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Introduction to EU LawWeek #1 Introduction; origins of the EU and its development
Week #2 Sources of EU Law
Week #3 Empowerment of the EU; the principle of supremacy of EU law
Week #4 The EU Institutions (I) – Commission and Parliament
Week #5 The EU Institutions (II) – Council and European Council
Week #6 The EU Institutions (III) – Court of Justice of the European Union
Week #7 Course review / overview / Q & A
Week #8 Final workshop: mock exam; exam preparation week
Week #9 Q3 Exam Week
At the end of the course, students will able:
to explain the origins of the EU, and the reasons why it has been created;
to describe the nature and hierarchic ranking of the sources of EU law;
to analyze the relation between domestic law and EU law;
to identify the main elements of the founding treaties;
to explain the "architecture" of the EU (i.e. powers, functioning and composition of the EU
institutions).
WEEK 1: Introduction to EU Law
The EU member state map – identifies the EU member states, candidates, former EU member state (UK), EU
has 27 member states. 28 member states before the UK left the EU.
Founding member states of the then Economic European Community are 6: Italy, Luxembourg, the
Netherlands, France, Germany, and Belgium.
The EU in 2021:
Member States (27): Austria, Italy, Belgium, Latvia, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Croatia, Luxembourg, Cyprus,
Malta, Czechia, Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, Estonia, Portugal, Finland, Romania, France, Slovakia,
Germany, Slovenia, Greece, Spain, Hungary, Ireland, Sweden
Euro zone (19): Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy,
Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain
Candidate countries (5): Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey
Potential candidate countries (2): Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo
Post WWII – Multilateralism:
Ideas of European unity can be traced back after the 70 th century. It is after the second world war that
Europe became a political and international project. What prevailed was a strong perception that
multilateralism could ensure international peace.
Multilateralism – refers to the cooperation that States establish through international agreements and
organizations.
After WWII: desire for lasting peace → international co-operation → Multilateralism (willingness of states to
join together to cooperate, ex. for policies or objectives):
,Examples of multilateralism’s:
1945: UN (United Nations)
1945: IMF (International Monetary Fund)
1947: GATT Treaty (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade)
1947: Marshall Plan (US funded European Recovery Program, channeled through the OEEC - see
below)
1948: OEEC (Organisation for European Economic Co-operation; in 1960 changed into OECD,
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)
1949: NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
1949 (1954): Treaty of Brussels (WEU, Western European Union)
1949: Council of Europe =>European Convention on Human Rights, 1953
Council of Europe – is an international organization, with a regional membership of 47 member States.
Headquarters are found in Strasbourg. It is under the Council of Europe that the ECHR has been promoted and
signed.
European Union - Bruxelles, Luxembourg, Strasbourg
EU Treaties, modifications and reforms that took place from the very first European community the then ECSC
to the current Lisbon Treaty. Understand the main reforms that each treaty in this list determined on the
architecture of the EU legal order. There were many treaties that regulated in the past the European
Communities before it became the European Union. This is known as the Jean Monnet Method, which is the
small steps approach.
List of EU Treaties:
European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) (1952; ended in 2002)
EEC (Rome, 1957; originally called EEC Treaty, after Maastricht called EC Treaty) 1957: Rome
Treaties
EAEC (Euratom) Treaty (Rome, 1957)
Merger Treaty (1965)
Budgetary Treaties (1970 and 1975)
Single European Act (1986)
TEU (Maastricht Treaty, 1992)
Treaty of Amsterdam (1997)
Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU (2001) (see art. 6(1) TEU)
Treaty of Nice (2001)
Treaty of Lisbon (2007) – Treaty on the EU (TEU) and Treaty of the Functioning of the EU (TFEU)
‘Jean Monnet method’ → ‘Small steps approach’: From the internal market to foreign policy and immigration,
one of the main characteristics of the EU is its gradual and sectorial integration. In sum, thanks to its treaties
reforms, the EU, as we know it today, has gone through different stages of development.
Supranationalism vs intergovernmentalism
Before discussing the reforms and amendments of the EU treaties, we need first of all to recall two concepts.
This is intergovernmentalism and supranationalism. These two concepts are essentials when we talk about the
EU. The evolution of the EU is a constant movement of intergovernmentalism to supranationalism. The
supranational elements of the EU, legal order, moreover, is what makes the EU so special and peculiar
compared to other international organizations. These terms refer to different forms of integration between
States. It realizes cooperation by establishing international organizations. The two terms therefore define
international organization in relation to their legal features. They are not exclusively peculiar of the EU.
Intergovernmentalism:
Focus on protection State power and national interests
, States are the key actors
Decisions require unanimity – through unanimity one member state can block the approval of the
decision.
