[ARTICLE 24 ]

COMMON FOREIGN A= ND SECURITY POLICY:

MEMBER STATES WI= LL BOUND AS SUBSIDIARY COUNCILS

INTO A LEGALLY-D= EFINED EU STATE

WITH ITS OWN FOR= EIGN POLICY AGREEMENTS

[ARTICLE 24]

AMENDMENT TO: Treaty of Lisbon amending the Treaty on European Union and t= he Treaty establishing the European Community (Lisbon, 13 December 2007)<= /span>

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Policy Area:

Treaty= on European Union, Title V, provisions on Common Foreign and Security Policy, Chapter 2, Specific provisions on the common foreign and security policy, section 1 Common provisions, Article 24

Amendment:

Clause 2, page 1<= /span>, line 12, leave out ‘any’ and insert—<= /o:p>

‘(i) Article 1, paragr= aph 25, headings relating to the Common Foreign and Security Policy; and=

(ii) any other’.=

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Lisb= on Treaty Article:

“43) Article 24 shall be replaced by the following:

"ARTICLE 24

The Union may conclude agreements with one or more States or international organisations in areas covered by this Chapter”= ."

Consolidated Treaty Article(s):

“Art= icle 24

1. = When it is necessary to conclude an agreement with one or more States or international organizations in implementation of this title, the Council ma= y authorise the Presidency, assisted by the Commission = as appropriate, to open negotiations to that effect. Such agreements shall be concluded by the Council on a recommendation from the Presidency.

2. The Council shall act unani= mously when the agreement covers an issue for which unanimity is required for the adoption of internal decisions.

3. When the agreement is envis= aged in order to implement a joint action or common position, the Council shall = act by a qualified majority in accordance with Article 23(2).=

4. The provisions of this Arti= cle shall also apply to matters falling under Title VI. When the agreement cove= rs an issue for which a qualified majority is required for the adoption of internal decisions or measures, the Council shall act by a qualified majori= ty in accordance with Article 34(3).

5. No agreement shall be bindi= ng on a Member = State whose representative in the Council states that it has to comply with the requirements of its own constitutional procedure; the other members of the Council may agree that t= he agreement shall nevertheless apply provisionally.

6. Agreements concluded under = the conditions set out by this Article shall be binding on the institutions of = the Union.”

Explanation:

The Union will acquire legal personality – theref= ore it can conclude agreements with one or more States or international organizations = in areas of a Common Foreign and Security Policy. The previous procedure of the present Article 24 will be radically simplified.

This provision means that the Member States would act under the European U= nion as one legally-defined st= ate, as components of a trans-= national European Union. Moreover, the Union at this point has gained a new uniform legal personality, providing the= new Union the right to conclude internationa= l agreements. Thus, the Union wi= ll be able to lead on all manner = of international actions, such as concluding treaties, hold= ing a right to submit claims or to act before an international court or judge, becoming a member of an international organisation or becoming party = to international conventions= and holding a right to enjoy immunities and also to bind the = Union internationally. To accede to the European Convention on Human R= ights and Fundamental Freedoms is to enable Member States to be brought before the Europe= an Court of Human Rights. There is more than a danger that this will, in practice, affect our seat at the United Nations Security Council. It is a major = constitutional cornerstone for the functioning = of the European Union as a single state and effectively reduces the authority of national parliaments to the position of <= /span>intellectual coffee shops. That is a fundamental change.

Any Member States that= do object will be forced to accept the agreement and be forced to ride roughshod over their constitutional arrangements.