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- TITLE 1
- COMMON PROVISIONS
-
- ARTICLE A
- By this Treaty, the High Contracting Parties establish among themselves a
- European Union, hereinafter called "the Union".
- This Treaty marks a new stage in the process of creating an ever closer union
- among the peoples of Europe, in which decisions are taken as closely as
- possible to the citizen.
- The Union shall be founded on the European Communities, supplemented by the
- policies and forms of cooperation established by this Treaty. Its task shall
- be to organize, in a manner demonstrating consistency and solidarity,
- relations between the Member States and between their peoples.
-
- ARTICLE B
- The Union shall set itself the following objectives:
- - to promote economic and social progress which is balanced and sustainable,
- in particular through the creation of an area without internal frontiers,
- through the strengthening of economic and social cohesion and through the
- establishment of economic and monetary union, ultimately including a single
- currency in accordance with the provisions of this Treaty;
- - to assert its identity on the international scene, in particular through the
- implementation of a common foreign and security policy including the eventual
- framing of a common defence policy, which might in time lead to a common
- defence;
- - to strengthen the protection of the rights and interests of the nationals of
- its Member States through the introduction of a citizenship of the Union;
- - to develop close cooperation on justice and home affairs;
- - to maintain in full the "acquis communautaire" and build on it with a view
- to considering, through the procedure referred to in Article N(2), to what
- extent the policies and forms of cooperation introduced by this Treaty may
- need to be revised with the aim of ensuring the effectiveness of the
- mechanisms and the institutions of the Community.
- The objectives of the Union shall be achieved as provided in this Treaty and
- in accordance with the condition and the timetable set out therein while
- respecting the principle of subsidiarity as defined in Article 3b of the
- Treaty establishing the European Community.
-
- ARTICLE C
- The Union shall be served by a single institutional framework which shall
- ensure the consistency and the continuity of the activities carried out in
- order to attain its objectives while respecting and building upon the "acquis
- communautaire".
- The Union shall in particular ensure the consistency of its external
- activities as a whole in the context of its external relations, security,
- economic and development policies. The Council and the Commission shall be
- responsible for ensuring such consistency. They shall ensure the
- implementation of these policies, each in accordance with its respective
- powers.
-
- ARTICLE D
- The European Council shall provide the Union with the necessary impetus for
- its development and shall define the general political guidelines thereof.
- The European Council shall bring together the Heads of State or of Government
- of the Member States and the President of the Commission. They shall be
- assisted by the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Member States and by a
- Member of the Commission. The European Council shall meet at least twice a
- year, under the chairmanship of the Head of State or of Government of the
- Member State which holds the Presidency of the Council.
- The European Council shall submit to the European Parliament a report after
- each of its meetings and a yearly written report on the progress achieved by
- the Union.
-
- ARTICLE E
- The European Parliament, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Justice
- shall exercise their powers under the conditions and for the purposes provided
- for, on the one hand, by the provisions of the Treaties establishing the
- European Communities and of the subsequent Treaties and Acts modifying and
- supplementing them and, on the other hand, by the other provisions of this
- Treaty.
-
- ARTICLE F
- 1. The Union shall respect the national identities of its Member States, whose
- systems of government are founded on the principles of democracy.
- 2. The Union shall respect fundamental rights, as guaranteed by the European
- Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms signed
- in Rome on 4 November 1950 and as they result from the constitutional
- traditions common to the Member States, as general principles of Community
- law.
- 3. The Union shall provide itself with the means necessary to attain its
- objectives and carry through its policies.
-