Introduction – The Nature & Scope Of The Lisbon Treaty

The Lisbon Treaty was signed by European Union Member States in December 2007 and
entered into force almost two years later. With this in mind, the Lisbon Treaty was enacted to
amend the Maastricht Treaty of 1992 and the Treaty of Rome 1957 (the forerunner to the EC
Treaty) and made significant changes to this legislation including allowing for increased
qualified majority voting in the European Council of Ministers, the European Parliament’s
increased involvement in the legislative process through the recognition of more extensive co-
decisions with the European Council of Ministers. The Lisbon Treaty also eliminated the
previously relied upon EU ‘pillar system’ and created a long-term President of the European
Council and a High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs & Security Policy to achieve
the formulation of a united position on EU policies. Moreover, the Lisbon Treaty also served to
make the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union 2001 legally binding in the
circumstances across the EU.

Nevertheless, the Lisbon Treaty’s recognised aim was to complete the process of reform started
by the Treaty of Amsterdam of 1997 along with the Treaty of Nice of 2001 to enhance the
efficiency and democratic legitimacy of the EU and improve the coherency of its actions with a
view to developing a more singular entity to represent the interests of all EU Member States. At
the same time, however, opponents of the Lisbon Treaty have argued that its overall remit
would centralise the EU and weaken democracy within the EU’s individual Member States by
moving the power away from the national electorates. Furthermore, the negotiations made
under the Lisbon Treaty to modify EU institutions began in 2001 with the development of the
European Constitution that failed due to its rejection by Dutch and French voters in 2005.
Therefore, the Lisbon Treaty was proposed as an amendment to implement many of the
reforms included in the European Constitution and was originally intended to be ratified by all
EU Member States by the end of 2008 that failed due to its initial rejection by the Irish
electorate only later reversed in 2009 as part of a second referendum.

Is There A Federal Europe Already In Place?

Even prior to the Lisbon Treaty’s enactment and enforcement, in the best part of the last sixty
years a supranational system of governance has arisen from out of the process of European
integration of the membership of the European Community (more latterly the EU) that many
consider to be reflective of the former UK Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill’s belief in the
need for “a kind of United States of Europe” so as to allow “hundreds of millions of toilers . . . to
regain the simple joys and hopes which make life worth living”. More recently, however, the
laws development since the Maastricht Treaty of 1992 has seen new intergovernmental elements
introduced alongside more federal systems so it has become increasingly difficult to define the
EU. Such a view is founded upon the fact the EU operates through principles of both
intergovernmentalism and supranationalism so the EU has not been officially recognised as a
federation.

Nevertheless, it has been recognised “the EU has the necessary minimal attributes of a federal
system and crucially the EU is riven with many of the same tensions that afflict federal systems”.
In addition, even where the EU is not actually recognised as a federation in view of the Lisbon
Treaty’s recent enforcement, “the Member States remain the `masters’ of the treaties” and “the
EU lacks a real `tax and spend’ capacity”. Such a view is not only restricted to academics,
however, opposition from the UK has arisen regarding the inclusion of ‘federal’ in the European
Constitution leading to policy makers resorting to ‘Community’ in its stead. However, just
because someone calls the EU a federation does not mean it actually is because it lacks some key
characteristics including the fact the European budget does not finance a lot of the EU’s
economic activity. Moreover, all of the EU’s Member States are free to have their own foreign
relations and military and can also opt out of agreements that they oppose. Therefore, whilst it is
undeniable the EU has some control over its Member States, they still have a high degree of
sovereignty so all treaties must be agreed by Member States that also seek legally binding
guarantees such legislation will not affect their individual positions.

What Impact Has The Lisbon Treaty Had Upon The Moves In The UK?

To then better assess the impact of the Lisbon Treaty, the effect of the UK’s signing of the
Treaty is to be considered. This is because whilst, in view of its membership of the EU, the UK
is subject to the EC Treaty and the principles of ‘direct effect’ and ‘supremacy’ emanating from
the European Court of Justice, allied to the enactment of the European Communities Act 1972,
regarding the application of European law to the domestic legal system, the signing of the Lisbon
Treaty and its recent enforcement has still been subject to some significant debate. Such a view
is founded upon the fact that whereas previously the UK had retained a high degree of
sovereignty – in the same way as most of the rest of the EU’s membership – the Lisbon Treaty’s
final enforcement has meant that the UK has lost the right to veto in over 40 significant policy
areas much to the detriment of the ongoing development of the national legal system and the
maintenance of British identity.

For many in the opposition it is a significant bone of contention the UK government has allowed
such a concession of power to Brussels. To this end the leader of the Conservatives, one David
Cameron MP, has previously promised the British people a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty
under a Conservative government – although he recently retreated somewhat at least partially
because, as previous opposition leader William Hague MP recognised, “Now that the treaty has
become European law and is going to enter into force, that means that a referendum can no
longer prevent the creation of the president of the European council and the loss of British
national vetoes”. Such steps are significant because they are representative of the idea the EU is
now taking on all the trappings of a nation state so analogies with the United States of America –
with the EU seemingly also becoming a system of states – are now all the more credible for
describing the impact of the Lisbon Treaty as individual EU Member States powers become
increasingly limited. However, it is arguable that, as things seemingly move ever more rapidly
towards a federal Europe, the laws of individual Member States like the UK are likely to become
even more subservient to that of the decisions and enactments of legislation coming out of
Brussels.

Conclusion

To conclude, it is clear the Lisbon Treaty has brought the EU (and the UK which is party to it) a
step closer to the development of what is a federal Europe. This is because, as has already been
alluded to as part of this report, the remit of the Treaty has served to impact upon previous
enactments regarding the development of a constitution of the EU. As a result, it would seem that
more of individual EU Member States – like the UK’s – power and sovereignty is now likely to
be conceded to Brussels along with the loss of a nation’s people’s identities. That this is the case
is effectively illustrated by the fact that the provisions of the Lisbon Treaty have allowed for the
creation and establishment of positions like that of a President of the European Council that are
more in keeping with a nation as opposed to a Union of nations. Therefore, it would seem, on the
basis of the analysis that has been undertaken for this report, that the EU is rapidly moving
towards the establishment of what is a federal Europe now that the Lisbon Treaty has been
enforced.

https://www.e-ir.info/2011/02/22/the-treaty-of-lisbon-an-analysis/

The Lisbon Treaty’s political changes strive to create a Union of freedom, security and
justice based on the freedoms and fundamental rights of its citizens (Europaforum.lu
[online]: 24). A high level of security needs to be maintained in order to ensure the free
movement of citizens and combat crime and terrorism (ibid.). Almost all issues of great
importance in this field are now decided by qualified majority voting and co-decision
between the EP and the Council (ibid.). The LT confirms a joint immigration policy, a
common asylum system, as well as a system to manage the Union’s external borders
(ibid.).