Bundesverfassungsgericht Creates a new Hurdle for the Lisbon Treaty

On June 30, 2009 German Federal Constitutional Court passed its judgment on constitutionality of ratification of the Lisbon Treaty. The key part of the decision is the following:

4. a) The Act Extending and Strengthening the Rights of the Bundestag and the Bundesrat in European Union Matters (Bundestag document 16/8489) infringes Article 38.1 in conjunction with Article 23.1 of the Basic Law insofar as rights of participation of the German Bundestag and the Bundesrat have not been elaborated to the extent required taking into account the provisos that are specified under C. II. 3.

b) Before the entry into force of the constitutionally required legal elaboration of the rights of participation, the Federal Republic of Germanyʼs instrument of ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community, signed at Lisbon, 13 December 2007 (Federal Law Gazette 2008 II page 1039) may not be deposited.

In brief, the Lisbon Treaty is not infringing the German Basic Law, however, the legislature did not comply with constitutional requirements when implementing constitutional guarantees of participation at European level. Accordingly, national legislation has to be changed, before ratification process can be completed.

Mainstreaming Extreme Nationalism in Slovenia

On February 16, 2009, Slovenian extreme nationalist NGO "Zavod 25. Junij" instituted procedure for annulment of parliamentary ratification of the international treaty enabling accession of Croatia to the NATO. According to the Slovenian constitution, a motion for referendum can be instituted by 2500 voters. Slovenian prime minister Borut Pahor cautined Slovenian citizens against such a move. Too little too late.

Slovenian government paved the ground to this move in December 2008 by having blocked Croatian EU membership negotiation talks for territorial claims on Croatian territorial waters in the Adriatic. While EU negotiation talks were blocked by the Slovenian Government, the extreme nationalists were taking notes. And, while the EU is striving to unblock the negotiations by devising a high profile mediation committee that is to propose a solution to the border dispute, Slovenian credibility irreparably melted down.

Today, we have satisfied ourselves that 2500 extreme nationalists can flush away any act of parliament, any treaty ratification or, indeed, any negotiated settlement. In circumstances where Slovenian Government can not live up to its own 2/3 majority ratification, every negotiated settlement with Croatia that falls short of nationalists' expectations is likely to be challenged by a national referendum subject to 2500 votes.

Former prime minister of Slovenia Mr. Janša and the present prime minister Mr. Pahor deliberately drove the NATO accession ratification process into the time constraint and blocked the EU accession talks over the territorial avarice. In effect, they invited the extreme nationalists to follow the suit. In such circumstances, Croatia does not have a credible partner to strike the deal with and will have to live with this knowledge. Croatia's EU and NATO membership will be delayed. That is, however, the less dramatic point.

The bad news is that extreme nationalism in Slovenia is unleashed. Nationalists are now asking the Parliament to enact their platform and endorse their views. Some of the maximalist territorial claims are already mainstreamed by Slovenian government (see the official Slovenian map of Piran). EU and NATO will also have to live with it.

Slovenian SOCIALIST government seems to be mainstreaming NATIONALIST claims. Be afraid, be very afraid!

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According to Slovenian Constitution 40.000 votes are needed to call a referendum which can strike down legislation already passed. However, 2500 votes suffice to trigger a 35 day period within which 40.000 votes can be collected. This procedure is now on track. Slovenian parliament ratified the Treaty of Accession of Croatia to the NATO by 2/3 majority earlier this month.

Slovenia is undermining the idea of the founding fathers

"Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity." reads the Schumann Declaration of May 9, 1950.

That solidarity has been the essence of European integration during more then 50 years. Europe's identity resurrected from the ashes of the WWII and started to be construed towards common European values. Embracement of those values assumes renouncement of selfish national interests as a token of building a common European future. Those values are enshrined in Art. 6 of the EU Treaty and have become an inextricable part of acquis communautaire. They are also made part of Stabilisation and Association Agreements as their essential element and condition for accession to the EU.

