these notes will cover the following topics:
- Evolution and main features of the process of European integration and of the EU legal order in its historical evolution and in contemporary perspective
- Analysis of the competences of the EU, of the principles of attribution, subsidiarity and pro...
HISTORY OF EU INTEGRATION
The sovereigns have decided which competences to confer to the EU, the main limits of their actions are their
competence. If they do something beyond their competence, we have a legal and political problem to which there
are specific remedies.
We must speak of the direct effect. This is something different than direct applicability, which is what we see for
example in regulations (they don't have to be transposed in national law).
If there is a piece of EU law that is considered as having direct effect (only certain acts under certain conditions)
this means that any individual anywhere in the EU can have their rights enforced before their own national courts
and administrations.
So, with EU law you are giving entitlements to European individuals and anybody that has an interest in the EU.
We are also going to tackle the idea that EU states got together to create an internal market which involves four
freedoms, free movement of goods, persons, capital and services.
In the end we will also tackle the concept of EU citizenship, an innovation of the EU.
The constitution of the EU is represented by two treaties: the treaty of the EU, (TEU), and the treaty on the
functioning of the EU (TFEU).
The CJEU has two instances. The cases start with a number, e.g. case 1/2024, if there's a 'T-' it means general
court, a 'C-' means the case has been registered before the CJEU. All cases are available freely online.
A BIT OF HISTORY
European integration started as a solution to WWII, they needed to find a political solution that made wars like
WWII and WWI materially impossible.
The situation in 1945
In less than 30 years two world wars took place, with 70+ million dead. German/Austria and her allies defeated
and occupied by allied, Germany is divided into two, Europe is divided into two…
That was the scenario and the beginning of the Cold war. Eastern and Central Europe were under control of
URSS, while Western Europe was under the US-American influence. Obviously, after the war large parts of
infrastructures were destroyed and there were many shortages.
EARLY BEGINNINGS - LATE 1940S AND 1950
,President Truman was the president of the US after WWII. He designed the Truman Doctrine of 1947, the idea
that the US who had won the war wanted to support reconstruction at any possible level, and that particularly
applied to Europe. This was linked with the Marshall plan of 1947, which consisted of a massive amount of
money from the US with the goal to reconstruct Europe.
To administer the Marshall plan an international organization was created which then evolved at the end of the
plan and is seated in Paris, the OECD.
In 1944 there was flourishing of cooperations, ten different organizations with different goals (economic
integration, political integration, defense) developed in Europe.
The BENELUX of 1944 is the very first form of European integration between the Netherlands, Belgium and
Luxembourg. They created a customs union and then the EU.
In 1945 in the meantime there was the creation of the United Nation and the International Monetary Fund, as
well as the World Bank and the General Agreement on Trade.
It was a period in which the liberal order that we still have today has been created. Obviously, those that shaped it
were those who won the war, mostly the US and Great Britain.
Then there was the Western Union 1948 about defense, and the Council of Europe in 1949 (not the Council of
the EU), for the protection of fundamental rights. The European Convention on Fundamental Rights and the court
are linked to the council of Europe.
Also, NATO in 1949, which replaced the Western Union which originally was a military defense organization
only between three or four European states. NATO also included any other countries from Iceland to Portugal,
Turkey and obviously the US.
In 1949 Germany was split into two. The big losers of WWII are split in two countries: one under the influence of
the URSS and one under the US.
JEAN MONNET and ROBERT SCHUMAN
Two protagonists of the beginning of European integration, two French men. In particular there is one event
considered the start of the idea of the start of Europe: the SCHUMAN DECLARATION, a declaration made by
him, the foreign minister of France at the time, on the 9th of May 1950.
This declaration has a key idea: SOLIDARITY, if we want to avoid another war in Europe, we need solidarity
and cooperate, this solidarity is not going to be created by night, it is a de facto solidarity, it will be created step-
by-step, a concrete achievement.
,“Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete
achievements which first create a de facto solidarity”
The key political problem to resolve is the relationship between France and Germany, in many cases on the
territories confining the two.
It [France] proposes that Franco-German production of coal and steel as a whole be placed under a common High
Authority, within the framework of an organization open to the participation of the other countries of Europe. The
solidarity in production thus established will make it plain that any war between France and Germany becomes
not merely unthinkable, but materially impossible.
= key industries for military power, the idea is to put these industries under a high authority, like a
referee, independent, supranational, in charge of the production of the common market of these two
industries, by relinquishing sovereignty it will become impossible to have a war between France and
Germany.
These are the key ideas that motivated European integration in the late 40’s and 50’s.
By pooling basic production and by instituting a new High Authority, whose decisions will bind France, Germany
and other member countries, this proposal will lead to the realization of the first concrete foundation of a
European federation indispensable to the preservation of peace.
These are also the key elements of the creation of other International Organizations based on cooperation, to
preserve peace, e.g. GAP, WTO, EU…
- EUROPEAN CAOL AND STEEL COMMUNITY TREATY (1951)
In less than one year they negotiated a treaty, so the Schuman declaration was followed, and the European forces
started negotiating the first European community - the European Coal and Steel Community created in 1951 with
the Paris Treaty, it had a deadline, 50 years, it expired in 2002, its competences are now under the EU.
Almost every six months there was the idea and the realization of a new organization; even at the level of
European Integration in only a few years there were other two European communities.
ECSC
Supranational Organization = this was incredible for the time, first time, nothing was truly supranational at the
time, no other IO had the power to make decision binding for its members.
- Independent institutions
- Decisions binding on the Member States
, - Direct relationship with individuals = the key players in the market are the companies, the coal and
steel companies, so decisions are addressed to them, and if they are not happy, they can go to the ICJ,
they are individual affected directly by the laws made.
e.g. in the UN, the GA declarations aren't binding. SC resolutions may be binding but under some
circumstances. It is very different.
Luxembourg-based. Limited duration 50 years, 2003
Model of future integration
- High Authority => composed by independent commissioners
- Assembly => like a parliament which was putting together representatives of the national parliaments
- Court of Justice
- Council => which was where the representatives of governance of member states sit.
We can see how already there were two executives: the Council, which represented the interests of the
governance, and the high authority which represented the interest of the community. They could adopt binding
decisions, regulations and directives: all binding acts.
- EUROPEAN DEFENCE COMMUNITY
It was an attempt at creating a military alliance, the possible rearming of Germany was to be controlled, signed in
1952 and merged into a European Political Community. The idea here was that there was a need to put away
Germany and the possible rearming of Germany under joint control.
This treaty failed in 1954 and it was replaced by a bigger alliance, the NATO.
- E(E)C - EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY TREATY 1957
Two years further the focus was mostly on economic integration, not directly political, with a bigger framework
not focused on a single industry anymore = economic integration in general, not sectorial.
The ECSC entered into force in 1952; only after two years the blueprint for the EEC started, 1954. In just a couple
of years they negotiated a new treaty that entered into force in 1958. So, in 6/7 years there had been three
organization, because on top of the EEC they also signed, the EURATOM, creating unity on atomic energy.
This treaty was signed in Rome (Treaty of Rome) by six member states. With it the integration that
eventually led to the EU we have today began. The second E, standing for Economic', dropped in the 1990s
because member states increasingly gave more competence and power to the EEC and so it was not only an
economic integration, but it became much more, having competence also over the environment, monetary,
common security and defense and so on.
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