Immaculate conception of the European Council 4 February 2011

Ahead of the European Council ”summit” on Friday, 4 February 2011, we looked at the preparatory General Affairs Council (GAC) in the blog post: An energetic and innovative European Council? (29 January 2011).

Yesterday the foreign ministers and the ministers for Europe representing the EU member states laboured to bring us the following conclusions, currently available only in English:

3064th Council meeting General Affairs; Brussels, 31 January 2011 (asiakirja 5640/11)

(I have published some general GAC remarks in Finnish.)


Ensuring follow-up

According to Article 16(6) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), the General Affairs Council shall ensure the follow-up of meetings of the meetings of the European Council...

Yesterday's GAC left us with this memorable, elegant and enlightening sentence concerning the follow-up to the December 2010 meeting (page 8):

The Council took stock of the follow-up being given to the European Council's meeting on 16 and 17 December.

No need to burden the public with any explanations, clarifications, document references or links to relevant documents.

St Matthew knew: Neither cast ye your pearls before swine.

***

Just in passing, let it be known that the Council has provided us with an additional opportunity to ascertain the decisions to be followed in the first place. They have published, in English:

The European Council in 2010 (about 46 pages)

In the introductory part, president Herman Van Rompuy discusses the work of the European Council in 2010. The second part contains the conclusions of the six meetings in 2010, all conveniently in one place. The conclusions of the December meeting duly begin on page 42 for us to read.

The publication is available in Dutch, French and German as well.

Readers of other languages still find the conclusions on the web pages of the (European) Council, as before.


Preparation

Coordination and preparation are the GAC tasks indicated first in Article 16(6) TEU, so let us turn to the preparatory contribution yesterday: Preparation of the February meeting.

The first sentence of the conclusions of the General Affairs Council admirably bring us 'in medias res' (page 8):

The Council examined the draft conclusions for the European Council meeting to be held in Brussels on 4 February.

If we fast-forward to the concluding sentence, leaving out the chaff in between, we may marvel at:

Revised draft conclusions will be submitted to the European Council.

Despite drawing inspiration from the cultural, religious and humanist inheritance of Europe, this is probably as close as you ever get to the miracle of transubstantiation or the immaculate conception in temporal affairs. Miraculously the immaterial draft conclusions turn into revised draft conclusions, unseen by the 'profanum vulgus', untouched by any agent.

Never mind that you would expect the proposals going in to the most important official institution of the European Union to be public knowledge and openly discussed well before the decisions, even guidelines, affecting 501 million people are taken.

Evidently, good governance does not start at the top.

As long as the European Council acts like a summit, the General Affairs Council remains a joke.



Ralf Grahn



P.S. Blenderlaw is the enjoyable legal blog with a transnational twist, written by Caronline Bradley.


P.S. 2: I am happy if you want to read my Euroblogs. The internal market and the Europe 2020 strategy (EU2020 flagship initiatives) are going to be among the main themes, upstream on Grahnlaw (in English), Grahnblawg (in Swedish) and Eurooppaoikeus (in Finnish), as well as downstream on the trilingual Grahnlaw Suomi Finland. We can get acquainted on Facebook and on Twitter @RalfGrahn, too.

EU 2020 website and Youth on the move: Nul points !

The Europe 2020 strategy is the raison d’être of the Barroso II Commission, so preparation and communication of the seven flagship initiatives must be highly visible, and they have to go hand in hand.

Is this theory or practice?



Youth and education



In the blog entry Europe 2020 flagship initiative Youth on the move (EU Commission Work Programme 2010) we saw the high rates of youth unemployment, indicating that the European labour markets are dysfunctional, despite the demographic challenges of ageing populations. The Commission Work Programme (CWP) 2010 promises the Europe 2020 flagship initiative Youth on the move in the third quarter of 2010, and a communication on Youth and Employment has been promised in the fourth quarter.



Europe 2020 website

Given the defining importance of the Europe 2020 strategy for the whole term of the Barroso II Commission, in terms of aims, action, positioning and communication, the central Europe 2020 website should be a vibrant well of constantly updated information, well structured and thematically arranged.



Exaggerating ever so slightly, we called the central Europe 2020 website “dead as the dodo”, when we looked at it 28 June 2010.



This is the evidence today: According to the Europe 2020 web page, it was last updated 6 May 2010. This cannot be true, because the text says that the Europe 2020 strategy “will be formally adopted in 17 June 2010”. The date is actually a link to the conclusions adopted (not to be adopted) by the European Council on that day (without saying so; document EUCO 13/10).

The links in the margin look even more abandoned. The latest news link is from 26 March, and the most recent documents from 6 May 2010.

Nothing has happened in almost two weeks, since our last look.

Forsaken, deserted ... If this is the level of care and commitment shown to the defining strategy (raison d’être) of the current Commission, what can we expect in other policy areas?

Naturally, we gained no new knowledge about the preparation of the flagship initiative Youth on the move, either.

Commission europénne, nul points !




Ralf Grahn

Europe 2020 strategy: Innovation Union - preparation and communication

There is a link to the European Council’s conclusions [to be adopted] 17 June 2010, but otherwise the European Commission’s central website for the Europe 2020 strategy for jobs and growth is still as dead as the dodo.



