European Council blogging: Part One (10042011)

My latest collection of blog posts was presented on Grahnlaw (in English) a little more than two weeks ago: European Council blogging (24032011).

It is easier to find the relevant subject, if I offer myself and others an overview of the later blog entries on the economic policy theme at the spring European Council.

The blog posts appear on four blogs and in three languages: on Grahnlaw (EN), Grahnblawg (SV), Eurooppaoikeus (FI) and Grahnlaw Suomi Finland (EN, FI, SV).


Tripartite Social Summit

After an earlier introduction, a few blog entries presented the public statements of the participants in the Tripartite Social Summit, the social partners (employers, employees and EU institutions).

Grahnlaw Suomi Finland: Tripartite Social Summit: Unions and PES (25 March 2011)

Grahnlaw Suomi Finland: Reform camp leaders ahead of Tripartite Social Summit and European Council (25 March 2011)

Grahnlaw Suomi Finland: Tripartite Social Summit and European Council: EU views (25 March 2011)

Grahnlaw Suomi Finland: Tripartite Social Summit and European Council: Business views (25 March 2011)


Spring summit in a nutshell

After the spring European Council, I looked at the available links and materials, as well as the brief economic messages from the European leaders.

Grahnlaw: Spring European Council summary (26 March 2011)



Ralf Grahn




P.S. After an interesting ranking of top European media in French on Europe 27etc, ”Jamel de L'or” returned with a useful top ten of the European affairs media to follow in English (plus ten others, although the wrong link was offered for Grahnlaw).

eGovernment progress in Finland – How about foreigners?

Among the planned actions of the Digital Agenda for Europe 2010-2020 you find the so called VII Pillar: ICT for Social Challenges. Better public services are among these objectives (eGovernment).

One of the benefits of the European Union is that it fosters interaction and mutual learning between the European and national levels and between the public administrations of the member states.


Upgraded eGovernment portal

The upgraded eGovernment portal in Finland may be of interest in other EU member states. The description is detailed enough to give an inkling of what can be found at the same web address: One-stop public administration services online: Ministry of Finance and State Treasury announce launch of upgraded citizens' portal Suomi.fi (press release 27.10.2010, 134/2010).

The speech of the minister of public administration and local government, Tapani Tölli, at the launch event adds some background information about the improvement of public services and the development of electronic services, but the speech is available only in Finnish.

Even more than before, Suomi.fi is the web portal for practically all public sector information for individuals in Finland. Suomi.fi is described as a one-stop service for citizens, which links you to both national and local level public services, as well as many services produced by NGOs. (Services for businesses have their own portal.)


Foreigners in Finland

On my blogs, I have been looking at information and services for mobile EU citizens, expatriates and immigrants in Finland, especially with regard to work and business.

Now is the time to glance at the Suomi.fi portal from the perspective of foreigners. In addition to the Finnish and Swedish versions, there is a fairly complete Suomi.fi service in English, as well as some information in a dozen more languages.

The English first page offers you links to e-services, services by topic, a service map promised by the end of 2010, state and local government (individual municipalities), and a Newsroom with public sector news.

The services have been collected under broad headings: housing and construction, families and social services, health and nutrition, law and legal protection, public safety and order, transport and travel, migration, teaching and education, library and information services, culture and communications, work and pensions, taxation and financing, nature and the environment, and sports and outdoor activities.

E-services for individuals are increasingly popular. There is no legal obligation to provide services in English, but in a pragmatic way public authorities are improving the offer of information and services. The most popular English e-service right now is the electronic form you use when you apply for council housing in the capital Helsinki.

If you are looking for information or services for people (individuals) in Finland, Suomi.fi is where you should start.


A match made on Earth

Even if information and services in English are developing, they expand and improve the offer according to the abilities of the public administrations and public officials who produce them. However, major first languages among immigrants are Russian, Estonian, Somali and Arabic, so the match between demand and offer is not necessarily ideal.

If not a match made in Heaven, bad English may still be better than no language in common.




Ralf Grahn



P.S. Newsroom Finland offers you an opportunity to find the latest news from Finland (the Finnish News Agency STT), about Finland from international media, as well as news and articles from a few selected sources in English (the broadcasting company YLE, Helsingin Sanomat International Edition, Helsinki Times).

Full-bodied EU acquis – the bouquet of EU English

Yesterday’s blog post noted that between 2008 and 2009 the body of European Union legislation had decreased by some 2060 regulations and 80 directives: How much EU legislation in member state UK? Nosemonkey and House of Commons Library (15 October 2010).

As I said, the pure numbers tell us little about the impact or influence of EU legislation.

Since then, I thought about a few trivial or arcane details.

First of all, why did I insert the insider term ‘acquis communautaire’ after referring to the EU statute book? Second, why ‘communautaire’ when the Communities (except for Euratom) have disappeared, through the preordained ‘death’ of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), and the European Community (EC) having been amalgamated into the European Union by the Lisbon Treaty? Third, why use the French term in English and other EU languages?



EU dictionary IATE



One of the excellent EU resources is the IATE website (InterActive Terminology for Europe), an online dictionary between all the official languages of the European Union. My impression is that the website is little known outside the circles of language professionals, such as translators, interpreters and lawyer-linguists, even if many officials, communicators, journalists, students and others who deal with issues of substance would need the services at times.

Why not bookmark the page?

Using French as the source language IATE offered a number of English translations, which varied according to the context. Among them were Acquis Communautaire, the body of EU law, Community acquis, body of existing Community legislation and practice, (adoption of the) acquis communautaire.

In short, there were more translations using the French term than a description in English: the body of EU law, or body of existing Community legislation and practice.

One lesson might be to use a description in plain language whenever we can.



Community method RIP


In a series of blog posts I discussed the obsolete term “Community method” recently used by leading EU politicians (here, here, here, here, here, here and here).

I ended up favouring the “Federal method” to replace the antiquated term, because it had more teeth. The European Citizen preferred “Union method”, Simon Blackley proposed the “ordinary decision process” and Eurogoblin would have been happy to stick with the “Community method” or even endured the “Union method”, as long as the word “Federal” could be kept in confinement on Ventotene, or somewhere.

Why on Earth, after so much discussion about the obsolescence of the term “Community” (except in a historical context) did I make even a fleeting mention of the word “communautaire”?

Intellectual sloth is the only explanation I can come up with. Please, accept my apologies.



“Acquis” in English and other EU languages


The “acquis communautaire” has its place in a historical context, but when we deal with contemporary issues even the French could start referring to the “UE acquis”.

If issues of word count matter, and in the playpens of Brussels insiders, the “EU acquis” (or the comparable expression in the relevant language) could replace the antiquated term.

