The Treaty of Nice is a treaty of the European Union (EU). It was agreed in December 2000, signed in February 2001 and, following a lengthy ratification process, entered into force in February 2003. Its purpose was to prepare the EU institutionally for the accession of the states of Central and Eastern Europe, Malta and Cyprus. It also introduced changes in the field of Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP).
In order to prepare for an enlarged EU, the Treaty of Nice reweighted member states’ votes in the Council of the European Union. The treaty extended qualified majority voting in the Council to 27 policy areas and six personnel appointments areas which had previously required unanimity, but the power of veto was retained for the areas of taxation, social security, immigration, border controls, culture, broadcasting, health and education. The Treaty of Nice introduced a new distribution of seats in the European Parliament (EP). It raised the maximum number of members of the EP from 700 to 732, achieving this by reducing the number of seats for existing member states.
Only Germany and Luxembourg retained the same number. The European Commission was limited in size to one European commissioner for each member state. This means that the large countries—Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain—lose their second commissioner. In the Treaty of Nice it was agreed that as soon as the EU has 27 member states, leaders will establish a permanent limit of fewer than 27 commissioners and Commission seats will then be filled by rotation among member states.
The Treaty of Nice also established the possibility of enhanced co-operation among member states in the field of CFSP. By the treaty, the Rapid Reaction Force (RRF) that it had been agreed to establish in November 2000, comes under the direct control of EU institutions and the Western European Union was formally integrated into the EU.
The implementation of the Treaty of Nice took more than two years. A significant hurdle in the ratification process was that in Ireland the treaty had to be ratified by referendum and then by the Seanad Éireann and Dáil Éireann. Irish voters rejected the treaty on 7 June 2001 (no 53.87%; turn-out 35%). There were concerns about the impact that further integration would have on Ireland, and whether the new RRF would compromise Ireland’s neutral security position. Following a national debate, a second referendum was held on 19 October 2002 and a yes vote was secured (yes 62.89%; turn-out 49.47%).
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