Amato Group
Encyclopedia
The Amato Group, officially the Action Committee for European Democracy (ACED) was a group of high-level European politicians unofficially working on rewriting the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe
into what became known as the Treaty of Lisbon
following its rejection by French and Dutch voters.
The group was backed by the Barroso Commission
, who sent two representatives, the commissioners Danuta Hübner
(regional policy) and Margot Wallström
(communications). It was led by Giuliano Amato
, a former Prime Minister of Italy
who was also Vice-President of the original European Convention
.
:
The text stripped the rejected constitution of its constitutional elements, including the article on the EU's symbols and the controversial "God-less" preamble, reduced the Charter of Fundamental Rights to one legally binding article and foresees a new name for new EU foreign policy chief, called 'Union foreign minister' in the Constitution.
As a result, the new TEU defines the framework of the European Union, whereas the amended TEC defines in detail the law and decision making procedures
, what the policy areas of the Union are, and which law or decision making procedure should be followed in a certain policy area. Both treaties would have the same legal value, as is the case with the current TEU and TEC. Furtermore, the Charter of Fundamental Rights would have the same legal value as the new TEU and the amended TEC.
Furthermore, the article concerning the Union Minister for Foreign Affairs is maintained in the new TEU (Article I-28 of the European Constitution, Article 27 of the new treaty), but the Amato Group has stated it has no problem with a name change.
Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe
The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe , , was an unratified international treaty intended to create a consolidated constitution for the European Union...
into what became known as the Treaty of Lisbon
Treaty of Lisbon
The Treaty of Lisbon of 1668 was a peace treaty between Portugal and Spain, concluded at Lisbon on 13 February 1668, through the mediation of England, in which Spain recognized the sovereignty of Portugal's new ruling dynasty, the House of Braganza....
following its rejection by French and Dutch voters.
The group was backed by the Barroso Commission
Barroso Commission
The Barroso Commission is the European Commission that has been in office since 22 November 2004 and is due to serve until 2014. Its president is José Manuel Barroso, who presides over 26 other commissioners...
, who sent two representatives, the commissioners Danuta Hübner
Danuta Hübner
Danuta Hübner is a Polish economist, academic, and policy maker. She served as European Commissioner for Regional Policy from 22 November 2004 until 4 July 2009, when she resigned to become a Member of European Parliament for the Civic Platform....
(regional policy) and Margot Wallström
Margot Wallström
Margot Elisabeth Wallström is a Swedish social democratic, currently holding the job as . Prior to this post, she served as European Commissioner for Institutional Relations and Communication Strategy...
(communications). It was led by Giuliano Amato
Giuliano Amato
Giuliano Amato is an Italian politician. He was Prime Minister of Italy twice, first from 1992 to 1993 and then from 2000 to 2001. He was more recently Vice President of the Convention on the Future of Europe that drafted the new European Constitution and headed the Amato Group. He is commonly...
, a former Prime Minister of Italy
Prime minister of Italy
The Prime Minister of Italy is the head of government of the Italian Republic...
who was also Vice-President of the original European Convention
European Convention
The Convention on the Future of Europe , was a body established by the European Council in December 2001 as a result of the Laeken Declaration...
.
Members
The group consisted of 16 members from 14 member states of the European Union, including one current European CommissionerEuropean Commissioner
A European Commissioner is a member of the 27-member European Commission. Each Member within the college holds a specific portfolio and are led by the President of the European Commission...