IMHO the “EU statute book” I used was not bad as a colloquial expression, given the circumstances: the number of legal acts (regulations and directives).

However, the “body of EU law” is wider than the sum of legal acts. Therefore, I find that it is a short and good description in many cases.

The longer “body of existing Community EU legislation and practice” makes the scope clearer. Sometimes we may want to add “jurisprudence” or “case law” to the description to make it even more evident.

When we have room to explain matters to readers or listeners, we could sometimes opt for the “body of EU legislation, practice and case law” or a comparable expression in another language.


Now my next question: Is this a sane way to spend one’s Saturday morning? Please, no spam solicitations from headshrinkers (even if it would balance the extension type of cures abundantly on offer), but perhaps some people interested in languages could comment.




Ralf Grahn




P.S. Speaking about languages, the multilingual blog aggregator Bloggingportal.eu offers you an opportunity to read up on European affairs (EU and Council of Europe) and improve your language skills.



The Euroblogger Vihar Georgiev is a productive writer on EU law and politics. In addition he is one of the relatively few Central and Eastern Europeans visible for blog readers in the old member states, and he does his share of multilingualism by blogging in English on European Union Law and its Bulgarian sister blog. He is also active on Twitter @vihargg.

Daniel Hannan’s quaint love of Europe

Languages other than English may be better suited, if you want to gain a deeper understanding of European integration, I argued yesterday.

Daniel Hannan MEP, while professing a love for Europe, misses few opportunities to punish a good word about the European Union, or even a suggestion for greater interest in European affairs generally.



At least Hannan rushed to diminish the Guardian article by Martin Kettle about being trapped by the Anglosphere, I mentioned in the aftermath of the Eurogoblin blog post on the roots of European integration.



In 2009 the current account of the United Kingdom with regard to the European Union was GBP 277 billion and with New Zealand GBP 1.35 billion, but Hannan seems to imply that his constituents are better served if they stay in their comfort zone, the Anglosphere:

The Internet makes it as easy for my constituents to do business with a company in New Zealand as with a company in Belgium. Easier, indeed, because the Kiwi company shares our common law, accountancy practices, commercial traditions and language.

Hannan prefers to look for “folk of our blood and speech” in the Antipodes, as long as he can bypass Europe.



If Hannan had used German, he might as well have said “Blut und Boden”.

The Internet will finally turn the United Kingdom away from Europe. This will democratise something Hannan leaves unmentioned.

Hannan has produced another quaint declaration of love for Europe.




Ralf Grahn



P.S. Comments relevant to the topic discussed in each Grahnlaw blog post are most welcome. However, the number of spam comments has skyrocketed. This is the sad reason for comment moderation, so it may take a while before your valued comment appears.

It is easier to understand a language than to use it correctly. As Eurobloggers we could and should promote interaction among Europeans across borders and between linguistic communities. Grahnlaw has adopted a multilingual comment policy:

I do my best to read comments in Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish or Swedish, even if the Grahnlaw blog and my possible replies are in English.



Antonia on the Euonym blog (Talking about the EU) tells us that the European Commission in the UK arranges a Day of Multilingual Blogging on 26 September 2010, and the UK Representation has been joined by the multilingual aggregator Bloggingportal.eu and individual Eurobloggers. Join the event page on Facebook, spread the word through social media and personal contacts, begin preparing your blog posts and start learning a new language.

After Eurogoblin: Why is English not the lingua franca of European integration?

The free movement of goods, persons, services and capital has been popular in England, at least when headed towards the European Continent, but the free flow of thoughts less so in the reverse direction, if threatening to enrich Britain.



Have you ever seen a pious goblin? Me neither, until Eurogoblin took the “Finding Europe’s Mojo” motto seriously and posted a short essay (but long blog post) called The Christian Roots of European Unity.



I join Vihar Georgiev (of European Union Law) in his wish that many people will take the time to read the post because it raises important questions and Eurocentric (of The European Citizen) in his assessment: Brilliant post!

For now, I am going to make some remarks on languages and culture(s) in relationship to European integration.




Languages and culture(s)


English has become a lingua franca for commerce, as well as the second language for university and college students all over Europe. There are also great publishers, such as Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press and Palgrave Macmillan, with titles on the history, politics and law of European integration.




However, generally EUSSR myths, disinformation and constant sowing of discord seem to be much more in demand in the United Kingdom than interest in languages and cultures next door. The culture just is not there.

Beyond their mother tongue, many European students are limited to the offer in English, so their world view is formed by what they can access.



The roots and motives of European integration remain almost invisible, if left to British media (mainstream and social), politicians and expressions from an uninformed public.



The British are constantly hammered with myths that the UK was taken into the “Common Market”, without giving the people a choice, and that the EEC has surreptitiously turned into a European Union super-state. First of all, membership in the three European Communities was approved in a referendum in 1975. Secondly, every Treaty since the Treaty of Rome has visibly highlighted the quest for “ever closer union”. With slightly different wording, the idea of a future common destiny was laid out in the 1951 Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community. The Schuman declaration (1950) described the ECSC as “a first step in the federation of Europe”. Thirdly, in the international arena the European Union is almost as weak as Poland under the 'liberum veto', and almost as impossible to reform (multiple unanimity rules).



The “integration by stealth" myth is bollocks, despite daily disinformation. Actually, Britain joined a project of ever deeper integration, but has been in constant breach of the spirit of its commitment. Sir Humphrey’s parody of UK foreign policy in Yes, Minister (on YouTube) contains more than a grain of truth.



Martin Kettle describes the consequences for the UK of this linguistic and cultural “blindness” in The Guardian: Trapped in the Anglosphere, we’ve lost sight of next door.

In addition, one could remark, this tunnel vision affects increasing numbers of young Europeans for whom English is their only foreign language.



These are some of the reasons why the Council of Europe’s annual European Day of Languages on 26 September is important.



Antonia on the Euonym blog (Talking about the EU) tells us that the European Commission in the UK arranges a Day of Multilingual Blogging on 26 September 2010, and the UK Representation has been joined by the multilingual aggregator Bloggingportal.eu and individual Eurobloggers. Join the event page on Facebook, spread the word through social media and personal contacts, begin preparing your blog posts and start learning a new language.

The culture of European integration has often been nurtured with more thought and understanding in other European languages. Especially in the United Kingdom and the other later entrants among the EU member states (including my own, Finland), there is a need to look for sources beyond the confines of England and English.

Why not put free movement of thought on your agenda?




Ralf Grahn



P.S. Comments relevant to the topic discussed in each Grahnlaw blog post are most welcome. However, the number of spam comments has skyrocketed. This is the sad reason for comment moderation, so it may take a while before your valued comment appears.

