October issue of EUWatch, produced on behalf of the EU Democrats in the European Parliament and is edited by Klaus Heeger, who is legal assistant to Jens-Peter Bonde, Danish MEP.
The document gives a detailed breakldown of the different changes the EU Constitution Mark 2 would make as compared with the EU Constitution Mark 1. In legal effect the two Constitutions would be virtually the same document, although the new treaty will be an indirect way of giving the EU a Constitution as against the more direct way which the French and Dutch rejected in their 2005 referendums.
Below is a summary Table which Heeger has compiled to show how the proposed so-called "Reform Treaty" would compare wth previous EC/EU treaties as regards number of powers/competences that have been/would be surrendered by the Nation States to the supranatonal Brussels institutions.
Number of policy areas moved to QMV (Qualified Majority Voting) at European level or articles requiring unanimity at EU level which were moved to QMV - in each case removing the national veto
1957 - Treaty of Rome (plus extensions): 38
1986 - Single European Act: 12
1992 - Maastricht Treaty on European Union: 30
1998 - Treaty of Amsterdam: 24
2002 - Treaty of Nice: 46
2004 - European Constitution: 61
2007 - Draft "Reform Treaty"/EU Const.2: 62
| - | 2007 Draft Reform Treaty | 2004 Constitution |
| New national policy areas shifted to QMV at EU level: | 41 | 49 |
| Existing EU policy areas shifted from unanimity to QMV: | 20 | 21 |
| Areas/issues in which the national veto is abolished: | 61 | 62 |
| New law-making powers given to the EU: | 31 | 32 |
| Other powers given to the EU | 74 | 73 |
| Total new powers given to the EU: | 105 | 105 |
| New passerelles, where the "summit meetings" of Prime Ministers and Presidents on the European Coucil can shift a policy area from unanimity to majority-voting without the need for new treaties or referendums: |
8 | 8 |
Download (pdf file) EUWatch-oct2007-version18.09.07.pdf
