A ruling by Germany's highest court that the EU's reforming Lisbon Treaty is compatible with German basic law has been received in Germany and Europe as an encouraging step forward. The court rejected complaints from Germany's far-left party and a maverick conservative member of parliament that the treaty would transfer too much power to Brussels. It said the reforms were fundamentally in line with the country's constitution, but it set conditions. That led Christian Democrat Chancellor Angela Merkel to hail the ruling as a "good day for the Lisbon Treaty." "The important message of the day is that the Lisbon Treaty has cleared another significant hurdle. I am very pleased about that," Merkel told reporters in Berlin after the judgement.
The court rejected complaints from Germany's far-left party and a maverick conservative member of parliament that the treaty would transfer too much power to Brussels. It said the reforms were fundamentally in line with the country's constitution, but it set conditions.
That led Christian Democrat Chancellor Angela Merkel to hail the ruling as a "good day for the Lisbon Treaty."
"The important message of the day is that the Lisbon Treaty has cleared another significant hurdle. I am very pleased about that," Merkel told reporters in Berlin after the judgement.
Germany's highest court has ruled that the Lisbon Treaty is not fundamentally incompatible with the country's constitution. However, it has called a halt to the ratification process until the German parliament changes a domestic law to strengthen the role of the country's legislative bodies in implementing European Union laws. With the process of ratifying the Lisbon Treaty hitting one speed bump after another, many would have expected that at least Germany would have given the treaty safe passage. However, an attempt by some German legislators to block its ratification has led to delays even in the European Union's biggest country.
Germany's highest court has ruled that the Lisbon Treaty is not fundamentally incompatible with the country's constitution. However, it has called a halt to the ratification process until the German parliament changes a domestic law to strengthen the role of the country's legislative bodies in implementing European Union laws.
With the process of ratifying the Lisbon Treaty hitting one speed bump after another, many would have expected that at least Germany would have given the treaty safe passage. However, an attempt by some German legislators to block its ratification has led to delays even in the European Union's biggest country.
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Germany's highest court on Tuesday ruled that the EU's new treaty is compatible with German law, so long as the role of the national parliament in EU decision-making is strengthened. "The German constitution says yes to the Lisbon treaty, but on a national level the parliament has to have a stronger say in EU matters", vice-president of the German constitutional court, Andreas Vosskuhle, said on Tuesday after reading the verdict. The German constitutional court says Lisbon treaty can be fully ratified only if national parliament is strengthened The court in Karlsruhe also said that the treaty and the German constitution would not allow the creation of an "EU federal state" - one of the concerns of the MPs who filed a complaint. But the 147 page-long ruling suspends the ratification process of the treaty until the new provisions requested by the court come into force.
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Germany's highest court on Tuesday ruled that the EU's new treaty is compatible with German law, so long as the role of the national parliament in EU decision-making is strengthened.
"The German constitution says yes to the Lisbon treaty, but on a national level the parliament has to have a stronger say in EU matters", vice-president of the German constitutional court, Andreas Vosskuhle, said on Tuesday after reading the verdict.
The German constitutional court says Lisbon treaty can be fully ratified only if national parliament is strengthened
The court in Karlsruhe also said that the treaty and the German constitution would not allow the creation of an "EU federal state" - one of the concerns of the MPs who filed a complaint.
But the 147 page-long ruling suspends the ratification process of the treaty until the new provisions requested by the court come into force.
