Title V of the Treaty on European Union contains the provisions establishing a common foreign and security policy. It comprises Articles J to J.11.
Following the amendments made by the Treaty of Amsterdam, Title V will comprise Articles J to J.17 once the new Treaty has entered into force.
Title VI of the Treaty on European Union contains the provisions establishing cooperation in the fields of justice and home affairs. It comprises Articles K to K.9.
The new Treaty transfers a large number of fields under Title VI to a new Title IIIa of the Treaty establishing the European Community ("Visas, asylum, immigration and other policies related to free movement of persons"). Police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters will remain in Title VI of the Treaty on European Union, which will now comprise fourteen articles.
Title IIIa of the Treaty establishing the European Community and Title VI of the Treaty on European Union will form the legal bases of an area of freedom, security and justice.
The term "transparency" is frequently used in the language of the institutions to mean openness in the operation of the Community institutions. It is related to a variety of demands concerning broader public access to information and EU documents and greater legibility of texts (simplification of the Treaties, consolidation of legislation, etc.).
Complaints regarding a lack of transparency tend to reflect a general feeling that the European institutions are remote and secretive and that decision-making procedures are difficult for the ordinary European citizen to understand.
When the Treaty of Amsterdam enters into force, a new Article 191a on transparency will be inserted in the Treaty establishing the European Community. It states that any citizen of the European Union and any natural or legal person residing or having its registered office in a Member State has the right of access to the documents of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission. The general principles governing access to these documents and the limits to access (on grounds of public or private interest) will be determined by the Council, acting with Parliament under the codecision procedure, within two years of the entry into force of the new Treaty. Each of the three institutions concerned will incorporate in its rules of procedure special provisions regarding access to its documents.
In the debate concerning the transparency of the Council's proceedings, attention is focused on two main points:
Since amending its Rules of Procedure on 6 December 1993, the Council has pursued the following policy: as a general rule, its deliberations remain secret but it holds some open debates (e.g. on the Presidency's six-monthly work programme). On the question of public access and details of the votes cast by Member States, the Council adopted (on 2 October 1995) a Code of Conduct which enables the public to gain access whenever the Council is acting in its legislative role. The practical arrangements for such access were laid down by the Permanent Representatives Committee on 8 November, in a report concerning the internal procedure to be followed.
When the Treaty of Amsterdam enters into force, the principles governing access to documents will be formally enshrined in Article 151 of the Treaty establishing the European Community. This means that the results and explanations of Council votes and statements entered in the minutes will be available to the general public.
The Treaty of Amsterdam is the result of the Intergovernmental Conference launched at the Turin European Council on 29 March 1996. It was adopted at the Amsterdam European Council on 16 and 17 June 1997, then signed on 2 October 1997 by the Foreign Ministers of the fifteen Member States. It will enter into force after it has been ratified by all the Member States in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements.
From a legal angle the purpose of the Treaty is to amend certain provisions of the Treaty on European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related acts. It does not substitute the other Treaties but adds to them.
The "Troïka" consists of the Member State which currently holds the Presidency of the Council, the Member State which held it for the preceding six months and the Member State which will hold it for the next six months. The Troïka is assisted by the Commission and represents the Union in external relations coming under the common foreign and security policy.
When the Treaty of Amsterdam enters into force, the Troïka will cease to exist in its present form and be replaced by a system whereby the Presidency is assisted by the Secretary-General of the Council, in his capacity as High Representative for the common foreign and security policy, and by the Member State which is next in line for the Presidency.