Guide to the European Union

Cork 2014 - 1st International Forum of EYP Ireland

GUIDE TO THE EU

1

Index

I. The EU Explained

II. Institutional Set-Up of the EU 1. European Parliament 2. Council of Ministers 3. European Council i. Settling the Council confusion 4. European Commission 5. European Court of Justice 6. European Central Bank

III. Legislative Procedures 1. Community Method i. Ordinary Legislative Procedure 2. Intergovernmental Method

IV. Legal System of the EU 1. Sources of Law 2. Primary Sources of EU Law i. The Founding Treaties of the European Communities ii. The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU 3. Secondary Sources of EU Law i. Regulations ii. Directives iii. Decisions iv. Recommendations and Opinions

V. Competences 1. Definitions 2. Principles 3. Categories 4. Infochart of Division of Competences

VI. Relevant Frameworks for Cork 1. Europe 2020 2. Innovation Union 3. European Research Area (ERA) 4. Horizon 2020 5. Multi-Annual Financial Framework (MFF) 6. Useful Links

3

59

1011

121415

1616

17

181818

18-19

20

21

22 23

2324252627

Cork 2014

2

Dear participants,

Coming to an EYP session and participating in active political deliberation is definitely a fun affair. With most of you now preparing academically for the Forum before it begins next week, the Chairsteam of Cork 2014 would like to present you with a Guide to the EU.

The politics of the European Union and the complex decision making sphere of policy-making require an understanding of the fundamental principles, structures and processes that bind stakeholders together. The European Un-ion, a political construct, has evolved to an elaborate network of actors that interact within a multi-layered system of governance. From Member States to EU institutions and the civil society, the EU is a system with governing princi-ples and intricate processes.

This Guide will present you with some key aspects that define the political system of the EU. It will also outline the establishment of a legal system within the Union and the balance of power between national and supranational interests. Moreover, this guide will present the division of competences be-tween Member States and the EU as well as current policy frameworks such as the Europe 2020 and the Horizon 2020 which map out the future of the European economy and society.

We hope that this Guide will provide you with valuable information and will increase your understanding of policy-making in the EU.

On behalf of the Chairsteam,

Dimitris Zacharias

President, Cork 2014 – 1st International Forum of EYP IE

Founding fathers of the European Union:

Paul-Henri Spaak | Altiero SpinelliSicco Mansholt | Jean Monnet | Robert Schuman

Konrad Adenauer | Joseph Bech | Johan Willem BeyenWinston Churchill | Alcide De Gasperi | Walter Hallstein

Put together by:Dimitris Zacharias | Hans Maes | Rosa Douw | Niall Murphy | Laure Steinville | Timm Brünjes | Anna Borrell | Bram Van Meldert | Iman Idriss | Chris Papadogeorgopoulos | Karim Ben Hamda| Ciara Robinson | Christian Browne | Rónán O’Connor | Walter Suominen | Francesco Colin

GUIDE TO THE EU

3

The EU Institutions Explained by theirPresidents A view from the inside: the Presidents of the main EU institutions share their views on how the EU actually works. Who does what? What’s spe-cific to each institution? What is the role of Presi-dent? How do they see Europe’s future? Since this explanatory video was made, the presidents of the European Commission and the European Council have changed. With the accession of Croatia, the EU now has 28 Member States.

How it works: European Laws This animated video guides the viewer through the Ordinary Legislative Procedure and high-lights the procedures that lead to the adoption of a new piece of legislation. The animated guide also clearly distinguishes the areas of ju-risdiction of all the institutions included in the EU legislative procedure.

How it works: Trilogue Why do MEPs increasingly often negotiate with the states behind closed doors before even vot-ing in plenary? A look at the how(s) and why(s) of trilogues.

How it works: European Parliament European Parliament explained: who its Mem-bers are, how their work is organised, what pow-ers they yield and the impact of all this on the daily life of Europeans.

How It Works: What will the Lisbon Treaty change for the Parliament? The EP stands to gain the most from the Lisbon Treaty. Not only will the number of MEPs in-crease, but also their powers to decide together with the Council on matters such as agriculture, justice and home affairs, and the budget. The EP’s political control of the Commission will also be strengthened.

How It Works: EU Budget Where does the EU get its money from, how does it decide about its budget and who ben-efits the most? We examine the EU’s budget procedure and focus in on the European Parlia-ment’s changed role in it.

I. The EU Explained

This section will provide delegates with insight into the aims, processes and rules of govern-ance of the European Union. The videos introduce key aspects of EU procedural mecha-

nisms and provide fundamental information in many of the current topics on the EU agenda.

Cork 2014

4

Open the links. If you’re the 500th visitor to a site and won a prize, its probably a virus.

How it works: What makes for a good single currency? EuroparlTV investigates the Fiscal Compact and the changes it has brought to the rules of eco-nomic governance of Member States. The Fiscal Compact builds on the principles of governance of the Stability Pact.

How It Works: Leaving the EU The Lisbon Treaty now provides for it officially: a Member State can leave the EU. In fact, it can just stop implementing EU laws overnight or, more sensibly, negotiate its exit. In any case, it’ll all be over in max 2 years.

The Crisis of Credit Visualised This video traces the origins of the credit crisis of 2008 and the elements that led to an inter-national financial turmoil. This video uses visual assistance to explain the complicated financial processes that led to an international crisis.

GUIDE TO THE EU

5

II. Institutional Set-Up of the EU

Role: Legislative body, directly electedMembers: 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs)President: Martin Schulz (DE)Headquarters: Brussels, Stras-bourg and Luxembourg

Role: Executive, proposes legislation, promotes the EU

Members: 28 Commissioners, one for each Member State

President: Jean-Claude Juncker (LU)Headquarters: Brussels

Role: Deciding on policies and adopting legislationMembers: Council configura-tions according to policy do-main (national ministers)President: Rotating presidency, Member States assume presi-dency for a period of 6 monthsHeadquarters: Brussels

Role: ensure a common appli-cation and interpretation of the European Union lawMembers: one Judge per Member StatePresident: Vassilios Skouris (GR), since October 2003Headquarters: Luxembourg

Supervises

Proposes legislationand budget

Co-decision

Appoints

COUNCIL OFMINISTERS

EUBUDGET

EULAW

COURT OFJUSTICE

COURT OFAUDITORS

SupervisesArbitrates

Citizens NationalGovernments

6

Cork 2014

GUIDE TO THE EU

7

Timeline of Treaties of the European Union

Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel CommunityPurpose: to create interdependence in coal and steel so that one country could no longer mobilise its armed forces without others knowing. This eased distrust and tensions after WWII. The ECSC treaty expired in 2002.