European Union committed to open the door for membership of states of South East Europe once they meet membership criteria. With that aim in view negotiations with Croatia are underway. Yet, on December 18., 2008 Slovenia blocked opening or closing of 10 negotating chapters, due to the territorial dispute between the two countries. The Slovenian move is seriously calling in question the Commission-set date for completing the technical negotiations by the end of the term of the Commission in 2009.

Croatia is not blocked because of her failure to comply with negotiating benchmarks or membership requirements, but for a selfish urge of Slovenia to have an upper hand in the territorial dispute with Croatia.

This opinion is not about the territorial dispute. It will be settled in a court of law or another international tribunal where one of the litigants will win and another loose and the loosing party will accept the outcome. What this opinion is about is an unprecedented and distructive move of Slovenia to reject the solution proposed by the French presidency, and to condition accession of a candidate country by imposing its unilateral views on the other party in the dispute.

It is Europe I am talking about. The Europe, envisaged by its founding fathers, who counted on solidarity as a token of common future. The Europe where border disputes are despised and set aside and those who invoke them marginalized and exposed to shame.

Europe should construe its identity against negative historic experiences. Against fascism, communism and populist nationalism. All the mentioned historic ideologies have territory and national sovereignty in their core.

European Union must not succumb Slovenian populist demands. Slovenia should be told that the position of her government misfits European union. Even worse, it jeopardizes both its internal fundaments and its external policy. European union has invested enormous efforts in order to stabilize the Balkans. A clear result of those efforts can be seen in slow but steady progress of all countries of the Western Balkans towards the EU. Slovenia is already a Member State, Croatia is negotiating membership, Macedonia is a candidate country. Montenegro just applied for the membership.

If Slovenian claim is accepted as a legitimate one by the 26, it will destroy the moral underpining of Europe to act in the region and it will fuel territorial claims which are not in short supply, among candidate and potential candidate countries. Needles to describe the potential of destruction.

Slovenian blocade has to be put to an end at once! This is an appeal to Europeans not to accept populist territorial claims that Slovenian government smuggled into the negotiating process.

Siniša Rodin

Jean Monnet Chair
University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law


P.S. Dec. 19, 2008.

As reported by Slovenian press, Slovenian president Mr. Danilo Türk said that the decision of the Slovenian Government was "neccessary for protection of national interests." Danilo Türk: "Odločitev slovenske vlade glede Hrvaške je nujna za obrambo nacionalnih interesov"

What national interests is Mr. Türk talking about? Territorial interests? Europe has been through too many tragic historic conflicts that were based on that kind of logic. European Union was created to put an end to the zero-sum game where protection of national interest of one state is served only where the Others lose. Territorial disputes have no place in the EU, nor in the membership negotiations.

Game, set .... match?

Večernji list javlja na dan 12. prosinca 2008. (Stojan de Prato)

Ustraje li Slovenija u blokadi hrvatskih pristupnih pregovora s Europskom Unijom, blokirat će i stupanje na snagu Lisabonskoga ugovora, novoga temeljnoga spisa EU. Šefovi država ili vlada zemalja članica suglasili su se, naime, na jučer završenome dvodnevenome summitu EU 27 da se jamstva kojima bi uklonilo zamjerke Iraca zbog kojih su na prvome referendumu odbacili Lisabonski ugovor ugrade u Pristupni ugovor EU i Hrvatske. U početku se tome protivio nizozemski premijer Jan Peter Balkenende, “jer bi se time pritiskalo na brzinu pregovora s Hrvatskom”, ali je popustio. Slovenski premijer Borut Pahor nije se njavljao za riječ.

Iste informacije prenosi i Euractiv.

Ovo je veliki manevar francuske diplomacije i strašna blamaža Slovenije. Sa zanimanjem čekamo reakcije slovenske strane. Podsjetimo, samo nekoliko sati ranije čitali smo ovakve izjave:


Link na Index.hr

DEBLOKADU pristupnih pregovora između EU i Hrvatske, koju je predložila Francuska, koja predsjeda Unijom, slovenski premijer Borut Pahor je praktički odbacio. On je u Bruxellesu u izjavi za slovenske medije ionako zategnute odnose između Hrvatske i Slovenije, još dodatno zaoštrio.