:
| Name | Member state | Reason for inclusion |
|---|---|---|
| Giuliano Amato Giuliano Amato Giuliano Amato is an Italian politician. He was Prime Minister of Italy twice, first from 1992 to 1993 and then from 2000 to 2001. He was more recently Vice President of the Convention on the Future of Europe that drafted the new European Constitution and headed the Amato Group. He is commonly... |
former Prime Minister of Italy Prime minister of Italy The Prime Minister of Italy is the head of government of the Italian Republic... and Vice-President of the European Convention European Convention The Convention on the Future of Europe , was a body established by the European Council in December 2001 as a result of the Laeken Declaration... |
|
| Michel Barnier Michel Barnier Michel Barnier is a French politician of the Union for a Popular Movement and Vice President of the European People's Party . He is the current European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services... |
former French Foreign Minister Minister of Foreign Affairs (France) Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs ), is France's foreign affairs ministry, with the headquarters located on the Quai d'Orsay in Paris close to the National Assembly of France. The Minister of Foreign and European Affairs in the government of France is the cabinet minister responsible for... and European Commissioner European Commissioner A European Commissioner is a member of the 27-member European Commission. Each Member within the college holds a specific portfolio and are led by the President of the European Commission... |
|
| Stefan Collignon (de) | Professor Professor A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank... and political economist Political economy Political economy originally was the term for studying production, buying, and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth, including through the budget process. Political economy originated in moral philosophy... |
|
| Jean-Luc Dehaene Jean-Luc Dehaene -Early life and political career:He was born in Montpellier, France, when his parents were fleeing German troops. He got into politics through the Algemeen Christelijk Werknemersverbond , a trade union which was closely linked to the Christelijke Volkspartij .In 1981, he became Minister of Social... |
former Prime Minister of Belgium and Vice-President of the European Convention European Convention The Convention on the Future of Europe , was a body established by the European Council in December 2001 as a result of the Laeken Declaration... |
|
| Danuta Hübner Danuta Hübner Danuta Hübner is a Polish economist, academic, and policy maker. She served as European Commissioner for Regional Policy from 22 November 2004 until 4 July 2009, when she resigned to become a Member of European Parliament for the Civic Platform.... |
former European Commissioner for Regional Policy European Commissioner for Regional Policy The Commissioner for Regional Policy is a portfolio within the European Commission. The current Commissioner is Johannes Hahn.The portfolio is responsible for managing the regional policy of the European Union, such as the European Regional Development Fund, which takes up a third of the EU's... |
|
| Sandra Kalniete Sandra Kalniete Sandra Kalniete is a Latvian politician, author, diplomat and independence movement leader. She served as Foreign Minister of Latvia 2002–2004 and as European Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries in 2004... |
former Latvia Latvia Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden... n European Commissioner European Commissioner A European Commissioner is a member of the 27-member European Commission. Each Member within the college holds a specific portfolio and are led by the President of the European Commission... |
|
| Wim Kok Wim Kok Willem "Wim" Kok ; born September 29, 1938) is a retired Dutch politician of the Labour Party . He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from August 22, 1994 until July 22, 2002.... |
former Prime Minister of the Netherlands Prime Minister of the Netherlands The Prime Minister of the Netherlands is the chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Netherlands. He is the de facto head of government of the Netherlands and coordinates the policy of the government... |
|
| Paavo Lipponen Paavo Lipponen Paavo Tapio Lipponen is a Finnish politician and former reporter. He was Prime Minister of Finland from 1995 to 2003, and Chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Finland from 1993 to 2005... |
former Prime Minister of Finland Prime Minister of Finland The Prime Minister is the Head of Government of Finland. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President, who is the Head of State. The current Prime Minister is Jyrki Katainen of the National Coalition Party.-Overview:... |
|
| János Martonyi János Martonyi János Martonyi is a Hungarian politician and Foreign Minister of Hungary. He is a member of the Fidesz party, and was also Foreign Minister between 1998 and 2002... |
current Hungarian Foreign Minister Foreign relations of Hungary Except for the short-lived neutrality declared by the anti-Soviet leader Imre Nagy in November 1956, Hungary's foreign policy generally followed the Soviet lead from 1947 to 1989. During the Communist period, Hungary maintained treaties of friendship, cooperation, and mutual assistance with the... |
|