While waiting for the Commission, the Council, the European Parliament and the member states to start communicating the Europe 2020 strategy in earnest, we continue looking for elements of the flagship initiative Innovation Union.



We already looked at Innovation Union in the light of the Commission’s communication on the Europe 2020 strategy: COM(2010) 2020 final.



With China about to close the innovation performance gap in ten years, one would expect the European leaders to be shaken as well as stirred into action. The Commission’s Work Programme (CWP) for 2010, and especially the so called Roadmap published by the Impact Assessment Board (IAB) on the initiative Research and Innovation Plan added useful elements to our knowledge.



DG Enterprise and Industry



The home page of the European Commission’s Directorate-General Enterprise and Industry offers two links to the Europe 2020 strategy.



The text link takes us to a page with a general description, which mentions the European Council 26 March 2010. It offers a further link to the central Europe 2020 web page we already gave a preliminary death certificate.



The graphic link of DG Enterprise takes us directly to the central Europe 2020 web page, but naturally the contents remain the same.



Do we fare any better if we look under Innovation policies? Future EU innovation policies catches our eye.

Yes, we do find materials on preceding public consultations held in 2009, but nothing really new or concrete about the European plan for innovation (Innovation Union) being prepared for presentation in the autumn 2010.



The website of commissioner Antonio Tajani does not add anything on EU2020.

DG Enterprise and Industry should start communicating comprehensively on the preparation of the flagship initiative Innovation Union.



DG Research




The home page of DG Research tells us that commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn arranged a webcast for EU citizens about Innovation Union 17 June 2010. She discussed with participants in an open and convincing manner, and she has promised to post answers to frequently asked questions she was unable to reply to during the webcast.



There is also a frequently updated Innovation Union Facebook page and a group with 318 members.

This is a good start, and the use of interactive communication and social media is promising.



Still, the Press centre and the Facebook group offer mainly disparate news “shrapnel”. The next step could be to create well structured thematic pages for Innovation Union and to contribute to turning the central Europe 2020 web page into a constantly updated website.




Ralf Grahn

EU General Affairs Council 7 December 2009

The Finnish government has published a customary press release with general information about an upcoming meeting of the Council of the European Union, this time the General Affairs Council on Monday, 7 December 2009. In addition to the Finnish and Swedish versions, there is one in English:


Government Communications Unit
Ministry for Foreign Affairs
4.12.2009 12.46



General Affairs Council to discuss European Council preparations and EU enlargement

The EU General Affairs Council (GAC) will meet in Brussels on Monday 7 December. Main themes of the meeting include preparations for the European Council, and EU enlargement. Minister of Migration and European Affairs Astrid Thors and Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb will represent Finland at the meeting.

With the Treaty of Lisbon, the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council was divided into two, forming the General Affairs Council and the Foreign Affairs Council. In accordance with the division of duties in the Government, the Minister of European Affairs and, in issues pertaining to enlargement, the Foreign Minister will represent Finland at the General Affairs Council.

Following the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the main function of the General Affairs Council is to prepare for European Council meetings. The December European Council is to focus on the Copenhagen conference on climate change. Finland aims at reaching an ambitious and comprehensive agreement in Copenhagen. The EU should decide on a clear negotiating mandate and establish a schedule that aims, as far as possible, at finalising a legally binding agreement within six months. It is particularly important to reach agreement on short-term climate finance. EU Heads of State or Government will also consider the issue of adopting a more stringent emission reduction target, and discuss the economic, financial and employment situation. The previous General Affairs Council made preparations for the European Council on further measures with regard to the Lisbon Strategy and on the Sustainable Development Strategy.

The Council is to adopt conclusions on EU membership candidates and the Western Balkan countries. In October, the Commission released its annual enlargement package including an enlargement strategy along with progress reports on candidate countries and potential candidate countries. Enlargement has strengthened democracy and promoted the development of rule of law in Europe. It has also increased the Union’s capabilities to respond to global challenges. Finland supports the conclusions of the Commission’s enlargement package and highlights the importance of keeping to the enlargement consensus adopted in 2006. Finland also supports the Commission's proposal to open accession negotiations with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

The Ministers will be presented with the 18-month programme of the Council, prepared by Spain, Belgium and Hungary. The Union’s key challenges include further measures with regard to the Lisbon Strategy, the reform of financial supervision, the social agenda, and the implementation of the climate and energy package and that of the Stockholm Programme.

Further information: Sanna Ek, Adviser, EU Affairs, Government Secretariat for EU Affairs, tel. +358 9 1602 2150 and Juha Ottman, Director, Unit for EU Enlargement and Western Balkans, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 9 1605 5784


Swedish Presidency and Council


The web page of the Swedish presidency still bears the headline General Affairs and External Relations. It offers a presentation of the main issues at the General Affairs Council.


There are also links to the preliminary agenda of the GAC meeting and as well as a brief background note on the main issues.

***

Under the Lisbon Treaty, the General Affairs Council is the coordinating body ahead of European Council meetings, and the one ensure follow-up of decisions taken there. The Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) is the other Council configuration directly mentioned in the treaty.



Ralf Grahn



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European External Action Service (EEAS) - Preparatory work

The European External Action Service (EEAS) will work in cooperation with the diplomatic services of the member states and it will comprise officials from relevant departments of the General Secretariat of the Council and of the Commission as well as staff seconded from national diplomatic services of the member states.

