Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union

Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union
Name	Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union
Caption	Signing of the Treaty of Lisbon, 2007
Date signed	13 December 2007
Location signed	Lisbon
Effective date	1 December 2009
Parties	European Union member states
Languages	official languages of the European Union

Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union is one of the primary treaties underpinning the European Union legal order, existing alongside the Treaty on European Union and reshaping competences for European Commission, European Parliament, European Council and Court of Justice of the European Union. The instrument codifies substantive single market rules, internal market freedoms, sectoral policies and general principles applied by European Court of Justice judges, national courts and administrative bodies across France, Germany, Italy and other member states. Its text emerged from treaty reforms negotiated at intergovernmental conferences involving delegations from United Kingdom, Spain, Netherlands and Poland and was central to the reform package concluded in Lisbon.

History and negotiation

Negotiations trace to post‑World War II projects such as the Schuman Declaration, the Treaty of Rome negotiations among Benelux, Federal Republic of Germany, France and Italy, and subsequent revisions like the Single European Act and Maastricht Treaty, prompting later talks in Nice and the Intergovernmental Conference of 2004. The drafting process for the 2007 reform drew political actors including José Manuel Barroso, Gordon Brown, Angela Merkel, Nicolas Sarkozy, and constitutional drafters from the Convention chaired by Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, with deliberations in European Council summits and formal adoption at the Treaty of Lisbon signing ceremony. Ratification required parliamentary and referendum procedures in member states such as Ireland and Czech Republic and legal scrutiny involving national constitutional courts like the Federal Constitutional Court (Germany) and the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom before the treaty entered into force.

Structure and content

The treaty is organized into titles, chapters and articles that mirror policy clusters in texts like the Treaty on European Union and earlier codifications from the Treaty of Rome, covering internal market freedoms, competition law, taxation arrangements, and sectoral action in areas such as transport and energy. Key parts address free movement of goods, services, persons and capital as found in articles derived from precedents set in judgments of the European Court of Justice and doctrinal work by scholars associated with institutions such as College of Europe and European University Institute. Annexes and protocols accompany the main text, reflecting special arrangements affecting Denmark, United Kingdom (pre‑Brexit opt‑outs), and territories like Greenland and Faroe Islands.

Institutional and legal impact

By specifying competences and legal bases, the treaty reshaped powers of the European Commission, clarified legislative roles for the Council of the European Union and expanded co‑legislative authority of the European Parliament, affecting decision procedures in Qualified Majority Voting and treaty provisions influenced by rulings of the European Court of Justice, General Court of the European Union and national tribunals. The treaty interacts with jurisprudence from landmark cases involving actors such as Volkswagen, FIAT, Intel, and regulatory bodies like the European Central Bank and European Investment Bank, altering the balance between supranational institutions and member states represented at the European Council.

Policy areas and provisions

Substantive chapters set out provisions on competition policy, state aid, public procurement, and common transport, energy and environmental measures, aligning with frameworks developed by agencies such as European Environment Agency, European Medicines Agency, and European Chemicals Agency. Provisions on free movement link to rights enjoyed by nationals of Poland, Romania, Hungary and other member states under directives administered by the European Commission and interpreted by the European Court of Justice. Fiscal and monetary passages engage institutions including the European Central Bank and reference convergence criteria established at meetings of finance ministers in the Eurogroup.

Interpretation and case law

Interpretation of the treaty has been driven by seminal judgments of the European Court of Justice and the General Court in cases involving parties such as Commission v. France, Commission v. Italy, Commission v. United Kingdom, and private litigants like Google, Apple, and Microsoft, shaping doctrines on direct effect, supremacy and proportionality. National constitutional courts including the Bundesverfassungsgericht, the Corte Costituzionale (Italy), and the Constitutional Court of Spain have engaged in dialogue with the European Court of Justice in preliminary reference procedures under Article 267 TFEU, influencing concepts debated at forums like the European Law Academy and in academic journals produced by the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law.

Amendments and protocols

Amendments have been effected through later treaties, intergovernmental agreements and protocols attached to the main instrument, involving ratification steps by parliaments such as the Seymour Amendment‑era procedures in Ireland and constitutional reviews in Poland and Lithuania, and include protocols concerning the status of Cyprus, Malta, and United Kingdom transitional arrangements pre‑ and post‑accession. Protocols and annexes address institutional seats of bodies like the European Parliament in Brussels, Strasbourg, and budgetary arrangements overseen by the European Court of Auditors, and further reform proposals have been discussed at European Council summits and in scholarly work from London School of Economics and College of Europe commentators.

Category:Treaties entered into force in 2009