It is easier to understand a language than to use it correctly. As Eurobloggers we could and should promote interaction among Europeans across borders and between linguistic communities. Grahnlaw has adopted a multilingual comment policy:

I do my best to read comments in Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish or Swedish, even if the Grahnlaw blog and my possible replies are in English.

European financial stabilisation mechanism ─ a ray of transparency

This blog has complained often enough about the dismal state of transparency with regard to the giant actions to shore up the euro currency: the economic rescue package for Greece, the European financial stabilisation mechanism and the Special Purpose Vehicle (some one trillion dollars in all, counting stand-by promises by the IMF).

Only the European financial stabilisation mechanism and supportive decisions by the European Central Bank (ECB) have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU).

I have called this “government by communiqés”.



Here is a link to:



COUNCIL REGULATION (EU) No 407/2010 of 11 May 2010 establishing a European financial stabilisation mechanism; published OJEU 12.5.2010 L 118/1.

Without Commission proposals published as preparatory documents on Eur-Lex, no paper trail has been established.

Because of our frequent complaints, we have a moral obligation to announce that (some three and a half weeks after the fact) the Commission’s proposal for the European financial stabilisation mechanism has now appeared among the most recent preparatory documents on Eur-Lex:



Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION establishing a European financial stabilization mechanism; Brussels, 9.5.2010 COM(2010) 2010 final (8 pages)


In retrospect and formally, we have a paper trail leading back from the published Council Regulation 407/2010 to the (preceding) Commission proposal.

At a first glance, the proposal seems to contain only the bare bones text of the adopted Regulation, so in practical terms it does not seem to add to our substantive knowledge.

I refrained from more detailed analysis.


Cultural imperialism?

At a trivial level, we note the difference in spelling between the proposals “stabilization” and the OJEU’s “stabilisation”, which reminded me of the dogged insistence of my own Microsoft Word programme to change my UK English settings into US English regardless of how often I reset. (In this case we can only guess if the correction was made by the Publications Office.)

US “cultural imperialism” risking the “special relationship”? Maybe the French and the British are going to find some common ground after all.

Something to think about, while we wait for the standards of openness to catch up with the magnitude of events.




Ralf Grahn



Update: The latest COM document published on Eur-Lex is: Brussels, 1.6.2010 COM(2010)242 final. Not only the timing, but the numbering of the Commission proposal mentioned in the blog post is interesting.

My Europe Tweets for even better Europe Days

In #MyEurope we don’t have to be dragged closer to the #EU – we are the union


In #MyEurope the right issues are solved at the right level - #EU or national


In #MyEurope #EU citizens have full political rights


In #MyEurope #EuropeDay is an #EU wide public holiday


#MyEurope acts as one #EU internationally


In #MyEurope we defend our currency and territory together


In #MyEurope we have the most modern Bill of Rights (Charter) plus empowerment of #EU citizens


In #MyEurope the internal market becomes a reality


In #MyEurope netizens’ rights are respected


In #MyEurope net censorship proposals are thrown on the scrap heap


In #MyEurope language rights are protected, multilingualism is promoted and everyone learns #English




Ralf Grahn

My Europe Week: EU lingua franca?

If we applied the first past the post system, German would be the sole language of the European Union, being the mother tongue of the greatest proportion of the EU population (18 per cent), although far from an absolute majority (source: Wikipedia).



However, the European Union has wisely opted for both language rights for citizens and supporting actions to promote language learning (multilingualism). These questions, as well as the missed opportunities through dumbing down TV and film soundtracks by dubbing, have been discussed in three previous Grahnlaw My Europe Week blog posts.

Now is the time to look at linguistic matters from a different angle: Is there and should there be a lingua franca in the European Union?



Lingua franca



The Wikipedia article Lingua franca offers us a starting point for discussing a bridge language or a working language for speakers or readers with different mother tongues.

Here is my rough summary based on European political and cultural history:

Having been the language of the Roman Empire, Latin became the language of the Catholic Church, of learning, Courts and diplomacy. It survived as the first language of Western European diplomacy until the 17th century, and beyond that as part of a classical education well as the language of science.

With France at the height of its power, French became the first language of diplomacy, the preferred language of European Courts and of the nobility. (French was probably understood as well at the Court in Saint Petersburg as in France outside the Parisian region.)

Through the British Empire and the later rise of the USA, English has risen to prominence far beyond the confines of Europe. For the first time there is something approaching a world (second) language, if we take all speakers and readers into account.



Wikipedia describes English as the required international language in communications, science, business, aviation, entertainment, radio and diplomacy – crucial areas for global interaction and human progress.

Even if we embrace the EU’s aim to learn at least two foreign languages, should we universally opt for English as one of them?



Two additional questions:

Why do we start teaching children foreign languages so late, long after they have lost most of their ability to learn multiple languages almost effortlessly?

Why do our schools not generally use native speakers as teachers of foreign languages?




My Europe Week



Bloggingportal.eu and My Europe Week are but two small examples of an emerging European public sphere you can join.



Ahead of Europe Day 9 May 2010: Share your Europe.




Ralf Grahn

Finland: Government Report on EU Policy (now in English)

When the Government of Finland published its Report on EU policy on 8 April 2009, it promised that an English version would be made available later (in addition to the Finnish and Swedish texts published initially).

The English version has now been published, and it is available for free.

The Government Report on EU Policy (Prime Minister’s Office Publications | 20/2009; 44 pages) has been given three sub-headings:

An empowered Union in the world

An empowered citizen in the Union

An influential Finland in Europe




The abstract offers the following descrpiton of the publication:


Abstract

The Government Report on EU Policy analyses the development of the European Union and the significance of EU membership to Finland. The report also lays down basic principles and key objectives for Finland’s EU policy and considers ways to develop the exercise of influence in the EU. Finland’s priorities in the European Union are related to a Europe of citizens, the economic success of Europe and the EU’s role as a prominent global actor.

Finland’s EU policy is based on constructive exercise of influence. The present report will serve as a basis for a future project aimed at developing the coordination of EU issues and tools for exerting influence in the EU.


Ralf Grahn

European elections 2009 in French

Fondation Robert Schuman has launched thematic web pages dedicated to the European elections in June 2009: Élections européennes 2009.



The election pages are in French and they are sorted under four main headings.

• Information about the European Parliament: presentation, powers, composition, publications, quiz.
• The European elections: common rules, national rules, Europarties, national parties.
• Why vote? Introduction, political challenges, participation and electorate, reasons for voting.
• News: lists and programmes, opinion polls, results 2009 to be added.

The election pages appear well organised and informative with the general public in mind. The Robert Schuman Foundation plans to launch pages in English on 15 April 2009.


