The Lisbon Treaty and its Consequences on the European Union Decision Making

On 13 December 2007, the European heads of government signed the Lisbon Treaty, which was designed to make the European Union (EU) “more democratic , more transparent and more efficient” (BBC) after twelve new members have been added in 2004 and 2007. Before the treaty could enter into force, it had to be ratified by all EU members.

This essay will summarize the Lisbon Treaty and the governmental and democratic consequences it will have on the EU decision making. It intends to state that Europe has the wish to change and actively tries to do so and partly succeeding, but failing to do so entirely. The treaty has been a victory for Europe over the euro skeptics, but unfortunately will not be able to push Europe much further to the place it needs to be.

The treaty of Lisbon was created after the people of both France and the Netherlands rejected the European Constitution. It was then decided to create a new treaty that builds upon the Treaty on the European Union (Maastricht 1992), and the Treaty Establishing the European Community (Rome 1957), whereas the constitution would start anew by replacing all earlier EU treaties.

Recently, both Ireland and Czech Republic were the last to ratify the treaty. In 2008, the Irish population rejected the Lisbon Treaty through a referendum. However, in October 2009, after some concessions were made by the EU, the Irish population accepted the new treaty through a second referendum. The treaty is now most likely to enter into force by 1 December, 2009. (www.europa-nu.nl)

The treaty extends the competences of the EU, and has some major governmental changes. From 2014 through 2017, a redistribution of voting weights between the member states will take place. The chairmanship of the European Coun...

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... it has been harder to tackle issues and make decisions. The Lisbon Treaty is supposed to solve this problem, but looking at the prospects, it will need an alliance between two countries such as France and Germany to really get something done in the EU. It is a blessing for Europe that Germany and France are able to maintain such a good relationship, but it would be better for the sake of Europe, and the sake of democracy if they need not to bundle their power to keep Europe efficient.

With the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, and the installation of Herman van Rompuy and Baroness Catherine Ashton, Europe has made another step towards change. Change it desperately needs in order to be able to compete with uprising powers such as China and India. Nonetheless, as we have come to know about Europe, the step taken today is a step too small, and a step taken too slow.