Lesson 1 European Union Law and Institutions

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    European Union Law &

    InstitutionsLecturer Dominic Powell

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    European Union Law & Institutions

    Who am I?

    Mr Dominic Powell

    [email protected] University of Southampton - LLB

    (Hons)

    QLD University of Technology A.Dip of Applied Science

    Non Practicing Barrister

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    Course Assessment

    1 x 2hr Exam

    50% of course mark

    July 2011

    1 x 3hr In Class Assignment

    50% of course mark

    July 2011

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    Course Material

    Steiner and Woods, EU Law(2009Oxford Publishing) 10th Edition

    Approximately 30 from any decent

    bookstore Craig & De Burca, EU Law: Text,

    Cases and Materials (2009 Oxford

    Publishing) 4th

    Edition Approximately 35 from any decent

    bookstore

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    Course Layout

    Lesson 1 The European Union, itsHistory, Institutions and GeneralBackground

    Lesson 2 European Union Law andBritish Law

    Lesson 3 Free Movement of Goods

    Lesson 4 Free Movement ofPeople/Services/Establishment

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    Course Layout Contd.

    Lesson 5 Competition Law - Cartels

    Lesson 6 Competition Law

    Lesson 7 - Human Rights Lesson 8 - Assignment

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    Helpful Information

    Websites http://europa.eu/index_en.htm

    Official Website of the European Union

    http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/jcms/j_6/ ECJ Cases and Information

    http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/ Agency of the EU

    http://www.eurunion.org/infores/bestlawsites.htm EU Law Websites

    http://europa.eu/index_en.htmhttp://curia.europa.eu/jcms/jcms/j_6/http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/http://www.eurunion.org/infores/bestlawsites.htmhttp://www.eurunion.org/infores/bestlawsites.htmhttp://www.eurunion.org/infores/bestlawsites.htmhttp://www.eurunion.org/infores/bestlawsites.htmhttp://www.eurofound.europa.eu/http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/jcms/j_6/http://europa.eu/index_en.htm
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    What is theEuropean Union?

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    European Union

    The European Union:

    500 Million People

    27 Countries

    Single

    Currency

    Legal System

    No Borders

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    t t

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    ow r c s t e compare tothe rest

    of the world?

    EU China Japan Russia United States EU China Japan Russia United States

    12 508

    1 326

    3 329

    468

    9819

    25 100

    4 400

    27 800

    12 200

    38 700

    Size of economy: 2008 gross domestic productin billion of euros

    Wealth per person: 2008 gross domestic productper person

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    European Union - History

    The European Union was set up withthe aim of ending the frequent andbloody wars between neighbours,

    which culminated in WWII. As of 1950, the European Coal and

    Steel Community began to uniteEuropean countries economically andpolitically in order to secure lastingpeace.

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    Founders

    New ideas for lasting peace and prosperity

    Konrad Adenauer

    Robert Schuman

    Winston Churchill

    Alcide De Gasperi

    Jean Monnet

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    History

    The six founding Countries are

    Belgium,

    France,

    Germany,

    Italy,

    Luxembourg and

    the Netherlands.

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    1950-1969

    In the 1950s the world was dominated by acold war between east and west.

    1957, the Treaty of Rome creates theEuropean Economic Community (EEC), orCommon Market.

    1960-1969 Economic Productivity increases

    1960-1969

    EU countries stop charging custom duties when theytrade with each other.

    They also agree joint control over food production, sothat everybody now has enough to eat - and soonthere is even surplus agricultural produce.

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    1970 - 1979

    Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdomjoin the European Union on 1 January1973, raising the number of memberstates to nine.

    The EU regional policy starts to transferhuge sums to create jobs andinfrastructure in poorer areas.

    The European Parliament increases itsinfluence in EU affairs and in 1979 allcitizens can, for the first time, elect theirmembers directly.

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    1980-1989

    In 1981, Greece becomes the 10th member ofthe EU and Spain and Portugal follow five yearslater.

    In 1987 the Single European Act is signed. Thisis a treaty which provides the basis for a vast six-year programme aimed at sorting out theproblems with the free-flow of trade across EUborders and thus creates the Single Market.

    There is major political upheaval when, on 9November 1989, the Berlin Wall is pulled down

    and the border between East and West Germanyis opened for the first time in 28 years, this leadsto the reunification of Germany when both Eastand West Germany are united in October 1990.

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    1990-1999

    With the collapse of communism acrosscentral and eastern Europe, Europeansbecome closer neighbours.

    In 1993 the Single Market is completedwith the 'four freedoms' of:

    movement of goods,

    services,

    people and

    money.

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    1990-1999

    The 1990s is also the decade of two treaties, the Maastricht Treaty on European Union in 1993 and the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1999.

    People are concerned about how to protect the environmentand also how Europeans can act together when it comes tosecurity and defence matters.

    In 1995 the EU gains three more new members, Austria,Finland and Sweden.

    A small village in Luxembourg gives its name to theSchengen agreements that gradually allow people to travelwithout having their passports checked at the borders.

    Millions of young people study in other countries with EUsupport. Communication is made easier as more and more people

    start using mobile phones and the internet.

