Definition and significance of the EU Treaty (TEU)
The term EU Treaty (TEU), also referred to as the Treaty on European Union or Maastricht Treaty, is the central contractual foundation of the European Union alongside the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The TEU, together with the TFEU, forms the “primary law level” of the European Union and fundamentally establishes the objectives, principles, structures, decision-making processes, and the competences of the Union. It thus serves a structuring, law-making, and legitimizing function for the European legal order.
Historical development and legal foundations
Origins of the TEU
The TEU was signed on February 7, 1992, in Maastricht, Netherlands, and entered into force on November 1, 1993. This treaty created the European Union in its current form. However, the TEU did not fully replace previous treaties, but rather supplemented and modified the existing Rome Treaties, particularly those concerning the European Economic Community (EEC).
Key changes brought by the Treaty of Lisbon
The Treaty of Lisbon of 2007, which entered into force on December 1, 2009, brought a fundamental reform of EU primary law. Since then, the TEU exists in a consolidated, amended version. In addition, the Treaty of Amsterdam (1997) and the Treaty of Nice (2001) were integrated into the European treaties and revised.
Official recognition and scope of application
The TEU is part of what is known as European primary law and holds a higher rank than secondary law, such as regulations and directives. All legal acts of the European Union must comply with the requirements and principles of the TEU. In addition to the 27 Member States of the European Union, the TEU is binding for the Union’s institutions, authorities, and agencies.
Structure and systematics of the EU Treaty
Structure
The Treaty on European Union currently consists of the following titles:
- Title I: Common Provisions (Arts. 1-8 TEU)
- Title II: Provisions on Democratic Principles (Arts. 9-12 TEU)
- Title III: Provisions on the Institutions (Arts. 13-19 TEU)
- Title IV: Provisions on Enhanced Cooperation (Art. 20 TEU)
- Title V: General Provisions on the Union’s External Action and Specific Provisions on the Common Foreign and Security Policy (Arts. 21-46 TEU)
- Title VI: Final Provisions (Arts. 47-55 TEU)
Content of the most important articles and titles
Common Provisions
The first articles set out the core motives, values, and objectives of the European Union (Arts. 1-3 TEU). These include, among others, the preservation of peace, the promotion of values, the creation of an area of freedom, security, and justice, as well as the commitment to democracy and human rights.
Democratic Principles
The second title sets out democratic legitimacy (Art. 10 TEU), transparency, the participation of citizens, and the rights of Member States and the Union’s institutions.
Institutions of the European Union
The third title names the main institutions of the Union: the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Commission, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Central Bank, and the Court of Auditors. It regulates their tasks, composition, and the institutional balance.
Enhanced Cooperation
Article 20 TEU opens up the possibility for specific Member States to cooperate more closely in selected areas when not all Member States wish or are able to participate in such an initiative. This enables integrative developments without disrupting the entire treaty framework.
External Action and Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP)
The fifth title regulates the external policy capacity of the Union as well as the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). It defines competences, procedures, and principles for political and security-related activities at an international level.
Final Provisions
Here, the legal personality of the Union (Art. 47 TEU), the amendment procedure (Art. 48 TEU), as well as rules on languages, accession, and withdrawal of membership (Arts. 49-55 TEU) are regulated.
Legal significance and mode of operation
Primary law status and effect of the TEU
The TEU, together with the TFEU, forms the highest normative foundation in the European legal system. No legal act, decision, or action at the EU level may contradict the TEU. It stands above secondary law (particularly directives, regulations, decisions) and has an indirect effect on national law and the constitutions of the Member States.
Direct effect and primacy of application
Not all provisions of the TEU have immediate third-party effect. However, fundamental provisions on values and objectives serve as standards both for the interpretation of further Union law and for the actions of the institutions and Member States.
The primacy of Union law means that in the event of a conflict between national law and mandatory rules of the TEU, the latter take precedence.
Treaty amendment and revision
The TEU may be amended in accordance with Art. 48 TEU through ordinary and simplified amendment procedures. Ordinary amendment requires a convention as well as the unanimous consent of the Member States. Simplified revisions without a convention and without changing the fundamental provisions are also possible, for example to expand majority decisions.
Institutions under the TEU
The principal institutions under Art. 13 TEU are:
- European Parliament
Representation of the citizens of the Union
- European Council
Determination of political objectives, composed of the Heads of State or Government
- Council of the European Union (Council of Ministers)
- European Commission
- Court of Justice of the European Union
- European Central Bank
- European Court of Auditors
The TEU defines the composition, election procedures, tasks, and institutional balance of these institutions.
Reforms, accession and withdrawal
Enlargement possibilities
The accession of new states is governed by Art. 49 TEU. Specific democratic, rule-of-law, and economic requirements, known as the Copenhagen criteria, must be fulfilled.
Withdrawal of Member States (“Brexit clause”)
With Art. 50 TEU, the possibility of voluntary withdrawal was established. The withdrawal procedure follows set contractual and time processes.
