Introduction to The European Union and The Council of Europe Legal and Policy Frameworks Stefaan G.Verhulst, Markle Foundation August 2003

Introduction to The European Union

and

The Council of Europe

Legal and Policy Frameworks

Stefaan G.Verhulst, Markle Foundation August 2003

Outline

• EU versus CoE • Institutions, Policy Tools and Processes

of the European Union • Institutions, Policy Tools and Processes

of the Council of Europe • EU and CoE

Distinguish the EU from the CoE

European Union

15 member states(14 pending)

Council of Europe

45 member states

Brussels Strasbourg

EUMember States cede some of their sovereign rights to the

EC.

Thus, the EC is able to issue sovereign acts that have the same force as laws in individual states.

CoEDecisions require unanimity, which means that every

country has a power of veto.

The Council of Europe is therefore designed only with international cooperation in mind.

The European flag represents both the Council of Europe and the European Union to strengthen the idea of solidarity between the different organizations for a united and

democratic Europe

.

The European Union

Creation of the European UnionCreation of the European Union

1950 1951 1957 1992 1997

European Coal and

Steel Community

(ECSC)

(Signed by:Belgium, France, Germany, Italy,

Luxembourg, the Netherlands)

Treaty of Paris

Treaty of Rome

Treaty of Maastricht

Treaty of Amsterdam

(Concluded formation of the

ECSC)

(‘the EC Treaty’)

Determined the legal framework of the European

Community.

Created the European

Atomic Energy Community

(Euratom) and the European Community

(EEC)

Created the European

Union

Further developedthe EU

Gave Parliament co-decision powers

in the EC’s legislative

process

EU Membership

Austria, Belgium,

Denmark, Finland,

France, Germany,

Greece, Italy,

Ireland,

Luxembourg, the

Netherlands,

Portugal, Spain,

Sweden, the United

K ingdom

Bulgaria, Cyprus,

the Czech Republic ,

Estonia, Hungary,

Latvia, L ithuania,

Malta, Poland,

Romania, Slovakia,

Slovenia, Turkey,

Future Members

Current

Members

= 1st Accession countries

The European Communities

Common Foreign and Security Policy

Cooperation in Justice and Home

Affairs

The European Union

ECCustoms union and single marketAgricultural policyStructural policy

New or amended provisions on:•EU citizenship•Education and culture•Trans-European networks•Consumer protection•Health•Research and environment•Social policy•Asylum policy•External borders•Immigration policyEuratomECSC

3 Pillars

Foreign Policy•Cooperation, common positions and measures•Peacekeeping•Human rights•Democracy•Aid to non-member countries

Security policy•Drawing on the WEU: questions concerning the security of the EU•Disarmament•Financial aspects of defence•Long-term: Europe’s security framework

•Cooperation between judicial authorities in civil and criminal law

•Police cooperation

•Combating racism and xenophobia

•Fighting drugs and the arms trade

•Fighting organised crime

•Fighting terrorism

•Criminal acts against children, trafficking in human beings

The Institutions of the EU

European Council

15 Heads of State and the President of the

Commission

Council of the EU

15 Ministers

European Parliament

626 Members

European Commission

20 Members

European Court of Justice

15 Judges

Economic and Social Committee

222 Members

Committee of the Regions

222 Members

Court of Auditors

15 Members

European Central Bank

European Investment Bank


European Council

15 Heads of State and the President of the

Commission

• Function is to establish policy guidelines for European integration.

• Meet twice a year, accompanied by the Foreign Ministers and a Member of the Commission.

• Makes basic policy decisions and issues instructions and guidelines to the Council or the Representatives of the Member States meeting in the Council.

• Has directed work on economic and monetary union, the European Monetary System, direct elections to Parliament.


Council of the EU

15 Ministers

Tasks Include:

• Drawing up legislation

• Coordination of economic policy

• Budgetary control

• Appointments

• External relations

One representative of each Member State at ministerial level, with composition varying according to the subject discussed.

General Affairs Council

Economic and Financial Affairs

Transport Council Agriculture Council


European Parliament

626 Representatives

Tasks Include:

• Decision-making functions

• Advisory functions

• Supervisory functions

Representatives directly elected by the peoples of the Member States.

7 political parties represented in assembly.

17 committees carry out the preparatory work for the plenary sessions.


European Commission

20 Members

“The driving force behind Community policy.”

• Has primary powers to initiate legislation in certain areas.

