Passerelle clause

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A passerelle clause is a clause in treaties of the European Union that allows the alteration of a legislative procedure without a formal amendment of the treaties. The use of a passerelle clause required unanimity of all member states although member states with opt-outs and those not participating in an area under enhanced cooperation may not have a vote. Unlike formal treaty revision their use does not require national ratification. Passerelle is French for a 'small bridge'.

Contents

General clauses

As of the coming into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, there are two general passerelle clauses which apply to all decision making under the treaties. They are subject to the following preconditions:

Provided the preconditions are met, the European Council acting unanimously [2] can:

Specific clauses

There are a further six specific clauses. [3] These apply to specific policy areas and may be easier to adopt than the general clauses as they require fewer preconditions. In four of them it is the Council of Ministers rather than the European Council which may the decision to use the clause. The European Parliament has no role in four of the clauses and is limited to being consulted in the other two. A national parliamentary veto is only retained in one of them.

European Council acting alone
Enhanced cooperation
within in that enhanced cooperation. The decision is made unanimously by the participating member states within the Council of Ministers. In the event a move from a special to the ordinary legislative is proposed, the European Parliament must be consulted.
Council of Ministers on the proposal of the European Commission after having consulted the European Parliament
Council of Ministers on the proposal of the European Commission after no national parliament has objected with a six-month notification period

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References

  1. The final paragraph of Article 48(7) of the Treaty on European Union (as amended).
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Select Committee on European Union (26 February 2008). "Chapter 3: Simplified Treaty Revision and Passerelles". Tenth Report. UK Parliament. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  3. "Legislative procedures". Europa. European Commission. Retrieved 19 July 2014.