Treaty on the functioning of the European Union — one of the four constituent treaties of the European Union
The TFEU, alongside the TEU, forms the constitutional basis of the EU and governs the functioning of its institutions and policies.
Key Facts
- Original treaty name
- Treaty of Rome (Treaty Establishing the European Economic Community)
- Originally signed
- 25 March 1957
- Came into force
- 1 January 1958
- Renamed TFEU by
- Treaty of Lisbon, signed 13 December 2007
- Original signatories
- Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, West Germany
- Article 136 amendment
- March 2011, enabling eurozone financial stability mechanism
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following the failed 2005 referendums on a European Constitution, EU member states sought a revised framework. The Lisbon Treaty emerged as a substitute, incorporating many of the constitutional reforms while preserving existing treaty structures rather than replacing them.
On 13 December 2007, the Lisbon Treaty was signed, renaming the Treaty Establishing the European Community as the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The document was renumbered and reformed alongside the Treaty on European Union, together constituting the EU's constitutional basis.
The Lisbon reforms merged the EU's three-pillar structure into a single reformed European Union. The TFEU has since governed the day-to-day functioning of EU institutions and policy. In 2011, Article 136 was amended to permit eurozone member states to establish a financial stability mechanism with strict conditionality.
Political Outcome
The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union became one of two foundational constitutional treaties of the EU, replacing the former TEC and consolidating the three-pillar structure into a unified framework.
Three-pillar EU structure with Treaty Establishing the European Community as a separate instrument
Unified European Union governed by the TEU and TFEU as co-equal constitutional treaties