Samouvjereno je zaključio kako je pravna služba slovenskog ministarstva vanjskih poslova napravila prijedlog teksta, koji je prema njegovim riječima "vodootporan" te osim toga vrlo jasan i zahtjevan. Izrazio kako ne očekuje manje od toga da Francuzi serviraju Zagrebu, da ga Sanader potpiše te se pismeno očituje na prijedlog francuskog Predsjedništva. Povrh svega toga, Pahor očekuje da se sve to zabilježi u zaključcima Vijeća EU te dodaje kako tada slovenska strana ne bi više imala razlog za strah od hrvatskih spisa kojima se po njima predodređuje granica između dvije zemlje.

Pahor je zaključio da ukoliko se ti uvjeti ne ispune, neće biti ni otvaranja ostalih pregovaračkih poglavlja u pristupnim pregovorima Hrvatske s EU tj. Hrvatska bi se našla u mrtvim pregovaračkim vodama. Sanaderu je poručio da s njim telefonski nema o čemu razgovarati i reći mu više od onoga što je rekao pred medijima.

Odluka o integraciji europskih ustupaka Irskoj u Ugovor o pristupanju Hrvatske EU mogla bi znatno ubrzati postupak ratifikacije i onemogućiti novi ciklus "poltike uvjetovanja" tj. onemogućiti ponavljanje situacije slične onoj koja se javila uz ratifikaciju Sporazuma o stabilizaciji i pridruživanju kada su neke države odlagale ratifikaciju uvjetujući je suradnjom Hrvatske s ICTY. Sada se i datum pristupanja 2011. ne čini neostvarivim. Mogući kalendar je slijedeći:

• - kraj 2009 - ponovljeni referendum u Irskoj
• - početak 2010 - potpisivanje Ugovora o pristupanju RH u koji su uključeni ustupci Irskoj
• - tijekom 2010 - ratifikacija
• - 1. siječnja 2011 - ulazak Hrvatske u EU
  

U zaključcima Europskog vijeća od 12. 12. 2008. ne spominje se ova opcija. Ali problem je već ušao na velika vrata u Europsku politiku. Na primjer na blogu Financial Timesa.

Ili npr. na stranicama Deutsche Welle gdje se može vidjeti što je točno rekao g. Sarkozy.

Dok ovo pišem nije mi potpuno jasno temelji li g. Sarkozy svoju izjavu na odluci ili gentelmenskom sporazumu u okviru Europskog vijeća. Međutim, ukoliko doista jamstva za Irsku budu integrirana u Ugovor o pristupanju Hrvatske, tada Hrvatska dobiva mogućnost "veta" kojim se može suprotstaviti slovenskoj blokadi i prijetnji referendumom o članstvu Hrvatske u EU. Budući da Ugovor o pristupanju moraju ratificirati sve države članice i Hrvatska, u takvoj situaciji, Hrvatska bi mogla odbiti ratifikaciju Ugovora o pristupanju, ali i njegovog sastavnog dijela koji bi sadržavao jamstva za Irsku. Time bi došao u pitanje i sporazum koji je Europsko vijeće postiglo 12. prosinca 2008. koji je prihvaćen zaključcima Europskog vijeća. Drugim riječima, slovensko ustrajanje na blokadi hrvatskog pristupa razorilo bi i osnove budućeg razvoja Europske unije što nije realno očekivati.

Prvi put "Tješnja suradnja"?

EU Observer donosi vijest o prvom slučaju pokretanja postupka "closer co-operation" u području razvoda braka parova različitog državljanstva.

Postupak pokreću Austrija, Francuska, Grčka, Madžarska, Italija Luxembourg, Rumunjska, Slovenija i Španjolska.