Lesser known Lisbon – things you might not know about the Treaty

It’s in the news a lot, but how much do you really know about the Lisbon treaty?

Read on to discover some surprising facts…

You can ask the EU to act
The Lisbon Treaty includes a Citizen’s Initiative. This gives EU Citizens the opportunity to petition the European Commission for a change in policy, which could ultimately lead to new legislation.  For a petition to be valid , it needs to contain one million signatures from a number of different EU countries

Your MP can challenge the EU if it oversteps the mark
The Lisbon Treaty strengthens the powers to make sure that the EU only acts on an issue where it can add value to national or regional level action. This is the principle of subsidiarity, which keeps decision making as close as possible to the Citizen. The Lisbon Treaty makes national parliaments ‘the watchdogs’ of the EU’s drafts laws.  If parliaments feel the EU is overstepping the mark they can request an amendment or even a withdrawal of the law.

My voice in Europe
The Lisbon treaty ensures the European Parliament, which is made up of MEPs that you elect, in a more of the EU’s policy-making. The European Parliament will have to approve much more EU legislation. This means you can lobby your MEP if you have concerns about a draft EU law.