Treaties of Rome : EEC and EURATOM treatiesPurpose: to set up the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom).Main changes: extension of European inte-gration to include general economic coop-eration.

Merger Treaty - Brussels TreatyPurpose: to streamline the European institu-tions.Main changes: creation of a single Commis-sion and a single Council to serve the then three European Communities (EEC, Euratom, ECSC). Repealed by the Treaty of Amsterdam.

Single European ActPurpose: to reform the institutions in prepara-tion for Portugal and Spain’s membership and speed up decision-making in preparation for the single market.Main changes: extension of qualified majority voting in the Council (making it harder for a single country to veto proposed legislation), creation of the cooperation and assent proce-dures, giving Parliament more influence.

Treaty on European Union - Maastricht TreatyPurpose: to prepare for European Monetary Union and introduce elements of a political union (citizenship, common foreign and inter-nal affairs policy).Main changes: establishment of the Europe-an Union and introduction of the co-decision procedure, giving Parliament more say in decision-making. New forms of cooperation between EU governments – for example on defence and justice and home affairs.

Treaty of AmsterdamPurpose: To reform the EU institutions in preparation for the arrival of future member countries.Main changes: amendment, renumbering and consolidation of EU and EEC treaties. More transparent decision-making (increased use of the co-decision voting procedure).

Treaty of NicePurpose: to reform the institutions so that the EU could function efficiently after reaching 25 member countries.Main changes: methods for changing the composition of the Commission and redefin-ing the voting system in the Council.

The Lisbon treaty clarifies which powers:- belong to the EU- belong to EU member countries- are shared.The Treaty establishing a constitution for Europe with aims similar to the Lisbon Treaty – the constitution was signed but never ratified.

Treaty of LisbonPurpose: to make the EU more democratic, more efficient and better able to address global problems, such as climate change, with one voice.Main changes: more power for the European Parliament, change of voting procedures in the Council, citizens’ initiative, a permanent president of the European Council, a new High Representative for Foreign Affairs, a new EU diplomatic service.

1951

1957

1965

1986

1992

1997

2001

2007

Cork 2014

8

Year of Accessionto the EU

1951

1957

1973

1981

1986

1995

2004

2007

2013

GUIDE TO THE EU

9

1. European Parliament

Role: Legislative body, directly electedMembers: 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs)President: Martin Schulz (DEHeadquarters: Brussels, Strasbourg and Lux-embourg

OverviewEver since 1979, every five years all citizens of the EU get to elect their representatives in the European Parliament. All 28 Member States have a fixed amount of representatives, ranging from 6 for smaller Member States such as Lux-embourg and Malta up to 96 for larger Member States like Germany. The allocation of seats is roughly dependent on the country’s share of the EU population.

MEPs spend most of their working time in Brus-sels, attending committee and political fraction meetings. Once a month they travel to Stras-bourg for a week to have the plenary session, where they discuss upon resolutions in general and where they vote. Most Members of the European Parliament get elected through their national political affiliation, and at the European level they seek to join like-minded political groups.

Keep in mind that the composition is very volatile, with MEPs defecting from their original groups.

The main responsibilities of the European Parlia-ment are legislative; together with the Council of the EU, the European Parliament formally co-decides on adopting or rejecting EU legislation. The European Parliament’s role in policy-making has been elevated with the Treaty of Lisbon al-locating more powers to it and assigning it more jurisdictions in several policy domains within which the European Parliament did not have a strong voice. The European Parliament also supervises process and entities within the deci-sion-making structure of the EU and has been awarded an oversight jurisdiction in an effort to safeguard democratic principles of EU govern-ance. The European Parliament has gained significant power within the policy-making trifecta and is

now charged with overseeing the process and issuing its opinion on more legislative affairs. It shares budgetary power with the Council, and thereby influences EU public spending.

Powers of the European Parliament- Under the codecision procedure, it shares power with the Council over discussion and ap-proval of new legislative proposals, and of the EU Budget.- It may encourage or pressure the European Commission to develop new proposals.- The European Commission, the Council of Ministers and the presidency of the Council of Ministers must regularly report to the European Parliament.- It has the right to confirm or reject the Euro-pean Council’s nominees for president of the European Commission and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.- It has the right of approval over appointment of the College of Commissioners, the manage-ment team of the European Central Bank and the Court of Auditors.- It may compel the removal of the College of Commissioners.- It manages the office of the European Om-budsman.

The Politics of the European ParliamentThe Leadership of the European Parliament com-prise of a President and 14 Vice-Presidents who also chair plenary meetings/discussions. The organising of internal processes is a task of the Bureau of the Parliament which is also charged with intra-institutional administrative matters. The political decisions and the interaction strategy of the European Parliament are determined in the Conference of Presidents and the coordination of the agendas of the respective committees is determined in the Conference of Committee Chairs.

Political groups are central mechanisms for structuring debate and coalition formation in the legislative process. The all have a secretariat, research staff and financial resources as well as party and/or group leaderships that determine the vital political issues. Political groups have a three-line whipping system in order to ensure cohesion. The formation of coalitions in the

Cork 2014

10

European Parliament is frequent and necessary depending on the voting procedure; the ‘grand coalition’ as it has come to be known between the EPP and the PES (S&D) is somewhat of a ne-cessity for decisions that require majority voting.