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    2000 - Today

    The euro is the new currency formany Europeans.

    2001 EU countries begin to work

    much more closely together to fightcrime.

    The political divisions between east

    and west Europe are finally declaredhealed when no fewer than 10 newcountries join the EU in 2004.

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    2000 - Today

    2004 10 New Countries Czech republic Estonia Latvia Lithuania

    Hungary Poland Slovenia Slovakia Cyprus

    Malta 2007

    Bulgaria Romania

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    2000 - Today

    2007 Treaty of Lisbon

    Many people think that it is time forEurope to have a constitution butwhat sort of constitution is by nomeans easy to agree, so the debateon the future of Europe rages on.

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    Enlargement: from six to 27countries

    1952 1973 1981 1986

    1990 1995 2004 2007

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    What is Law?

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    What is Law?

    Law is a system of legal relationswhich condition social action toserve the common interest.

    Phillip Allott Law is a product of social

    processes which determinesocietys common interest andwhich organise the making andapplication of law.Jeremy Waldron

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    What is EuropeanUnion Law?

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    European Union Law

    A body of treaties, law and court judgementswhich operates alongside the legal systems of theEUs member states.

    It has direct effect within the EU's member states

    and, where conflict occurs, takes precedence overnational law.

    The primary source of EU law is the EU's treaties.

    These are power-giving treaties which set broadpolicy goals and establish institutions that,amongst other things, can enact legislation inorder to achieve those goals..

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    European Union Law

    The legislative acts of the EU come in twoforms:

    Regulations

    Regulations become law in all member states themoment they come into force, without therequirement for any implementing measures andautomatically override conflicting domestic provisions

    Directives

    Directives require member states to achieve a certainresult while leaving them discretion as to how toachieve the result. The details of how they are to beimplemented are left to member states.

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    European Union Law

    EU legislation derives from decisions takenat the EU level, yet implementation largelyoccurs at a national level.

    The principle of uniformity is a centraltheme in all decisions by the EuropeanCourt of Justice, which aims to ensure theapplication and interpretation of EU laws

    does not differ between member states

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    Does EuropeanUnion Law AffectMe?

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    Every days an EC Law day!

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    European Union

    How Does it Work?

    e treat es as s or

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    e treat es

    as s ordemocratic cooperation built on

    law1952The European Steel and Coal Community 1958The treaties of Rome:The European Economic Community

    The European Atomic Energy Community(EURATOM)

    1987The European Single Act:

    the Single Market

    1993Treaty of European Union

    Maastricht

    1999Treaty of Amsterdam

    2003Treaty of Nice

    2009Treaty of Lisbon

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    Institutions of the European Union

    European Parliament

    Court ofJustice

    Court ofAuditors

    Economic and SocialCommittee Committee of the Regions

    Council of Ministers(Council of the EU)

    European Commission

    European Investment Bank European Central BankAgencies

    European Council (summit)

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    Lets take a 15 minute break.

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    European Council

    The European Council provides theUnion with the necessary impetus forits development and defines the

    general political directions andpriorities thereof. It does notexercise legislative functions.

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    European Parliament

    The European Parliament is the onlydirectly-elected body of the EuropeanUnion.

    The 736 Members of the EuropeanParliament are there to represent you, thecitizen.

    They are elected once every five years by

    voters right across the 27 Member Statesof the European Union on behalf of its 500million citizens

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    The European Parliament voice of the people

    4 Decides EU laws and budget together with Council of Ministers4 Democratic supervision of all the EUs work

    Number of members elected in each country (January 2010)

    United Kingdom12

    22

    72

    72

    13

    Italy

    Ireland

    22Hungary

    Greece

    99Germany

    France

    Finland

    6Estonia

    13Denmark

    22Czech Republic

    6Cyprus

    17Bulgaria

    22Belgium

    17Austria

    Total 736

    72

    18Sweden

    50Spain

    7Slovenia

    13Slovakia

    33Romania

    22Portugal

    50Poland

    25Netherlands

    5Malta

    6Luxembourg

    12Lithuania

    8Latvia

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    European Court of Justice

    The Court of Justice of the European Communities (oftenreferred to simply as the Court) was set up under theECSC Treaty in 1952.

    It is based in Luxembourg. Article 220 of the EC Treatyprovides that the role of the European Court of Justice(ECJ) is to ensure that, in the interpretation and

    application of the Treaty, the law is observed. It makes sure that EU legislation is interpreted and applied

    in the same way in all EU countries, so that the law is equalfor everyone. It ensures, for example, that national courtsdo not give different rulings on the same issue.

    The Court also ensures that EU Member States and

    institutions do what the law requires. The Court has thepower to settle legal disputes between EU Member States,EU institutions, businesses and individuals.

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    European Court of Auditors

    Despite its name, the Court has no judicialfunctions.

    It is rather a professional externalinvestigatory audit agency

    The primary role of the court is toexternally check if the budget of theEuropean Union has been implementedcorrectly, in that EU funds have beenspent legally and with soundmanagement.

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    European Court of Human Rights

    The European Court of Human Rights is aninternational court set up in 1959.

