The Treaty of Amsterdam in Historical Perspective: Introduction to the Symposium

Fordham International Law Journal, Dec 1998

On February 27-28, 1998, the Center on European Union Law of the Fordham Law School was pleased to present a program, “The European Union and the United States: Constitutional Systems in Evolution,” intended to provide a clear description of the impact of the Treaty of Amsterdam upon the European Union (or “EU”), and to enable some valuable points of comparison and contrast between constitutional and legal developments within the European Union and the United States. This symposium issue of the Fordham International Law Journal publishes a series of papers presented at the conference centering on the Treaty of Amsterdam, signed on October 2, 1997, and scheduled for complete ratification and entry into effect in 1999. All of the articles were written by present or former officials of institutions of the European Union who either participated in the preparation of the text of the Treaty of Amsterdam or are well-suited to analyze it. Let me now make a few remarks situating the Treaty of Amsterdam within the context of the constitutional evolution of the European Union. Not only is the study of the European Union one of the greatest practical importance, in view of its major political and economic role on the world stage, but also it is fascinating and rather elusive. The historical development of the European Union is complex, representing a gradual expansion in scope and power through a number of stages, each of which in turn is rather complicated and hard to assess.

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The Treaty of Amsterdam in Historical Perspective: Introduction to the Symposium

FORDHAMINTERNATIONAL LAWJOURNAL Fordham International Law Journal - 1998 Article 2 Copyright c 1998 by the authors. Fordham International Law Journal is produced by The Berkeley Electronic Press (bepress). http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/ilj The Treaty of Amsterdam in Historical Perspective: Introduction to the Symposium Roger J. Goebel On February 27-28, 1998, the Center on European Union Law of the Fordham Law School was pleased to present a program, “The European Union and the United States: Constitutional Systems in Evolution,” intended to provide a clear description of the impact of the Treaty of Amsterdam upon the European Union (or “EU”), and to enable some valuable points of comparison and contrast between constitutional and legal developments within the European Union and the United States. This symposium issue of the Fordham International Law Journal publishes a series of papers presented at the conference centering on the Treaty of Amsterdam, signed on October 2, 1997, and scheduled for complete ratification and entry into effect in 1999. All of the articles were written by present or former officials of institutions of the European Union who either participated in the preparation of the text of the Treaty of Amsterdam or are well-suited to analyze it. Let me now make a few remarks situating the Treaty of Amsterdam within the context of the constitutional evolution of the European Union. Not only is the study of the European Union one of the greatest practical importance, in view of its major political and economic role on the world stage, but also it is fascinating and rather elusive. The historical development of the European Union is complex, representing a gradual expansion in scope and power through a number of stages, each of which in turn is rather complicated and hard to assess. Rogerj Goebel* On February 27-28, 1998, the Center on European Union Law of the Fordham Law School was pleased to present a program, "The European Union and the United States: Constitutional Systems in Evolution," intended to provide a clear description of the impact of the Treaty of Amsterdam' upon the European Union (or "EU"), and to enable some valuable points of comparison and contrast between constitutional and legal developments within the European Union and the United States. The conference proceedings are to be published in a book by Kluwer Law International later this year. This symposium issue of the FordhamInternationalLaw Journal publishes a series of papers presented at the conference centering on the Treaty of Amsterdam, signed on October 2, 1997, and scheduled for complete ratification and entry into effect in 1999. All of the articles were written by present or former officials of institutions of the European Union who either participated in the preparation of the text of the Treaty of Amsterdam or are well-suited to analyze it. Commissioner Marcelino Oreja, whose portfolio included a direct responsibility for the Commission's participation in the Turin Intergovernmental Conference, which drafted the Treaty of Amsterdam, inaugurates the symposium with his reflections on the achievements of the Treaty of Amsterdam, the prospects of further enlargement of the European Union, and their impact on relations between the European Union and the United * Professor of Law and Director of the Center on European Union Law, Fordham University School of Law. 1. Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty on European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related acts, Oct. 2, 1997, O.J. C 340/1 (1997) (not yet ratified) [hereinafter Treaty of Amsterdam]. States. His paper is entitled: The Recent Evolution of the European Union. Five experts coming from each of the institutions have provided articles intended to yield an analytical overview of the Treaty of Amsterdam. Jean-Claude Piris, Director-General of the Legal Service of the Council of the European Union and Legal Advisor to the Intergovernmental Conference (or "IGC"), collaborated with his Legal Service colleague, Giorgio Maganza, to write The Treaty of Amsterdam: Overview and InstitutionalAspects. This article provides a realistic, authoritative, and balanced appraisal of the impact of the Treaty of Amsterdam on the EU institutions and upon the scope of EU operations. Michel Petite, a key Commission civil servant who participated intimately in the IGC discussions, has provided an article, The Commission's Role in the IGC's Draftingthe Treaty of Amsterdam, that evaluates in a very frank manner the major issues and the Commission's contributions to the efforts to resolve them. Member of the European Parliament Laurens Jan Brinkhorst's article, An Appraisalof the Treaty of Amsterdam from the Perspectiveof a Member of the EuropeanParliament,provides a pragmatic critique of the Treaty of Amsterdam's achievements. His comments not only are flavored by his views as an Member of European Parliament, but also benefit from his (...truncated)


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Roger J. Goebel. The Treaty of Amsterdam in Historical Perspective: Introduction to the Symposium, Fordham International Law Journal, 1998, Volume 22, Issue 6,