• Is the ‘guardian of the Community treaties,’ monitors implementation of legislation, institutes infringement proceedings in the event of any

violation of Community law, and refers matters to the Court of Justice.

• Represents no interests other than those of the Community.

• Acts as a normal administrative authority.

Consists of 2 members from Germany, France, the UK, Italy and Spain, and one from each of the other Member States.

Members are appointed by Member States for a term of 5 years.

Headed by a President (Romano Prodi)

EU Commission Directorate-Generals

Policies

AgricultureCompetition

Economic and Financial AffairsEducation and Culture

Employment and Social AffairsEnergy and Transport

EnterpriseEnvironment

FisheriesHealth and Consumer Protection

Information SocietyInternal Market

Joint Research CentreJustice and Home Affairs

Regional PolicyResearch

Taxation and Customs Union

External Relations

DevelopmentEnlargement

External RelationsTrade


European Court of Justice

15 Judges

Responsibilities encompass three main areas:

• Monitoring the application of Community law, both by the Community institutions when implementing the Treaties, and by the Member States and individuals in relation to their obligations under Community law.

• Interpretation of Community law.

• Further shaping of Community law.

Types of proceeding:

• Actions for failure to fulfill obligations under the Treaties.

• Actions for annulment and actions on grounds of failure to act.

• Cases referred from national courts for preliminary rulings.

Each Member State sends one judge.Members are appointed by Member States for a term of 5 years.

Secondary Institutions of the EU

Economic and Social Committee

222 Members

Committee of the Regions

222 Members

Court of Auditors

15 Members

European Central Bank

European Investment Bank

An advisory board that represents the interests of employers, trade unions, and consumers.

Examines accounts of Community institutions.

The Council is required to consult the Committee on a number of areas including: education; culture; public health; trans-European networks; transport; telecommunications and energy infrastructure.

Promotes the development of less-developed regions, to modernise or convert undertakings or create new jobs and to assist projects of common interest to several Member States.

The heart of the economic and monetary union. Its task is to maintain the stability of the euro.

Policy Tools of the European Union

Policy Tool Policy Process Binding authority?

Regulation Consultation Procedure

Cooperation Procedure

Co-decision Procedure

Approval Procedure

Yes

Direct applicability, the legal acts do not have to be transposed into national law but confer rights or impose duties on the community citizen in the same way as national law.

Directive Consultation Procedure

Cooperation Procedure

Co-decision Procedure

Approval Procedure

Yes

Objective of law is binding on the Member states but implementation is left to national authorities.

Decision Simplified procedure Yes

Distinguished from Regulations by being of individual application: the persons to whom it is addressed must be named in it and are the only ones bound by it.

Distinguished from Directives in that it is binding in its entirety (whereas the Directive simply sets out objectives to be attained).

Recommendation Simplified procedure No

Expresses a view but does not place any legal obligation on the addressees. Political and moral significance.

Opinion Simplified procedure No

An assessment; prepares the way for subsequent legally binding acts, or are a prerequisite for the institution of proceedings before the Court of Justice. Political and moral significance.

Compare Legislative Processes: Compare Legislative Processes: Consultation v. Co-decision ProcedureConsultation v. Co-decision Procedure

1950 1997

European Coal and Steel

Community (ECSC)

Treaty of Amsterdam

The earliest legislative process within the Community.

Member States’ in the Council played the decisive role in expressing the will of the EC.

The Commission submits proposals and the Council makes the decisions.

Used now only in limited instances

Treaty of Amsterdam created ‘equality of arms’ between the Council

and Parliament.

Denies the Council the right to adopt its common position if efforts to

reach agreement with Parliament fail.

Used for most of the important legislation.

Consultation Procedure: Co-decision Procedure:

The Legislative Process:Consultation Procedure

Commission

Proposal

European Parliament

Committee of the Regions Economic and Social Committee

Opinion

Adoption of decision by the Council after consultation with Coreper

The Legislative Process:Co-Decision Procedure

Commission

Proposal

Parliament (1st reading)

Opinion

Council

No amendments by Parliament or approval of all amendments by CouncilInstrument adopted

or

COR ESC

COMMON POSITION

Parliament (2nd reading)

Amendment by absolute majority

Commission

Council

Amendments rejected

Conciliation Committee convened by Council and Parliament

Rejection by absolute majorityapproval/no action

Council End of legislative process

Adoption of common position by qualified majority

Parliament’s amendments accepted

Adoption by qualified majority

agreement

(3rd reading)

Parliament’s amendments not accepted

Adoption only by unanimity

No agreement

Instrument rejected

Power of the EU

The EC must act where the objectives to be pursued can be better attained at Community level, enhancing its powers

The EC must not act where objectives can be satisfactorily attained by the Member States acting individually,

constraining its powers.

