EU opens formal talks on reform treaty
- Belgium
- 07/23/2007
Foreign ministers of EU member states began formal negotiations on the proposed Reform Treaty Monday. Foreign ministers convened the 2007 Intergovernmental Conference; conference agenda, in Brussels, circulating drafts of the proposed treaty so that the respective states’ legal experts can meet Tuesday and Wednesday to begin preliminary negotiations to finalize the details of the landmark agreement reached between EU members in June. Portugal, which took over the EU Presidency on July 1, is hoping to complete the negotiation process by October, so that member states can sign the treaty at a December summit and complete the ratification process before the June 2009 European parliamentary elections.
The reform treaty, essentially a cut-down version of the stalled European constitution, has generated much debate between EU members. In June, Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski sought to reopen debate on the proposal by insisting a different interpretation of the reform agreement reached by EU leaders, which could derail the process. In early June, the UK government also insisted on four-non-negotiable “red lines”, objecting in particular to any incorporation of the European Charter of Fundamental Rights.