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Establishment

The EEAS is one of the important Lisby Treaty reforms.

The organisation and functioning of the European External Action Service will be established by a Council decision, on a proposal from the High Representative after consulting the European Parliament and after obtaining the consent of the Commission.

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Preparation

According to Lisbon Treaty Declaration (No 15) on Article 27 of the Treaty on European Union stated that as soon as the Treaty of Lisbon is signed, the Secretary-General of the Council, High Representative for the common foreign and security policy, the Commission and the Member States should begin preparatory work on the European External Action Service.


As usual, the Council has been less than zealous in informing the public on the preparatory work.

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Benelux leak?



The only breach has been the memorandum of the Benelux countries (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg), which has found its way into the public domain, for instance Jamie Smyth’s blog post “The Benelux strikes back against Blair” (EUobserver, 6 October 2009).



Nicolas Gros-Verheyde presents the Benelux position on the EEAS in “L’avis du Benelux sur le futur service européen d’action extérieure” (Bruxelles2, 8 October 2009), with a link to the whole document and discussion about other aspects of the memo in other blog posts.




Patrice Cardot also presents the memorandum and comments on it in “Mise en oeuvre du traité de Lisbonne : le point de vue du Bénélux” (Regards citoyens, 8 October 2009). There is a link to the document.


I did not find the Benelux position paper on any official web site, so it has probably been leaked. Positive for the free flow of information, but lower marks for openness as a fundamental principle of policy making.


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European Parliament

Grosso modo, the European Parliament is the only EU institution which has prepared its opinions about Lisbon Treaty implementation in public. A number of resolutions were prepared and voted last spring (and presented on this blog).

Yesterday’s Grahnlaw blog post ‘EU “diplomatic service”: All shock and horror?’ mentioned the Draft report on the institutional aspects of setting up the European External Action Service (Committee on Constitutional Affairs AFCO, 23 September 2009, rapporteur: Elmar Brok).



The Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) is preparing an opinion for AFCO: Draft opinion on the institutional aspects of setting up the European External Action Service (25 September 2009, rapporteur: Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck).



***


The Council and the Commission have done little to inform the public about preparatory work for the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty. When the democratic approval has been attained in 27 EU member states, there are few excuses left for leaving the public in the dark.

Openness is the first test of the Lisbon Treaty.

Where are the documents?

Where are the candidates?



Ralf Grahn

Directory of European Community legislation in preparation

A new service of the European Union’s legal portal Eur-Lex is its Directory of European Community legislation in preparation.

(Although the European Union has practically replaced the term European Community except in legal documents, it is perhaps in order to refer to the “first pillar” EC in this context.)




The Directory is a helpful tool for those, who want to find the pending legislative proposals in any of twenty policy areas. It is then possible to narrow the search to a sub-area. Here is how Eur-Lex describes the tool and the main structure of the Directory:


Directory of Community legislation in preparation
You can print out the chapter of the Directory of Community legislation in preparation that you are interested in from the PDF files for each chapter. The larger chapters have been split into several PDF files.


• 01 General, financial and institutional matters (number of acts: 59)
• 02 Customs Union and free movement of goods (number of acts: 40)
• 03 Agriculture (number of acts: 110)
• 04 Fisheries (number of acts: 40)
• 05 Freedom of movement for workers and social policy (number of acts: 39)
• 06 Right of establishment and freedom to provide services (number of acts: 20)
• 07 Transport policy (number of acts: 91)
• 08 Competition policy (number of acts: 5)
• 09 Taxation (number of acts: 42)
• 10 Economic and monetary policy and free movement of capital (number of acts: 27)
• 11 External relations (number of acts: 412)
• 12 Energy (number of acts: 30)
• 13 Industrial policy and internal market (number of acts: 118)
• 14 Regional policy and coordination of structural instruments (number of acts: 17)
• 15 Environment, consumers and health protection (number of acts: 138)
• 16 Science, information, education and culture (number of acts: 24)
• 17 Law relating to undertakings (number of acts: 22)
• 18 Common Foreign and Security Policy (number of acts: 11)
• 19 Area of freedom, security and justice (number of acts: 114)
• 20 People's Europe (number of acts: 2)



Ralf Grahn

EU Lisbon Treaty: National parliaments (Sweden)

According to the Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), as amended by the Treaty of Lisbon, the limits of EU competences are governed by the principle of conferral. The use of EU competences is governed by the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality.

Two protocols are relevant for the national parliaments:

• Protocol (No 1) on the role of national parliaments in the European Union; and
• Protocol (No 2) on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality.


According to Article 12 TEU, national parliaments contribute actively to the good functioning of the union (OJEU 9.5.2008 C 115):


Article 12 TEU

National Parliaments contribute actively to the good functioning of the Union:

(a) through being informed by the institutions of the Union and having draft legislative acts of the Union forwarded to them in accordance with the Protocol on the role of national Parliaments in the European Union;

(b) by seeing to it that the principle of subsidiarity is respected in accordance with the procedures provided for in the Protocol on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality;

(c) by taking part, within the framework of the area of freedom, security and justice, in the evaluation mechanisms for the implementation of the Union policies in that area, in accordance with Article 70 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and through being involved in the political monitoring of Europol and the evaluation of Eurojust's activities in accordance with Articles 88 and 85 of that Treaty;

(d) by taking part in the revision procedures of the Treaties, in accordance with Article 48 of this Treaty;

(e) by being notified of applications for accession to the Union, in accordance with Article 49 of this Treaty;

(f) by taking part in the inter-parliamentary cooperation between national Parliaments and with the European Parliament, in accordance with the Protocol on the role of national Parliaments in the European Union.



