The ABC of EU law PDF
Preview The ABC of EU law
T h e A B C o f E U l a w The ABC of EU law by Klaus-Dieter Borchardt December 2016 The ABC of EU law by Klaus-Dieter Borchardt December 2016 The publication The ABC of EU law can be found on the internet at http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/home European Commission Directorate-General for Communication Citizens’ Information Unit 1049 Brussels BELGIUM Manuscript completed in December 2016. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2017 The information and views in this publication are those of the author alone and do not necessarily represent the official opinion of the European Union. Picture credits Pages 12, 14, 28, 52, 68, 76, 80 und 84: © European Union, 2017 Page 34: © Wikimedia Commons/Bene 16 Page 50: © Fotolia/Björn Wylezich Page 98: © Fotolia/Andrey Armyagov Page 106: © Fotolia/Piotr Adamowicz Page 128: © Fotolia/xbrchx Page 151: © Fotolia/Wavebreak Media Print NA-07-16-024-EN-C ISBN 978-92-79-63657-8 doi:10.2775/725090 PDF NA-07-16-024-EN-N ISBN 978-92-79-63634-9 doi:10.2775/953190 EPUB NA-07-16-024-EN-E ISBN 978-92-79-63656-1 doi:10.2775/96443 Site NA-07-16-024-EN-Q ISBN 978-92-79-71669-0 doi:10.2775/02095 © European Union, 2017 Reproduction is authorised. For any use or reproduction of individual photos, permission must be sought directly from the copyright holders. THE ABC OF EU LAW 003 CONTENTS FOREWORD. .........................................................................................................................................................................................7 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. ..............................................................................................................................................9 FROM PARIS TO LISBON VIA ROME, MAASTRICHT, AMSTERDAM AND NICE. ...............................................................................................................................................11 First group: the Euro-Atlantic organisations ........................................................................................11 Second group: Council of Europe and OSCE .........................................................................................13 Third group: European Union .....................................................................................................................................15 FUNDAMENTAL VALUES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION .....................................................25 The EU as guarantor of peace .................................................................................................................................27 Unity and equality as the recurring theme. ...........................................................................................27 The fundamental freedoms ........................................................................................................................................29 The principle of solidarity ..............................................................................................................................................29 Respect for national identity .....................................................................................................................................30 The need for security ...........................................................................................................................................................30 The fundamental rights ...................................................................................................................................................30 THE METHODS FOR UNIFYING EUROPE. ............................................................................................37 Cooperation between the Member States. ..............................................................................................37 The concept of integration ...........................................................................................................................................37 Enhanced cooperation ........................................................................................................................................................38 THE ‘CONSTITUTION’ OF THE EUROPEAN UNION ..............................................................43 The legal nature of the EU ...........................................................................................................................................43 Van Gend & Loos 44 ..................................................................................................................................................... Costa v ENEL ................................................................................................................................................................44 The tasks of the EU. ...............................................................................................................................................................47 Economic tasks 47 .......................................................................................................................................................... Social tasks 52 ..................................................................................................................................................................... Political tasks 52 . ............................................................................................................................................................... The powers of the EU .........................................................................................................................................................54 The institutions of the EU ..............................................................................................................................................57 Institutions .........................................................................................................................................................................................59 004 THE ABC OF EU LAW The European Parliament (Article 14 TEU) 59 ............................................................................... The European Council (Article 15 TEU) 65 ......................................................................................... The Council (Article 16) 66 .................................................................................................................................... The European Commission (Article 17 TEU) 72 ........................................................................... The Court of Justice of the European Union (Article 19 TEU) 80 ........................... The European Central Bank (Articles 129 and 130 TFEU) 83 . ................................... The Court of Auditors (Articles 285 and 286 TFEU) 83 ..................................................... Advisory bodies ...........................................................................................................................................................................84 European Economic and Social Committee (Article 301 TFEU) 84 ...................... Committee of the Regions of the European Union (Article 305 TFEU) 85 .................................................................................................................................................. The European Investment Bank (Article 308 TFEU)..................................................................86 THE LEGAL ORDER OF THE EUROPEAN UNION ......................................................................89 The EU as a creation of law and a Union based on law .......................................................89 The legal sources of Union law .............................................................................................................................90 The EU founding treaties as the primary source of Union law 90 ....................... The EU legal instruments as the secondary source of Union law 90 . .............. International agreements of the EU 92 ................................................................................................ Sources of unwritten law 96 ............................................................................................................................... Agreements between the Member States 97 ................................................................................ The EU’s means of action .............................................................................................................................................98 Regulations as Union ‘laws’ 100 . ................................................................................................................... Directives 101 ....................................................................................................................................................................... Decisions 105 ........................................................................................................................................................................ Recommendations and opinions 108 ...................................................................................................... Resolutions, declarations and action programmes 108 ................................................... Publication and communication 110 . ....................................................................................................... The legislative process in the EU .....................................................................................................................111 Approval procedure 117 ............................................................................................................................................ Procedure for adopting non-legislative acts 117 ....................................................................... Procedure for adopting delegated acts and implementing acts 118 .............. The EU system of legal protection ................................................................................................................120 Treaty infringement proceedings (Article 258 TFEU) 120 .............................................. Actions for annulment (Article 263 TFEU) 122 ............................................................................ Complaints for failure to act (Article 265 TFEU) 124 ........................................................... Actions for damages (Article 268 and Article 340, second paragraph, TFEU) 124 ...................................... Actions by Union staff (Article 270 TFEU) 125 ............................................................................. Preliminary rulings (Article 256 TFEU) 125 ...................................................................................... THE ABC OF EU LAW 005 Provisional legal protection (Articles 278 and 279 TFEU) 125 . ................................ Preliminary rulings (Article 267 TFEU) 126 ...................................................................................... Liability of the Member States for infringements of Union law ...........................129 THE POSITION OF UNION LAW IN RELATION TO THE LEGAL ORDER AS A WHOLE ..............................................................................................................133 Autonomy of the EU legal order .......................................................................................................................133 Interaction between Union law and national law .....................................................................134 Conflict between Union law and national law ...............................................................................136 Direct applicability of Union law to national law 136 ......................................................... Primacy of Union law over national law 139 ................................................................................. Interpretation of national law in line with Union law 141 ............................................... CONCLUSIONS. ......................................................................................................................................................................145 CASE-LAW CITED ..............................................................................................................................................................147 Nature and primacy of Union law ...................................................................................................................147 Powers of the EU ...................................................................................................................................................................148 Effects of legal acts ..........................................................................................................................................................148 Fundamental rights ............................................................................................................................................................148 Legal protection ......................................................................................................................................................................148 THE ABC OF EU LAW 007 FOREWORD The legal order created by the European Union (EU) has become an estab- lished component of our political life and society. Each year, on the basis of the Union treaties, thousands of decisions are taken that crucially affect the EU Member States and the lives of their citizens. Individuals have long since ceased to be merely citizens of their country, town or district; they are also Union citizens. For this reason alone, it is of crucial importance that they should be informed about the legal order that affects their daily lives. Yet the complexities of the Union’s structure and its legal order are not easy to grasp. This is partly due to the wording of the treaties themselves, which is often somewhat obscure, with implications which are not easy to appreciate. An additional factor is the unfamiliarity of many concepts with which the treaties seek to master new situations. The following pages are thus an attempt to provide interested citizens with an initial insight into the structure of the Union and the supporting pillars of the EU’s legal order.
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