Committees of the European Parliament are the vessels of implementing legislative scrutiny in the Parliament. Committees are charged with proposing amendments to legislative propos-als in the form of reports and draft resolutions. The Rapporteurs lead the working procedure in parliamentary committees and are tasked with balancing their party’s interests, the inter-ests of other institutions and relevant agencies, and policy positions from associations, interest groups and civil society. The European Parlia-ment comprises of 20 Standing Committees and 2 sub-committees. Under specific Rules (175 & 176), the European Parliament has the capacity to establish temporary committees regarding policy elements that arise and require working procedures tailored to the policy domain.

Key Terms and Concepts- Conference of Presidents- Consent Procedure- Consultation Procedure- Cooperation Procedure- Dual Mandate- European Ombudsman- Member of the European Parliament- Ordinary Legislative Procedure- President of the European Parliament- Political Groups- National Political Affiliation in the European Parliament

Groups in the European Parliament

GUIDE TO THE EU

11

2. Council of Ministers

Role: Deciding on policies and adopting legislationMembers: Council configurations according to policy domain (national ministers)President: Rotating presidency, Member States assume presidency for a period of 6 monthsHeadquarters: Brussels

OverviewThe Council is one of the two essential decision-makers. It meets in different configurations, depending on the issues on the agenda. For example, if there are agricultural matters to be discussed, the 28 national Ministers of agricul-ture will gather in Brussels in the Agriculture and Fisheries configuration to discuss national prefer-ences and decision-making at the EU level. The purpose of the gatherings is to discuss, amend, and agree on legislation. Additional tasks of the Council are to define the EU’s foreign policy, and to coordinate Member States’ national policies. Together with the Parliament, it also decides on the budget of the EU.

The Presidency of the Council rotates every six months among Member States. In 2014, Greece and Italy are the countries that will hold the rotating presidency with Latvia and Luxembourg sharing the 2015 presidency and the Nether-lands and Slovakia sharing the presidency for 2016. The presidency prepares and coordinates the work of the Council, setting the agendas for several meetings, working parties and commit-tees. It arranges and chairs most meetings of the Council and Coreper (Committee of Permanent Representatives) and represents the Council in inter-institutional meetings and configurations. Lastly, it mediates intergovernmental bargaining to form cohesive institutional preferences and policy positions.

The Coreper is the Committee that handles most of the workload of the Council before the minis-ters meet; each Member State has a permanent representation in Brussels and these representa-tions include experienced public officers with policy knowledge and expertise. Almost 85% of the detailed work of the Council is completed before it appears to the ministerial meetings in the respective configurations.

Powers of the Council of Ministers- It shares powers with the European Parliament for discussing and passing laws as well as ap-proval of the EU budget.- It coordinates economic policies of the Mem-ber States through the Eurogroup.- It coordinates Justice and Home Affairs poli-cies of the Member States through the JHA.- It defines and implements the Common For-eign and Security Policy (CFSP).- It concludes international agreements on be-half of the EU.

The Politics of the Council of MinistersThe voting system of the Council has changed several times over the years; when once una-nimity voting was a prerequisite for most policy domains, ministers could cast their vote on specific policy issues using either simple majority for procedural issues. Unanimity voting is used for matters relating to membership, taxation, the CFSP, the CSDP, the finances of the Union and other matters that require a single voice. For all other matters, the Council employs the Qualified Majority Voting (QMV) which is a voting system whereby proposals must win substantially more than a simple majority. Under this arrangement, each Minister is given several votes roughly in proportion to the population of his or her Mem-ber State. In order to win the majority voting, at least 14 Member States must be in favour with a total of at least 255 votes out of 345 (approxi-mately 74% of the vote).

Qualified Majority Voting in the Council of MinistersMember State VotesGermany, UK, France and Italy 29Spain and Poland 27Romania 14The Netherlands 13Greece, Czech Republic, Belgium and Hungary 12Austria, Bulgaria, Sweden 10Slovakia, Denmark, Finland, Ireland and Lithuania 7Latvia, Slovenia, Estonia, Cyprus and Luxembourg 4Malta 3

Total 345

Cork 2014

12

3. European Council

Role: Defines the EU’s general political direc-tion and prioritiesMembers: Top political leaders; Heads of State or Government of the Member States, together with its President and the President of the European CommissionPresident: Donald Tusk (PL) (as of November 1st, 2014)Headquarters: Brussels

OverviewOriginally created in 1974 intending to establish an informal platform for discussion between heads of states or government, the European Council became an EU institution when the Treaty of Lisbon entered into force on 1 Decem-ber 2009. Along with the aforementioned mem-bers, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy takes part in the European Council’s work. Depending on the agenda requirements the members of the Euro-pean Council may decide each to be assisted by a minister and, in the case of the President of the Commission, by a member of the Commission .

The European Council meets in Brussels, typi-cally twice every six months. At these meetings, the political leaders decide by consensus on the overall direction and priorities of the EU, and provide the necessary impetus for its develop-ment, in the form of ‘conclusions’. These conclu-sions are non-binding, as the European Council cannot pass laws.

Powers of the European Council- The European Council is regarded as the ‘board of directors’ of the EU, consisting of the heads of government of the Member States.- The European Council is chaired by its presi-dent who serves for a period of two and a half years (renewable only once).- It is responsible for making nominations to senior positions, including the president of the European Commission, the High Representative and the president of the European Central Bank.

Key Terms and Concepts- Coreper- European Council- Presidency of the Council of Ministers- President of the European Council- Qualified Majority Voting (QMV)- Summitry- Council configurations

Council confusion: Which is which?

European Council: Heads of State, highest deci-sion making body in the EU

Council: Also known as the Council of Ministers, gathers government ministers in their specific policy fields. The Council is one of the two main legislative bodies of the EU, together with the Parliament.

Council of Europe: Not EU-related. This Council is an intergovernmental organisation that mainly deals with protection of human rights, democ-racy and rule of law. The Council of Europe has 47 Member States, and is located in Strasbourg, France.

