EU parliament votes in favor of changes to EU treaties

The EU parliament on Wednesday voted on the adoption of a report by the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) and an accompanying resolution. In the report, AFCO recommends changes to bloc's two fundamental treaties: the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The proposal consists of more than 260 amendments.

"The report, approved with 305 votes in favour, 276 against, and 29 abstentions, was prepared by five co-rapporteurs representing a broad majority in Parliament" - the EP said in a statement.

Furthermore, 291 MEPs voted in favor of the resolution, 274 voted against, and 44 abstained.

Poland's Law and Justice party (PiS), with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki at the helm, have been using an anti-EU narrative, trying to convince Poles that the vote was a threat to Poland's sovereignty as it pertained to changing the treaties.

The amendments that PiS opposes pertain to a proposed switch from the unanimity principle into qualified majority voting rule. AFCO recommends that some issues be decided with a majority vote rather than a unanimous decision made by all EU member states. The idea is to avoid situations in which a single veto by one member state precludes the whole bloc from making a decision.

TVN24 Brussels correspondent Maciej Sokołowski commented on Wednesday's vote and reassured that it could not change the EU treaties. "It's not that the EU parliament can change them. It can propose it, but the decision belongs to heads of state. It is them who can possibly summon a conference that would prepare changes to the treaties. And that could take even a few years," he said.

He added that "the European Parliament has an advisory voice, not the final one, like Law and Justice are trying to convince".

Another step required in order to change the treaties is to summon a special conference at which heads of state need to arrive at a unanimous conclusion that they want said change to happen.

"If there is such an unanimous agreement, then a ratification in all EU member states is still required. If even a single EU country disagrees, then no changes to the treaties are possible," Sokołowski explained.

Therefore, as the TVN24 correspondent said, the MEPs "voted over a proposal, a vision, the European Parliament would like introduce". "It doesn't mean, however, that it will be implemented, and it certainly doesn't mean it can happen without our country's approval."