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Samenvatting EAIJHA (geslaagd eerste zit)
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Volledige samenvatting van Internationaal en Europees recht (met vertaling) + lijst met afkortingen
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lOMoARcPSD|11259696EUROPEES EN
INTERNATIONAAL BELEID
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DEEL I: BENELUX
1. ORIGIN AND HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
The origins of the Benelux partnership date back to the final phase of WO2 and predominantly focused on economic matters.
In 1943 Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg concluded an agreement aimed reinforcing economic relations and
facilitating monetary transactions among them.
- Guided by economic and financial aspirations, these 3 governments decided to set a fixed exchange rate ( = vast
wisselkoers) between the Belgian- Luxembourg franc and the Dutch guilder.
- As a sign of trust and also to help each other financially
1944 : Customs convention (entered into force in 1948)
- Opening up internal borders (free movement of goods, services, capital and persons), abolishment intra-benelux
custom duties and common import tariff third countries.
- Goal : stabilize secure and trade relations.
1951 : Belgium & the Netherlands were working together with France for the establishment of the European Coal and Steel
Community ( ECSC) and the European Economic Community (ECC) in 1957.
1958 : Benelux had enough experience so they took the next step and established the so-called Benelux Economic Union
(BEU). opening of the borders
- This Union had its own institutions and would draw up its own policy all existing agreements would now fall within
this newly founded institutional framework
- Because of the open borders, criminals could also move countries, so they set up flanking measures (= aanvullende
maatreglen)
o Treaty on extradition and judicial cooperation ( = uitlevering van criminelen die al veroordeeld zijn)
o Treaty on execution ( = opgelegde straf, herkenning door andere landen)
o BACC-treaty (Benelux Administrative and Criminal Cooperation)
The BENELUX Extradition Treaty is still highly influential today and illustrates how the Benelux served as a model for later forms
of cooperation in Europe cooperation went further than economic matters
For example:
- Firstly the Benelux Extradition Treaty (BET) laid the foundation of the 1974 Benelux protocol.
= this is a document regulating the cross-border hot pursuit ( = grensoverschrijdende achtervolging) by police officers
and the operation of police officers on the territory of another member state
- Secondly in the 1990s the achievements of BENELUX in the area of mutual recognition formed the building blocks for
the Schengen Implementation Convention (SIC).
Following the 2 conventions just mentioned, the 1986 agreement deals with trans-border cooperation between authorities on
each side of the border. It has to be mentioned that the Benelux also deals with
1) Aspects of private international law, adopts measures directed at preserving the environment
2) Has taken initiatives on youth and territorial cooperation.
A new Benelux treaty was signed in 2008: they considered it important to continue building their common vision. The new treaty
focuses on 3 general themes:
- The international market and economic union
- Sustainable development
- Justice and home affairs which are systematically further elaborated on the four year action plans.
2. INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION
(1) BENELUX SECRETARIAT-GENERAL
1. Composition
The Benelux Secretariat-General is the lifeblood of the BENELUX cooperation.
It consists of 60 permanent international officials managed by a Board of Secretary-generals comprising a secretary-general
of the Dutch nationality and 2 adjunct Secretary-Generals, one from Belgium and one from Luxembourg.
The members of the board are appointed by the committee of Ministers for terms of 5 years
The board Is a collegiate body (= collegiaal organ) in which all the members collectively share responsibility for the
functioning of the secretariat
2. Assignments and responsibilities
2008 Benelux treaty stipulate ( = bepaald) the Secretariat-General’s range of duties and tasks.
coordinates the administrative tasks that follow from the activities from the Commission, the Ministerial working groups,
the Council and the Commission’s independent experts.
It coordinates the design of the Common Work plan (Agenda) and draws up an annual plan for the Benelux Union
Responsible for making proposals needed for the execution of the Benelux Treaty.
It draws up the draft budget of all the Benelux institutions
The committee of Ministers can also assign additional tasks to the Secretariat-General
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3. Functioning
The secretariat-general is located in Brussel and functions as a neutral link between the 3 Member state governments. For the
optimal functioning of the Secretariat, the members are divided into 3 teams according to the main themes of the rejuvenated
Benelux Cooperation:
Market
Sustainable Development
Justice and Home affairs.: drug traffic, Visa issues, fraud, Euro control route
To facilitate the work of the Board of Secretary-Generals, support services were installed:
1) The Staff Bureau is responsible for internal and external communication, public relations and innovation.
2) The Service Corporate Organization is responsible for all issues related to personnel, financial and legal issues and the
internal organization of the Secretary-General.
3) The language service is responsible for the translation and interpreting for the Benelux institutions.
(2) BENELUX COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS
1. Composition
The committee of ministers consists at least one deputy of the government of each Member state or an ad hoc appointed
minister (Belgium).
