Europees recht (C03K2A) - volledige samenvatting in Engels (13/20 gehaald)

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EUROPEAN LAW
Inhoud
CHAPTER 1: THE FOUNDATIONS OF EU LAW......................................................................................... 4
I.EUROPEAN INTEGRATION: OBJECTIVES, PRINCIPLES AND VALUES.................................................. 4
II. A UNIQUE FORM OF REGIONAL INTEGRATION.............................................................................. 4
A. Among others in Europe......................................................................................................... 5
B. Tools....................................................................................................................................... 6
III. EVOLUTION................................................................................................................................... 6
A. REFORMS OF ‘CONSTITUTIONAL IMPORTANCE’..................................................................... 6
B. REFORMS: TOWARDS THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY (‘EEC’)...............................6
C. REFORMS: A COMMUNITY FOR COAL AND STEEL (ECSC, 1951)............................................. 6
D. REFORMS: THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY (‘EEC’).................................................7

E. FROM THE ‘EEC’ TO THE ‘EUROPEAN COMMUNITY’ (EC) WITHIN THE ‘EUROPEAN
UNION’ (EU) 7
F. REFORMS: THE SINGLE EUROPEAN ACT(SEA, 1986)............................................................... 8
G. REFORMS: FROM THE ‘EEC’ TO THE ‘EUROPEAN COMMUNITY’ (EC) WITHIN THE
‘EUROPEAN UNION’ (EU)................................................................................................................ 9
H. REFORMS: MAASTRICHT TREATY, 1992.................................................................................. 9
I. REFORMS: AMSTERDAM TREATY, 1997................................................................................ 11
J. REFORMS: NICE TREATY, 2001.............................................................................................. 12
K. REFORMS: ‘CONSTITUTIONAL TREATY’, 2004....................................................................... 12
L. REFORMS: TREATY OF LISBON, 2007.................................................................................... 13
M. CHALLENGES SINCE LISBON.............................................................................................. 13
IV.THE PRIMARY LEGAL FRAMEWORK............................................................................................. 14
A. Primacy................................................................................................................................. 15
B. Direct efect........................................................................................................................... 15
C. Autonomy............................................................................................................................. 15
D. Difereniated integraion within the EU treaies...................................................................... 16
E. The primary legal framework :the ordinary treaty............................................................... 17
F. Treaty revision procedures: beyond Aricle 48...................................................................... 18
Chapter 2: THE ACTORS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION’S INTEGRATION PROCESS................................... 18
I. MEMBER STATES...................................................................................................................... 18
A. Accession.............................................................................................................................. 19
B. Withdrawal........................................................................................................................... 20
II. EU CITIZENS.................................................................................................................................. 20




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A. Insituional Role of Ciizens and Naional Parliaments............................................................. 20
B. Poliical and Administraive Rights.......................................................................................... 20
C. Right to Non-Discriminaion and Free Movement................................................................. 21
III.INSTITUTIONS............................................................................................................................... 21
A. Insituional Framework.......................................................................................................... 21
B. Guiding Principles................................................................................................................. 22
1.The European Parliament.......................................................................................................... 22
2.The European Council............................................................................................................... 27
3.The Council................................................................................................................................ 29
4.The Commission........................................................................................................................ 33
5.The Court of Jusice of the European Union............................................................................... 37
6.The Central Bank....................................................................................................................... 40
7.The Court of Auditors................................................................................................................ 41
IV. LOOKING BEYOND INSTITUTIONS............................................................................................... 42
A. Advisory bodies.................................................................................................................... 42
B. EU Agencies.......................................................................................................................... 42
C. Other eniies.......................................................................................................................... 43
Chapter 3 THE EU SYSTEM OF LEGAL NORMS...................................................................................... 43
I. THE PRIMARY LEGAL FRAMEWORK.......................................................................................... 43
A. THE MODES OF ACTION AND SCOPE OF EU LAW................................................................. 43
B. THE EU TREATIES AND OTHER NORMS OF PRIMARY LAW.................................................... 43
C. THE PROTECTION OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS...................................................................... 44
II. THE EXISTENCE OF AN EU COMPETENCE.................................................................................. 46
A. THE PRINCIPLE OF CONFERRAL............................................................................................. 46
B. THE LEGAL BASIS................................................................................................................... 46
C. THE DYNAMICS OF EU COMPETENCES................................................................................. 47
III. THE TYPES OF EU COMPETENCES......................................................................................... 50
IV. THE EXERCISE OF AN EU COMPETENCE................................................................................ 50
V. SOURCES OF LAW DERIVED FROM THE EU TREATIES............................................................... 52
A. HIERARCHY OF NORMS......................................................................................................... 52
B. INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER LEGAL ORDERS........................................................................ 52
C. EXTERNAL ACTS.................................................................................................................... 54
D. INTERNAL ACTS..................................................................................................................... 54
E. OTHER MODES OF ACTION................................................................................................... 57
VI. PROCEDURES FOR THE ADOPTION OF EU ACTS.................................................................... 58
A. INTERNAL ACTION................................................................................................................ 58