Ralf Grahn

Consolidated Lisbon Treaty Update

People continue to arrive at this blog looking for a consolidated version of the Treaty of Lisbon.

The last update of the list of consolidated language versions is not that old, published 8 February 2008. But since then a few kind souls have told us about new consolidations, and I have been able to take a look at some complementary sources. Therefore, the time for an update has come.

Let us remember that the European Union has 23 treaty and official languages. The intergovernmental conference itself professed its belief in linguistic diversity, and encouraged the translation of the treaties into regional and minority languages by the member state governments.

As far as I know, with the exception of a leaked French version from the European Parliament, none of the consolidations has been produced by the EU institutions, and only one directly by a government. The rest have been compiled by parliaments, think-tanks, NGOs and private citizens.

The nine or ten languages with consolidated versions published to date cover only parts of our community of 490 million citizens.

Here is an updated list of the language versions found this far (almost all in pdf format), with the languages mentioned in alphabetical order in English:


Danish

The EU information of the Danish parliament communicates actively. Some information is available in English, too. The consolidated Lisbon Treaty is an update.

Folketingets EU-Oplysning: Sammenskrevet udgave af udkastet til Lissabon-traktaten og det gaeldande traktatunderlag; Bind 1 Traktater, Bind 2 Protokoller og erklaeringer;
http://www.eu-oplysningen.dk/emner/reformtraktat/reform/sammenskrevet/


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Dutch

The DJ Nozem blog pointed me towards this new consolidation in Word format, compiled by René Barents and posted on the web site of the daily NRC Handelsblad.

René Barents: Geconsolideerde teksten van het Verdrag betreffende de Europese Unie en het Verdrag betreffende de werking van de Europese Unie zoals gewijzigd door het Verdrag van Lissabon
http://www.nrc.nl/redactie/Europa/verdraglissabon_barents.doc

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English

IIEA

Peadar ó Broin at the Institute of International and European Affairs (Dublin, Ireland) has produced a complete updated consolidation of the amended treaties, including the protocols and annexes, in a format easy to read (pdf).

Treaty on European Union
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union
Annexes to the EU and FEU Treaties
Protocols to the EU and FEU Treaties and, where appropriate, to the EAEC Treaty

Go to http://www.iiea.com


Statewatch

Professor Steve Peers has painstakingly compiled an annotated version consisting of several files for the Statewatch Observatory on the EU Constitution and the Reform Treaty, where similarities and differences between the different reform stages are highlighted. Informative, if you know what you are looking for.

Go to http://www.statewatch.org


FCO

The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office published a complete consolidated version of the Treaty of Lisbon. The ratification debate in the House of Commons is ongoing.

The FCO web pages on Britain in the EU contain both general information on the Reform Treaty and answers on specific questions in addition to the consolidation I just mentioned. For the consolidated version of the Lisbon Treaty, see Command Paper 7310 ‘Consolidated texts of the EU Treaties as amended by the Treaty of Lisbon’:

http://www.fco.gov.uk/Files/kfile/FCO_PDF_CM7310_ConsolidatedTreaties.pdf

The FCO also published Command Paper 7311 ‘A comparative table of the current EC and EU Treaties as amended by the treaty of Lisbon’, which briefly sets out the similarities and differences between the Lisbon Treaty and the other relevant Treaties article by article. Available through the Official Documents web page (as is Cm 7310 mentioned above):

http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/


Markus Walther

Markus Walther, a German student from Leipzig, who produced and published a German consolidated version of the EU Treaty of Lisbon on his web site, posted an English readable consolidated version as well (a preliminary document without protocols and charter).

Go to http://www.mwalther.net/europa/eulaw-lisbon-mwalther.pdf


Open Europe

Open Europe produced a consolidated version with the Treaty of Lisbon and the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe presented side by side for convenient comparison.

Open Europe: The Lisbon Treaty and the European Constitution: A side-by-side comparison; January 2008;

http://www.openeurope.org.uk/research/comparative.pdf


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Finnish

Europe Information, of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, has promised a consolidated version during the spring.

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French

Europa-EU-Audience

The bilingual web site en.europa-eu-audience found two unofficial parallel versions of the amending treaties in French, side by side with the current ones:

http://europa-eu-audience.typepad.com/fr/files/EP_TCE_versus_TFU_Final.doc

http://europa-eu-audience.typepad.com/fr/files/EP_TUE_versus_TUE_final.doc


Assemblée nationale

Assemblée nationale : Rapport d’information sur les modifications apportées par le traité de Lisbonne au traité sur l’Union européenne et au traité instituant la Communauté européenne, par M. Axel Poniatowski ; No 439, 28 novembre 2007 ;

http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/13/pdf/rap-info/i0439.pdf


Later, the French National Assembly has presented a consolidated version of the Treaty of Lisbon side by side with the current treaties. Look for Assemblée Nationale: Rapport d’information déposé par la Délégation de l’Assemblée Nationale pour l’Union Européenne, sur le traité de Lisbonne ; No 562, Tome 2, 8 janvier 2008 :

http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/13/dossiers/traite_lisbonne_due_information.asp


Jean-Luc Sauron

Jean-Luc Sauron: Comprendre le Traité de Lisbonne – Texte consolidé intégral des traités – Explications et commentaires ; Gualino éditeur, Paris 2008 ; 351 p. (Prix 20 €)

The book (pages 141 – 351) contains, in a handy format, consolidated versions of the amended Treaty on European Union, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the Explanations relating to it as well as a modest Index.

In principle, the Treaty texts are based on a version from 30 October 2007, but footnotes take later modifications into account.


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German

Markus Walther

Markus Walther: Das Primärrecht der Europäischen Union; Endfassung, Stand 18. Dezember 2007; (updated after signing)
http://www.mwalther.net/union.html


Klemens H. Fischer

The book “Der Vertrag von Lissabon – Text und Kommentar zum Europäischen Reformvertrag”, by Klemens H. Fischer (Nomos, Stämpfli Verlag and Verlag Österreich) describes the EU reform process and especially the IGC 2007 before it presents consolidated and annotated versions of the TEU and TFEU including protocols and declarations. The accompanying CD-Rom contains background material and three different consolidations of each treaty: with amendments highlighted and footnotes, with amendments highlighted and a neutral consolidated version.


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Hungarian

Two sources reported that the Hungarian government has published a consolidation of the Lisbon Treaty, although was not able to verify it. But I encourage anyone with the linguistic and technical skills to search (and to report back).


