Federal states and international organisations: A short comparison of their amending rules with the European Union

This comparative note looks at the legal provisions ruling the amendment of the founding documents of federal states and international organisations and compares them to Article 48 of the Treaty on European Union. The European Union is the only political organisation requiring a double unanimous decision, firstly when signing a revising treaty and, secondly, when ratifying it in the Member States. The new rules proposed for the entry into force of the European Stability Mechanism treaty indicate that EU leaders, at least in selected policy fields, are in the process of changing their views on the usefulness of the 'mutual agreement' rule.