| Inigo Mendez de Vigo Íñigo Méndez de Vigo Íñigo Méndez De Vigo y Montojo is a Spanish politician and Member of the European Parliament with the People's Party since 1992, and Member of the Bureau of the European People's Party.... |
Member of the European Parliament Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,... |
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| Chris Patten Chris Patten Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes, CH, PC , is the last Governor of British Hong Kong, a former British Conservative politician, and the current chairman of the BBC Trust.... |
British Lord Life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as... and former European Commissioner European Commissioner A European Commissioner is a member of the 27-member European Commission. Each Member within the college holds a specific portfolio and are led by the President of the European Commission... |
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| Otto Schily Otto Schily Otto Georg Schily was Federal Minister of the Interior of Germany from 1998 to 2005, in the cabinet of former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany .-Biography:... |
former German Interior Minister Federal Ministry of the Interior (Germany) The Federal Ministry of the Interior is a ministry of the German federal government. Its main office is in Berlin, with a secondary seat in Bonn. The current minister of the interior is Dr... |
|
| Costas Simitis Costas Simitis Konstantinos Simitis , usually referred to as Costas Simitis or Kostas Simitis, was Prime Minister of Greece and leader of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement from 1996 to 2004.- Biography :... |
former Prime Minister of Greece Prime Minister of Greece The Prime Minister of Greece , officially the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic , is the head of government of the Hellenic Republic and the leader of the Greek cabinet. The current interim Prime Minister is Lucas Papademos, a former Vice President of the European Central Bank, following... |
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| Dominique Strauss-Kahn Dominique Strauss-Kahn Dominique Gaston André Strauss-Kahn , often referred to in the media, and by himself, as DSK, is a French economist, lawyer, politician, and member of the French Socialist Party... |
current Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world... |
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| António Vitorino António Vitorino António Vitorino is a Portuguese politician and member of the Socialist Party .-Career:Vitorino graduated in law from the University of Lisbon. A lawyer by training, he was first elected to Parliament in 1980... |
former Portuguese Portugal Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the... European Commissioner European Commissioner A European Commissioner is a member of the 27-member European Commission. Each Member within the college holds a specific portfolio and are led by the President of the European Commission... |
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| Margot Wallström Margot Wallström Margot Elisabeth Wallström is a Swedish social democratic, currently holding the job as . Prior to this post, she served as European Commissioner for Institutional Relations and Communication Strategy... |
current Vice-President of the European Commission Vice-President of the European Commission A Vice President of the European Commission is a post in the European Commission usually occupied by more than one member of the Commission. Since the 2009 Lisbon Treaty entered into force, one of these is ex-officio the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy,... |
Resulting text
The group first met in Rome on 30 September 2006. On 4 June 2007 they released the completed draft text. The size of the text is cut from 63,000 words in 448 articles in the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (EU Constitution) to 12,800 in 70 articles in the proposed text of a new EU-treaty. The sized down text came from including only the innovations contained in the third part of the EU Constitution – which essentially ties together former EU treaties – and putting them into additional protocols. The two protocols would be attached to the existing Treaty on the European Union and the Treaty Establishing the European Community.The text stripped the rejected constitution of its constitutional elements, including the article on the EU's symbols and the controversial "God-less" preamble, reduced the Charter of Fundamental Rights to one legally binding article and foresees a new name for new EU foreign policy chief, called 'Union foreign minister' in the Constitution.
Structure of the new treaty
The new treaty would not include everything in a single document, as the Constitution would do, but rather:- Replace the Treaty on European Union (TEU, or Maastricht Treaty) with the text of the new treaty, which roughly corresponds with Part I and Part IV of the European Constitution. The nine titles of Part I of the European Constitution are literally taken over as titles I to IX of the new TEU (except for three modifications, see below). Title X is a new title that contains two short articles referring to the Treaty establishing the European Community (see next point) and two articles originally from Part IV of the Constitution regarding two simplified revision procedures. Title XI is similar to the rest of Part IV of the Constitution.