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Irish Gaelic

A consolidation in Irish Gaelic has been announced by the Institute of International and European Affairs, Dublin.
Go to http://www.iiea.com

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Portuguese

Peadar ó Broin reported on a version in Portuguese also, prepared by the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs:

http://www.eu2007.pt/NR/rdonlyres/1D96311C-F90D-4E97-B355-DFEA0DD1ABEA/0/TLconsolidado.pdf

Alternatively, you can link to the text via the website for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs:

http://www.mne.gov.pt/

Or you can link via the website for the Portuguese Presidency of 2007:

http://www.eu2007.pt/UE/vPT/Presidencia_Conselho/TratadoLisboa.htm


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Spanish

Real Instituto Elcano offers a complete updated consolidation, with protocols and declarations, in Spanish, compiled by José Martín y Pérez de Nanclares and Mariola Urrea Corres. The former has written an introductory study.

http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org


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Swedish

Sieps – Svenska institutet för europapolitiska studier, the Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies, has published a complete consolidated Swedish language version of the Lisbon Treaty.

Ladda ned Lissabonfördraget - Konsoliderad version av EU:s fördrag (pdf)
Ladda ned Lissabonfördraget – Protokoll mm (pdf)

http://www.sieps.se

The publisher SNS Förlag has announced a handy pocket version of the Treaty of Lisbon in Swedish, to be published 29 February 2008. If the new publication follows the pattern of the previous pocket treaties by SNS, it will contain the bare treaty texts.

http://www.sns.se


***
If the number of languages with consolidated versions was seven or eight (Hungarian attested but not verified) last time the list was published, we now know of 9 or 10 official EU languages covered out of 23.

Are there more consolidated versions the citizens of the European Union should be aware of?

I am most grateful, if you want to share your knowledge on the Treaty of Lisbon with me and other EU citizens: consolidated versions as well as books and resources, such as official documents from the member states’ governments and parliaments, scholarly assessments and popular literature, plus information on the ratification processes.


Ralf Grahn

Lisbon Treaty: Consolidated language versions

There is a continuing stream of people looking for a consolidated version of the Treaty of Lisbon arriving at this blog. Since it may be tricky to find the information in the archive, I decided to compile the essence of a few posts on consolidations in English and other languages.

Please, note that this time I did not have time to check if the links are still working, or if there are pleasant surprises such as updates with protocols etc.

Let us remember that the European Union has 23 official languages. The seven or eight language versions I have noticed to date cover only parts of our community of 490 million citizens.

Here are the language versions found this far (almost all in pdf format), with the languages mentioned in alphabetical order in English:


Danish

The EU information of the Danish parliament communicates actively. Some information is available in English, too. The consolidated Lisbon Treaty is an update.

Folketingets EU-Oplysning: Sammenskrevet udgave af udkastet til Lissabon-traktaten og det gaeldande traktatunderlag; Bind 1 Traktater, Bind 2 Protokoller og erklaeringer;
http://www.eu-oplysningen.dk/emner/reformtraktat/reform/sammenskrevet/


***

Dutch

The DJ Nozem blog pointed me towards this new consolidation in Word format, compiled by René Barents and posted on the web site of the daily NRC Handelsblad.

René Barents: Geconsolideerde teksten van het Verdrag betreffende de Europese Unie en het Verdrag betreffende de werking van de Europese Unie zoals gewijzigd door het Verdrag van Lissabon
http://www.nrc.nl/redactie/Europa/verdraglissabon_barents.doc

***

English

IIEA

Peadar ó Broin at the Institute of International and European Affairs (Dublin, Ireland) has produced a complete consolidation of the amended treaties, including the protocols and annexes, in a format easy to read (pdf).

Treaty on European Union
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union
Annexes to the EU and FEU Treaties
Protocols to the EU and FEU Treaties and, where appropriate, to the EAEC Treaty

Go to http://www.iiea.com


Statewatch

Professor Steve Peers has painstakingly compiled a version consisting of several files for the Statewatch Observatory on the EU Constitution and the Reform Treaty, where similarities and differences between the different reform stages are highlighted

Go to http://www.statewatch.org


FCO

The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office published a consolidated version of the Treaty of Lisbon. The ratification debate in the House of Commons is ongoing.

The FCO web pages on Britain in the EU contain both general information on the Reform Treaty and answers on specific questions in addition to the consolidation I just mentioned. For the consolidated version of the Lisbon Treaty, see Command Paper 7310 ‘Consolidated texts of the EU Treaties as amended by the Treaty of Lisbon’:

http://www.fco.gov.uk/Files/kfile/FCO_PDF_CM7310_ConsolidatedTreaties.pdf

The FCO also published Command Paper 7311 ‘A comparative table of the current EC and EU Treaties as amended by the treaty of Lisbon’, which briefly sets out the similarities and differences between the Lisbon Treaty and the other relevant Treaties article by article. Available through the Official Documents web page (as is Cm 7310 mentioned above):

http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/


Markus Walther

Markus Walther, a German student from Leipzig, who produced and published a German consolidated version of the EU Treaty of Lisbon on his web site, posted an English readable consolidated version as well (a preliminary document without protocols and charter).

Go to http://www.mwalther.net/europa/eulaw-lisbon-mwalther.pdf


Open Europe

Open Europe produced a consolidated version with the Treaty of Lisbon and the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe presented side by side for convenient comparison.

Open Europe: The Lisbon Treaty and the European Constitution: A side-by-side comparison; January 2008;
http://www.openeurope.org.uk/research/comparative.pdf


***

Finnish

Europe Information, of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, has promised a consolidated version during the spring.

***

French

Assemblée nationale : Rapport d’information sur les modifications apportées par le traité de Lisbonne au traité sur l’Union européenne et au traité instituant la Communauté européenne, par M. Axel Poniatowski ; No 439, 28 novembre 2007 ;
http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/13/pdf/rap-info/i0439.pdf

***

Gaelic

A consolidation in Irish Gaelic promised shortly by the Institute of International and European Affairs, Dublin.

***

German

Markus Walther: Das Primärrecht der Europäischen Union; Endfassung, Stand 18. Dezember 2007; (updated after signing)
http://www.mwalther.net/union.html


***

Hungarian

Two sources reported that the Hungarian government has published a consolidation of the Lisbon Treaty, although was not able to verify it. But I encourage anyone with the linguistic and technical skills to search (and to report back).

***

Spanish

Real Instituto Elcano (updated after signing; read the introductory study)
http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org


***

Swedish

Sieps – Svenska institutet för europapolitiska studier

Ladda ned Lissabonfördraget - Konsoliderad version av EU:s fördrag (pdf)
Ladda ned Lissabonfördraget – Protokoll mm (pdf)
http://www.sieps.se


***

I am most grateful, if you want to share your knowledge on the Treaty of Lisbon with me and other EU citizens: consolidated versions as well as books and resources, such as official documents from the member states, popular presentations and scholarly literature, plus information on the ratification processes.


