Clarity of the Treaties (simplification of the treaties)

The European Union has come into being gradually and its structure is the result of a succession of amendments to the various treaties. This has led to a situation where the lack of clarity and readability of the founding texts of the Union has created a gulf between the Union and the public.

The Treaty of Rome was followed by the Single European Act and the Treaty on European Union (the "Maastricht Treaty"). This Treaty created a new structure, the European Union, in addition to the European Communities, which has three pillars (the European Communities, common foreign and security policy and cooperation in the field of justice and home affairs). The Nice and Amsterdam Treaties contain amendments to the earlier treaties and a new article numbering system. Several protocols and declarations are also annexed to these treaties.

To make the treaties more accessible to the public, the December 2001 Laeken Declaration convened the European Convention to prepare for the reform of the European institutions and to consolidate the treaties.

As regards the simplification of the treaties, the Declaration asks the following questions:

•reorganisation of the treaties: should a distinction be made between a basic treaty and the other treaty provisions?
•simplification: Should the distinction between the Union and the Communities be reviewed? What of the division into three pillars?
•constitution: should a constitutional text be drafted?
•what status should the Charter of Fundamental Rights have?

In October 2002, the President of the Convention proposed a preliminary draft constitutional treaty in three parts, the first dealing with the institutional architecture, the second with the policies and action of the Union and the third with transitional and final provisions and those on legal continuity proper to this kind of constitutional act. The Convention will present the results of its deliberations by June 2003.

See:

•Charter of Fundamental Rights
•Debate on the future of the European Union
•Democratic deficit
•European Convention
•Laeken Declaration
•Simplification of legislation 
•Transparency (access to documents)