GUIDE TO THE EU

13

4. European Commission

Role: Executive, proposes legislation, pro-motes the EUMembers: 28 Commissioners, one for each Member StatePresident: Jean-Claude Juncker (LU)Headquarters: Brussels

OverviewAccording to the Treaty of Lisbon, the Euro-pean Commission is charged with promoting the general interest of the Union , ensuring the application of the Treaties and overseeing the application of Union law. The European Commis-sion fulfills its tasks through the executive pow-ers of initiation and agenda setting as well as implementation. Its main responsibilities relate to managing the EU budget and representing the EU in international affairs, negotiations and commitments. The European Commission is the institutional barometer of European integra-tion; its monopoly over the generation of most legislative proposals grants the European Com-mission the highest degree of influence over the legislative framework of governance for suprana-tional decisions and their application in Member States’ legal environments.

The European Commission is comprised of five key components: the College of Commissioners, the president of the European Commission, the Directorates-General and Services, a network of advisory and executive committees and the Secretariat General.

StructureThe term Commission refers to the institution in its entirety as well as the 28 member College of the Commission. The Commission is divided into DGs which are directed by an appointed official. Commissioners are nominated by each Member State and after their hearings and formal ap-pointment the portfolios of the European Com-mission are divided among them. Each Commis-sioner is appointed for a term of 5 years and all 28 Member States have a national official direct a DG. Each Commissioner is supported by a small staff of assistants and advisors that is referred to as the cabinet.

The President of the European CommissionThe President of the European Commission is the dominating figure of the institution. The president is tasked with ensuring the effective management of the College, appearing along-side meetings of world leaders representing the voice of the Union, mediating the negotiations at European Council summits and holding bilateral meetings with national leaders of international partners. The president of the European Com-mission convenes and chairs meetings of the College, lays down the guidelines for the work of the Commission, distributes policy portfolios, assigns duties and policy responsibilities, takes questions before the European Parliament and represents the European Commission in deal-ings with other EU institutions and at key meet-ings of national governments and their leaders.

Directorates-General and ServicesThe DGs are the equivalent of national govern-ment departments; they oversee the develop-ment and implementation of policies and laws in specific domains. The DGs are staffed with a mix of full-time European bureaucrats known as fonctionnaires, and of national experts seconded from the Member States on short-term appoint-ments. Each DG is headed by a director-general; they are people with a direct link to the Commis-sioner.

CommitteesThe process of implementation is monitored by a network of several hundred committees and sub-committees participating in the comitology. These committees can have the following forms:- Advisory committees charged with scrutinising less politically sensitive issues.- Management committees charged with focus-ing on areas such as agricultural policy. Manage-ment committees have the power to refer Com-mission measures to the Council of Ministers and hence overrule the Commission.- Regulatory committees charged with referring Commission measures to the Council of Minis-ters and the European Parliament.- Regulatory committees with scrutiny.

Cork 2014

14

Powers of the European Commission- It develops and makes proposals for new EU laws and policies.- It oversees the implementation of laws and policies through the Member States.- It develops and manages the EU budget.- It represents the EU in international trade ne-gotiations.- It oversees the process by which applications for membership of the EU are considered.- It manages overseas delegations.- It coordinates the EU’s official developmentassistance and humanitarian aid.

Key Terms and Concepts- Cabinet- College of Commissioners- Comitology- Power of initiation- Directorate-General- President of Commission

GUIDE TO THE EU

15

5. European Court of Justice

Role: ensure a common application and inter-pretation of the European Union lawMembers: one Judge per Member StatePresident: Vassilios Skouris (GR), since October 2003Headquarters: Luxembourg, Luxembourg

OverviewThe European Court of Justice (ECJ) is the insti-tution that ensures the adequate and systematic application of the European Union law. It covers the role of the guardian of the uniformity of the interpretation of the EU legislation and its con-formity to Member States’ legal systems as well. It is mandatory for national courts to refer to the ECJ both if the interpretation of EU law is not clear and if there is a conflict between EU and national law.

As the judicial arm of the EU, the ECJ has made decisions that have expanded and clarified the reach of EU law by establishing clear rules of judicial governance. Principles such as the direct effect and the supremacy of EU law have helped transform Treaties into a legal body that resem-bling that of a constitution for Europe. The Court of Justice is the final court of appeal and is assist-ed by the General Court and the EU Civil Service Tribunal. The two main courts are comprised of 28 judges while the Tribunal is comprised of 7 judges.

Structure of the European Court of Justice- Judicial arm of the EU.- Judges meet as chamber of three to five judges or as a Grand Chamber of 13 judges.- It is assisted by eight advocates-general ap-pointed for a renewable term of six-years. Advocates-general are charged with reviewing cases, studying arguments and delivering opin-ions.

Powers of the European Court of Jus-tice- Supreme legal body of the EU.- Final court of appeal for all matters relating to EU law.- Issues preliminary rulings when national courts ask for a ruling on the interpretation or validity of an EU law that arises in a national court case.- It makes decisions on direct actions when an individual, corporation, Member State or EU institution brings proceedings directly before the Court, usually with an EU institution or a Member State as defendant.

Key Terms and Concepts- Advocates General- Constitutional Court- Direct action- Direct effect- EU Civil Service Tribunal- European Court of Human Rights- General Court- Judge-rapporteur- Judicial authority- Mutual recognition- Preliminary ruling- Supremacy of EU law

Cork 2014

16

6. European Central Bank

Role: Managing monetary policy; maintain-ing price stabilityMembers: Euro area national central banksPresident: Mario Draghi (IT)Headquarters: Frankfurt

OverviewEstablished in 1998 with the Treaty of Amster-dam, the primary objective of the European Central Bank (henceforth referred to as ECB) is to maintain price stability within the Euro area and the Eurozone . The ECB is governed directly by EU law but its institutional set-up resembles that of corporations; its shareholders and stock capital require a more intricate institutional set-up than that of its institutional counterparts in the EU framework of governance. The ECB’s capital is 5 billion euro and it is held by the national central banks of Member States who are its pri-mary shareholders. The initial allocation capital key was determined upon establishment but it is adjustable since it’s pegged to the population and GDP of Member States. Shares at the ECB are not to be transferred or used as collateral in the financial system.

