Pillars
The Treaty of Maastricht, which established the European Union, structures the EU in three pillars:
- The first, so-called, "community pillar" places supra-national decisions under the control of the EU Court in Luxembourg.
- The second pillar, "an intergovernmental pillar", is concerned with the area of security and foreign policy CFSP.
- The third pillar, an intergovernmental pillar", refers to the intergovernmental area of Justice and Home Affairs.
Matters within the latter two pillars are gradually being shifted from the national to the supra-national level, with the result that they become governed by EU law.
Future
The Lisbon Treaty abolishes the 3 pillar structure. The principles of Community law established by the European Court will e.g. then also be applicable to the area of justice and home affairs. Furthermore, as legislative community acts will be adopted in the frame of JHA, the Court will have unrestricted jurisdiction in that area. For foreign policy the Court's jurisdiction is extended but remains limited. The Lisbon Treaty will remove the three-pillar structure of the EU. It will merge the three pillars and provide the European Union with a single legal personality in Art. 47 TEU.
The EU will then become a full international actor in its own right, capable of concluding international agreements with third countries within areas where the EU has internal legislative competence (i.e. areas where the EU currently legislates on behalf of member states).
Links
Full text of the Treaty of Maastricht: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/en/tr......ies/dat/11992M/htm/11992M.html
