European Commission

Downloads

Your Guide to the Lisbon Treaty: Leaflet produced by the European Commission explaining what the Lisbon Treaty means to you as a citizen. This leaflet can be downloaded here [591 KB] .

The Irish language version, Lámhleabhar faoi Chonradh Liospóin, can be downloaded here [2 MB] .

"Consolidated Version": the text of the Treaty itself, consisting as it does of amendments, is not easily readable without reference to the Treaties it amends. For that reason, the EU, amongst other bodies, has released a version of the Treaties as they would look if Lisbon is ratified. The Irish language text is available here .

Treaty Text: the text of the Lisbon Treaty consists of a series of amendments to the existing treaties that form the basis of the EU - the Treaty on the European Union (TEU), and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). This is exactly the same format as the last two ratified EU Treaties (Nice and Amsterdam). More information on the various treaties, and downloads of those treaties themselves, is available here .

The Irish language text of the Treaty is available here.

The Current Treaties: the current Treaties, as last amended by the Treaty of Nice, consist of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the Treaty establishing the European Community (EC) as in force from 1 February 2003 (post Nice). The latter treaty will, if the Treaty of Lisbon is ratified, be known as the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU).

These Treaties are available in their post-Nice consolidated versions (Nice, like Lisbon, was an amending Treaty - that text is available here) as a single PDF. They are the current treaties of the European Union and Economic Community.

The Charter of Fundamental Rights: the Charter of Fundamental Rights is a catalogue of the rights that all citizens of the Union should enjoy vis-à-vis the Union's institutions and directives. The six chapters of the Charter cover the following aspects: individual rights related to dignity; freedoms, equality, solidarity, rights linked to citizenship status and justice. These rights are currently considered whenever the EU is framing directives or institutions, but are not legally binding. If the Treaty of Lisbon is ratified, the Charter will be legally binding on the EU in its actions and institutions, and on national governments when they are transcribing EU directives into national law. The Irish language text of the Charter is available here .