The Swedish EU Presidency during the second half of 2009 will be constrained by a number of external factors such as the investiture of a new Commission, a newly elected European Parliament and it will probably be held under constitutional uncertainty. Nonetheless, the Swedish Government will want to make a mark on the priorities of the European Union during the Presidency.
The Lisbon Treaty leaves behind an urgent need for the consequences of our membership in the EU to be reflected more appropriately in the constitution than they are today. The Lisbon Treaty takes the last final steps in a long reform process and the Swedish constitution's life together with the EU is now entering a new phase with new requirements.
Energy security has gone high up on the EU's agenda under both the framework for energy and security policy. The development means that Member States must consider how and to what extent energy policy should be part of a more general attitude in the field.
The Lisbon Treaty could take effect before the 2009 European Parliament elections. The treaty could be approved by the Irish Parliament and exceptions can be given to the remaining changes that must be decided in a subsequent referendum.
The report analyses the effects of free movement for workers from the new Member States to Sweden. The immigration is still small compared with total immigration to Sweden.
When changes to the Lisbon Treaty are discussed it is often mentioned of the more forceful formulation in the area of EU external actions and the new posts created within the EU's institutional structure that is expected to lead to greater coherence. An equally important but less noticed policy that has also been written into the Treaty is that of consistency between internal and external policies.
This publication aims to provide an overview of the Lisbon Treaty and its impact on criminal law. The author states that the Lisbon Treaty does not resolve all the constitutional issues in the field of European criminal law.
The ratification of the Lisbon Treaty will have quite significant implications for European Union external trade policy. The most important change will be an increased role for the European Parliament (EP).
SIEPS’ annual conference 2007 was held on the theme The Purse of the European Union: Setting Priorities for the Future. The conference was arranged in the light of the EU budget review process that was launched in September 2007 and which is expected to be concluded in 2008-2009.
The precedence principle means that the Member States may not apply national regulations contrary to EU law. European Union law can thus be said to have precedence over national law, including Member States' own constitutional regulations.