Ralf Grahn

On publishing the Lisbon Treaty

I expect fair play from European governments, at home and when they work jointly through the Council of the European Union. I accept that our political system is based on representative democracy entailing accountability of the elected, and the right of the voters to change government.

Actually, I am more worried when I see political parties, potential holders of office, at election times or otherwise, giving in to populist pressures, be they substantial or procedural: cutting taxes needed for ongoing programmes, or new benefits without corresponding financing, or rash promises of referendums, to name a few.

With representative democracy comes responsibility towards the electorate, what I call fair play: openness and transparency giving the tools for democratic debate, more or less enlightened, but perhaps a bit more sane if the facts and reasons are out in the open.

These are reasons why I have such problems stomaching the conduct of the intergovernmental conference (IGC 2007), which gave us the much needed reform treaty, the Treaty of Lisbon. Modest as it was, the end result meant breaking the deadlock and giving the European project a push forward. But the IGC 2007, and the intergovernmental Council in general, are sores in our democratic system.

Since the European Union, at its present stage of development, is like a house of cards, based on international treaties between states, not a real Constitution founded on the citizens of the EU, unanimity between 27 member state governments plus ratification by all 27 members are hurdles high enough, in my opinion.

Nothing wrong in parliamentary ratification, then, but I understand the frustration of people who have waited for a promised referendum on the Lisbon Treaty in order to wreck the process, and the squirming of politicians who abdicated their responsibility when they promised a dose of ‘direct democracy’ and now have seen where purely domestic referendum debates lead.

***

If the men and women who signed the Treaty of Lisbon are hard-headed enough to pursue the route of parliamentary ratification (wherever possible), they should at least be proud enough to communicate their achievement openly and fully to all the citizens of the European Union.

By producing gibberish, and by refusing to publish consolidated versions of the Treaty of Lisbon, they sent the subliminal message that something was rotten in the contents of what they had agreed on, that it could not withstand the light of day.

Their decision and refusal not only sent the wrong message to the citizens, it was ultimately futile:

Parliamentary ratification would proceed anyway, regardless of what the public could read and debate. Even the minimum published was enough for dedicated think-tanks and individual to reconstruct the treaties as they would stand after entry into force.

But the ill-judged stonewalling of our leaders has had clear negative consequences:

There are, as far as I know, consolidated versions of the Lisbon Treaty out in the open only in a minority of the official languages of the European Union. The Council, if it deigned to discuss openly, might contend that offering no consolidated version entails equal treatment of EU citizens, since all are equally disserved. But what about openness, transparency, accountability, citizenship and decisions taken as closely as possible to the citizens?


The lack of readable texts is filled by myth and rumour. Since debate is inevitable, wouldn’t it be better if it was more closely based on facts, or at least that the ones who read the most preposterous arguments can check the real contents and judge the alleged catastrophic effects themselves?

Consolidating the treaties or deciphering their contents has lead to unnecessary duplication of work. The treaties are the fundamental documents of the European Union. Not only are they the basis for democratic debate, they are tools in daily use all over Europe.

Students who want to know the EU they are going to work in, teachers preparing lectures, researchers who could confront the questions directly, journalists checking their facts, public and private organisations operating in an EU environment and politicians at every level, all of them need accessible and readable versions of the single most important piece of legislation to emanate from the European Union since 2004.

My modest blog sees the demand for consolidated versions of the Lisbon Treaty daily, by the number of visitors who arrive from every corner of as a result of web searches for a readable text and end up here as a result of my numerous postings on the subject. Many of those who lack a readable treaty in their own language, are forced to look for a version in another idiom.

***

My message to the European Council is: Relent. Publish.

***

Not much less sad are the acquiescence of the other EU institutions and the negligible publishing efforts of most of the member states.

Is the general interest subservient to the machinations of governments and is the representation of the citizens of the Union subordinate to the underhand dealings of our national leaders?

The Constitutional Committee of the European Parliament was content to “look forward to” consolidated versions of the Lisbon Treaty they well know aren’t forthcoming presently.

To my knowledge Jens-Peter Bonde is the only member of the European Parliament who actually has done something to publish the contents of the Lisbon Treaty in a readable format.

Even the European parties seem to be part of this conspiracy of silence, at least the four I contacted by e-mail well before Christmas asking why there are no consolidated versions of the Lisbon Treaty. Do they actively want to discourage any illusion that they have the citizens’ interests at heart?

***

As long as the Council refuses to publish readable versions of the Treaty of Lisbon, I rejoice every time I find that some think-tank or individual has assumed the burden of producing and publishing a consolidated version.

If the United Kingdom and the Netherlands were most vocally opposed to publishing consolidated versions of the Lisbon Treaty (as reported by the DJ Nozem blog), it is almost hilarious to know that of at least four consolidations in English, one has been produced by Her Majesty’s government. As far as I know it is the only version published directly by a government.

And as Nanne (DJ Nozem) reported on his blog, René Barents has produced a consolidated Dutch language version of the Treaty of Lisbon, which fills a gap for about 20 million Dutch speaking EU citizens.

***

If an English and a Dutch consolidated version of the Treaty of Lisbon were deemed especially subversive by the governments in question, I find it extremely satisfying that parliamentary pressure (presumably) and private initiative, respectively, has perforated the premeditated policies of ignorance.

Now there is even less reason to uphold the counter-productive ban on publishing the rest of the language versions.


Ralf Grahn


P.S. The Dutch consolidated Treaty of Lisbon has not been mentioned on this blog before. Here are the details:

René Barents: Geconsolideerde teksten van het Verdrag betreffende de Europese Unie en het Verdrag betreffende de werking van de Europese Unie zoals gewijzigd door het Verdrag van Lissabon
http://www.nrc.nl/redactie/Europa/verdraglissabon_barents.doc

DJ Nozem Blog (Nanne)
http://djnozem.blogspot.com

Dear Reader,

Please tell me if you know about a new consolidated version of the Lisbon Treaty, or about official documents, books, research papers and other secondary literature, both popular and scholarly. The web offers us possibilities to share information.
News on the ratification processes is welcome, too.
Help me to help others. Thank you.

British consolidated Lisbon Treaty

The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office has published a consolidated version of the Treaty of Lisbon. The ratification debate in the House of Commons started this week and is expected to continue for four more weeks.