Beyond the maintenance of price stability in the Euro area, the ECB is tasked with implementing monetary policy, setting up the benchmark inter-est rate, i.e. the interest rate that it charges when lending to commercial banks, and taking care of the foreign reserves of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB). Further tasks include conducting foreign-exchange operations, pro-moting the smooth operation of payment sys-tems such as TARGET2 payments system and the TARGET2 securities (still in development). The ECB holds the exclusive right to issue Euro banknotes whereas Member States have the right issue Euro coins after consultation with the ECB. Lastly, the ECB is responsible for collecting macroeconomic data from national central banks in order to ensure the effective implementation and oversight of macroprudential regulation.

StructureThe ECB is comprised of three decision-making bodies that are charged with fulfilling its objec-tives according to the ECB’s mandate. These bodies are:

The Executive BoardThe Executive Board is responsible for the imple-mentation of monetary policy and the day-to-day operations of the ECB. It can issue decisions to national central banks and it is composed of the President of the ECB (Mario Draghi), a Vice-Pres-ident of the ECB and four other members. The Executive Board meets weekly.

The Governing Council The Governing Council is the primary decision-making body of the European Central Bank and it is composed of the Executive Board and the governors of the national central banks of Euro area Member States (6+18 Members).

The General CouncilThe General Council of the ECB deals with transi-tion issues relating to Member States’ adoption of the common currency. The General Council assists in that transition process by fixing the exchange rates between national currencies and the Euro while the former is tested in the ERM II.

GUIDE TO THE EU

17

III. Legislative Procedures

Proposal from the Commmission to the EP and Council

Parliament first reading:EP amendments

Parliament first reading:no EP amendments

Council first reading: the Council does not modify the text

Council first reading: the Council approves all amendments

The act is adoptedThe act is adopted

The act is adopted

The act is adopted

The act is adopted

The act is not adopted

The act is not adopted

The act is not adopted

Commission on EPamendments (amended Commission proposal)

Commons opinion on the common position

Parliament second reading (deadline 3+1 months)

Council second reading (deadline 3+1 months)

The council does not approve all Parliament’s amendments

The council approves all Parliament’s amendments

Successful conclusion to conciliation

Unuccessful conclusion to conciliation

Commision opinion on EP amendments

Council first reading: the Council does not approve the outcome of the EP first reading and adopts a

common position

Parliament adopts amendments to the common position by an abso-

lute majority of its Members

Parliament accepts the common position by an absolute majority of

its Members

Parliament approves the common position or does not take a decision

within the deadline

Conciliation commitee is convened, within a period of 6 + 2 weeks, and has a further 6 + 2 weeks to reach

agreeement

Third reading: within a period of 6 + 2 weeks approval of the joint text

by the EP (majority of votes cast) and by the Council (QMV)

The EP and council are unable to adopt the joint text ithin the period

of 6 + 2 weeks

X

X

X

1st Reading

3rd Reading

2nd Reading

Cork 2014

18

1. Community MethodOrdinary Legislative ProcessArticle 289 TFEU lays down the core setting of the Union’s main legislative procedure. The Parliament and Council shall jointly adopt and alter Union legislation based on the initiation of the Commission. The procedure is then further defined in article 294 TFEU. Firstly, the European Commission shall draft the initiative, which will be presented to both Parlia-ment and Council. What then follows is the first reading of the draft legislation, where the Parlia-ment will present changes to the draft legislation and communicate the draft to the Council.

The Council will then either approve the legisla-tion or submit reasons against the proposal and communicate an altered draft to the Parliament. If the Council approves the draft a new law has been made, but if it does not and the Parlia-ment will be given the reasons as to why not and the second reading of the draft will begin. The Parliament will have three months to take action on the proposal of the Council. There are three possible courses of action: the Parliament can with a majority reject the proposal deeming the act not to have been adopted or the can submit changes to the proposal and communicate it back to the Council. If the Parliament agrees with what was said by the Council or fails to uphold the time limit of three months, the legislation is passed corresponding to the position of the Council.

The Council is then given three months to either approve the amendments in which case the new act is adopted, or reject the proposal in which case the President of the Council together with the President of the Parliament shall, within six weeks, set up a meeting with the conciliation committee.

The committee consists of members of the Council and Parliament and will aim at reaching a common ground on the proposed legislation. If within 6 weeks the committee does not agree on a draft, the act will not be adopted. If the com-mittee reaches an agreement its version of the draft needs to be approved by a qualified major-ity in the Council and majority in the Parliament. If all parties agree the new act is adopted, thus concluding the ordinary legislative procedure.

2. Intergovernmental MethodDuring this procedure the Council may either unanimously or through qualified majority ac-cept legislation based on the proposal of the European Commission, however the Council requires the consent of the Parliament to ulti-mately adopt the new legislation, thus although there is currently not an amendment procedure the Parliament still carries a vital role as it may indefinitely delay the process.

19

GUIDE TO THE EU

1. Sources of LawThe sources of EU law (hereinafter referred to as Union law) can be divided into two groups: the primary source of Union law (hereinafter referred to as primary law) and secondary source of Union law (hereinafter referred to as second-ary law). Just as their terms suggest, the two sources of law stand in a hierarchy of norms with the primary law ranking above the secondary. Therefore secondary law can only be effective as long as it is consistent with the primary law. Yet it is legal and necessary that the secondary law substantiates the primary law and is interpreted in its light. The differentiation between primary and secondary law is especially important in the process of lawmaking: While secondary law is enacted by the EU institutions (Article 288 I TFEU2), the enactment or amendment of primary law is solely within competence of the Member States (Article 48 TEU3).

