Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union
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Type | Founding treaty |
---|---|
Signed | 25 March 1957 |
Location | Capitoline Hill in Rome, Italy |
Effective | 1 January 1958 (1 December 2009 under its current name) |
Parties | EU member states |
Depositary | Government of Italy |
Full text | |
Consolidated version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union at Wikisource |
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The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) is one of two treaties forming the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU), the other being the Treaty on European Union (TEU). It was previously known as the Treaty Establishing the European Community (TEC).[1]
The Treaty originated as the Treaty of Rome (fully the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community), which brought about the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC), the best-known of the European Communities (EC). It was signed on 25 March 1957 by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany and came into force on 1 January 1958. It remains one of the two most important treaties in the modern-day European Union (EU).
Its name has been amended twice since 1957. The Maastricht Treaty of 1992 removed the word "economic" from the Treaty of Rome's official title and, in 2009, the Treaty of Lisbon renamed it the "Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union".
Following the 2005 referendums, which saw the failed attempt at launching a European Constitution, on 13 December 2007 the Lisbon Treaty was signed. This saw the 'TEC' renamed as the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and, once again, renumbered. The Lisbon reforms resulted in the merging of the three pillars into the reformed European Union.[2]
In March 2011, the European Council adopted a decision to amend the Treaty by adding a new paragraph to Article 136. The additional paragraph, which enables the establishment of a financial stability mechanism for the Eurozone, runs as follows:
The Member States whose currency is the euro may establish a stability mechanism to be activated if indispensable to safeguard the stability of the euro area as a whole. The granting of any required financial assistance under the mechanism will be made subject to strict conditionality.[3]
Present contents
The consolidated TFEU consists of seven parts:
Part 1, Principles
In principles, article 1 establishes the basis of the treaty and its legal value. Articles 2 to 6 outline the competencies of the EU according to the level of powers accorded in each area. Articles 7 to 14 set out social principles, articles 15 and 16 set out public access to documents and meetings and article 17 states that the EU shall respect the status of religious, philosophical and non-confessional organisations under national law.[4]
Part 2, Non-discrimination and citizenship of the Union
The second part begins with article 18 which outlaws, within the limitations of the treaties, discrimination on the basis of nationality. Article 19 states the council with the consent of the
Part 3, Union policies and internal actions
Part 3 is the largest in the TFEU. Articles 26 to 197 concern the substantive policies and actions of the EU.
Title I: Internal market
Title II: Free movement of goods
Including the customs union
Title III: Agriculture and Fisheries
Common Agricultural Policy and Common Fisheries Policy
Title IV: Free movement of workers, services and capital
Title IV concerns
- Chapter 1: Workers (articles 45–48, ex articles 39–42 TEC), including the right to move freely in order to "accept [an] offer of employment actually made [5]
- Chapter 2: Right of Establishment (articles 49–55), including the right to take up and pursue activities as [a] self-employed person [6]
- Chapter 3: Services (articles 56–62)
- Chapter 4: Capital and Payments (articles 63–66)
Title V: Area of freedom, justice and security
Including police and justice co-operation
Title VI: Transport
Title VII: Common Rules on Competition, Taxation and Approximation of Laws
European Union competition law, taxation and harmonisation of regulations (note Article 101 and Article 102)
Title VIII: Economic and monetary policy
Articles 119 to 144 concern economic and monetary policy, including articles on the euro. Chapter 1: Economic policy - Article 122 deals with unforeseen problems in the supply chain and "severe difficulties caused by natural disasters or exceptional occurrences beyond its control"[7][8] Chapter 1: Economic policy – Article 126 deals with how excessive member state debt is handled.[9] Chapter 2: Monetary policy – Article 127 outlines that the European System of Central Banks should maintain price stability and work with the principles of an open markets and free competition.[10] The Article 140 describes the criteria for inclusion in monetary union (the euro) or having exception from it, and also says that it is a majority of the council, not the state alone, which decides upon usage of euro or national currency. Thereby are states obliged (except UK and Denmark) to introduce the euro if the council finds they fulfil the criteria.
Titles IX to XV: Employment, social and consumer policy
Title IX concerns employment policy, under articles 145–150. Title X concerns social policy, and with reference to the
Title XI establishes the
Titles XVI to XXIV: Networks, industry, environment, energy, other
Title XVI, articles 170–172 empower action to develop and integrate
Title XX concerns the increasingly important environmental policy, allowing action under articles 191 to 193. Title XXI, article 194, establishes the Energy policy of the European Union.
Title XXII, article 195 is tourism. Title XXIII, article 196 is civil protection. Title XXIV, article 197 is administrative co-operation.
Part 4, Association of the overseas countries and territories
Part 4, in articles 198 to 204, deals with association of overseas territories. Article 198 sets the objective of association as promoting the economic and social development of those associated territories as listed in annexe 2. The following articles elaborate on the form of association such as customs duties.[4]
Part 5, External action by the Union
Part 5, in articles 205 to 222, deals with
Part 6, Institutional and financial provisions
Part 6, in articles 223 to 334, elaborates on the institutional provisions in the Treaty on European Union. As well as elaborating on the structures, articles 288 to 299 outline the forms of
Part 7, General and final provisions
Part 7, in articles 335 to 358, deals with final legal points, such as territorial and temporal application, the seat of institutions (to be decided by member states, but this is enacted by a protocol attached to the treaties), immunities and the effect on treaties signed before 1958 or the date of accession.[4]
See also
- Berlin Declaration (2007)
- Four Freedoms (European Union)
References
- Red Globe Press.
- ^ "Presidency Conclusions Brussels European Council 21/22 June 2007" (PDF). Council of the European Union. 23 June 2007.
- ^ "The European Treaty Amendment for the Creation of a Financial Stability Mechanism (Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies)" (PDF).
- ^ a b c d e f "Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union" (PDF). Eur-lex.europa.eu. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
- ^ Article 45.3(a)
- ^ Article 49
- ^ "EUR-Lex - 12012E122 - EN - EUR-Lex". eur-lex.europa.eu.
- ^ Evans-Pritchard, Ambrose (29 January 2021). "EU threatens war-time occupation of vaccine makers as AstraZeneca crisis spirals". Telegraph Media Group Limited.
- ^ "EUR-Lex - 12008E126 - EN - EUR-Lex". eur-lex.europa.eu.
- ^ "EUR-Lex - 12008E127 - EN - EUR-Lex". eur-lex.europa.eu.