EU Reform Treaty: Update (2)

This Wednesday, the group of judicial experts will again meet to continue discussing the Draft Treaty Amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty Establishing the European Community (Reform Treaty) [pdf, in English available here].

On the occasion of this upcoming meeting, I would like to highlight one aspect of the Reform Treaty: the so-called general passerelle provided for by Article 33(2) and (3). Passerelle (fr.) means 'footbridge' and, in the context of the Reform Treaty, is used to describe "simplified revision procedures" with regards to (1) amending Part Three of the Treaty on the Functioning of the Union or (2) changing the voting rules of the Council of Ministers from unanimity voting to qualified majority voting. In both areas, the simplified procedure streamlines future treaty amendments by avoiding the convention of an Intergovernmental Conference (IGC).

The generalization of the passarelle was a new feature of the 2004 Constitutional Treaty. The Reform Treaty excludes its application to the Charter of Fundamental Rights which will be subject to the "normal revision procedure." For further information on Article 33 and on the Reform Treaty in general, please refer to Professor Steve Peer's analysis of the EU's draft Reform Treaty [text, in English] which is published on statewatch.org [website].