The FCO web pages on Britain in the EU contain both general information on the Reform Treaty and answers on specific questions in addition to the consolidation I just mentioned. For the consolidated version of the Lisbon Treaty, go to:

http://www.fco.gov.uk/Files/kfile/FCO_PDF_CM7310_ConsolidatedTreaties.pdf


***

There are other consolidated English language versions of the Lisbon Treaty. Here is a reminder:

IIEA

Peadar ó Broin at the Institute of International and European Affairs (Dublin, Ireland) has produced a complete consolidation of the amended treaties, including the protocols and annexes, in a format easy to read

Treaty on European Union
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union
Annexes to the EU and FEU Treaties
Protocols to the EU and FEU Treaties and, where appropriate, to the EAEC Treaty

Go to http://www.iiea.com/


Statewatch

Professor Steve Peers has painstakingly compiled a version consisting of several files for the Statewatch Observatory on the EU Constitution and the Reform Treaty, where likenesses and differences between the different reform stages are highlighted

Go to http://www.statewatch.org/


Markus Walther


Markus Walther, a German student who produced and published a German consolidated version of the EU Treaty of Lisbon on his web site, has posted an English readable consolidated version as well (a preliminary document without protocols and charter).

Go to http://www.mwalther.net/europa/eulaw-lisbon-mwalther.pdf


Open Europe

Open Europe has produced a consolidated version with the Treaty of Lisbon and the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe presented side by side for convenient comparison.

Open Europe: The Lisbon Treaty and the European Constitution: A side-by-side comparison; January 2008;

Go to http://www.openeurope.org.uk/research/comparative.pdf


***

I refer those who look for other language versions to my earlier posts.


Ralf Grahn


P.S The FCO has also published Command Paper 7311 A comparative table of the current EC and EU Treaties as amended by the treaty of Lisbon, which briefly sets out the similarities and differences between the Lisbon Treaty and the other relevant Treaties. Available through the Official Documents web page (as is Cm 7310 mentioned above):

http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/

Complete consolidated Lisbon Treaty in English

Yesterday I mentioned the updated and consolidated English language version of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) by Peadar ó Broin, of the Institute of International and European Affairs (Dublin, Ireland).

Now Peadar ó Broin has informed me that the Annexes to the Treaties as well as the Protocols have been added to the Institute’s web site:

http://www.iiea.com/

The Treaties, Annexes and Protocols can be downloaded freely.

I thank Peadar ó Broin for his work and the IIEA for making it possible. They have made life easier for a lot of people.

***

We know that there is going to be a referendum in Ireland on the Treaty of Lisbon. The consolidations serve important domestic needs as a factual basis for public debate. But, at the same time the published consolidated versions offer needed reliable information to all European citizens and others who are able to use texts in English, especially those who have no consolidated version in their own language.

Dear Reader,

I look forward to further information from you on the Treaty of Lisbon: consolidated versions, official documents from the member states, popular presentations and scholarly literature, as well as information on the ratification processes.


Ralf Grahn


P.S. My oxymoron of the day is addressed to the European Council: Informed debate, without information?

Updated Lisbon Treaty in English

Yesterday evening I received a positive message from Peadar ó Broin, of the Institute of International and European Affairs (Dublin, Ireland): An updated consolidated English version of the Treaty of Lisbon has been posted on the web site of the Institute:

http://www.iiea.com

A Gaelic version will be posted, soon. That would bring the number of readable language versions to eight out of 23 official EU languages.

***

In addition, Peadar ó Broin’s message was heartening personally, too. I take the liberty to repeat it here:

“Dear Ralf,
Congratulations on your blog, a much needed information resource! Just to let you know that I have placed an updated edition of the Consolidated Treaties as amended by the Treaty of Lisbon on the website of the Institute of International and European Affairs ( www.iiea.com ). This is the English language edition; an edition in Irish Gaelic will be placed on the website shortly.
The Protocols, Charter and Declarations will also be available on the website in English, hopefully by tomorrow.
Good luck with your research and kind regards,
Peadar ó BROIN”

***
I think that the citizens of the European Union are entitled to readable versions of the Reform Treaty, each in his or her language.

For the convenience of those readers who daily arrive at my blog, while looking for a consolidated version of the Treaty of Lisbon, I am going to present a summary of my findings so far:


Danish

Folketingets EU-Oplysning: Sammenskrevet udgave af udkastet til Lissabon-traktaten og det gaeldande traktatunderlag; Bind 1 Traktater, Bind 2 Protokoller og erklaeringer;
http://www.eu-oplysningen.dk/emner/reformtraktat/reform/sammenskrevet/


English

Institute of International and European Affairs (Ireland) updated version
http://www.iiea.com
Statewatch (professor Steve Peers)
http://www.statewatch.org
Markus Walther
http://www.mwalther.net/europa/eulaw-lisbon-mwalther.pdf


Finnish

Europe Information, of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, has promised a consolidated version during the spring.



French

Assemblée nationale : Rapport d’information sur les modifications apportées par le traité de Lisbonne au traité sur l’Union européenne et au traité instituant la Communauté européenne, par M. Axel Poniatowski ; No 439, 28 novembre 2007 ;
http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/13/pdf/rap-info/i0439.pdf


Gaelic

A consolidation in Irish Gaelic promised shortly by the Institute of International and European Affairs, Dublin.


German

Markus Walther: Das Primärrecht der Europäischen Union; Endfassung, Stand 18. Dezember 2007; (updated after signing)
http://www.mwalther.net/union.html


Hungarian

Two sources have reported that the Hungarian government has published a consolidation of the Lisbon Treaty, although I have not been able to verify it.


Spanish

Real Instituto Elcano (updated after signing; note the introductory study)
http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org


Swedish

Sieps – Svenska institutet för europapolitiska studier: Ladda ned Lissabonfördraget - Konsoliderad version av EU:s fördrag (pdf);
http://www.sieps.se

***

I am most grateful if you want to share your knowledge on the Treaty of Lisbon with me and other EU citizens: consolidated versions, popular or scholarly literature and information on the ratification processes.


Ralf Grahn

Consolidated Lisbon Treaty: Update

Some additional information on the available unofficial but convenient consolidated versions of the Treaty of Lisbon, which I presented in my 10 January 2008 posting ‘Consolidated Treaty of Lisbon’.

The Wikipedia article on the Lisbon Treaty (to be recommended in itself) had noticed that there is a new English consolidation:

Markus Walther, who produced and published a German consolidated version of the EU Treaty of Lisbon on his web site, has posted an English readable consolidated version as well (a preliminary document without tables of content, annexes, protocols or declarations). See:

http://www.mwalther.net/europa/eulaw-lisbon-mwalther.pdf

Until now we have had the reader-friendly English consolidations offered by Statewatch and the Irish Institute of European Affairs.

