The Berlin Declaration

March 2007

The Berlin Declaration was signed on 25 March 2007 to mark the 50^th anniversary of the signing of the Treaties of Rome [comprising the European Economic Community (EEC) Treaty and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom)].

The Declaration was signed by:

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the President of the Council of the EU.
José Manual Barroso, the President of the European Commission.
Hans-Gert Pöttering, the President of the European Parliament.

Selected extracts from the text of the Berlin Declaration are:

The unnatural division of Europe is now consigned to the past.
We, the citizens of the EU, have united for the better.
We preserve in the EU the identities and diverse traditions of its member states.
We intend jointly to lead the way in energy policy and climate protection and make our contribution to averting the global threat of climate change.
We are united in our aim of placing the EU on a renewed common basis before the European Parliament elections in 2009.
For we know, Europe is our common future.

The new treaty

The Constitutional Treaty was rejected in the French and Dutch referenda of 2005. And the Constitution was not mentioned by name in the Berlin Declaration. The name ‘Constitution' was effectively dropped.

But there was overwhelming political will for a new agreement - a new treaty - to place the EU on a "renewed common basis" by 2009 as stated in the Berlin Declaration. The extent and reach of the new treaty proved controversial with, for example, Germany keen to revive much of the Constitution (‘a slimmed-down constitution' - albeit under a different name) whilst other countries including the Czech Republic, the UK and Poland said that they prefered a less integrationist agreement (‘a mini-treaty').

Following the Berlin Declaration, Germany's timetable for proceeding with the new treaty was broadly:

Germany was expected to set out the basis for new treaty negotiations soon after the French Presidential elections. The first round of voting was on 22 April 2007; the second, if no candidate achieved 50% or more of the vote, was on 6 May 2007.
At the EU summit in Brussels (21 June 2007), Tony Blair's last, Germany was expected to unveil a ‘roadmap' for the new treaty. The roadmap was expected to probably comprise:

Plans for a ‘short and concentrated' intergovernmental conference, during the Portuguese Presidency, possibly to agree a new treaty by the end of 2007.
The new treaty should be ratified by spring 2009, ahead of the June 2009 parliamentary elections.

The Presidencies over that period:

1^st half, 2007: Germany.
2^nd half, 2007: Portugal.
1^st half, 2008: Slovenia.
2^nd half, 2008: France.
1^st half, 2009: The Czech Republic.

RL, April 2008