This document is an excerpt from the EUR-Lex website
Document 52012DC0197
COMMISSION OPINION on a draft European Council decision in favour of examining the proposed amendment of the Treaties concerning the addition of a Protocol on the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union to the Czech Republic
COMMISSION OPINION on a draft European Council decision in favour of examining the proposed amendment of the Treaties concerning the addition of a Protocol on the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union to the Czech Republic
COMMISSION OPINION on a draft European Council decision in favour of examining the proposed amendment of the Treaties concerning the addition of a Protocol on the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union to the Czech Republic
/* COM/2012/0197 final */
COMMISSION OPINION on a draft European Council decision in favour of examining the proposed amendment of the Treaties concerning the addition of a Protocol on the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union to the Czech Republic /* COM/2012/0197 final */
COMMISSION OPINION on a draft European Council decision in
favour of examining the proposed amendment of the Treaties concerning the
addition of a Protocol on the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights
of the European Union to the Czech Republic THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, Having regard to the Treaty on European
Union, and in particular Article 48(3) thereof, Whereas: (1) At the meeting of the European
Council on 29 and 30 October 2009 the Heads of State or Government, taking into
account the position taken by the Czech Republic, agreed that, at the time of
the conclusion of the next Accession Treaty, the Treaties should be amended to
the effect that a Protocol on the application of the Charter of Fundamental
Rights of the European Union to the Czech Republic is attached to the Treaty on
European Union (TEU) and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union
(TFEU). That Protocol should provide that Protocol No 30 on the application of
the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union to Poland and the
United Kingdom also applies to the Czech Republic. In that connection, the
European Council recalled that the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon
requires ratification by each of the 27 Member States in accordance with their
respective constitutional requirements and reaffirmed its determination to see
that Treaty enter into force by the end of 2009. Having been ratified by the
Czech Republic on 13 November 2009, the Treaty of Lisbon entered into force on
1 December 2009. (2) On
5 September 2011, the Czech Government submitted to the Council a proposal, in accordance with Article
48(2) TEU, for the amendment of the Treaties concerning
the addition of a Protocol on the application of the Charter of Fundamental
Rights of the European Union to the Czech Republic. (3) The
President of the European Council wrote to the Commission on 25 October 2011
requesting its opinion on that proposal. (4) Pursuant to the first
subparagraph of Article 6 (1) of the TEU the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the
EU shall have the same legal value as the Treaties. The second subparagraph of
Article 6 (1) of the TEU clarifies that the Charter shall not extend in any way
the competences of the Union as defined in the Treaties. Pursuant to its
Preamble, the Charter reaffirms, with due regard for the powers and tasks of
the Union and for the principle of subsidiarity, the rights as they result, in
particular, from the constitutional traditions and international obligations
common to the Member States, the European Convention for the Protection of
Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the Social Charters adopted by the Union
and by the Council of Europe and the case-law of the Court of Justice of the
European Union and of the European Court of Human Rights. It aims at
strengthening the protection of fundamental rights by making those rights more
visible. In accordance with its Article 51 (1) the Charter is “addressed to the
institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union with due regard for the
principle of subsidiarity and to the Member States only when they are
implementing Union law”. (5) Article 1(1) of Protocol No 30
provides that the Charter does not extend the ability of the Court of Justice
of the European Union, or any court or tribunal of the Member States that the
Protocol No 30 applies to, to find
that the laws, regulations or administrative provisions, practices or action of
Member States that it applies to are inconsistent with the fundamental rights,
freedoms and principles that it reaffirms. Pursuant to Article
1(2) of Protocol No 30 nothing in Title IV of the Charter creates justiciable
rights applicable to Poland and the United Kingdom except in so far as these Member
States have provided for such rights in their national law. Finally, Article 2 of
Protocol No 30 provides that to the extent that a provision of the Charter
refers to national laws and practices, it shall only apply to Poland or the
United Kingdom to the extent that the rights or principles that it contains are
recognised in the law or practices of these Member States. (6) Protocol No 30 is without
prejudice to other obligations devolving upon Poland and the United Kingdom
under the Treaty on European Union – and in particular Article 6 (3) thereof,
the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and Union law generally.
In that connection it must be noted that the Charter only reaffirms the rights,
freedoms and principles recognised in the Union and makes those rights more
visible. The purpose of Protocol No 30 is to clarify the application of the
Charter in relation to the laws and administrative action of these Member
States and of its justiciability within these Member States. (7) The Commission notes that
the agreement among the Heads of State or Government on an amendment of the
Treaties concerning the addition of a Protocol on the application of the
Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU to the Czech Republic has been reached
in a specific context. HAS DELIVERED A FAVOURABLE OPINION on a draft European Council decision in favour
of examining the proposed amendment of the Treaties concerning the addition of
a Protocol on the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the
European Union to the Czech Republic. This opinion
is addressed to the European Council.