- Amend the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC, or Treaty of Rome) to have most provisions of Part III of the European Constitution included in the treaty, including the single legal personality of the Union and the suppression of the pillar structureThree pillars of the European UnionBetween 1993 and 2009, the European Union legally consisted of three pillars. This structure was introduced with the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993, and was eventually abandoned on 1 December 2009 with the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, when the EU obtained a consolidated legal...
. In order to avoid any legal confusion, the words "European Community" would be replaced by "European Union" in the text of the TEC. The Intergovernmental ConferenceIntergovernmental ConferenceAn Intergovernmental Conference is the formal procedure for negotiating amendments to the founding treaties of the European Union. Under the treaties, an IGC is called into being by the European Council, and is composed of representatives of the member states, with the Commission, and to a lesser...
agreeing on the new treaty may also decide to rename the treaty (to Treaty establishing the European Union for example), like has been done before by the Maastricht TreatyMaastricht TreatyThe Maastricht Treaty was signed on 7 February 1992 by the members of the European Community in Maastricht, Netherlands. On 9–10 December 1991, the same city hosted the European Council which drafted the treaty...
. The Treaty establishing the European Community is to be amended by means of two protocols attached to the new treaty:- A Protocol on the Functioning of the Union, containing institutional changes;
- A Protocol on the Development of the Union's Policies in Order to Meet the Challenges of the XXI Century, containing the new innovations of the European Constitution.
- Refer to the existing Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European UnionCharter of Fundamental Rights of the European UnionThe Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union enshrines certain political, social, and economic rights for European Union citizens and residents, into EU law. It was drafted by the European Convention and solemnly proclaimed on 7 December 2000 by the European Parliament, the Council of...
in article 8 of the new TEU, whereby it becomes legally binding. Article I-9 of the European Constitution referred to Part II of the Constitution in a similar manner. The charter will be updated to the version included in Part II of the European Constitution, which slightly differs from the original charter.
As a result, the new TEU defines the framework of the European Union, whereas the amended TEC defines in detail the law and decision making procedures
European Union legislative procedure
The legislatureof the European Union is principally composed of the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. Competencies in scrutinising and amending legislation are usually divided equally between the two, while the power to initiate laws is held by the European Commission...
, what the policy areas of the Union are, and which law or decision making procedure should be followed in a certain policy area. Both treaties would have the same legal value, as is the case with the current TEU and TEC. Furtermore, the Charter of Fundamental Rights would have the same legal value as the new TEU and the amended TEC.
Differences between the new TEU and the European Constitution
Titles I to IX of the new TEU are literally taken over from Part I of the European Constitution, with only the following modifications:- The preamblePreambleA preamble is an introductory and expressionary statement in a document that explains the document's purpose and underlying philosophy. When applied to the opening paragraphs of a statute, it may recite historical facts pertinent to the subject of the statute...
of the European Constitution, as well as Article I-1 (Establishment of the Union) and Article I-8 (The symbols of the Union), are not taken over as such, because of their constitutional character. Article 1 of the new treaty would instead be similar to Article 1 of the current Treaty on European Union. The rather long preamble of the European Constitution would be replaced by a sentence explaining the need for a new treaty, and possibly referring to the Berlin DeclarationBerlin DeclarationBerlin Declaration may refer to one of the following declarations:*The Berlin Declaration on the Uniqueness of Christ and Jewish Evangelism in Europe Today is a theological declaration issued by the World Evangelical Alliance in 2008...
of March 27, 2007.
- An additional paragraph is added to section 1 of Article 8 of the new TEU (was Article I-9 of the European Constitution), which states that with the entry into force of the new Treaty, the Charter of Fundamental Rights will become legally binding.
- References to other articles in the original text of the European Constitution are replaced by references to the new places of the articles, i.e. in the new TEU, in the amended TEC, or in the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
Furthermore, the article concerning the Union Minister for Foreign Affairs is maintained in the new TEU (Article I-28 of the European Constitution, Article 27 of the new treaty), but the Amato Group has stated it has no problem with a name change.