CYIL 2010

THE QUEST OF THE LISBON TREATY IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC … that the delimitation of competencies according to the Treaty of Lisbon conformed with Art. 10a of the Constitution, which allowed for certain competencies of the institutions of the Czech Republic to be transferred to an international organisation or institution. The Government was of the opinion that the flexibility clause pursuant to Art. 352 TFEU, which makes it possible to overcome an absence of expressly stipulated competencies under circumstances where a certain action at the Union level is required to achieve the Union’s objectives, was also in accordance with Art. 10a of the Constitution. The Government emphasised that such possibility already existed under the current Treaty establishing the European Community (hereinafter the “TEC”). 15 Although the Treaty of Lisbon expands the scope of application of this concept, it also introduces significant control mechanisms that set out clear limits for the application of the flexibility clause and prevent it from being interpreted broadly. The Government also found no conflict in the simplified revision procedure for adopting changes to the Treaties according to Art. 48 (7) TEU. In relation to this procedure, conformity with Art. 10a of the Constitution was ensured by the act of ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon itself. As a sovereign Member State, the Czech Republic expressed its consent to future modifications of the exercise of transferred competencies in the manner explicitly defined in Art. 48 (7) of the TEU. In this regard, the Government also emphasised the responsibility of national parliaments, as each of them possessed the right of veto that could prevent adoption of changes to the Treaty by the simplified revision procedure. As regards the issue of negotiating and concluding international agreements on behalf of the Union, the Government stated that the Treaty of Lisbon preserved the existing concept of the conclusion of international agreements by the European Union with third countries. It would still be necessary to differentiate between agreements concluded within the exclusive competence of the EU, which are not subject to the Member States’ national procedures, and so-called mixed agreements, where the participation of the Member States is necessary to conclude such an agreement. According to the Government’s view, the legal entitlements (grounds) on the basis of which the EU will be authorised to conclude international agreements after the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon will not differ in any way from the current ones. The Treaty of Lisbon only codifies the hitherto established practice of the European Court of Justice (hereinafter the “ECJ”) and thereby contributes to the greater legal certainty of parties that are subject to the legal norms contained in international agreements. In its statement, the Government also addressed in detail the status of the EU Charter and its relationship to national catalogues of fundamental human rights and freedoms, as well as to the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (hereinafter the “ECHR”). The Government pointed out

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15 Art. 308 TEC.