Decisions rarely enforceable, and if so, only between States, not their citizens
Supranationalism
Supranational institutions are the key actors – are those institutions that do not represent the
interest the member states of the organization, but work in order to represent the interest of the
organization as a whole in relation to the goals and objectives. Supranational institutions play a role as
they play a big role as they have a big power within the organization.
States have transferred (some of) their powers in the areas concerned to a higher level.
Decision making at a higher level than state level, overriding national rules
Decisions do not require unanimity but rather qualified majority voting
Decisions are binding enforceable
Understand if intergovernmentalism or supranationalism, we need to analyse the powers of the institutions:
if they are autonomous from the member states, the voting method and whether the decisions are binding
or not.
An international organization can be intergovernmental or supranational or display both intergovernmental
and supranational elements. The EU is NOT the only supranational organization
Supranationalism vs intergovernmentalism in the EU legal order
Keep in mind that the representatives of some institutions mainly represent the interest of the EU member
State, the Council and the European Council, whereas other institutions represent interest of the organizations
and do not act in behalf of the Member States these are the Commission, EU Parliament and the Court.
Supranationalism: For the EU, the elements for supranationalism are detected in the so called community
method, qualified majority voting as the main decision making procedure, relevant role of the supranational
institutions, European Commission, European Parliament, the Court of Justice, which mainly represent EU
interest.
Intergovernmentalism: The elements for intergovernmentalism in the EU are identified in the fact that the
Council and the European Council, intergovernmental institutions, retain the leading role. Whereas the
Commission, the European Parliament and the Court of Justice of the EU, supranational institutions, enjoy
limited power. Intergovernmentalist institutions allow member States’ interest to be represented.
Community method of decision making is characterized Intergovernmental method is characterized by
by
The central role of the Commission in formulating The Commission’s right of initiative is shared with the
proposals (right to initiate legislation) EU countries or confined to specific areas of activity
Qualified majority voting (QVM) in the Council as a rule The Council generally acts unanimously
Involvement of the European Parliament with varying The European Parliament has a purely consultative role
intensity depending on the decision-making procedure
Powerful role of the Court in ensuring judicial The role of the court is limited
accountability
, The European Council defines the general political The European Council (explicitly mentioned in the Lisbon
directions and priorities Treaty) often plays a key role
Unanimity is very important for decision making. Just one member state cannot change the decision
procedure. EU has both legal features. BOTH supranational and intergovernmental.
If it is based on unanimity voting -> it is more a supranational characteristic
Are the decisions binding? -> if yes, and prevail over national laws -> supranational
The first European Community: ECSC (European Coal and Steel Community) – came with the idea that placing
coal and steel under an international body could support international peace, as these were the main
materials for waging war. Idea came from the French minister, Robert Schuman, that France and Germany
should administer their coal and steel resources under one international agreement, and that other countries
could join this project. The ECSC treaty was signed in 1951 by France, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands,
Italy and Luxembourg. It lasted for 50 years and expired in 2002. Purpose was to establish a common market in
coal and steel.
1950: Schuman (and Monnet): Schuman Plan, linking French and German coal and steel industries,
under the control of a supranational body
1952: European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), six Member States (MS)
Four principal institutions:
1. High authority (executive) – composed of 9 independent appointees of the 6 member state
government. It was the main executive institution with decision making power.
2. Assembly (parliament) – composed of national parliaments delegates with supervisory and advisory
powers.
3. Council (of Ministers, representing the MS) – composed of representatives from each national
government which had limited decision making powers, and a broader consultative role
4. Court of Justice – composed of 9 judges.
High Authority: body of nine independent appointees of the six MS, able to adopt binding decisions –
the supranational factor
The ECSC is a supranational organization where the High Authority could adopt decisions, not based
on unanimity.
Schuman Declaration of 9 May 1950
“(…) The pooling of coal and steel production should immediately provide for the setting up of common
foundations for economic development as a first step in the federation of Europe and will change the
destinies of those regions which have long been devoted to the manufacture of munitions of war, of which
they have been the most constant victims.
The solidarity in production thus established will make it plain that any war between France and Germany
becomes not merely unthinkable, but materially impossible. The setting up of this powerful productive unit
(…) will lay a true foundation for their economic unification”
Why was the EU awarded the Noble Peace Prize in 2012? From the report of the Nobel Committee?
“After the decimation of the Second World War, reconciliation between Germany and France was an
important step towards fostering peace in Europe. The two countries - which by then had fought three wars
within the space of 70 years - built the European Coal and Steel Community together with four other
countries in 1952. This organization became the foundation for an ever-broader cooperation within what has
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