This is tough subject to try to talk about, even more to say it correctly!
The treaty was first signed in Lisbon on the 13th of December, 2007. We are now in the long period of ratification by the different countries that always try to obtain the best for themselves.
The main goals of the treaty are:
- Not to serve as an autonomous document but rather an amend to the previous European treaties (times change, laws change and need to be adapted);
- Implement a “Charter of Fundamental Rights” to save the people’s political, social and economic rights;
- To officially name the European Central bank as an EU institution;
- To change the name of the “court of justice of the European communities” to “court of justice of the EU” and create a new emergency procedure for individuals in custody abroad;
- To fully introduce the “qualified majority voting” as standard method for voting in the European Council, meaning that “a qualified majority is reached when a at least 55% of all member countries who represent at least 65% of all EU citizens vote in favour of a proposal”
- Among other articles making minor changes in the hierarchic organization of the representatives of the EU.
The EU will have exclusive competences (does not need member’s approval and members have to accept it) in:
- The customs union;
- The establishing of the competition rules necessary for the functioning of the internal market;
- Monetary policy for the member states whose currency is the euro;
- The conservation of marine biological resources under the common fisheries policy;
- Common commercial policy.
Strict economic rules can ruin the small countries on their attempt to satisfy and meet these rules!
The Europe will become stronger and more unified with the treaty, making global important decisions to be held by many different cultures, together in an attempt to promote well-being and justice and at the same time it will face other big world potencies (USA, China, and Japan). Those are really important goals that EU should focus on because a single country does not have the same influence as a union of countries.
However, each and single country should not let this politics, to change their beliefs, culture and traditions. Small countries should not accept the proposals of the EU with indifference. The consequences should be carefully monitored because it might be the last chance of saying a world of yes or no.
Before its approval (which is done) and ratification, each country can try to have “opt-outs”, meaning they do not have to participate in certain policy areas. As much as the union tries to make equality to every country, there are always agreements and disagreements to certain policies, especially when they limit the activity of the particular country.
For example, Portugal has the largest sea territory but it is not the country of the EU that fishes the most because on the right time we did not impose our right.
Of course I am not writing this post just because I wanted to know more about this new European document. Vaclav Klaus, president of Czech Republic did not sign the treaty yet. This man is the second president of the Czech Republic and he is now on his second mandate after re-election in 2008 through the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), the right-wing main party. He is known to be a strong eurosceptic and he is trying to make sure that the ratification of the treaty will not change the economics of Czech Republic, especially now that the country is in a fast-growing period.
So, what is his main reason to ask for an “opt-out”?
After de second world war many Germans were expel from Czech Republic. The West Bohemia, where Plzen is was really influenced by many German families that set their lives here during the war. As the Charter of Fundamental Rights” is now, post-war German deportees could claim their old properties in Czech soil leading to hundreds of justice processes in court that would be judge by members of the EU that are not inside the History and do not know exactly what happen at those times. He is trying to get a special amend to Czech Republic to avoid this new conflict with Germany. At least this is what the big media say.
The Czech Republic is in the EU! They choose to be a part of this union of countries with the "same" purposes;or an union of countries that are part of the same continent, lets say it... Like these two cases: Czech Republic and Irland.
ResponderEliminarThese two countries but specially Czech Republic seem to be quite eurosceptic, specially the President Václav Klaus (however, according to a Eurobarometer survey, the most eurosceptic countries were Sweden, Austria, Finland, the United Kingdom and Denmark).
This Lisbon treaty was signed and agreed on 13th of December 2007. And now why to try to change it? Why do go against it? Why to try to modify the European Integration? Ok, I know that we can not confuse Lisbon Treaty and European Integration but for sure Czech Republic and its President Václav Klaus are causing instability to the EU in such a difficult period in our century! And specially being Czech Republic the presidency of the EU in the first half of 2009! Shouldn't be this EU more restrictive to countries which desire to be a member of this European UNION? Lets think about it!
Der Spiegel writes:
ResponderEliminar"President Vaclav Klaus finally ran out of allies. For much of the year, the European Union’s most famous detractor could point to Ireland as an excuse for not signing the Lisbon Treaty. But then the Irish backed the reform agreement in a referendum. At a party conference earlier this month British conservatives briefly paid lip service to that nation’s Euro-skeptics, posing as David to the EU Goliath by suggesting a referendum on the subject if they got into power — but it quickly became clear that their strategy was tenuous at best. Even Polish President Lech Kaczynski signed the Lisbon Treaty earlier in October.
[...] He reiterated that he doesn’t think the Lisbon Treaty — which will revamp the way the 27-member club makes decisions, strengthen the EU’s role on the world stage and create the position of EU president — is good for Europe. He indicated he would sign it anyway.
Klaus is still seeking to get a footnote added to the treaty which guarantees the validity of the Benes Decrees, a set of laws which provided for the expulsion of millions of Germans and Hungarians following the end of World War II. Klaus has said he is concerned that the human rights guarantees in the Lisbon Treaty could result in lawsuits from families of expellees seeking to regain ownership of lands now in the Czech Republic."
The purpose of the president, since the beginning was not to stop the European integration, even less to go against the Lisbon treaty. The treaty is necessary and should be ratified as soon as it is possible, however, as i wrote before each country should analise it from its own perspective, measuring the pros and contras.
The only instability that he caused was a change in the most powerful man in EU, which he was, and will be till the signature of the treaty.
Portugal has its borders fixed many years ago. We don't have war in our territory for almost 350 years! Nowadays there is still a piece of land between Czech Republic and Germany that belongs to no one! Imagine the return of thousands of Germans to the properties that they occupied during the second world war - here was the main point of delaying and re-evaluating the words written in the treaty.
In my opinion, he acted correctly, defending the interests of Czech Republic till where he could. This does not break the 'union' but makes it stronger by having the rules and rights more explicit.