Lisbon treaty and accession?

SeanW

Just wondering, what effect if any would passage of the Lisbon Treaty have on plans to expand the European Union? Specifically, what effect if any would it have on Turkey's bid for membership?

Scofflaw

SeanW wrote: »

Just wondering, what effect if any would passage of the Lisbon Treaty have on plans to expand the European Union? Specifically, what effect if any would it have on Turkey's bid for membership?

Specifically, none. There is nothing whatsoever to prevent Turkish accession right now apart from the fact that it's opposed by France, Germany, Greece, Cyprus and others, and that it's so far from ready that only one chapter out of the necessary 35 accession chapters have been completed, while 8 are formally blocked by Turkey's refusal to acknowledge Cyprus. The current likely estimate of earliest entry for Turkey is about 2023, and Lisbon does nothing whatsoever to speed that up - it may well raise the bar slightly, because Turkey would have to accept the Charter of Fundamental Rights, and probably the ECHR as well by that stage.

In more general terms, all that Lisbon does in terms of facilitating expansion is that it changes the mechanism for allocation of Council of Ministers voting weights and Parliament seats so that any further entries to the EU no longer require the rounds of horse-trading over votes and seats that currently has to happen - which is the point of the QMV changes, and the reason why, as nearly as possible, they don't change the current weights. When Sarkozy says something like "no expansion without Lisbon", he is making a purely political stand, not one that refers to any kind of limits in Nice (there are none) - and it's a stand that would be immediately dropped if Lisbon fails and Iceland asks for entry.

cordially,
Scofflaw

sceptre

I notice that this is the second time this week that specific question's been asked. Is there a Turkey meme flying around? Are Cóir Christmas theming their posters already?

(Christians voting for Turkey is sort of swapping around the old routine)

BlitzKrieg

it would be UKIP's leaflet to every home and the soverign independent's *newspaper*

free to prosper

THe EU Commission opened up another new chapter of Accession talks with Turkey in July.

Of course the US wants Turkey in the EU to bolster NATO.

'The entry of 75 million from Turkey would have disasterous economic influence on Ireland - it would cause a huge reduction in CAP payments to farmers and with the free movement of this people in the EU it would cause job displacement and wage competition in Ireland.' said Farmers for No spokesman, David Thompson.

'Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president last June said, "No Lisbon [Treaty], no enlargement,". He added that "the Nice Treaty limited the EU to a membership of 27 states."

It is crystal clear then, that Lisbon is a prerequisite for enlargement. If we vote No to Lisbon, enlargement cannot take place. Turkey cannot enter the EU.

ei.sdraob

turkey is already in NATO, bolster what and how

these noooes copy and pastas are getting weirder by day

OldJay

free to prosper wrote: »

It is crystal clear then, that Lisbon is a prerequisite for enlargement. If we vote No to Lisbon, enlargement cannot take place. Turkey cannot enter the EU.

This is the sort of wiki-style tilted soundbite that conveniently clouds the truth of the matter.
If the accession of the three candidate countries to the EU is to go further then provisions that are laid down in the Nice Treaty will need to be changed, IN THE OPINION of the premier you mention.
Lisbon Treaty or not, their accession will still be on offer if there is enough pan-union support for them. In short, if Lisbon Treaty went unratified, they can still accede to the EU. :rolleyes:

Scofflaw

free to prosper wrote: »

THe EU Commission opened up another new chapter of Accession talks with Turkey in July.

Of course the US wants Turkey in the EU to bolster NATO.

'The entry of 75 million from Turkey would have disasterous economic influence on Ireland - it would cause a huge reduction in CAP payments to farmers and with the free movement of this people in the EU it would cause job displacement and wage competition in Ireland.' said Farmers for No spokesman, David Thompson.

'Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president last June said, "No Lisbon [Treaty], no enlargement,". He added that "the Nice Treaty limited the EU to a membership of 27 states."

It is crystal clear then, that Lisbon is a prerequisite for enlargement. If we vote No to Lisbon, enlargement cannot take place. Turkey cannot enter the EU.

The Nice Treaty is not limited to 27 States at all. It contains specific rules on enlargement that happen when the EU reaches 27 states, but there is no limit whatsoever. Sarkozy is making an entirely political statement of his intent.

Also, I suspect the claim that Sarkozy said that Nice limited the EU to 27 states is entirely made up. A Google search for it shows it only in 3 places - here, politics.ie, and the "Farmers for No" blog. If you can show a real source, do so before making the claim again.

regards,
Scofflaw

PopeBuckfastXVI

Scofflaw wrote: »

The Nice Treaty is not limited to 27 States at all. It contains specific rules on enlargement that happen when the EU reaches 27 states, but there is no limit whatsoever. Sarkozy is making an entirely political statement of his intent.

Also, I suspect the claim that Sarkozy said that Nice limited the EU to 27 states is entirely made up. A Google search for it shows it only in 3 places - here, politics.ie, and the "Farmers for No" blog.

regards,
Scofflaw

I know the truth isn't that exciting or sensational, but why do people feel it necessary to outright make things up?

Pro-tip: If your argument can't be based on the truth alone, it's not worth making.

spank_inferno

When a nation joins, say Iceland or Turkey, do they have to ratify all existing treaties (or even the most recent one) or does a new member just get their own treaty of membership?

Did Romania & bulgaria have to ratify Nice treaty for example?

marco_polo

spank_inferno wrote: »

When a nation joins, say Iceland or Turkey, do they have to ratify all existing treaties (or even the most recent one) or does a new member just get their own treaty of membership?

Did Romania & bulgaria have to ratify Nice treaty for example?

Accession treaty by which they accept the the terms of all existing EU treaties.

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2005:157:0011:0027:EN:PDF