Significance for Member States and national law
The TEU obliges Member States to loyal cooperation (Art. 4 TEU) and to respect shared values and objectives. The implementation and compliance with EU primary law is subject to oversight, particularly by the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Summary and outlook
The EU Treaty (TEU) is the central, constitution-like regulatory framework of the European Union. It governs the competences, tasks, and composition of its institutions and strengthens the fundamental values, principles, and goals of the Union. As part of primary law, it supports the entire system of Union law, structures its application, and guarantees the European Union’s capacity to act in legal, economic, and foreign policy spheres. With ordinary and simplified amendment procedures, the TEU also remains adaptable to political and social developments in Europe.
Frequently asked questions
How does the EU Treaty (TEU) assert itself in relation to other sources of law of the European Union?
The EU Treaty (Treaty on European Union, TEU), together with the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), forms the so-called primary law of the EU. In legal terms, the TEU takes precedence over derived legal acts (secondary law) such as regulations, directives, and decisions. This primacy arises from the fundamental principle of the Union’s institutional structure, which is based on the TEU’s provisions and objectives. The TEU forms the basis for the creation, interpretation, and application of further legal acts. At the same time, it should be noted that the TEU does not enjoy absolute primacy over the TFEU; both treaties have equal rank, although in specific areas (e.g., institutional structure and fundamental rights) the TEU is decisive, while the TFEU mainly contains substantive provisions on internal market integration. Only customary international law and certain basic principles of international law stand above the treaties in rank, but only within strictly limited scope—for example, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has repeatedly emphasized that Union law generally enjoys primacy over national law and can even require the suspension of national provisions in cases of conflict.
What role does the EU Treaty (TEU) play in the allocation of competences between the EU and its Member States?
The TEU is the central document for defining and limiting the competences between the European Union and its Member States. In legal terms, a detailed list and systematization of EU competences is provided in Arts. 3-6 TFEU and, complementarily, in the TEU, particularly Arts. 4 and 5 TEU. According to the principles of conferral of powers, subsidiarity, and proportionality enshrined there, the EU may only act in areas and to the extent explicitly authorized by the Treaties. Member States retain all competences not transferred to the Union, which ensures a clear legal limitation of the Union’s powers. The principle of subsidiarity also obliges the Union’s institutions to act only when objectives cannot be sufficiently achieved at the Member State level.
How does the EU Treaty (TEU) affect the legal status of individuals?
Legally, the TEU has a fundamental impact on the rights and obligations of Union citizens as well as natural and legal persons in the EU. Through the values enshrined in the TEU, especially the principles of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law, and protection of human rights pursuant to Art. 2 TEU, immediate protection is created for individuals. Particularly noteworthy is the binding reference to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union: According to Art. 6 para. 1 TEU, the Charter, to the extent that the Union acts, has the same legal value as the Treaties. The ECJ regularly interprets the TEU so that certain provisions have direct effect, provided they are sufficiently clear, unconditional, and justiciable, allowing individuals to assert these rights before national courts.
What is the significance of the EU Treaty (TEU) for the institutional structure of the European Union?
The TEU lays down the legal bases for the composition, competences and functioning of the main institutions of the European Union. The provisions of the TEU, especially in Articles 13 to 19, specify all institutions (European Parliament, European Council, Council of the EU, European Commission, Court of Justice of the EU, Court of Auditors, and European Central Bank), as well as their tasks and areas of competence. The TEU also establishes fundamental procedural rules, transparency requirements, principles of the rule of law, democratic legitimacy, and mechanisms of control and institutional balance. This structures and secures the functioning of the EU in a legally binding manner.
To what extent does the EU Treaty (TEU) regulate the accession and withdrawal of Member States?
The TEU contains binding legal provisions for accession and withdrawal. Art. 49 TEU stipulates the procedure and conditions for accession, such as respecting and promoting the values enshrined in the TEU, as well as the obligation to adopt the “acquis communautaire”, i.e., the entire body of existing EU law. The actual accession process is multi-stage and fully engages both EU institutions and the Member States. Withdrawal has been expressly provided for since the Treaty of Lisbon in Art. 50 TEU, thereby creating for the first time a legal framework for voluntary withdrawal. The procedure provides for notification to the European Council, negotiations on a withdrawal agreement, and determination of the termination of Treaty obligations. If the withdrawal agreement is not concluded within two years, membership automatically ends unless an extension is agreed.
How does the EU Treaty (TEU) influence the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ)?
The TEU provides the guiding legal principles for the case-law of the ECJ. It obliges the Court, under Art. 19 TEU, to ensure the observance of Union law by overseeing both the interpretation and application of the Treaties and the secondary law based on them. The fundamental values, principles, and competences established in the TEU serve the ECJ as direct interpretative standards and criteria for upholding the rule of law and the uniform application of Union law. Legal disputes concerning the interpretation of the TEU itself or conflicts between national law and Union law are primarily assessed on the basis of the TEU’s provisions.
What special amendment procedures are provided for in the EU Treaty (TEU)?
The TEU contains special provisions for amending the Treaties in Art. 48 TEU. A distinction is made between the ordinary revision procedure (convention and intergovernmental conference for revision) and simplified amendment procedures. While the ordinary procedure involves broad participation of national parliaments, the European Parliament, the Commission, the Council and, if necessary, a dedicated convention, the simplified procedure allows changes to certain parts of the Treaties, especially the third part of the TFEU, without requiring a convention. Both procedures always conclude with ratification of the Treaty amendments by all Member States under their respective constitutional requirements, which underscores the particularly high rule-of-law standards of the Union Treaties.
