The Amsterdam Treaty

Both treaties seek to achieve more effective political cooperation
and improvements in the rights of individual EU citizens. The
Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe, commonly referred
to as the European Constitution, was an international treaty
intended to create a constitution for the EU.

Its main aims were
to replace the overlapping set of existing treaties that comprise
the EU’s current constitution, to codify uniform basic rights and
democratic principles throughout the EU, and to streamline deci-
sion-making processes.

It was signed in 2004 by representatives
of the Member States of the EU and subject to ratifcation by all
Member States. This proved impossible to achieve, since several
Member States declined to ratify the Constitution. Following the
failure of the constitutional treaty, it was decided at a European
Council meeting in June 2007 to start negotiations on a treaty
of reform as a replacement.

This treaty (the Treaty of Lisbon)
was signed in December 2007 at a summit in Lisbon, Portugal.
It amends the existing treaties of the EU. The Lisbon Treaty
was ratifed by all EU Member States and entered into force on
December 1 2009