yiyi 20110309 lecture
TRANSCRIPT
Europe Union
Cristina Barrios, PhDInternational Relations
Dept. Social Sciences, Economics and Law
What does the European Union Do?
It depends on the “field of action”…
• Management and maintenance of the single market: Free movement of goods, services, capital & labor (recognition, protection, implementation)
• Economic and monetary union: the euro• Citizen’s right: equal treatment• Social policies for regions: cohesion• Common Agricultural Policy• Borders and common space(Schengen)• Environment• Security and defense• Police and judicial cooperation• External trade• Cooperation aid• Immigration, asylum policy
What is the European Union?
Institutions…and politics!!!Supranational and intergovernmental
Institutions in more details…
Council [intergovernmental]Commission [supranational]
European Parliament [supranational]
Council of the European Union:states, intergovernmental
President of the EU Council Mr. van Rompuy EU Council Building
European Commission: supranational administration, “Legislative/executive”
• Directorate Generals(DG) by field of action
• Commissioners• President of the
Commission• Powers: -Agenda-setting
(initiative) -Negotiating -”Watchdog”
President of the Commission 2004-
Jose Manuel BARROSO
European Parliament--Supranational--785 MEPs: european parliamentarians--Powers: co-decision, consultation, assent (depending on the issue)--Increasing power ( budget, environment, consumer protection), less democratic deficit… but LOW participation in EU elections
Some about Europe Union Law
Yiyi JinAttorney at Law
Zhenghan Law firm
EU law - states member domestic law
Ms. Daphne Korompeli
Greek Law and Greek legal education
Three Pillars
• The European Community pillar
• Common Security and Defense Policy and Internal Security pillar
• the Justice and Home Affairs pillar
EU law
The Fourth Pillar
Primary Source- the EU's treatiesthe constitutional law
• the ECSC Treaty of 1951 (Treaty of Paris)• the EEC Treaty of 1957 (Treaty of Rome, Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union)• the EURATOM Treaty of 1957 (Treaty of Rome)• the Merger Treaty of 1965• the Acts of Accession of the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark (1972)• the Budgetary Treaty of 1970• the Budgetary Treaty of 1975• the Act of Accession of Greece (1979)• the Acts of Accession of Spain and Portugal (1985)• the Single European Act of 1986• the Treaty of Maastricht of 1992 (Treaty on European Union)• the Acts of Accession of Austria, Sweden and Finland (1994)• the Treaty of Amsterdam of 1997• the Treaty of Nice of 2001• the Treaty of Accession 2003• the Treaty of Accession 2005• the Treaty of Lisbon of 2007
Secondary Source the Law
Regulations• become law in all member
states, without the requirement for any implementing measures,
• automatically override conflicting domestic provisions
Directives• require member states to
achieve a certain result while leaving them discretion as to how to achieve the result
Other Sources
• General International Public Law• International Treaties
The ordinary legislative procedure• the Commission presents a proposal to
Parliament and the Council• They then send amendments to the
Council which can either adopt the text with those amendments or send back a "common position". That proposal may either be approved or further amendments may be tabled by the Parliament
• If the Council does not approve those, then a "Conciliation Committee" is formed. The Committee is composed of the Council members plus an equal number of MEPs who seek to agree a common position
• be approved by Parliament again by an absolute majority
Mr. Marcis Dzelme
Social dialogue• Involving discussions,
consultations, negotiations and joint actions
• and involving social partners
Tripartite dialogue
the European Court of Justice
the judicial authority of the European Union
the European Court of JusticeSeated in Luxembourg
The Court of Justice of the European Union consists of three courts:
• The European Court of Justice (created in 1952; formally the Court of Justice)
• The General Court (created in 1988; formerly the Court of First Instance)
• The Civil Service Tribunal (created in 2004)
the European Court of Justicethe mission
• To ensure "the law is observed" • "in the interpretation and application" of the
Treaties• The Court reviews the legality of the acts of the
institutions of the European Union• ensures that the Member States comply with
obligations under the Treaties• and interprets European Union law at the request of
the national courts and tribunals