2. Primary sources of Union lawThe primary law consists mainly of the founding treaties of the European Communities and the Charter of fundamental rights of the EU4.

i. The founding treaties of the European CommunitiesThe most relevant primary law is tabled in the founding treaties of the European Communities. These are the European Coal and Steel Commu-nity (ECSC, Treaty of Paris,1951), the European Economic Community (EEC, Treaty of Rome, 1957) and the European Atomic Energy Com-munity (EAEC or Euratom, Euratom Treaty, 1957). Certainly not only the original treaties are part of the primary law but also the later amendments of them, i.e. the Treaty of Maastricht, the Treaty of Amsterdam, the Treaty of Nice, as well as the Treaty of Lisbon and existing TEU and TFEU.Tthe accession treaties with Member States joining over time are also part of the primary law.

ii. The Charter of fundamental rights of the EUThe question whether or not to integrate a char-ter of fundamental rights was one of the most controversial in the conflict about the European Constitution (TCE)5 . In the context of the Treaty

of Lisbon the thought of integrating such a charter in the treaties themselves was rejected. Instead, the Charter of fundamental rights of the EU that was originally proclaimed in 2000 gained full legal effect by the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009. It is therefore now elevated to the same status of primary law as the treaties themselves (Article 6 I TEU).

3. Secondary sources of Union lawRanked directly below the primary law is the sec-ondary law. The most important legal acts of the secondary law are summarised in Article 288(1) TFEU. Secondary legal acts may be agreed upon and communicated to the Member States in the following forms:

- Regulation; - Directive; - Decision; - Recommendation; - Opinions.

i. RegulationsThe legal act of a regulation is laid down in Arti-cle 288(2) TFEU:

“A regulation shall have general application. It shall be binding in its entirety and directly appli-cable in all Member States.“Any regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. This means that with its entry into force a regulation unfolds legal effect in all Member States without the necessity of incorporation or transformation by a national body. The directly transposable nature of a regulation is directly applicable to Member States, EU institutions and European citizens. Therefore a regulation can directly affect rights and obligations of the individual citizen. Furthermore the direct applicability of a regula-tion and its universal primacy imply that it rules out opposing national law.

IV. Legal Systems of the EU

20

ii. DirectivesThe concept of a directive is defined in Article 288 III TFEU:

“A directive shall be binding, as to the result to be achieved, upon each Member State to which it is addressed, but shall leave to the national authorities the choice of form and methods.“

As stipulated by Art. 288 III TFEU the lawmaking by means of a directive is a two-tiered process: Initially the EU enacts the directive which then has to be incorporated by the addressed Mem-ber States. The choice of form and methods shall be left to the national authorities as long as they achieve the results that are laid down in the contents of the directive. This means that the creative leeway goes only so far as the objective is still achievable. The more detailed a directive is, the more detailed the incorporated law must be, so that sometimes the incorporation comes down to nothing more than a transcription.

Regarding the choice of form and methods the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has made two confinements:

- First of all, the Member States are bound to choose those form and methods that are of prac-tical effect and the most adequate to achieve the objective that is outlined in the directive. This principle is called “direct effect“. - Secondly the rank of the law to be incorpo-rated must comply with the rank of the law that regulated the matter in question until then.

Due to the wide scope that is inherent with direc-tives, often Member States fail to transpose them correctly. The ECJ has thus developed measures to further ensure the correct incorporation.

Firstly it has designed the requirement for an in-terpretation in conformity with the directive. This obligation requires national courts to interpret the law so as conform to the Directive’s objec-tive. This principle is derived from the principle of loyal cooperation6 and the aforementioned principle of direct effect.

In cases where interpretation in conformity with the directive is impossible in the respective Member, the ECJ has decided that, under certain conditions7, directives can unfold vertical ef-fects8 while usually they can only come into force through the national legislation.

If even the vertical effect of a directive is impossi-ble and the Member State has failed to incorpo-rate the directive correctly the Member State can be charged for compensation of damages.

iii. DecisionsThe legal act of a decision is specified in Article 288 IV TFEU:

“A decision shall be binding in its entirety. A decision which specifies those to whom it is ad-dressed shall be binding only on them“

Like the directive, the decision is binding in its entirety and thus constitutes rights and obliga-tions for the addressee. Unlike the directive, the decision only sets out an arrangement for one individual case and not a general rule. The addressee of a directive can be one or several Member State(s) and any natural or legal per-son9.

iv. Recommendations and opinionsArticle 288 V TFEU lays down the concept of recommendations and opinions:

“Recommendations and opinions shall have no binding force.“

Contrary to all other legal acts named in Arti-cle 288, recommendations and opinions have no legally binding character. Nonetheless they have a strong political significance and are often obeyed by choice. While most recommenda-tions and opinions are addressed to Member States, they can also be addressed to any natural or legal person.

Cork 2014

2 The Treaty on the functioning of the European Union (TFEU, formerly Treaty of Rome) goes into deeper detail on the role, policies and operation of the EU, while the Treaty on Euro-pean Union (TEU, formerly Maastricht Treaty) lays out the basic principles, values, authorisation and competences of the EU Institutions.3 see footnote 24 General principles of law such as the principle of democracy and common law can also be primary law.5 The Treaty establishing a Constition for Europe (TCE) was an unratified treaty with the intent to create a consolidated consti-tution for the EU6 The principle of loyal cooperation between Member States is laid down in Article 4 III TEU.7 for further information see:

http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/institutional_affairs/decisionmaking_process/l14527_en.htm8 In a state-citizen (vertical) relationship only, not in a citizen-citizen (horizontal) relationship.9 A legal person can, e.g., be a firm or corporation of any kind.

21

1. DefinitionsCompetence: Eurospeak for decisionmaking power. Since the Treaty of Lisbon, competences of the EU are listed in the Treaty of the Function-ing of the European Union (TFEU), arts 3-6.

2. PrinciplesThe main purpose of these competences can be seen as determining the division of power between the Union and the Member States.

- Principle of Conferral (Art 5(1) TEU): Com-petences of EU institutions are limited to those conferred on them by the Member States. This means that the Union’s institutions cannot as-sume more power at will. - Principle of Subsidiarity: Decisions should be made at the lowest level possible. The aim is to legislate as close to the citizens as possible. Thus, the EU may only act when action on the EU level would be more effective than action at national, regional or local level. Two criteria determine whether action should be taken at the EU level: a. Advantages of scale b. Overcoming specificity of regional preferences - Principle of Proportionality: The EU actions should be limited to the means necessary to achieve specific aims. - Principle of Pre-emption: In the category where competences are shared (cf. infra), this principle dictates that Member States can only act in fields where the Union has not acted or where it has appealed its acts.