***

Preparation for the Lisbon Treaty

The national parliaments in 26 EU member states have approved the Treaty of Lisbon. Politically Ireland has secured that every member state keeps a member of the Commission, if the Lisbon Treaty enters into force, as well as assurances on sensitive issues.

On the basis of this “better deal”, the Irish government will propose a new referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, when the details of the guarantees have been finalised at the European Council 18 to 19 June 2009.

This blog has called for the EU institutions to prepare the needed acts and decisions for the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty in an open, transparent and interactive manner. Only the European Parliament has acted openly, while the Council and the Commission have either failed to carry on preparatory work or they have kept EU citizens in the dark.

But the possible entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty has implications for national parliaments, as well.

If the Irish vote Yes in the second referendum and the other loose ends are tied up (formal ratification by the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany), the reform treaty enters into force quickly, at the beginning of the month following the deposition of the last ratification instrument. (In addition, approval or rejection in the Åland Islands affects the geographical scope of the reform treaty.)

At the national level, too, the needed preparatory measures have to be prepared in advance.


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Sweden

The Riksdag Board of the Swedish Parliament (riksdagsstyrelsen) has produced a legislative proposal on the application of the Treaty of Lisbon in the Swedish Parliament (Riksdag): Tillämpningen av Lissabonfördraget i riksdagen 2008/09:URF2.



All the consequences of the Lisbon Treaty are studied, including the anticipated increase in the work-load of the Parliament, and the 124 page study contains proposed amendments to the Riksdag Act (riksdagsordningen).

Without going into details here, the proposals are interesting for national parliaments in other EU member states and for researchers.



Ralf Grahn

Preparing for the Lisbon Treaty

It is hard to distinguish which anti-intellectual and anti-European arguments are most absurd, but one of the more insidious ones is the alleged anti-democratic nature of preparation for the possible entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon.

The Lisbon Treaty was agreed between 27 governments, and it has been approved by 26 national parliaments. The Irish government is going to arrange a second referendum, based on the guarantees it has received from its European partners.

The treaty is dead only for those who despise representative democracy (although it takes place at the national instead of the European level).

The Lisbon Treaty enters into force on the first day of the month following the deposition of the last ratification instrument.

In other words, if the institutions wait until the deposition of the last ratification, there is no chance for them to prepare the necessary decisions to put the Lisbon Treaty into practice in time.

It would be irresponsible to wait, but the Council and the Commission have been cowardly enough to stop preparatory work, at least in public.

This is a loss for open and transparent debate about the implementing issues.

The European Parliament has shown more sense of responsibility, laying down its views in votes on five reports last week.

***

The protracted ratification processes have already caused problems with regard to the nomination of the Commission President and the Commissioners as well as the number of MEPs to be elected.

Some writers have attacked the training of the European External Action Service (EEAS) ahead of the possible entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty. Do they prefer an incoherent European Union in world affairs, with untrained representatives and less security for EU citizens?

Contrary to what the critics say, the EU institutions and the member states should not only take responsibility, but act and argue openly.

They should clearly state the near total ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, and they should show that they are ready to launch the treaty, if it is finally improved.

Instead of hiding their heads in the sand, they should report on preparatory work, and publish draft proposals, consulting with experts, NGOs and the public.

If EU 1.0 diplomats and technocrats do not grasp the nettle of their own accord, EU citizens should remind them of their duties.


Ralf Grahn

Aland Islands: Regional voice in EU affairs

For a small region, the Aland Islands have a strong voice in national EU affairs. Now the Finnish Government proposes enhancements, which may be of interest ─ apprehension or hope ─ to other central governments and regions in Europe.

***

A few days ago we wrote about the slow procedure concerning the approval of the EU Treaty of Lisbon in Aland Islands: Lisbon Treaty (21 April 2009).



***

Latest proposals

Preparation of EU affairs

The Government of Finland has now approved guidelines on how the small province (population 27,500) can partake in the preparation of EU affairs. Åland already is involved in the 30 something ministerial sections covering all EU affairs and in the EU committee consisting of the highest civil servants where they are brought together before being passed on to the Government’s EU committee, which coordinates EU affairs. Åland can also make its case directly to the ministers in the Government’s EU committee.

(All EU proposals and Council meetings are scrutinised by the Parliament – especially the Grand Committee - and Åland is represented there too, but that is another story.)

The aim of new guidelines is to find common positions between Finland (the member state) and Åland on all issues of interest to the region. If this proves to be impossible, the position of Åland will be communicated to the EU institutions in addition to Finland’s official view.

Infringement cases

Infringement cases are problematic, because Finland is responsible for implementing Community legislation in relation to the European Union. But if the issue at hand is part of the areas subject to autonomous legislation or administration by the regional authorities, there is little the member state can do, if Åland fails to fulfil an obligation under the treaty. (Politically Åland has undertaken to finance the penalty payments in such cases.)

