond control, a solid constitutional basis is needed. Considering the current situation of the European Union, the coming into force of the new Treaty will have the effect of an act of liberation. Since the approval of the Treaty of Nice (2000), which did not envisage extending EU enlargement to Central and East-European Countries, (unforeseen at the time), major efforts have been placed in developing the Treaty’s solid and durable foundations. The quest for constituting power (2003/04) through the European Constitution, in which major hopes were placed, failed with the French and Dutch referendums (2005). The Treaty of Lisbon, drawn up under the guidance of Chancellor Angela Merkel during the German presidency (2007), was called to overcome heavy obstacles raised by Member States, – Germany included – during the ratification process. This path marked by uncertainties weighed heavily on European bodies’ performance and on the cooperation between Member States for a very long period. The objective consists in a reform capable of liberating new forces within the EU while triggering a dynamics that was lost during the past decade. New tasks and challenges lie ahead.