1.—(1) In this Act—

“the European Communities” means the European Economic Community, the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Atomic Energy Community;

F1[ ‘European Union’ means the European Union, established by virtue of the Lisbon Treaty, and the European Atomic Energy Community; ]

F1[ ‘Lisbon Treaty’ means the Treaty of Lisbon amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community, signed at Lisbon on the 12th day of December 2007; ]

“the treaties governing the European Communities” means—

(a) “the ECSC Treaty”, that is to say, the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, signed at Paris on the 18th day of April, 1951,

(b) “the EEC Treaty”, that is to say, the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, signed at Rome on the 25th day of March, 1957,

(c) “the Euratom Treaty”, that is to say, the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, signed at Rome on the 25th day of March, 1957,

(d) the Convention on certain Institutions common to the European Communities, signed at Rome on the 25th day of March, 1957,

(e) the Treaty establishing a single Council and a single Commission of the European Communities, signed at Brussels on the 8th day of April, 1965,

(f) the Treaty amending certain Budgetary Provisions of the Treaties establishing the European Communities and of the Treaty establishing a single Council and a single Commission of the European Communities, signed at Luxembourg on the 22nd day of April, 1970,

(g) the Treaty relating to the accession of Ireland to the European Economic Community and to the European Atomic Energy Community, signed at Brussels on the 22nd day of January, 1972,

(h) the decision, of the 22nd day of January, 1972, of the Council of the European Communities relating to the accession of Ireland to the European Coal and Steel Community,

as supplemented or amended by treaties or other acts of which the dates of entry into force are dates not later than the 1st day of January, 1973 F2[, and

(i) the Treaty amending certain financial provisions of the Treaties establishing the European Communities and of the Treaty establishing a single Council and a single Commission of the European Communities, signed at Brussels on the 22nd day of July, 1975] F3[and

(j) the Treaty relating to the accession of the Hellenic Republic to the European Economic Community and to the European Atomic Energy Community, signed at Athens on the 28th day of May, 1979, and

(k) the decision, of the 24th day of May, 1979, of the Council of the European Communities relating to the accession of the Hellenic Republic to the European Coal and Steel Community,] F4[and

(l) the Treaty amending, with regard to Greenland, the Treaties establishing the European Communities, signed at Brussels on the F5[13th] day of March, 1984] F6[and

(m) the Treaty concerning the accession of the Kingdom of Spain and the Portuguese Republic to the European Economic Community and to the European Atomic Energy Community, signed at Lisbon and Madrid on the 12th day of June, 1985, and

(n) the decision, of the 11th day of June, 1985, of the Council of the European Communities relating to the accession of the Kingdom of Spain and the Portuguese Republic to the European Coal and Steel Community,] F7[and

(o) the following provisions of the Single European Act (done at Luxembourg on the 17th day of February, 1986, and at The Hague on the 28th day of February, 1986), namely, Article 3.1; Title II; Articles 31 and 32; and, in so far as they relate to the said Article 3.1, the said Title II and the said Articles 31 and 32, Articles 33 and 34,] F8[and

(p) the following provisions of the Treaty on European Union, namely, Titles II, III and IV; in Title VII, Articles L, M and P, and the other provisions of that Title in so far as they relate to any of the treaties governing the European Communities as defined by this subsection; together with the Protocols (whether expressed to be annexed to the Treaty establishing the European Community, or to the said Treaty on European Union and the Treaties establishing the European Communities), done at Maastricht on the 7th day of February, 1992,] F9[and

(q) the Act amending the Protocol on the Statute of the European Investment Bank, empowering the Board of Governors to establish a European Investment Fund, signed at Brussels on the 25th day of March, 1993, together with the Treaty amending certain provisions of the Protocol on the Statute of the European Investment Bank, signed at Brussels on the 10th day of July, 1975,] F10[and

(r) the Treaty concerning the accession of the Kingdom of Norway, the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden to the European Union signed at Corfu on the 24th day of June, 1994, in so far as that Treaty relates to the European Communities,] F11[and

(s) the following provisions of the Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty on European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related Acts, namely, Articles 1.13 and 2 to 12 together with the annexed Protocols whether expressed to be annexed to—

(i) the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

(ii) the Treaty establishing the European Community, or

(iii) the Treaty on European Union and the Treaties establishing the European Community, the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Atomic Energy Community,

signed at Amsterdam on the 2nd day of October, 1997,] F12[and

(t) the following provisions of the Treaty of Nice amending the Treaty on European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related Acts, namely, Articles 1.15 and 2 to 10 together with the annexed Protocols whether expressed to be annexed to—

(i) the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaties establishing the European Communities,

(ii) the Treaty on European Union, to the Treaty establishing the European Community and to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, or

(iii) the Treaty establishing the European Community,

signed at Nice on the 26th day of February 2001,] F13[and

(u) the Treaty concerning the accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic to the European Union done at Athens on the 16th day of April 2003, in so far as that Treaty relates to the European Communities,] F14[and

(v) the Treaty concerning the accession of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union signed at Luxembourg on the 25th day of April 2005, in so far as that Treaty relates to the European Communities. ]

F15[ ‘treaties governing the European Union’ means—

(a) the Treaty on European Union,

(b) the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

(c) the Lisbon Treaty, and

(d) the treaties governing the European Communities,

(other than the provisions to which the first paragraph of Article 275 of the treaty referred to in paragraph (b) applies), as amended by—

(i) the Protocol amending the Protocol on transitional provisions annexed to the Treaty on European Union, to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, done at Brussels on the 23rd day of June 2010,]

F16[(ii) the European Council Decision of 25 March 2011 amending Article 136 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union with regard to a stability mechanism for Member States whose currency is the euro,

(iii) the Treaty concerning the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union, done at Brussels on the 9th day of December 2011, and

(iv) the Protocol on the concerns of the Irish people on the Treaty of Lisbon, annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, done at Brussels on the 16th day of May 2012.]

(2) (a) In the foregoing subsection “treaties or other acts of which the dates of entry into force are dates not later than the 1st day of January, 1973” does not include a treaty or other act of which the date of entry into force is later than the 22nd day of January, 1972, unless the Government have, not later than the 1st day of January, 1973, by order declared that this section applies to it.

(b) Where an order under this section is proposed to be made, a draft thereof shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the order shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each such House.