The Government proposes amendments to the Act on the Autonomy of Åland. The amendments require approval by both the Parliament of Finland and the Åland Parliament. Their aim is to guarantee that Åland can make its case in Finland’s reply to the Commission and to the Court of Justice. Åland can appear in oral proceedings and the region can propose that Finland brings a matter before the Court of Justice.

The Government’s press release in Finnish and in Swedish (23 April 2009).



The detailed guidelines are available in Finnish (4 pages), but I did not find them in Swedish (yet?).



The Government bill will probably be formally sent to the Parliament after the presidential session later today. For those who are interested in the details, but not pressed for time, the text of the proposal will be found in Finnish and Swedish on the legislative information portal Finlex in about a week.


Ralf Grahn

Lisbon Treaty & European Council: President’s job

In these troubled times, new job openings are scarce. Have you thought about becoming President of the European Council?

If the EU Treaty of Lisbon enters into force, the heads of state or government of the member states are going to fill a new post, that of the President of the European Council. We look at the official job description and look at how openly our leaders have prepared the position and the perks.



***

Lisbon Treaty

Article 15(6) of the amended Treaty on European Union describes the tasks of the new President (OJEU 9.5.2008 C 115/23):


Article 15(6) TEU

6. The President of the European Council:

(a) shall chair it and drive forward its work;

(b) shall ensure the preparation and continuity of the work of the European Council in cooperation with the President of the Commission, and on the basis of the work of the General Affairs Council;

(c) shall endeavour to facilitate cohesion and consensus within the European Council;

(d) shall present a report to the European Parliament after each of the meetings of the European Council.

The President of the European Council shall, at his level and in that capacity, ensure the external representation of the Union on issues concerning its common foreign and security policy, without prejudice to the powers of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

The President of the European Council shall not hold a national office.



***

Liaisons

In addition, as President of the European Council you would have to liaise with the new General Affairs Council (GAC) and the Commission:


Article 16(6) TEU, second subparagraph

The General Affairs Council shall ensure consistency in the work of the different Council configurations. It shall prepare and ensure the follow-up to meetings of the European Council, in liaison with the President of the European Council and the Commission.


***

Emergency meetings

The leisurely pace of four annual meetings may be broken if developments on the international scene turn for the worse. You may have to convene an extra meeting:


Article 26(1) TEU, second subparagraph

If international developments so require, the President of the European Council shall convene an extraordinary meeting of the European Council in order to define the strategic lines of the Union's policy in the face of such developments.


***

Convention

If the European Council decides to call a Convention to examine treaty amendments, your job is to send the invitations:


Article 48(3) TEU, in part

3. If the European Council, after consulting the European Parliament and the Commission, adopts by a simple majority a decision in favour of examining the proposed amendments, the President of the European Council shall convene a Convention composed of representatives of the national Parliaments, of the Heads of State or Government of the Member States, of the European Parliament and of the Commission. ---


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Package deal

If you apply for this prestigious job, to become a member of the European Council (without a vote), you will have to convince at least a qualified majority of the current members that you are their man or woman.

But besides your personal qualities, you will have to fit into a larger pattern. In Declaration 6 the heads of state or government (intergovernmental conference) agreed on the following guidance for the (s)election of the President of the European Council. Note that political affiliation and gender are not mentioned among the relevant factors of diversity (OJEU 9.5.2008 C 115/338):



6. Declaration on Article 15(5) and (6), Article 17(6) and (7) and Article 18 of the Treaty on European Union

In choosing the persons called upon to hold the offices of President of the European Council, President of the Commission and High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, due account is to be taken of the need to respect the geographical and demographic diversity of the Union and its Member States.


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Taking over

When you take over the reins, you may need to know how your buddies have planned the transition:


8. Declaration on practical measures to be taken upon the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon as regards the Presidency of the European Council and of the Foreign Affairs Council

In the event that the Treaty of Lisbon enters into force later than 1 January 2009, the Conference requests the competent authorities of the Member State holding the six-monthly Presidency of the Council at that time, on the one hand, and the person elected President of the European Council and the person appointed High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, on the other hand, to take the necessary specific measures, in consultation with the following six-monthly Presidency, to allow an efficient handover of the material and organisational aspects of the Presidency of the European Council and of the Foreign Affairs Council.


***


Salary and perks

According to Article 243 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), your salary and perks will be decided by your peers:


Article 243 TFEU
(ex Article 210 TEC)

The Council shall determine the salaries, allowances and pensions of the President of the European Council, the President of the Commission, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Members of the Commission, the Presidents, Members and Registrars of the Court of Justice of the European Union, and the Secretary-General of the Council. It shall also
determine any payment to be made instead of remuneration.


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Preparatory work: Start

You might be interested in how the implementation of the Treaty of Lisbon is moving along. Your first source of information is naturally what the European Council has decided in public. First you encounter the initial decision right after the signing of the treaty. The Presidency Conclusions reassuringly tell you that on 14 December 2007, the European Council agreed that it will take stock of progress on necessary preparatory work when appropriate so as to ensure the full functioning of the Treaty as soon as it enters into force. It underlines the comprehensive nature of this exercise and the consequent need for a single framework as well as political guidance at the highest level. Technical work will start in Brussels in January on the basis of a work programme which will be presented under the authority of the incoming President of the European Council [Slovenia].