The Subsidiary Principle

If the need for Community rules is demonstrated...

According to the Subsidiary Principle, all Community institutions, but especially the Commission, must always demonstrate that there

is a real need for Community rules and common action.

Principle of Proportionality:The need for the specific legal instrument must be thoroughly assessed to see whether there is a less

constraining means of achieving the same result. Framework legislation, minimum standards and mutual recognition of the Member States' existing standards should always be preferred to excessively detailed

Community rules. The subsidiary principle was codified in a Protocol annexed to the Treaty of Amsterdam.

The Future of the Convention

To better prepare the Union for enlargement, the EU leaders have called for modifications to amend the Treaties of Amsterdam and Nice.

The declared aims of EU Treaty changes are:

• bringing the EU closer to its citizens,

• strengthening the EU's democratic character,

• facilitating the EU's capacity to make decisions, especially after its enlargement,

• enhancing the EU's ability to act as a coherent and unified force in the international system,

• effectively deal with the challenges globalisation and interdependence create.

Convention

After 16 months of discussions, the Conventions adopted a draft proposal for an EU Constitutional Treaty which will serve

as a starting point for the IGC.

Intergovernmental Conference (IGC)

An IGC is the only instrument that can modify an EU Founding

Treaty.

Draft Constitutional

Treaty

• Forum made up of elected representatives and officials from the 15 Member States, 13 candidate countries and EU institutions, representatives of non-governmental and academic organisations, industry federations and trade unions.

• The first to precede a Founding Treaty modification.

• The EU has held five such conferences• The sixth IGC, starts in October 2003• Conducted by the Heads of State or Government, assisted by the members of the General Affairs and External Relations Council, representatives of the Commission, 10 future Member States, & the European Parliament.

Constitutional Treaty to be signed by the Member States of the enlarged Union as soon as possible after 1 May 2004, the envisaged date of enlargement.

The Convention proposed critical modifications:

• Replace the six-month rotating presidency with a permanent president of the European Council.

• Streamline the European Commission so that only 15 members would have voting rights.

• Implement a new voting system for the Council, whereby qualified majority will consist of a majority of countries representing 60 percent of Europe's population, will give the three biggest countries the right to block any decision supported by the other 22 Member States.

• Expand the role of the European Parliament, with a doubling of the scope of legislation taken by co-decision, which becomes the normal legislative process of the Union.

• Substantially simplifying the corresponding procedures.

• Obligate institutions to adopt rules on transparency.

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing presents the Convention’s report to the Italian presidency.

Council of Europe

Creation of the Council of Europe

1949 1950 1957 1959 1998

Treaty of London

Signature in Rome of the Council's Convention for

the Protection of Human Rights

and Fundamental Freedoms

- the first international legal

instrument safeguarding human rights.

Signature of the European Cultural

Convention, forming the

framework for the Council's work in

education, culture, youth and sport.

Established the Standing

Conference of Local and Regional

Authorities of Europe (now the

Congress of Local and Regional

Authorities of Europe)

to bring together local and

regional authority representatives.

Established the Council of Europe.

Signed by ten states:

Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland,

Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United

Kingdom.

Established the

European Court of Human Rights,

under the European

Convention on Human Rights,

to ensure observance of the obligations undertaken by

contracting states.

Single permanent European Court of Human Rights to be

established in Strasbourg under

Protocol No. 11 to the Council's European

Convention on Human Rights, replacing the

existing system.

