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EU LAW AN INTRODUCTION, SUMMARY
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AN INTRODUCTION TO EU LAWStephanie Aun Santiago
UNIT 1: HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT, STRUCTURE AND OBJECTIVES OF THE
EU
Introduction
After WWII the concept of international law as the mere coexistence of States was
abandoned towards an inter-state cooperation approach. In this context, the European
integration went far beyond the traditional forms of cooperation.
European Coal and Steel Community
Treaty of Rome created two additional Communities: European Atomic Energy
Community and European (Economic) Community. The three of them were party
merged in 1967 but continued to exist in relative independence
Maastricht Treaty: three communities were integrated into the Maastricht EU
2004 Constitutional treaty as the biggest structural change in the history of the
European Union BUT it failed when Dutch and French referenda were lost
2007 Treaty of LISBON – replicate nearly 90% of the failed Constitutional treaty
and came into force in 2009. Radical new chapter for the History of EU.
o Formally builds on the original founding treaties and in the 1992 Treaty on the
European Union
o Merged the old community legal order with the old Union legal order
o Foundations of the new European Union are dramatically different from
anything that ever existed before 2007
Structure of the present EU
The union is based on two treaties:
1. Treaty on European Union (TEU): general provisions defining the Union
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, AN INTRODUCTION TO EU LAW
Stephanie Aun Santiago
2. Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU): specific provisions with respect to the
Union policies and institutions.
ARTICLE 51 TEU – protocols and treaties, in words of Schütze, must be read as legally binding
“footnotes” to a particular article of section of the treaty. E.G. European Court of Justice which
interprets part V of the TFEU (in particular the Common Commercial Policy) in accordance with
the rulings of the WTO.
ARTICLE 6 TEU – Charter of Fundamental rights is external to the treaty, but has the same
legal value of the treaty.
EU treaties as framework treaties. – its substance is made up from institutional provisions
that are to provide a framework for subsequent secondary law.
Policy areas in which the institution can act:
1. Part III (institutions) – 24 internal policies
2. Part V (external action) – smaller number of external areas for the European Union.
In other to legislate within one of these policy areas, the Union needs to have legislative
competence. These competence will be find in the aforementioned chapters. To illustrate this
point, we can mention that the European Union could celebrate an international trade
agreement over goods being the legislative basis article 207 TFEU.
I. UNION INSTITUTIONS
Defined in Tittle III of TEU
7 institutions – ART 13 TEU: institutions, sincere cooperation and limit of powers
Council and Commission do not directly correspond to the national institutions.
- Council: reminds of the international origins of the EU (equally be found in the
governmental structure of Federal States)
- Commission (“executive?)
EU PARLIAMENT
Original powers: minimal – auxiliary organ to assist the institutional duopoly of the
Council and the Commission
The minimal role gradually increased from the 1970s onwards.
Most democratic institution
o Directly elected by EU citizens
o Most supranational institution of the EU
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, AN INTRODUCTION TO EU LAW
Stephanie Aun Santiago
Formation and Election
Representatives of the people of the State
1. Delegates designated by the respective national parliaments of Member States. Looked
like an assembly of national parliamentarians, but breached international law logic by:
a. Abandoned the idea of sovereign equality: different sizes of national
parliamentary delegations
b. Elections by direct universal suffrage.
2. Election act: representative of European People – citizens.
See article 14 TEU
The European Council decides on the national “quotas” for the Union’s parliamentary
representatives. Distribution of seats: degressively proportional (range 6 to 96)
“Quotas” – compromise between the democratic principle and the federal principle.
- Democratic: each citizen in the Union has equal voting power
- Federal: political existence of States
Rejection of purely proportional distribution in favour of a degressively proportional
system.
- Election of individual members: ART 14 (3) + precise rules on the election act. Specifics
of election procedure are principally left to member states.
- Individual election of Members: ART 223 (1) TFEU
- Who can vote and be elected: ART 22(2) TFEU
Parliamentary Powers
1. Expansion of powers
a. Supervisory powers
b. Advisory and supervisory – consulted on the commission proposals before their
adoption by the Council - Roque Freres v. Council
1. Actual power: ART 14 TEU
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, AN INTRODUCTION TO EU LAW
Stephanie Aun Santiago
a. Legislative: making European Laws
i. Informally propose legislation (ART 225 TFEU), but is a constitutional
prerogative of the commission
ii. After the Commission has submitted a proposal to the European
Legislature, the European parliament is primary involved
1. Ordinary legislative procedure (ART 289 (1) TFEU)
2. Special legislatives procedures
a. Consent procedure: give consent before the Council can
adopt European legislation (negative power) (ART 19
TFEU)
b. Consultation procedure: role closer to advisory (ART 22
TFEU)
c. Parliament as dominant chamber (ART 223 (2) TFEU)
iii. External relations sphere
b. Budgetary
i. Revenue: council and Member States (ART 311 TFEU)
ii. European Parliament: expenditure side
iii. With Council: establishes the annual budget (ART 314 TFEU)
c. Supervisory
i. Debate
1. Receives the general report on the activities on the union from
the Commission, which it shall discuss in open session (ARTS 249
(2) 233 TFEU)
2. Report after each meeting of the European Council (ART 15 (6)
D)
ii. Question (only for the commission, but council accepted its willingness)
ART 230 TFEU
iii. Investigate: set up temporary committees (ART 226 (1) TFEU)
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