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Follow-up

The following tidbits are offered to you and the rest of the public half a year later, in the 13 June 2008 report by the Slovenian Council Presidency to the 18 and 19 June 2008 European Council (document 10650/08). This is what it has to say about your coming job with regard to the needed new Rules of Procedure of the European Council:

Considerable progress was made on technical aspects of the European Council's Rules of Procedure; some other issues, related in particular to the preparation of European Council meetings, will require further work. A preliminary exchange of views focussed on the respective roles of those involved in the preparation of European Council meetings. There was broad support for the need for all of them to work closely together. A significant number of delegations underlined the need to ensure an adequate role in European Council meetings for the Head of State or Government of the Member State holding the Council presidency. These issues will require further work.


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Up-to-date information

Having seen that further work is needed, you want fresh information on progress.

The December 2008 meeting of the European Council was mainly interested in Ireland. It also tried to envision the transition to the Lisbon Treaty with regard to the numbers of MEPs and Commissioners, as well as the nomination of the President of the Commission and the rest of the Commission.

It did, however, without preceding public discussion, offer a glimpse of its thoughts about the preparation of the decisions concerning your new job and other matters of interest (document 17271/1/08 REV 1 Annex 1). As you see, you are to be consulted, if elected:

Declaration of the European Council

Treaty of Lisbon – Transitional measures concerning the Presidency of the European Council and the Presidency of the Foreign Affairs Council

In the event that the Treaty of Lisbon enters into force at a date when a six-monthly Presidency of the Council has already begun, the European Council agrees that, as a matter of transition, in order to take into account the preparatory work and ensure harmonious continuity of work:

− the competent authorities of the Member State holding the six-monthly Presidency of the Council at that time will continue to chair all the remaining meetings of the Council and the European Council, as well as third-country meetings, until the end of the period of office;

− the following six-monthly Presidency of the Council will be in charge of taking the necessary specific measures relating to the organisational and material aspects of the Presidency of the European Council and of the Foreign Affairs Council during its period of office, in conformity with the Treaty. On these issues, close consultation will be established between this Presidency and the President (elect) of the European Council and the High Representative (designate) of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.


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Other matters

You may be interested in the nomination procedure, the public debate, the weighing of your merits and the decision making, before you are consulted about the organisational and material aspects of your office as President of the European Council.

Sorry, the best public information you are able to lay your hands on is yesterday’s response from Europe Direct, available with comments on the Grahnlaw blog (Lisbon Treaty implementation: State of play).

Why worry? If you don’t belong to the charmed circle readily informed about the real state of affairs, you have no chance of getting the job.



Ralf Grahn

Lisbon Treaty implementation: State of play

This is the information Europe Direct has provided today with regard to my questions to the Council and the Commission on preparatory work for the implementation of the Treaty of Lisbon:


“In reply to your questions please note the following information provided by the Secretariat General of the European Commission:


a) Preparatory work on the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty


- Council & European Council

" On 13 June 2008, the Slovenian Presidency circulated a progress report on preparatory work in view of the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty. This report gives an overview of the work undertaken under the chairmanship of the Slovenian Presidency, recalling that no decision can be taken whilst the ratification process is still underway.

" The European Council took note of this progress report, which briefly summarises discussions of Permanent Representatives on a number of implementation issues: citizens' initiative, data protection, advocates-general, consultative panel for nomination of judges, delegated and implementing acts, transition to co-decision, committee structures in the area of Justice and Home Affairs, budget for 2009 and budget procedure, inter-institutional programming, rules of procedure of European Council and Council, European External Action Service, chairmanship of preparatory bodies in the area of external relations, and issues relating to the General Affairs Council.


- European Commission

" The European Commission has been taking part in Coreper/Council discussions on preparatory work. It has also undertaken its own internal reflection on a number of issues, especially where new initiatives of the Commission are required, such as the Citizens' Initiative or the framework regulation on implementing acts. President Barroso has presented the Commission's approach on implementation issues and more particularly institutional and external relations aspects in April 2008.

" The Commission has always paid careful attention to the balance between the need to avoid seeming to anticipate a Treaty still in the process of ratification, and prudent preparation for the scenario of its implementation. After the Irish no-vote, the preparatory work has been out somewhat on hold.


- European Parliament

" The European Parliament has been working on several reports, mainly:

• Dehaene (PPE-DE/BE) report on the impact of the Lisbon Treaty on the development of the institutional balance in the EU
•
• Leinen (PSE/DE) report on the Parliament's new role and responsibilities implementing the Treaty of Lisbon
•
• Brok (PPE-DE/DE) report on the institutional aspects of creating a European service for external action
•
• Brok (PPE-DE/DE) report on the development of the relations between the European Parliament and the national parliaments under the Lisbon Treaty
•
• Guy-Quint (PSE/FR) report on the financial and budgetary aspects of the Lisbon Treaty
•
• Corbett (PSE/UK) report on the general review of the Rules of Procedure
•
• Kaufmann (GUE-NGL/DE) report on the implementation of the European Citizens' initiative
•
• Grabowska (PSE/PL) report on the perspectives for developing the civil dialogue under the Lisbon Treaty
•
• Wielowieyski (ex-Geremek) (ALDE/PL) report on communicating on and gaining the citizens' support for the Treaty of Lisbon
•

" For information on the content of these reports and the state of play, please consult the Website of the European Parliament : http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/public/default_en.htm



b) and c) Coming changes to the Commission's Rules of Procedure and planned interinstitutional agreements

Changes and plans not available for the moment.

