Structure of the treaties governing the EU

The treaties which govern the EU

The EU is governed by a complex set of treaties. The Treaty of Lisbon proposes to amend and restructure these treaties.

The main treaties

1957: Treaty of Rome: came into effect 1 January 1958

1986: Single European Act: came into effect 1 July 1987

1992: Treaty on European Union (Maastricht Treaty): came into effect 1 November 1993

1997:  Treaty of Amsterdam: came into effect 1 May 1999.

2001: Treaty of Nice: came into effect 1 February 2003.

Consolidated versions

Treaty establishing the European Community (pdf)

Treaty on European Union (consolidated text) (pdf)

Accession treaties were signed as each new member state joined. These are all part of the treaties governing the EU.

A consolidated version of the treaties as they would be if the Treaty of Lisbon is ratified is available on the European Council website. The Irish Institute of European Affairs has produced a Consolidated Version of the Treaties as amended by the Treaty of Lisbon.

Treaty of Lisbon

2007: Treaty of Lisbon: came into effect 1 December 2009. The text of the Treaty is available in English and in Irish

Effect of the Treaty of Lisbon

Since ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon the EU is now governed by 2 treaties:

• The Treaty on European Union – that is the Maastricht Treaty as amended by the Amsterdam, Nice and Lisbon treaties
• The Treaty on the Functioning of the EU – that is the Treaty of Rome as amended by all the subsequent treaties including the Lisbon Treaty

Pillar structure

The EU has had 3 pillars although the term “pillar” is not used in the treaties. The 3 pillars are:

• First Pillar: The European Community which is broadly the original institution. It covers a range of areas including social and employment policies, consumer, environment, competition and internal market laws and policies. These are sometimes called "Community" activities.
• Second Pillar: Common Foreign and Security Policy – this deals with security and defence policies and foreign policy generally.
• Third Pillar: Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters – this is more commonly known as Justice and Home Affairs and covers areas such as law enforcement, asylum seekers and refugees and immigration (some of these issues are also in the First Pillar).

The 3 pillars together constitute the European Union. From a strictly legal perspective, the European Community (EC) refers to the First Pillar only while the European Union (EU) refers to all 3 pillars. However, in practice the terms tend to be used interchangeably. There are significant differences between how decisions are made in the First Pillar and in the others.

The Treaty of Lisbon abolishes this structure. Instead, the European Union (EU) will be the only title.