The making of a new treaty: Six rounds of political bargaining

European Union treaties are usually mythic documents – the “new treaty” that has been christened TSCG (Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union) does not belong to the category of Maastricht or Lisbon: It is an international treaty – born as an alternative to a revision of the EU treaties after the United Kingdom opposed such a move, it is a small document of sixteen articles on eleven pages, and it has been drafted within a very short period of time between mid-December 2011 and the end of January 2012.

But the actual negotiations of the new treaty were just like normal treaty negotiations: Many negotiating parties made public declarations about their positions on certain provisions and key provisions of the treaty changed during the negotiation process.

Looking at five leaked drafts of the treaty and the final version, this Policy Brief shows how “six rounds of political bargaining” unfolded. Most provisions of the final text have become more precise and tough; but some now allow for exceptions and are not as strict as in the first draft. The Policy Brief also makes a careful assessment of the extent to which individual member states or institutions could and could not assert their negotiating positions.

This page was last updated on 9 February 2012.

Documents to download: 

- The table: "The making of a new treaty: Six rounds of political bargaining” [working paper]

- The Policy Brief which analyses six rounds of political bargaining