We hope the above information will be of help to you.

With kind regards,
EUROPE DIRECT Contact Centre”


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Comments

I am grateful for the reply. A few comments about the substance of the information provided.


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European Council and Council

As we see, no new information has been disclosed about preparations within the European Council and the Council after the Slovenian report to the June 2008 European Council.

These have been presented and discussed on this blog, as have later conclusions and declarations of the European Council concerning limited aspects.

There is no new substance about work in progress.


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Commission

The Commission does not deny discussing and reflecting, but it offers nothing of substance. Is it prudent to exclude public discussion?


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European Parliament

The European Parliament is the only institution, which has shown willingness to prepare its views publicly (but only a few days ago it was reported that the EP is going to put the work on hold). The European Parliament should press ahead in order to adopt resolutions.

The Dehaene, Leinen, Brok (on parliaments) and Corbett reports have been presented on this blog, as well as the Duff report on the European elections.


This blog will gladly turn to the reports on budgetary matters (Guy-Quint and Böge), when it advances to the financial provisions. But they may be of interest to readers before that.


The Kaufmann, Grabowska and Wielowieyski deal with matters, which are of interest to citizens and MEP candidates. These issues may reappear again during our continued progress through the Treaty of Lisbon, although various aspects of these questions have been discussed earlier.


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Rules of Procedure

The Commission gave no information about its Rules of Procedure or planned interinstitutional agreements.

Nothing was mentioned with regard to the Council, which needs to amend its Rules of Procedure, or about the European Council, which needs new ones. Neither were interinstitutional agreements mentioned.


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All in all, with the possible exception of the European Parliament (until a few days ago), the EU institutions seem to more inclined to adopt ‘omertà’ than to encourage public discussion.

Yes, the reply was instructive in that regard.



Ralf Grahn

European Council: Lisbon Treaty implementation

After the spring European Council, how much wiser are we on the implementation of the Treaty of Lisbon and the needed preparatory work?

The Czech Presidency Conclusions (Council document 7880/09) tell us ─ nothing we don’t know ─ about Ireland and the Czech Republic:



Treaty of Lisbon

34. The European Council was informed of the state of play on implementing its conclusions of December 2008 on the Treaty of Lisbon. It will revert to this issue at its June 2009 meeting.

35. As a point of information, the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic reported about the state of ratification of the Lisbon Treaty in the Czech Republic. After the judgment of the Czech Constitutional Court on 26 November 2008, the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament has authorised this ratification on 18 February 2009 and the Senate will debate this subject in the coming weeks.



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What about preparation and progress on the rest of the questions?


Can we trust the Czech government and Senate even to ratify the Lisbon Treaty?


Are there real grounds for the optimism of Hans-Gert Pöttering, the President of the European Parliament?


„Wir sind davon überzeugt, dass sich auch der tschechische Senat seiner Verantwortung für die Tschechische Republik und für die gesamte Europäische Union bewusst ist und seinen Beitrag für einen baldigen Abschluss des Ratifizierungsprozesses leisten wird!“




Ralf Grahn

EU Lisbon Treaty implementation and institutional relations

Preparatory work is needed to implement the Treaty of Lisbon, should it enter into force, but the previous blog post left us wondering what the French Council Presidency did during the latter half of 2008 and what the Czech Council Presidency is doing during the first six months of 2009.

What we see is our leaders’ steadily decreasing level of commitment to open dialogue.


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Initial plan

The European Council on 14 December 2007, just after signing the Treaty of Lisbon, the European Council gave the go-ahead for preparatory work, underlining its comprehensive nature and the need for a single framework, agreeing that it:

"will take stock of progress on necessary preparatory work when appropriate so as to ensure the full functioning of the Treaty as soon as it enters into force. It underlines the comprehensive nature of this exercise and the consequent need for a single framework as well as political guidance at the highest level. Technical work will start in Brussels in January on the basis of a work programme which will be presented under the authority of the incoming President of the European Council."


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Slovenian Council Presidency: Almost comprehensive

The Slovenian Council Presidency began by preparing a memorandum on the outstanding implementation issues. The memo was not published voluntarily or on my request, but leaked. The Finnish Government followed the preparatory work in public documents it forwarded to the Parliament of Finland.

The last more or less comprehensive EU report on preparatory work seems to be the ‘Progress report from the Presidency to the European Council ─ Preparatory work in view of the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty’ from the Slovenian Council Presidency to the European Council 19 and 20 June 2008 (Council document 10650/08, 13 June 2008):

http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/08/st10/st10650.en08.pdf

In this report a selection of unfinished items was presented with fairly bland comments.


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French Council Presidency: Far from comprehensive

As far as I have been able to ascertain, the French Council Presidency produced no comprehensive report on preparatory work to implement the Lisbon Treaty.

