From coal and steel to Lisbon: the treaties the European Union rests on

Background

The European Union is based on the rule of law: every action it takes is founded on treaties approved voluntarily and democratically by all its member countries, and if a policy area is not cited in a treaty the Commission cannot propose a law in that area. A treaty sets out the Union's objectives, the rules for its institutions, how decisions are made and the relationship between the Union and its member countries. The Union lists its main treaties in reverse order of date. The Treaty of Lisbon was signed on 13 December 2007 and entered into force on 1 December 2009; it gave more power to the European Parliament, changed voting procedures in the Council, created the citizens' initiative, a permanent president of the European Council, a new High Representative for Foreign Affairs and a new diplomatic service, and it clarifies which powers belong to the Union, which to member countries and which are shared. The Treaty of Nice, signed on 26 February 2001 and in force from 1 February 2003, reformed the institutions for a Union of 25 member countries. The Treaty of Amsterdam was signed on 2 October 1997 and took effect on 1 May 1999. The Treaty on European Union, the Maastricht Treaty, signed on 7 February 1992 and in force from 1 November 1993, established the European Union itself and introduced the co-decision procedure. The Single European Act, in force from 1 July 1987, extended qualified majority voting in the Council. The Merger Treaty, also called the Brussels Treaty, signed on 8 April 1965 and in force from 1 July 1967, created a single Commission and a single Council to serve the then three European Communities, EEC, Euratom and ECSC, and was later repealed by the Treaty of Amsterdam. The Treaties of Rome, signed on 25 March 1957 and in force from 1 January 1958, set up the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community. The list, which runs from latest to oldest, ends with the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, signed on 18 April 1951, in force from 23 July 1952 and expired on 23 July 2002. A Treaty establishing a constitution for Europe, with aims similar to the Lisbon Treaty, was signed but never ratified. The founding treaties were also amended each time new countries joined, most recently for Croatia.