Legal personality

Today the European Communities have “legal personality” and thereby power to represent all EU states in binding international commitments. The European Union does not.

The future

The Convention on the Future of Europe proposes giving legal personality to the whole Union and getting rid of the division between first, second and third pillar issues, as established by the Treaty of Maastricht.

This will make the EU an independent international body, comparable to what its member countries have traditionally been. It will mean that, from outside, the EU will look like a state.