Brussels, 26/09/2007 (Agence Europe) - The draft amending treaty of the EU - approved by all the EU member states' legal experts, as well as those from the Council, European Commission and European Parliament, is expected to be published on the Portuguese presidency website (http://www.eu2007.pt ) at the end of this week or the beginning of next week at the latest, explained sources close to the dossier. The group of legal experts working on the text for several weeks now, met up again on Wednesday afternoon (26 September), in an attempt to finalise the last three pages of the treaty, namely the protocols on the new derogations for the United Kingdom and Ireland in JHA (police and criminal matters) and the Schengen Agreement. It is mainly the Schengen Agreement that is posing problems, insofar as the IGC mandate as approved by heads of state and government in June is not entirely clear on this question. Overall, the experts explain that it is a matter of establishing whether the United Kingdom and Ireland (which both have a general opt-out but which are, however, participating in a large number of the provisions in the Schengen Acquis) can in the future choose either participation in the new Schengen measures affecting them (opt-in) or remain within the older non-amended provisions (EUROPE 9505).
On 24 September, the Portuguese presidency sent delegations a draft compromise that had been discussed by the legal experts group on Tuesday for the first time and which, according to the presidency, provoked “positive preliminary reactions”. This proposal would enable the United Kingdom and Ireland to effectively decide on a case-by-case basis whether to participate in future Schengen measures proposed by the Commission (opt-in). However, in order to regulate any possible British or Irish cherry picking, which would risk compromising the coherence and effective functioning of the Schengen area, the last word will go to the Council, which, using qualified majority will have to confirm British and Irish participation in the new measures. At the end of Wednesday afternoon, we were still unaware of whether British and Irish legal experts would agree to this new formula.
Once this final problem is resolved, the text approved by the legal experts will be sent to foreign affairs ministers who will make their own analysis of it - political, on this occasion - during the General Affairs Council on 15 October in Luxembourg. This debate, a few days away from the informal summit of Lisbon, is expected to provide a pretty clear indication on possible political demands, old and new, that could complicate the closing of the IGC and adoption of the new treaty on 18-19 October in Lisbon. (hb)