238 pages

Contains an analysis of the Treaty of Nice, a summary of the legislative procedures including the articles that would be under qualified majority voting once Nice is ratified, a discussion on the European Single Currency and a five-column summary showing each treaty in turn, analysing the development of competences from the Treaty of Rome to the Treaty of Nice.

• Detailed analysis of the Treaty of Nice

• Full analysis of the development of the powers of the European institutions from the Treaty of Rome to the Treaty of Nice

• Summary of new legislative procedures showing where qualified majority voting (QMV) and co-decision apply and where the national 'veto' still remains

• Economic and monetary union (EMU) implications

• Texts of the 'European Social Agenda' and the 'Charter of Fundamental Rights'

Volume Two

Consolidated Treaty on European Union

256 pages

Contains the text of the consolidated 'Treaty on European Union' and the consolidated 'Treaty establishing the European Community', together with all of the existing Protocols, once the ratification of Nice is complete, the text of the Treaty of Nice and its attached declarations.

• The full texts of the consolidated Treaty on European Union and the consolidated Treaty establishing the European Community, with the Nice amendments shown in bold text.

• All existing Protocols adopted by the European Council and the European Parliament

• Additional Resolutions adopted by the European Council and the European Parliament

• Presidency Report on the 'European Security and Defence Policy'

• Order of the Presidency of the Council

• We have also drawn up the following:

  • Expanded 'Table of Equivalances', enabling the changes in the Treaty 'Article' numbering subsequent to the Maastricht Treaty to be readily followed.

  • Enlarged extensive overall Index, with detailed references to the two Treaties.

The Treaty of Nice was signed on 26 February 2001. All the Member States were required to ratify the Treaty by their respective legislative procedures for it to become law. The Treaty was expected to come into force by the end of 2002. In the event, it came into force on 1 February 2003 owing to the difficulties Ireland had in passing the Treaty.

The Republic of Ireland was the only Member State required to hold a referendum on the Treaty. The result of the first referendum, held on 7 June 2001, was a rejection of the Treaty. In theory, this meant that the Treaty was void and could not become law. Even if this had been the case, the individual parts of the Treaty are important, showing the anticipated structures of the institutions for the future of the European Union. Ireland held a second referendum on 19 October 2002, and the Treaty was accepted.

Under the terms of a declaration attached to the Treaty of Nice, there will be a new European treaty in 2004; if Nice had not been ratified, it was likely that individual sections in that treaty would form the basis of the new treaty. The process leading up to the new treaty has developed into the Convention, which in turn has produced the Draft Constitution. The BMDF book on this has been published in October 2003 and covers the details of this - see 'An analysis of the Draft Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe'

The European treaties, taken together, form the primary legislation and are in effect the "constitution" of the Community; they provide the legal basis for all secondary legislation - regulations, directives and decisions - made by the institutions of the Community. Essentially, the Treaties produce obligations for the Member States and rights for individuals. This relationship has developed to encompass the concept of the European Union as being an area of security for individuals and legal persons.

The structure and the provisions of the combined treaties are becoming increasingly complex, with Nice being the seventh European treaty since 1951. As each treaty becomes law, it is incorporated into the existing treaties, which together form the consolidated Treaty on European Union.

The Treaty of Nice is, however, not an entity in its own right and it follows the format of the previous Treaties (the Single European Act, the Maastricht Treaty and the Treaty of Amsterdam) in being a series of amendments and additions to the Treaty of Rome and as such is difficult to interpret and understand.

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Reviews

Reviews and comments on 'The Treaty of Nice in Perspective' are shown on the attached page covering Reviews

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Examples of pages from

'The Treaty of Nice in Perspective'

We have a few pages taken from 'The Treaty of Nice In Perspective' to show the layout and the range of subjects covered in the BMDF book.

Preface The preface to the BMDF book on the Treaty of Nice.

Contents List The contents list of the BMDF book on the Treaty of Nice.

Key Issues Notes on the key issues of the Treaty of Nice. [HTML file]

The Development of Competences Sample pages from the analysis of the Development of Competences, showing the changes in the powers, or 'competences' of the EU institutions from the Treaty of Rome to the Treaty of Nice.

Consolidated Treaty Four pages from the Consolidated Treaty establishing the European Community, showing the changes made by the Treaty of Nice in bold.

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