The way forward after the Irish referendum result was a recurring question. In the Presidency Conclusions of the Brussels European Council 11 and 12 December 2008 (Council document 17271/1/08 REV 1) the heads of government and state agreed to give the assurances required by the Irish Government in case the Lisbon Treaty enters into force:

http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/104692.pdf


This path forward was based on the concerns expressed by the Irish Prime Minister and annexed to the Conclusions:


Statement of the Concerns of the Irish People on the Treaty of Lisbon as set out by the Taoiseach

a) Ensuring that Ireland's requirements regarding maintenance of its traditional policy of neutrality are met;

b) Ensuring that the terms of the Treaty of Lisbon will not affect the continued application of the provisions of the Irish Constitution in relation to the right to life, education and the family;

c) Ensuring that in the area of taxation the Treaty of Lisbon makes no change of any kind to the extent or operation of the Union's competences;

d) Confirming that the Union attaches high importance to:

• social progress and the protection of workers' rights;

• public services, as an indispensable instrument of social and regional cohesion;

• the responsibility of Member States for the delivery of education and health services;

• the essential role and wide discretion of national, regional and local Governments in providing, commissioning and organising non-economic services of general interest which is not affected by any provision of the Treaty of Lisbon, including those relating to the common commercial policy.


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Neutrality and defence

Parenthetically we can remark that the leaders of the EU member states were willing to ensure that Ireland's requirements regarding maintenance of its traditional policy of neutrality are met (as they already are under the Lisbon Treaty), but the longer and deeper Ireland remains attached to this historical legacy, the further the conceptual and practical its distance becomes to the quasi-totality of the European Union, which moves towards common security and defence policies.


Point 30 of the Presidency Conclusions remarked:

“The European Council states its determination to give, by means of the attached declaration [Annex 2], a fresh impetus to the European Security and Defence Policy. Compliant with the principles of the United Nations Charter and the decisions of the United Nations Security Council, this policy will continue to develop in full complementarity with NATO in the agreed framework of the strategic partnership between the EU and NATO and in compliance with the decision-making autonomy and procedures of each. To this end, the European Council shares the analysis of the report on the implementation of the European Security Strategy of 2003 and endorses the declarations adopted by the Council [references in Annex 6], which agree on new goals for strengthening and optimising European capabilities in the years ahead and emphasise the EU's desire to work for the cause of international peace and security, while making a tangible contribution to the security of its citizens.”


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Interinstitutional matters



In addition, the December 2008 European Council issued three Declarations closer to the interinstitutional relations. Three questions felt to be urgent, but without public debate and far from a comprehensive framework for the implementation of the Treaty of Lisbon:




Declaration of the European Council

Treaty of Lisbon – Transitional measures concerning the Presidency of the European Council and the Presidency of the Foreign Affairs Council

In the event that the Treaty of Lisbon enters into force at a date when a six-monthly Presidency of the Council has already begun, the European Council agrees that, as a matter of transition, in order to take into account the preparatory work and ensure harmonious continuity of work:

− the competent authorities of the Member State holding the six-monthly Presidency of the Council at that time will continue to chair all the remaining meetings of the Council and the European Council, as well as third-country meetings, until the end of the period of office;

− the following six-monthly Presidency of the Council will be in charge of taking the necessary specific measures relating to the organisational and material aspects of the Presidency of the European Council and of the Foreign Affairs Council during its period of office, in conformity with the Treaty. On these issues, close consultation will be established between this Presidency and the President (elect) of the European Council and the High Representative (designate) of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.


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Declaration of the European Council

Treaty of Lisbon – Transitional measures concerning the composition of the European Parliament

In the event that the Treaty of Lisbon enters into force after the European elections of June 2009, transitional measures will be adopted as soon as possible, in accordance with the necessary legal procedures, in order to increase, until the end of the 2009-2014 legislative period, in conformity with the numbers provided for in the framework of the IGC which approved the Treaty of Lisbon, the number of MEPs of the twelve Member States for which the number of MEPs was set to increase. Therefore, the total number of MEPs will rise from 736 to 754 until the end of the 2009-2014 legislative period. The objective is that this modification should enter into force, if possible, during the year 2010.



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Declaration of the European Council

Treaty of Lisbon – Appointment of the future Commission

The European Council agrees that the process of appointment of the future Commission, in particular the designation of its President, will be initiated without delay after the European Parliament elections of June 2009.



[Ironically, French President Nicolas Sarkozy was the first to air doubts about these principles agreed under the French Council Presidency.]


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Czech Council Presidency: No comprehension?


The Czech Republic took over the rotating EU Council Presidency at the beginning of 2009. Afraid that I have missed important developments in spite of reading and searches, I made an additional search on the Czech web pages for “Lisbon Treaty” and Treaty of Lisbon”. The result in both cases was “No matches found”.

Not only does the Czech Senate excel in inventing new pretexts to postpone the ratification vote on the Treaty of Lisbon (ad calendas graecas?), but the Government seems to have done nothing to provide the necessary impetus to the preparatory work needed to put the Lisbon Treaty into practice.


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Ever closer union among the peoples of Europe?


The reporting was not that great to begin with, but it has steadily degenerated.

Is this really the view of our national political leaders (European Council, Council) on how to create an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe, in which decisions are taken as openly as possible and as closely as possible to the citizen?

Dear Leaders, give the citizens of the European Union ownership or accept their rejection of your union.

If you want the European project and the Treaty of Lisbon to be accepted and even adopted with some enthusiasm by the citizens of the European Union, implementation and the new relations between the institutions need to be discussed openly and interactively.

Start now!


Ralf Grahn