    It rules on individual or State applicationsalleging violations of the civil and political rightsset out in the European Convention on Human

    Rights. Since 1998 it has sat as a full-time court and

    individuals can apply to it directly. In almost fifty years the Court has delivered

    more than 10,000 judgments. These are binding on the countries concerned and

    have led governments to alter their legislationand administrative practice in a wide range ofareas.

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    Council of Ministers

    The Council is the main decision-making body of the European Union.

    The ministers of the Member States meetwithin the Council of the European Union.

    Depending on the issue on the agenda,each country will be represented by theminister responsible for that subject(foreign affairs, finance, social affairs,transport, agriculture, etc.).

    The presidency of the Council is held forsix months by each Member State on arotational basis.

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    Council of Ministers

    The Council is responsible for decision-making and co-ordination

    The Council of the European Union passes laws, usually legislatingjointly with the European Parliament.

    The Council co-ordinates the broad economic policies of theMember States.

    The Council defines and implements the EUs common foreign andsecurity policy, based on guidelines set by the European Council. The Council concludes, on behalf of the Community and the

    Union, international agreements between the EU and one or morestates or international organisations.

    The Council co-ordinates the actions of Member States and adoptsmeasures in the area of police and judicial co-operation in

    criminal matters. The Council and the European Parliament constitute the budgetary

    authority that adopts the Communitys budget.

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    Council of Ministers

    The acts of the CouncilThe acts of the Council can take the form of regulations,directives, decisions, common actions or common positions,recommendations or opinions.

    The Council can also adopt conclusions, declarations orresolutions.

    When the Council acts as a legislator, in principle it is theEuropean Commission that makes proposals. These areexamined within the Council, which can make modificationsbefore adopting them.

    The European Parliament is an active participant in thislegislative process. On a broad range of issues, Community

    legislation is adopted jointly by the Parliament and theCouncil using a procedure known as co-decision.

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    European Commission

    The Commission drafts proposals for newEuropean laws and manages the day-to-day business of implementing EU policiesand allocating EU funds.

    It also makes sure that everyone abidesby the European treaties and laws.

    Within the College of Commissioners thereis one Commissioner per member state,each representing the interests of the EUas a whole

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    Economic and Social Committee

    The European Economic and SocialCommittee (EESC) is a consultative bodyof the European Union.

    Committed to European integration, theEESC contributes to strengthening thedemocratic legitimacy and effectiveness ofthe European Union by enabling civil

    society organisations from the MemberStates to express their views at Europeanlevel.

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    Economic and Social Committee

    This Committee fulfils three key missions: helping to ensure that European policies and legislation tie

    in better with economic, social and civic circumstances onthe ground, by assisting the European Parliament, Counciland European Commission, making use of EESC members'experience and representativeness, dialogue and efforts to

    secure consensus serving the general interest; promoting the development of a more participatory

    European Union which is more in touch with popularopinion, by acting as an institutional forum representing,informing, expressing the views of and securing dialoguewith organised civil society;

    promoting the values on which European integration isfounded and advancing, in Europe and across the world,the cause of democracy and participatory democracy, aswell as the role of civil society organisations.

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    Committee of the Regions

    The Committee of the Regions (CoR) is thepolitical assembly that provides the regional andlocal levels with a voice in EU policy developmentand EU legislation.

    The Treaties oblige the Commission, Parliamentand Council to consult the Committee of theRegions whenever new proposals are made inareas that affect the regional or local level.

    The CoR has 344 members from the 27 EU

    countries, and its work is organised in 6 differentcommissions. They examine proposals, debateand discuss in order to write official opinions onkey issues.

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    European Central Bank

    The ECB is the central bank forEurope's single currency, the euro.

    The ECBs main task is to maintainthe euro's purchasing power andthus price stability in the euro area.

    The euro area comprises the 17

    European Union countries that haveintroduced the euro since 1999.

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    Regulatory Agencies and Bodies

    A number of specialised anddecentralised EU agencies have beenestablished to support the EU

    Member States and their citizens.These agencies are an answer to adesire for geographical devolution

    and the need to cope with new tasksof a legal, technical and/or scientificnature.

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    Regulatory Agencies and Bodies

    The regulatory agencies and bodiesinclude:

    Policy agencies

    Common Security and Defence Policyagencies

    Police and judicial cooperation in

    criminal matters agencies

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    EURATOM Agencies and Bodies\

    These bodies are created to support theaims of the European Atomic EnergyCommunity Treaty (EURATOM).

    The purpose of the Treaty is to coordinatethe Member States' research programmesfor the peaceful use of nuclear energy, toprovide knowledge, infrastructure and

    funding of nuclear energy and to ensuresufficiency and security of atomic energysupply.

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    Executive Agencies

    Executive agencies are organisationsestablished in accordance with CouncilRegulation (EC) No 58/2003 (OJ L 11,16.1.2003) with a view to being

    entrusted with certain tasks relating to themanagement of one or more Communityprogrammes.

    These agencies are set up for a fixedperiod.

    Their location has to be at the seat of theEuropean Commission (Brussels orLuxembourg).

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