Information Related to "Europe Moves Closer to Fulfilling Its Grand Design"
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More than two years after voters in France and the Netherlands vetoed the proposed European constitution, leaders have signed a version of the same constitution with a different name and a few adjustments. It must still be ratified by each member nation, but it is unlikely to be put to a popular vote in most nations except Ireland, where it is legally required (and possibly Britain if the call for it there gains more traction).
The Financial Times describes the situation: "EU leaders reacted by dropping the concept of a 'constitution' from their treaty but keeping as much of the document's detail as possible. Most of the key changes to the European Union's institutions-the European Council, representing national governments, the European Commission and the European Parliament-remain in place in the new Lisbon treaty.
"Like its forerunner, the treaty extends the use of qualified majority voting, notably in matters affecting justice and interior affairs. It keeps the new voting rules designed to smooth the EU decision-making process now that there are 27 member-states, up from 15 as in 2004.
"The Lisbon treaty is an immensely complicated document with (in its English version) 175 pages of treaty text, 86 pages of protocols, a 25-page annex and a 26-page final act containing 65 separate declarations" (Dec. 13, 2007).
Many critics see this treaty as a "stealth" step toward greater centralized control in Brussels, the headquarters of the EU, thus creating a loss of national sovereignty for member nations.
The treaty establishes a new European Union in the form of a supranational federal state, which is separate and superior to the member states. Just as the United States is to Indiana, or Germany is to Bavaria, so the EU is to its member nations. The EU would have authority to make agreements with other countries by which all member nations would be bound.
Related Information on UCG Sites:
Sidebar: "Borderless" Europe Now Encompasses 400 Million People
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