European leaders agree to landmark EU reform treaty News
European leaders agree to landmark EU reform treaty

[JURIST] EU leaders reached an agreement on a proposed constitutional treaty [JURIST news archive] following two days of tough negotiations early Saturday, compromising to reach a deal which will be the basis for the Intergovernmental Conference to author the text of the treaty at the end of 2007. The proposed treaty, which EU leaders hope will be ratified before 2009 EU parliamentary elections, satisfied key objections from the UK and Polish government. UK Prime Minister Tony Blair [official website] outlined four-non-negotiable "red lines" [JURIST report] earlier this week, objecting in particular to any proposed incorporation of the European Charter of Fundamental Rights [European Parliament materials], which EU leaders agreed will not affect UK law. The agreement also delayed the adoption of a proposed "double majority" voting system until 2014, which will be phased in a period of three years. Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski has previously threatened to veto any proposed treaty [JURIST report] unless it were voting rights similar to those established in the 200 Nice Treaty, which established a qualified majority voting system [BBC backgrounder] that gave Poland more power. The "double majority" proposal will require at least 55 percent of the ministers inn the Council of the European Union to vote in favor of a measure, but also requires that the minister voting in favor represent at least 65 percent of the EU's total population.

The treaty – in effect a cut-down version of the stalled European constitution [JURIST news archive] – will create a full time EU president, as well as organize regular meetings of EU heads of states. A European office for an unified foreign minister will also be created, and will be provided the resources and support to represent the EU as a single body. The reforms will also slim down the European Commission beginning in 2014, and transfer more power to the European Parliament. Current EU Council President and German Chancellor Angela Merkel [official website] described as a "significant step" forward [press release] for the European Union to act as a unified body. BBC News has more. AP as additional coverage.

THIS DAY @ LAW

UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied in Six Days' War

On November 22, 1967, the UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied during the Six Days' War, and for respect of the right of all States in the area to "live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries." Read Resolution 242, which remains a cornerstone of efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East.

President Kennedy assassinated, VP Lyndon Johnson sworn inin

On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Later that day, Vice-President Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as the 36th President of the United States. Earl Warren, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, was later tasked with leading a commission to investigate the assassination. President Johnson received the final report of the Warren Commission on September 24, 1964. Read the Warren Commission Report.