#16452 - Eu Law - Scottish Legal System

1. European Union Law

EU Today Briefly

• 28 member states

• EU’s trade with the rest of the world accounts for 20% of global imports and exports

• 62% of EU member states trade is done with other EU states inside EU market

• Created by international treaties between states, which have been amended several times

• EU is an independent legal system with an institutional framework

• EU legal competency involves economic law, employment law, human rights law, competition law, environmental law, consumer protection, etc.

• EU enacts legal rules in the form of regulations, directives and decisions

• EU vs ECHR-

History, Origins and Objectives of European Integration

• Europe endured 2 world wars, and following harsh winters, fuel crisis, lack of exports, as well as the onset of the Cold War and the USSR

• France feared that Germany would regain strength and take up arms

• Economic and political cooperation was deemed necessary, where sharing of resources would lead to peace and economic prosperity

• Schuman Declaration:

• stated that European nations should come together, and this begins with France and Germany ending conflicts

• French and German production of coal and steel should be pooled and placed under a common independent high authority, which would allocate them so that nations could share these resources

Different Stages of Economic Integration

1. Free Trade Area

• Free trade of goods inside the area between the member states

• However, member states have independent external trade policies

• The external state could export goods in member state with lowest tariff and the goods then circulate within the free trade area

2. Customs Union

• Same as the Free Trade Area, but the external aspect of the policy is also harmonised and member states apply the same customs and duties on non-member states

3. Common/ Internal Market

• FTA and CU focus on goods

• Common Market includes 4 freedoms: goods, services, workers, and capital

• Aim was to remove all obstacles of trading inside the EU in order to merge national markets into a single market

• Article 26 of TFEU

• There are mechanisms that prohibit discriminatory taxation, and differences in external taxation policy

• EEC moving to ideas setting common regulatory standard, which would also facilitate economic movement

4. Economic and Monetary Union

• Aimed to coordinate economic policies of the member states

• Monetary Union: the currencies of member states became fixed through exchange rates or one common currency was established and circulated through all member states (EURO)

5. Political Union

• Brings a common government amongst member states, which is indistinguishable from a state

• Adds police, taxation, foreign policy, security policy

Enlargement of EU Membership

• 1973: UK, Ireland and Denmark joined (now 9)

• 1980s: Greece, then Spain and Portugal joined (now 12)

• 1995: Austria, Sweden and Finland joined (now 15)

• 2004: adds 10 new member states joined as a result of the fall of the Berlin wall and the dissolution of the USSR (now 25)

• 2007: Romania and Bulgaria joined (now 27)

• 2013: Croatia joined (now 28)

How to Join the EU

TEU Article 49

• Any European state claiming to have the same values as those in TEU Article 2, can apply to be a member state

• These involve respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality and the rule of law

Copenhagen Criteria

• Established by heads of states in 1993

1. Stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law and human rights and respect and protection of minorities

2. Functioning market economy and ability to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the EU

3. Ability to take obligations of the membership which include implementing EU rules, standards and policies, as well as the adherence to the aims of the political, economic and monetary union

Procedure

1. Application: State formally applies to the Council, and the European Parliament, European Commission and National Parliaments are informed

2. Negotiation: Governments of member states and candidate state negotiate 35 different areas.

3. Screening process: candidate must implement all 35 policy areas step by step

4. Accession: accession treaty approved unanimously by the Council and the European Parliament consent to it, and all 28 EU member states as well as the candidate state sign and ratify it

Treaties of the European Union

• As treaties are revised and amended:

• The European institutions are given more power

• Expansion of EU competencies

• majority voting is favoured in an increasing amount of areas

• Tension between supranationalism and intergovernmentalism

• Tension between cooperation and loss of control of member states

• 6 to 28 member states

• Intergovernmental:

• between governments

• states create binding rules through way of treaty

• each state remains independent and sovereign and cannot be bound by a higher body

• difficult to get things done because all member states would have to agree

• Supranational:

• independent high authority above states

• states establish common institutions that are handed power and are beyond state control

• decisions of supranational entities are binding to states

• Decisions are no longer taken

The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) (Treaty of Paris) 1951

• Innovative and supranational approach to regulation that could bind member states

• 6 members: France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg

• From the onset of the European Integration Project, there is an economic rationale for the trading of coal and steel in an attempt to boost economic prosperity as well as prevent the 2 resources needed for war to fall into the hands of states that were previously at war

• This treaty looks to create a common market, common objectives and common institutions (Article 1)

• It wanted to abolish import and export duties and quantitative restrictions on the movement of resources (Article 4)

• ECSC Institutions:

• High Authority: an independent and supranational power to take decisions on coal and steel, which bind the member states

• Council of Ministers: national representatives from the 6 member states that oversee the work of the High Authority and occasionally has law-making powers

• Assembly: parliamentary functions and MPs

• European Court of Justice: in Luxembourg, making sure that decisions taken by the High Authority are legal and remain in the confines the member states set out in the treaty

The European Economic Community (EEC) (Treaty of Rome) 1957

• 6 original member states (UK invited but declined)

• Still centred around establishing the foundations of a closer union among European states

• Focused more around the free market and freedom of movement of all goods rather than just the free movement of coal and steel

• 4 fundamental freedoms: free movement of goods, services, capital and persons

• Provided a legal basis and competences where the 4 fundamental freedoms could move freely between member states, as well as to develop European “common policies” that would replace national policies

• Treaty wanted to create a Customs Union by 1968

• EEC Institutions:

• Commission: Formerly was the High Authority, is the executive body, and it proposes legislation

• Council: Made up of ministers from the member states, and was given more authority and was more involved in the law making process. The ministers are specialists in specific fields and are called upon when creating decisions and legislation for a particular topic

• Assembly (European Parliament): members of parliament representatives of member states

• European Court of Justice

• Law making

• This involved the Commission proposing legislation, and the Council vote on whether to adopt or reject proposal

• Under treaty, a unanimous vote was adopted, but this started changing to a majority vote

• French Empty Chair Crisis: France is not happy and believes unanimity is preferred, so France withdraws participation

• So unanimity is strived for over majority voting, and 6 member states have effective veto powers (intergovernmental approach)

Single European Act 1987

• The first time the Treaty of Roam is revised and amended

• Launches the internal market

• European institutions are intrusted with more power to create a single market

• New voting procedure in the Council: Unanimity becomes qualified majority voting

• EEC now has 12 members

• 6 member states lose their veto power

• new competencies of EU institutions: environment, social policy, economic and social cohesion, research and development

Treaty of Maastricht 1992

• EEC becomes European Community (EC)

• Establishes European citizenship and the Euro

• European Union is established

• Treaty expands EU competency

• Creates tensions between intergovernmentalism and supranationalism

• Majority voting is how Council votes

• European Parliament comes into the law making process

• EEC becomes European Union with 3 pillars:

• Pillars of EU

1. EC pillar: Treaty of Rome material, supranational, Customs Union, trade policy, CAP, relies on majority voting rather

2. 2 EU pillars: intergovernmental

Treaty of Amsterdam 1997

• Another step in the gradual evolution of the European Integration project and expansion of EU competencies

• Introduces...