A commentator mentioned that a Hungarian user-friendly consolidated version exists, and offered me a link (which did not work). Not knowing Hungarian, I was not able to locate the consolidation on my own, but I suppose that those who know the language would be able to find this language version of the consolidated Reform Treaty on the government web pages.

There would now seem be seven readable language versions out of 23 official languages.

***

No deeds contradict Jens-Peter Bonde MEP when he says (19 December 2007, http://www.bonde.com/):

“The intergovernmental conference decided that no institution should be allowed to publish a consolidated version before the treaty had been finally ratified by all 27 member states.”

Therefore, it is up to national governments, NGOs, think-tanks and individuals to make readable treaties available to the citizens of the Union and to spread the word.

I am, as ever, grateful for information on consolidations of the Lisbon Treaty, the ratification processes and literature on the subject.


Ralf Grahn

Consolidated Treaty of Lisbon

Consolidated versions of the EU Treaty of Lisbon are in constant demand. This I have seen daily from the visitors on my blog. These searches come from every corner of Europe, as well as from North America and Asia.

The discussion on Commission Vice-President Margot Wallström’s blog showed that:

“Ralf - We also get a large number of requests from citizens via our Europe Direct service but I’m afraid it’s not for the Commission to produce a consolidated text of the Treaty, it is for the Council.”

“It’s easy enough to find versions of the Treaty on the web, Ralf has references in his blog. They also exist in Danish and Hungarian to my knowledge.”

***

I have been trying to find consolidated versions of the Reform Treaty, and posted my findings on different occasions, but you may have to wade through a number of postings to find them. For your convenience, I am going to make a fresh posting here, collecting the versions I have found:

Danish

Folketingets EU-Oplysning: Sammenskrevet udgave af udkastet til Lissabon-traktaten og det gaeldande traktatunderlag; Bind 1 Traktater, Bind 2 Protokoller og erklaeringer;
http://www.eu-oplysningen.dk/emner/reformtraktat/reform/sammenskrevet/

English

Institute of European Affairs (Ireland) http://www.iiea.com
Statewatch (professor Steve Peers) http://www.statewatch.org

French

Assemblée nationale : Rapport d’information sur les modifications apportées par le traité de Lisbonne au traité sur l’Union européenne et au traité instituant la Communauté européenne, par M. Axel Poniatowski ; No 439, 28 novembre 2007 ;
http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/13/pdf/rap-info/i0439.pdf

German

Markus Walther: Das Primärrecht der Europäischen Union; Endfassung, Stand 18. Dezember 2007; (updated after signing)
http://www.mwalther.net/union.html

Spanish

Real Instituto Elcano (updated after signing)
http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org

Swedish

Sieps – Svenska institutet för europapolitiska studier: Ladda ned Lissabonfördraget - Konsoliderad version av EU:s fördrag (pdf); http://www.sieps.se

***

These versions, in Danish, English, French, German, Spanish and Swedish, are the ones I have been able to find.

This makes a total of six languages out of the 23 official languages of the European Union. The Council’s refusal to publish consolidated versions is not only contrary to openness and transparency; EU citizens are not given equal access to readable new Treaties.

I know that Hungary was the first member state to ratify the Treaty of Lisbon, but does anyone have more exact information on the Hungarian consolidated Treaty mentioned by the Administrator on Commissioner Wallström’s blog?

In addition, the Finnish government promised belated consolidations (presumably in Finnish and Swedish) during this spring.

If no other consolidations are found or produced (by actors outside the EU institutions), the rest of the EU citizens have to wait for reader-friendly, consolidated Treaties until the ratification processes are over and the Treaty of Lisbon has entered into force.

***

Dear reader,

If you have additional information, please share it. In addition to consolidated versions, my wish concerns new books on the Lisbon Treaty.


Ralf Grahn


See:

Margot Wallström’s blog: http://blogs.ec.europa.eu/wallstrom/

Consolidated Treaty of Lisbon

People may be for or against, or undecided, but all have a right to readable information on
the Reform Treaty of the European Union, to be named the Treaty of Lisbon.

Quite a number of people seem to be looking for consolidated versions, with the new Treaties inserted into the existing ones. Some might even be ready to base their opinions on facts.

Therefore, I am going to repeat information which can be found in different blog postings since the middle of October.

The official, reader-unfriendly version of the Treaty of Lisbon consists of two documents of the intergovernmental conference (IGC 2007), dated 3 December 2007: the Final Act (CIG 15/07) and the Treaty of Lisbon amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community (CIG 14/07), posted on the web site of the Council.

The intergovernmental conference 2007 has accomplished its task. The signing ceremony takes place in Lisbon on 13 December 2007.

The official text is hard to read, since it consists of amendments. In order to see the Treaties as a whole, you need to compare with the existing Treaties.

***

The citizens of the European Union need reader-friendly, or at least a little bit less unreadable, versions of the new Treaties. In a Union in which decisions are taken as openly as possible and as closely as possible to the citizen (Article 1, paragraph 2, of both the present and the amended EU Treaty) and which observes the principle of the equality of its citizens, who shall receive equal attention from its institutions, bodies, offices and agencies (Article 8 of the amended EU Treaty), consolidated versions of the Treaty of Lisbon should be available to every citizen in his or her language.

Until now, the institutions of the European Union or the governments of the Member States have not made consolidations available. Luckily, other bodies have published consolidated versions, in four of the 23 official languages of the EU.

The Irish Institute of European Affairs (IIEA) and professor Steve Peers (Statewatch Observatory on the Constitution/Reform Treaty) have published consolidations in English. The French National Assembly (Assemblée nationale) has produced a French version and the think-tank Real Instituto Elcano a Spanish one.

The web addresses are:

http://www.iiea.com English
http://www.statewatch.org English
http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr French
http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org Spanish

Are there other consolidations, which I have not noticed, yet? Are there plans for other language versions?

I am grateful for information you might have.


Ralf Grahn

Consolidated EU Reform Treaty

Thanks to the IEE institute (Institut d’Études Européennes) of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) we now have consolidated (up-to-date) versions of the draft Reform Treaties of the European Union. They facilitate our reading of the new texts since we do not have to compare every modification by the legal experts with the existing treaties.

There is no date in the texts, but they seem to incorporate all the changes the Foreign Ministers and the Heads of State or Government discuss this week.

Both the amending EU treaty and the treaty on the functioning of the EU (old EC treaty) are available in French.

The amending EU treaty can already be found in English.

The new treaties are never going to be easy to read or comprehend, but the consolidated versions make the task somewhat easier, especially since the amendments have been marked in red type.

The consolidated versions are, of course, unofficial, but still very handy for those who are interested to see for themselves.



Ralf Grahn


Source:

IEE – ULB: http://www.iee-ulb.eu/ => Research => Publications