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The Treaty of Amsterdam (ToA)
The ToA was signed on 2 October 1997 and came into effect on 1 May 1999. It had three parts and substantially amended both the TEU and the EC Treaty.
It simplified the latter, deleted obsolete provisions, updated others and renumbered almost all of them. All modifications were set out in an explanatory report prepared by the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union.59 The Treaty of Amsterdam was accompanied by 13 Protocols, 51 Declarations adopted by the Amsterdam Summit of June 1997 and eight unilateral Declarations submitted by individual Member States. The Treaty of Amsterdam entered into force on 1 May 1999 following its ratification by all the then 15 Member States of the European Union by 30 March 1999.
The main features of the ToA
The main features of the ToA were:
The extension of the objectives of the EU and the EC. In respect of the EU, the objectives included the promotion of economic and social progress, the progressive establishment of the area of FSJ, further development of the concept of EU citizenship, and the strengthening of existing policies. In respect of the EC, the objectives were not changed, or greatly extended.
However, a new obligation was imposed on the EC when adopting legislative measures. They must be assessed in the light of two considerations: the prohibition of discrimination between men and women, and the protection of the environment.
Further, the EC gained competence to adopt measures concerning entry to the territory of the EU of non-EU nationals, movement of persons, and the co-ordination of employment policies.
The confirmation of the stability pact and the timetable for EMU;
The suspension of rights of aMemberStatethat violate basic human rights;
The progressive creation of the area of FSJ for EU citizens;
The extension of the scope of the principle of non-discrimination to prohibit discrimination based on “sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age, and sexual orientation”;
The protection of the processing of personal data and of the free movement of such data in respect of both individuals and Community institutions. This is embodied in Article 16
TFEU;
The inclusion of a chapter on employment;
The incorporation of the Social Charter into the EC Treaty. TheUnited Kingdomdecided to join the Social Protocol. As a result, it was incorporated into the Treaty provisions on social policy, education, training and youth (see Title X of the TFEU);
The extension of the powers of the EP. The clear winner at the Amsterdam Summit was the EP. The co-decision procedure (under the ToL this procedure is called the ordinary legislative procedure) has been extended to 15 existing Treaty provisions concerning eight areas.
Involvement of national parliaments in decision-making procedures. The ToA involved national parliaments in the legislative decision-making procedures in the EU in order to give them an opportunity to express their views on matters which might be of particular interest to them. It required the Commission to promptly forward all proposals to national parliaments. Subject to exceptions based on urgency, proposals could not be placed before the Council for six weeks after they were made available to national parliaments.
Protocol 13 attached to the ToA set out the above rules;
The establishment of the principle of transparency;
An explanation of the role and application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality.
The introduction of the concept of enhanced co-operation. The concept of enhanced co-operation permits differential integration, that is, in certain projects only some Member States participate. Before the adoption of the ToA, Member States were allowed various opt-outs, for example, participation in EMU or the Schengen system. The ToA formalized this type of arrangement and mainstreamed it to a greater degree. The procedure under the ToA was substantially amended by the ToN, and then by the ToL.
The introduction of changes in the implementation of the CFSP.
The incorporation of the Schengen acquis into the TEU.
59. [1997] OJ C353/1.