The deputies are the ministers of Foreign affairs of the respective countries but depending on the issues being discussed,
Member states can also send another deputy So 3 in total
2. Assignments and responsibilities
The overall task of the Committee of Ministers is to take measures to ensure the implementation of the Benelux Treaty and to
accomplish the aims set out therein.
The committee is the institution with the most decision-making power It’s the heart of the Benelux organization
- It decides by unanimity
The agreements adopted by the committee of Ministers are the most important legal instruments of the Benelux
cooperation.
Certain competences can be transferred from the committee to working groups these groups consist of members of the
Committee or delegates from the governments of Member States
3. Functioning
The committee of Ministers convenes once every Presidency (= eenmaal per voorzitterschap)
In case of urgent matters or emergency, the government of one Member State can request a meeting.
The meetings do not have a fixed location and the presidency rotates annually between representatives of the 3
Member States.
(3) BENELUX INTERPARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY (BENELUX PARLIAMENT)
Has no decision making power, it’s odd because the Belgium parliament has this power, in most of the parliaments there is a
decision making power, but not on an international level
1. Composition
The Benelux Parliament, was created by the agreement of 5 November 1955.
The Parliament was set up before the actual Benelux Treaty was signed.
The Benelux Parliament consists of 49 members.
- 21 Belgian, 21 Dutch and 7 from Luxembourg
o De Belgian members are elected from the federal Chambers of Parliament and the Regional and Community
Parliaments.
o The Dutch members are chosen from the 2 chambers of the Netherlands states General.
o The Luxembourg members are elected from the members of the Chambers of Deputies.
- Within the Benelux Parliament members are seated in groups according political spectrum and not based on their
nationality
2. Assignments and responsibilities
The parliament advises and formulates opinions directed at the national governments on issues that closely relate to:
Cross-border cooperation at all levels
The formation and functioning of the economic union between the three Member States
Sustainable development
Cooperation in the fields of justice and home affairs
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The external cooperation of the MS with third countries in particular the MS of the European Union and the regional
cooperation partnerships they have ( = de externe samenwerking van de lidstaten met derde landen, met name de lidstaten
van de Europese Unie, en de regionale samenwerkingspartnerschappen die zij hebben)
On foreign policy and European matters
On top of that, the national governments can decide that it is in their mutual interest for the Benelux Parliament to deliberate
on other matters not directly related to the issues listed above
The Benelux parliament is active in more domains than what can be considered as the tradition Benelux package of
competences. This can be explained by the fact that the Benelux parliament was established before the actual Benelux
framework Although the parliament in the Benelux Treaty was integrated into the Benelux framework, it kept its wider
mandate.
The parliament has an advisory, informative, supporting and stimulating function.
The parliament informs the governments of the Member States of the discussions and positions taken In the national
Parliamentary Meetings of its members
By formulating recommendations to the national governments, the Parliament stimulates the cooperation between the member
states but also between member states and Third countries.
These recommendations concern economic, social and financial cooperation.
The parliament also cooperates internationally with supra-regional and supranational organizations such as:
the Interregional parliamentary Council
the Nordic council
the Baltic assembly
3. Functioning
The parliament meets in turn in the three capitals of the member states. It has a secretariat that is housed in the Palace of
Nations in Brussels
The functioning of the Benelux Parliament resembles the functioning of a national parliament.
The Parliament has three ‘two-day’-plenary sessions a year
The sessions are public, as well as the parliamentary acts and documents.
The debates also happen similarly: there are rounds of questions and answers, there are interpellations and votes are had
on opinions and recommendations
The parliamentary documents are prepared by commissions there are 7 parliamentary commissions consisting of 12
members
The Permanent Committee is the leading body within the Parliament responsible for the daily organization of the
parliamentary work.
(4) OTHER BENELUX INSTITUTIONS
1. Benelux council
The Benelux council consists of senior civil servants representing the three member states.
Depending on the issue to be discussed, the composition of the council changes.
The council is chaired by the representative of the MS at that time holding the presidency of the Benelux
The main task of the council is to prepare dossiers for the ministers and if necessary make recommendations.
2. Benelux Court of Justice
The Benelux court of justice consists of nine members selected from the judges of the Belgian Cassation Court, Dutch supreme
court and the Luxembourg supreme court It was felt that this composition would ensure and even promote the equal
application of Benelux law.
In case of doubt, National judges can ask the Benelux Court for a preliminary ruling on the correct application or
interpretation of a Benelux rule.
The judges also have an advisory function towards the governments and can advise them.
The Court is also competent to hear civil-servant related disputes.
The court can use the documentation and research capacity of the three national courts of the members this will speed
up the process and ultimately lead to better case law
The Court is also competent to deal with appeals cases on trademarks, designs and models.
There are 3 Chambers within the Court of Justice:
The first competent to deal with prejudicial questions and advisory matters.
The second being solely competent for jurisprudence ( =rechtspraak)
The third competent for staff matters.
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