3. Categories- Exclusive competence (Art 3 TFEU): In these policy fields the Union’s institutions have the sole power to legislate. Member States have defi-nitely and irreversibly forfeited their sovereignty in these areas to the Union. - Shared competence (Art 4 TFEU): In this cat-egory both the EU and the Member States have the power to legislate. This category is, unoffi-cially, split up in two sub categories. Exclusive shared competence: Policy fields governed by the principle of pre-emption. Parallel shared competence: Policy areas where the Union can legislate without prevent-ing Member States from exercising their legisla-tive competence. - Supporting, coordinating or supplementing competence (Art 6 TFEU): the EU has little power to issue legally binding acts in these fields. It is not allowed to harmonise different national laws in these fields. Instead, it can set up programmes that support, coordinate or supplement national legislation. - Member State competences: all the major areas of taxation and public spending, such as healthcare, housing, welfare provision and pen-sions.

GUIDE TO THE EU

V. Competences

22

4. Infochart of Competences

Cork 2014

Exclusive Shared Support, coordinate or supplement

Customs union Exclusive if EU has policy

Non-exclusive Certain human health policies

Eurozone monetary policy

Internal market R&D policies Industry

Conservation of marine resources

Certain social policy

Outer space policies

Culture

Common commercial policy

Cohesion policy Development cooperation

Tourism

Agriculture and fisheries

Humanitarian aid

Education and training

Environment Civil protection and disaster prevention

Consumer protec-tion

Administrative cooperation

Transport Coordination of eco-nomic, employment and social policies

Energy Common foreign, security and defence policies

Old third pillar 'Area of freedom, secuity and justice'

Certain public health policies

23

Innovation has been placed at the heart of the EU’s strategy to create growth and jobs, because the EU believes that the primary driver of eco-nomic growth is innovation, and that the EU-28 lags behind other global innovation players such as the United States, Japan or Korea. Therefore it comes as no surprise that the EU very actively aims to create an environment that promotes innovation: EU strategies, programmes and concrete measures are numerous, which can be hard to understand at first glance, but nowadays make up a comprehensive system aiming at stimulating growth and progress of the Euro-pean society.

1. Europe 2020“It is a strategy launched in 2010, setting targets for the EU to achieve by 2020 (the targets cover employment, research and development, climate change and energy, education, social inclusion and poverty reduction)”

As former Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso noted “in a changing world, we want the EU to become a smart, sustainable and inclusive

economy. These three mutually reinforcing prior-ities should help the EU and the Member States deliver high levels of employment, productivity and social cohesion.”

Concretely, the EU has set five ambitious objec-tives - on employment, innovation, education, so-cial inclusion and climate/energy - to be reached by 2020. Each Member State has adopted its own national targets in each of these areas. Con-crete actions at EU and national levels underpin the strategy.

In the Europe 2020 strategy, the EU has set a headline target for Member States to invest 3% of their GDP in Research and Development (R&D) by 2020 (1% public funding, 2% private-sector investment), which is expected to create 3.7 million jobs and increase the EU’s annual GDP by nearly €800 billion. The EU can nonethe-less only do so much as encourage the Member States to actively pursue such a funding strategy. As a matter of fact, Research and Development is the second type of shared competence of the EU as evidenced in the preceding section.

GUIDE TO THE EU

VI. Relevant Policy Frameworks for Cork ‘14

24

2. ‘Innovation Union’This an initiative setting out a strategic approach to innovation, driven by the highest political level [the EU institutions] and using public sector intervention private sector and remove bottle-necks which prevent ideas from reaching the market.

The Innovation Union is an initiative (a specific strategy), which focuses the EU efforts – and its cooperation with non EU states – to make the EU more innovative (from research to retail) so as to tackle the big challenges of today; (1) energy, (2) food security, (3) climate change and (4) Eu-rope’s ageing population.

The EU, through the Innovation Union initiative, has identified key obstacles for Europe to be-come a pivotal actor in global innovation, and

thus its measures target the following

bottlenecks:

- weaknesses in public education and innovation systems,- poor availability of finance, most damaging because preventing ideas that have emerged from publically funded research from reaching the markets,- costly patenting and outdated innovation regulations and procedures,- slow standard-setting at EU-level,- failure to use public procurement strategically,- fragmented efforts among member countries and regions.

Cork 2014

25

3. European Research Area (ERA)The ERA is a unified research area open to the world based on the internal market, in which re-searchers, scientific knowledge and technology are to circulate freely. Hence, just like the Single market or the Schengen Area in other domains, the ERA aims at removing barriers to the free circulation of research and technology and the transnational pooling of resources. In 2012, the European Commission further called for the ERA completion through the Communication on the ERA.

In order to tackle the challenges mentioned above, and despite the EU’s limited competence in negotiating and formulating legally binding rules for R&D, the EU has been taking an ac-tive stance to reach its objectives as laid out in Europe 2020 and the Innovation Union. Com-pleting the European Research Area is a primary objective.

A set of goals and agendas have therefore been implemented within the overarching goal of completing the ERA:

- making national research systems more effective,- transnational cooperation and competition by facilitating the sharing of research agendas,- labour market for researchers by facilitating mobility to foster excellence and relevance of research, - guaranteeing the transfer and access to scien-tific knowledge.

It is within this broad set of goals stemming from the EU’s Europe 2020 strategy, Innovation Union as well as the ERA that the EU established Hori-zon 2020 framework.

GUIDE TO THE EU

26

4. Horizon2020“Horizon 2020 is the name given to the 8th Frame-work Programme for EU Research and Innovation. It is the financial instrument implementing the Innova-tion Union, Europe 2020’s flagship initiative to secure Europe’s competitiveness.”

