Constructive abstention refers to the possibility to be introduced in the common foreign and security policy to allow a Member State to abstain on a vote in Council without blocking a unanimous decision.
Such a possibility will be written into the Treaty on European Union with the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam. If the constructive abstention is accompanied by a formal declaration, the Member State in question will not be obliged to apply the decision but must accept that it commits the Union. The Member State must then refrain from any action which might conflict with Union action based on that decision.
The acquis communautaire or Community patrimony is the body of common rights and obligations which bind all the Member States together within the European Union. It is founded principally on the Treaty of Rome and the instruments that supplement it (the Single European Act, the Treaty on European Union etc.), plus the wide range of secondary legislation enacted under them. The acquis communautaire relates mainly to the single market and the four freedoms inherent in it (freedom of movement for goods, persons, capital and services), the common policies which underpin it (agriculture, trade, competition, transport and others) and measures to support the least-favoured regions and categories of the population.
The Union has committed itself to maintaining the acquis communautaire in its entirety and developing it further.
Exemptions and derogations from the legal framework constituted by the acquis communautaire are granted only in exceptional circumstances and are limited in scope.
Agenda 2000 is a document adopted by the Commission on 15 July 1997 as an official response to requests by the European Council that it present a general document on enlargement and the reform of the common policies and a communication on the Union's future financial framework after 31 December 1999. Agenda 2000 tackles all the questions facing the Union at the beginning of the 21st century. Attached to it are the Commission's opinions on the countries that have applied for Union membership.
Agenda 2000 is in three parts:
the first covers measures to strengthen and reform the Union's policies, in particular the common agricultural policy and economic and social cohesion;
the second contains recommendations for preparing the Union to meet the challenge of enlargement;
the third proposes the introduction of a new financial framework for the period 2000-2006.
The question of animal welfare was first addressed in a declaration attached to the Treaty establishing the European Community on the occasion of the previous Intergovernmental Conference. The institutions have since then been required to take animal welfare into account when drafting and implementing Community legislation in the fields of the common agricultural policy, transport, the internal market and research.
A Protocol laying down the obligations of the Community institutions and the Member States relating to animals will be annexed to the Treaty establishing the European Community following the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam.
This refers to the various organisations, institutions, treaties and traditional relations making up the European area within which members work together on problems of shared interest.
An essential part of this architecture was established by the Treaty on European Union, which formed three pillars: the European Community (first pillar), the common foreign and security policy (second pillar) and cooperation in the fields of justice and home affairs (third pillar). Matters falling within the second and third pillars are handled by the Community institutions (the European Council, the Council, the Commission, the European Parliament etc.), but intergovernmental procedures apply.
The progress made since 1993 as a result of cooperation in the fields of justice and home affairs has led to more ambitious objectives being set in the Treaty of Amsterdam. It has been decided to establish an area of freedom, security and justice, the aim being to ensure genuine freedom of movement for individuals on the territory of the European Union and more effective action against organised crime and fraud.
At present, matters relating to justice and home affairs are dealt with solely under the intergovernmental rules laid down in Title VI of the Treaty on European Union (the "third pillar"). When the Treaty of Amsterdam enters into force, these fields will be divided up between the first and third pillars.
Under the first pillar, which is governed by the Community method, a new Title IIIa will be added to the Treaty establishing the European Community ("Visas, asylum, immigration and other policies related to free movement of persons"). The new Title VI of the Treaty on European Union will cover fewer fields but its objectives will be spelled out more clearly and include close cooperation between police services, customs and judicial authorities.
The third pillar provisions will still include a "bridge" allowing Member States to transfer areas of competence from Title VI to Title IIIa. The transfer procedure is very complex and has never been applied, but its existence suggests that in time all areas concerning justice and home affairs may be brought within the Community framework.
If some Member States wish to advance more quickly in certain fields and establish closer cooperation, they may do so within the European Union in accordance with the conditions laid down in the new Article K.12 of Title VI. They will not need to create a separate legal system, as was the case with Schengen.
Article 235 reflects the realisation by those who drafted the Treaty of Rome that the powers specifically allocated to the Community (executive powers) might not be adequate for the purpose of attaining the objectives expressly set by the Treaties themselves (competence ratione materiae). This article can be used to bridge that gap, since it lays down that "If action by the Community should prove necessary to attain ... one of the objectives of the Community and this Treaty has not provided the necessary powers, the Council shall, acting unanimously on a proposal from the Commission and after consulting the European Parliament, take the appropriate measures."
A Coordinating Committee consisting of senior officials was set up under Article K.4 of the Treaty on European Union to do the preparatory work for Council deliberations on justice and home affairs. In practice the committee had already been in existence since the Rhodes European Council in December 1988.
With the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam, Article K.4 will become the new Article K.8, with no change to its substance.
Article N of the Treaty on European Union is the legal base which enables a conference of representatives of the Member States' governments (an IGC) to be convened for the purpose of amending the Treaties. It stipulates that any Member State, or the Commission, may submit to the Council proposals for such amendments. If the Council, after consulting Parliament and the Commission, delivers an opinion in favour of calling a conference, it is convened by the President of the Council. Any subsequent amendments enter into force after being ratified by all the Member States in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements.
Article N(2) expressly provides for the convening of the 1996 IGC. It will be repealed on the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam.
The assent procedure, whereby the Council must obtain Parliament's assent (absolute majority of its members) before certain important decisions can be taken, was introduced by the Single European Act. Parliament may accept or reject a proposal but cannot amend it.
The assent procedure mainly concerns the accession of new Member States and certain international agreements. It is also required for citizenship, the specific tasks of the European Central Bank, amendments to the Statute of the ESCB and of the ECB, the Structural and Cohesion Funds and the uniform procedure for elections to the European Parliament.
Once the Treaty of Amsterdam has entered into force, Parliament's assent will also be required in the case of sanctions to be imposed on a Member State for a serious and persistent breach of fundamental rights (new Article F.1).