Council of Europe Membership

Cyprus,

L iechtenstein,

Malta, Portugal,

Spain, Switzerland F inland, San Marino,

Belgium, Denmark,

France, Ireland,

Italy, Luxembourg,

Netherlands,

Norway, Sweden,

United K ingdom

Austria, Cyprus,

Germany, Greece,

Iceland, Turkey,

States that are current members of the EU=

1949-Original 10

1961-78

1949-56

1988-89

1990-2003

Albania, Andorra,

Armenia and

Azerbaijan, Bosnia

and Herzegovina,

Bulgaria, the Czech

Republic , Estonia,

Georgia, Hungary,

Latvia, L ithuania,

Moldova, Poland,

Romania, Russian

Federation and

Croatia, Serbia and

Montenegro,

S lovakia,Slovenia,

Ukraine

Council of EuropeThe Principles

The Council of Europe is an intergovernmental organisation which aims:

• to protect human rights, pluralist democracy and the rule of law;

• to promote awareness and encourage the development of Europe's cultural identity and diversity;

• to seek solutions to problems facing European society (discrimination against minorities, xenophobia, intolerance, environmental protection, human cloning, Aids, drugs, organised crime, etc.);

• to help consolidate democratic stability in Europe by backing political, legislative and constitutional reform.

The Institutions of the Council of Europe

Committee of Ministers

45 Ministers

Parliamentary Assembly

313 Members

European Court of Human Rights

43 Judges

Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of

Europe

Convention for the Protection of Human

Rights and Fundamental

Freedoms


Committee of Ministers

45 Ministers

• Decision-making body comprised of ministers of the 45 member states.

• Decides on the action to be taken on recommendations of the Parliamentary Assembly and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe, and on the proposals from various intergovernmental

committees and conferences of specialized ministers.


Parliamentary Assembly

313 Members

• One of 2 main statutory organs.

• 313 members elected or appointed by national parliaments.

• Each country has between 2 and 18 members, depending on size of population.

• The Assembly has 5 political groups: Socialist Group (SOC), Group of the European People’s Party (EPP/CD), European Democratic Group (EDG), liberal, Democratic and Reformer’s Group (LDR), and Group of the Unified European Left (UEL).

• Some members of the Assembly choose not to belong to any political group.

Compare the Parliamentary Assembly, which is comprised of representatives elected or appointed by national parliaments of all the Council of Europe’s Member States, with the EU’s European Parliament, comprised of the

directly elected representatives of the 15 member countries of the EU.


European Court of Human Rights

43 Judges

• Based in Strasbourg, this is the only truly judicial organ established by the European Convention on Human Rights.

• It is composed of 43 judges* and ensures, in the last instance, that contracting states observe their obligations under the Convention.

• Since November 1998, the Court has operated on a full-time basis.

Compare with:

Court of Justice of the European Communities:Meets in Luxembourg and ensures compliance with the law in the interpretation and

application of the European Treaties of the European Union.

International Court of Justice :Judicial body of the United Nations which meets in The Hague.

Policy Tools of the Council of Europe

Binding Authority?

European treaties or Conventions • Charters• Codes• Framework convention• Outline convention

Binding agreements on states that ratify them; requiring ratification or acceptance.

Agreements May be signed with or without reservation as to ratification, acceptance or approval.

Judgments of the Court Binding for the parties involved.

Recommendations Non-binding missives to governments; set out policy guidelines on such issues as legal matters, health, education, culture and sport.

Declarations and Resolutions Non-binding missive on current political issues.

Policy Process of the Council of Europe

• European Conventions and Agreements are prepared and negotiated within the institutional framework of the Council of Europe.

• Negotiation culminates in a decision of the Committee of Ministers Monitoring systems have been set up for the main treaties.

• It is then agreed to open the treaty for signature by member States of the Council.

• European Conventions and Agreements, however, are not statutory acts of the Organisation; they owe their legal existence simply to the expression of the will of those States that may become Parties thereto, as manifested inter alia by the signature and ratification of the treaty.

The Treaty on the European Communities recommends that the European Community establish all appropriate forms of co-operation with the Council of Europe and more specifically that co-operation with the Council of Europe should be fostered in the fields of education and culture.

To further these aims, there are:

• “Quadripartite” meetings at which the leaders of the two institutions meet• Joint Council of Europe/European Commission technical assistance programmes.

The “Joint Declaration on Co-operation and Partnership between the Council of Europe and the European Commission” (2001), aimed at giving fresh impetus to efforts to strengthen co-operation between the Council of Europe and the European Community.

Collaboration between the EU and the Council of Europe

One example of cooperation between the two is:

The European Commission adaptation of a draft decision to sign Convention 180 of the Council of Europe on behalf of the EU. Convention 180 establishes an international mechanism for the prior notification of national rules on online services, based on the EU system of legislative transparency in this area.

Documents

Introduction to The European Union and The Council of Europe Legal and Policy Frameworks Stefaan G.Verhulst, Markle Foundation August 2003