Just as other EU funding programmes (Erasmus+ or the Structural Funds - i.e. the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, etc.), Horizon 2020 is part of the Multi-Annual Financial Framework (MFF) of the EU, and will therefore run from 2014 until 2020. The predecessor of Horizon 2020 was called Framework Programmes (FP) for Research and Development; the 7th Framework Programme (FP7) ended in 2013.Horizon 2020 is nonetheless different than its pre-decessors insofar as it is a more comprehensive programme, that combines three previous funding programmes:

- the FP7 programme for Research,

- the innovation aspects of the Competitiveness and In-novation framework programme (CIP),

- the EU contribution to the European Institute of Innova-tion and Technology (EIT).

Therefore, Horizon 2020 is the biggest funding pro-gramme for research created so far, as it has a capac-ity of nearly € 80 billion of funding available (over 7 years). Horizon 2020 is divided into three main pillars: excellent science, industrial leadership and societal challenges all offering funding through a wide range of calls targeting different organisations (universi-ties, private research organisations, SMEs, industries, national and local authorities, etc.).

Pillar 1: Excellent Science BaseIt aims to promote world class research in Europe, by developing, attracting and retaining research tal-ent in Europe, and ensuring their access to the best infrastructures. The major mechanisms of Pillar 1, the European Research Council (ERC) and Marie Sklo-dowska Curie Actions (MCSA) remain programmes, as they were under the FP7 (the ERC funds research projects and MSCA for researchers).

Pillar 2: Industrial LeadershipThe ILEIT programme aims to make strategic invest-ments in key technologies, thus promoting innovation in existing industrial infrastructures. Higher ac-cess to finance will be awarded to innovators through loans and guarantees for high-risk. A debt facility will be operated by the European Investment Bank. There is also dedicated support for innovative Small and Medium Entreprises at different growth stages cover-ing the whole innovation cycle (feasibility, demonstra-tion and testing, and commercialisation phases).

Pillar 3: Societal Challenges Pillar 3 has the largest share of the budget and is broken down into seven groups of policy-driven chal-lenges. It aims to include the societal concerns into the EU research policy objectives, through interdisci-plinary collaborations including social sciences and humanities, thus creating a critical mass of knowledge and resources in order to deal with the societal chal-lenges. It encompasses the entire cycle from basic research to market uptake with a stronger output orientation compared to FP7.

Cork 2014

27

5. Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF)The multiannual financial framework (MFF) lays down the maximum annual amounts (‘ceilings’) which the EU may spend in different political fields (‘headings’) over a period of at least 5 years. The upcoming MFF covers seven years: from 2014 to 2020.

The MFF is not the budget of the EU for seven years. It provides a framework for financial pro-gramming and budgetary discipline by ensuring that EU spending is predictable and stays within the agreed limits. It also allows the EU to carry out common policies over a period that is long enough to make them effective. This long term vision is important for potential beneficiaries of EU funds, co-financing authorities as well as national treasuries.

By defining in which areas the EU should invest more or less over the seven years, the MFF is an expression of political priorities as much as a budgetary planning tool. The annual budget is adopted within this framework and usually remains below the MFF expenditure ceilings in order to retain some flexibility to cope with unforeseen needs.

MFF Structure and ContentFor the period 2014-2020, the MFF sets a maxi-mum amount of EUR 960 billion for commitment appropriations and EUR 908 billion for payment appropriations. The MFF 2014-20 is divided into six categories of expense (‘headings’) corre-sponding to different areas of EU activities:

1. Smart and Inclusive Growtha. Competitiveness for growth and jobs: includes research and innovation; education and training; trans-European networks in energy, transport and telecommuni-cations; social policy; devel-opment of enterprises etc.

b. Economic, social and territorial cohesion: covers regional policy which aims at helping the least developed EU countries and regions to

catch up with the rest, strengthening all regions’ competitiveness and developing inter-regional cooperation.

2. Sustainable Growth: Natural Resources: in-cludes the common agricultural policy, common fisheries policy, rural development and environ-mental measures.

3. Security and citizenship: includes justice and home affairs, border protection, immigration and asylum policy, public health, consumer pro-tection, culture, youth, information and dialogue with citizens.

4. Global Europe: covers all external action (‘foreign policy’) by the EU such as development assistance or humanitarian aid with the excep-tion of the European Development Fund (EDF) which provides aid for development cooperation with African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, as well as overseas countries and territories. As it is not funded from the EU budget but from direct contributions from EU Member States, the EDF does not fall under the MFF.

5. Administration: covers the administrative expenditure of all the European institutions, pen-sions and European Schools.

6. Compensations: temporary payments de-signed to ensure that Croatia, who joined the EU

GUIDE TO THE EU

MFF 2014-2020 Distribution

28

Europe 2020 – A European Strategy for Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive GrowthThis report published by the European Commission sets out the governing principles of Europe’s strategy for the future and lays down the fundamental drivers of economic growth and sustainability of the EU.

COM(2011) 500 final – A Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the RegionsThis communication from the European Commission outlines the proposal for a Multi Annual Financial Framework for the period between 2014-2020 and proposes structural reforms to the distribution of the budget and its funding principles.

EU Research and Innovation This page gives a very short overview of the EU’s Re-search and Innovation activities, but most importantly it provides links to all relevant EU stakeholders and topics in European research and innovation.

Horizon 2020 – General Overview

Horizon 2020 Structure

European Research Area (ERA) Progress Report 2013 Recommended reading: The Facts and Figures illus-trated by graphs and complimentary notes (p.25-48)

“State of the Innovation Union: Taking stock 2010-2014” This is the progress report of the EU’s strategy to achieve its numerous and ambitious goals for an “In-novation Union”. It provides a good overview of the EU’s actions and activities towards research and inno-vation, as well as a good state-of-play of the progress to achieve the EU’s objectives for Europe 2020. Recommended reading: The Executive Summary (p.8-12)

E-Library of the Science in Society Programme

Cork 2014

Comparison of the current MFF to the 2007-2013 Programme

6. Useful Links