The Lisbon after-burn effect

Announced in clear terms but hardly noticed, on 1 December 2014 several aspects of the Lisbon Treaty were activated after being frozen for a transitional period of five years. These aspects include new voting rules, new competences for the European Commission and the CJEU and a new position for the UK in the area of freedom, security and justice. This paper will zoom in on what these novelties mean for the Commission and the CJEU, but importantly also what it means for the judicial and police cooperation in criminal matters and where exactly the Lisbon Treaty’s after-burn effect lies.