that five applicant countries could have joined the EU without changing the EU's rules, and that others could have negotiated on an individual basis, something opponents to the treaty argued would have been to the applicants' advantage. They also claimed that the Treaty of Nice would create a two-tier EU, which might marginalise Ireland. Opponents pointed out that leading pro-treaty politicians had admitted that if referendums had been held in countries other than Ireland, it would probably have been defeated there as well. Criticism The Commission and the European Parliament were disappointed that the Nice intergovernmental conference (IGC) did not adopt many of their proposals for reform of the institutional structure or introduction of new Community powers, such as the appointment of a European Public Prosecutor. The European Parliament threatened to pass a resolution against the Treaty; the Italian Parliament threatened it would not ratify it without the former's support. However, in the end this did not come to pass and the European Parliament approved the Treaty. Many argue that the pillar structure, which was maintained by the Treaty, is overcomplicated; that the separate Treaties should be merged into one Treaty; that the three (now two) separate legal personalities of the Communities should be merged; and that the European Community and the European Union should be merged, with the European Union being endowed with legal personality. The German regions were also demanding a clearer separation of the powers of the Union from the Member States. Nor did the Treaty of Nice deal with the question of the incorporation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights into the Treaty; that was also left for the 2004 IGC after the opposition of the United Kingdom. Signatures Withdrawal At the end of January 2020 (GMT), the UK left the EU and so withdrew from this Treaty. EU evolution timeline See also Eur-lex References External links Summary of the Treaty Consolidated version of the Treaties Landmark EU treaty comes into effect - BBC News article dated February 1, 2003 History of the European Union - Treaty of Nice Analysis of the voting weighs before and after, with 3D visualisation Book about the Treaty of Nice (also as PDF) Treaty of Nice European NAvigator February 2001 events in Europe Nice 21st century in Nice Treaties concluded in 2001 Treaties entered into force in 2003 2001 in the European Union 2003 in the European Union 2001 in