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B. EXTERNAL ACTION................................................................................................................ 63
C. FINANCIAL PROVISIONS........................................................................................................ 64
Chapter 4 THE UNIQUE NATURE OF THE EU LEGAL ORDER................................................................. 64
I. AN ‘INTEGRATED’ LEGAL ORDER.............................................................................................. 64
A. PRIMACY OF EU LAW............................................................................................................ 64
B. DIRECT EFFECT OF EU LAW................................................................................................... 67
C. NATIONAL PROCEDURAL AUTONOMY.................................................................................. 70
D. COMPLEMENTARITIES OF PRIMACY, DIRECT EFFECT AND NATIONAL PROCEDURAL LAW
TOGETHER.................................................................................................................................... 71
II. CENTRALISED COMPONENTS OF THE EU’S DECENTRALISED ENFORCEMENT MACHINERY......71
A. WHO IS IN CHARGE OF CENTRALISED MONITORING?.......................................................... 71
B. INFRINGEMENT ACTIONS..................................................................................................... 72
C. PRELIMINARY RULING PROCEDURES.................................................................................... 75
III. THE EU IS SUBJECT TO THE RULE OF LAW............................................................................. 77
A. JUDICIAL ENFORCEMENT OF EU LAW AGAINST EU ORGANS................................................ 77
B. ACTION FOR ANNULMENT.................................................................................................... 77
C. ACTION FOR FAILURE TO ACT............................................................................................... 79
D. INDIRECT CHALLENGES TO THE VALIDITY OF EU ACTS.......................................................... 79
E. NON-CONTRACTUAL LIABILITY IN DAMAGES........................................................................ 80
F. POLITICAL MONITORING OF COMPLIANCE WITH THE VALUES IN ART. 2 TEU......................80
G. IS COMPLIANCE WITH THE RULE OF LAW JUDICIALLY ENFORCEABLE?................................81
IV. EUROPEAN INTEGRATION IS A PROCESS.............................................................................. 81
A. LEGAL DESIGN OF THE EMU, THE AFSJ AND THE CFSP......................................................... 81




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,CHAPTER 1: THE FOUNDATIONS OF EU LAW
I.EUROPEAN INTEGRATION: OBJECTIVES, PRINCIPLES AND VALUES

Essential purpose of the European Union (‘EU’)
o Art. 1 §2 TEU (= Treaty on European Union)
o = ‘an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe’
 Why? To reconstruct the European continent after WWII
o = ambitious, political and legal project

2 founding principles (Art. 4 TEU):
o Equality of the member states (MS)
 Respect for national identities
 All members should be treated equally
o Sincere cooperation
= loyal cooperation, play by the rules; fairly
-> If the rules aren’t clear: act by good faith
=> Act as political compasses for EU integration

The values that underlie the founding of the EU
Values: common to the MS and foundations of the EU
o Art. 2 TEU
 The values are recognized by the MS
-> They have to follow these values
 Different approaches of what these values mean (no definitions)

o ‘Complementary’ source: art. 6 TEU
 EU has fundamental rights & other sources of protection
 The founding of the values ≠ in the Treaties BUT in other sources (e.g. CFEU,
ECHR,…)

o Presumption of ‘mutual trust’
= MS recognize the values in art 2 TEU
 All the MS have to follow these values + make sure the other states follow them

o Attention: risks of serious breaches of the rule of law in Poland and Hungary
 Because: there are waves of reforms that threaten the rule of law



II. A UNIQUE FORM OF REGIONAL INTEGRATION
There are different types of organizations (created by an international treaty)
-> Most advanced form: economic integration
-> To bring economics closer to each other to create economic interdependence

Forms of economic integration:
o Free trade area
= bringing together states & eliminating the borders to
trade between these states
 E.g.: no taxes on trade in goods, services …

o Customs union


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, = free trade area (between the participating states) + common external border
= a common approach to customs (= external
trade) (with others states)
 Same fees for trade of all the participating states

o Common market
= free trade area + customs union + free movement of all factors of production
(including workforce & capital)
-> Free movement of:
 Goods
 Services
 Capital
 Persons

o Internal market
= free trade area + customs union + common market BUT more
-> Elimination of ALL internal frontiers
 Collaboration and trust = even broader
-> No control at all at the borders
 EU = internal market

EU = more than a form of economic integration
-> Very ambitious economically & politically
o Fundamental status of EU citizen
 Political rights
o Common economic & monetary policy (‘euro’)
o Area of freedom, security & justice
o Common foreign, security policy
 About violence

A. AMONG OTHERS IN EUROPE
EU exists & co-exists with other organizations
o Council of Europe = European international organization (≠ EU)
 Different objective than the EU

o EFTA = European Free Trade Association
 Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Swiss Confederation (≠ EU-states!)
 For the trade of goods and services + free movement of factors for production
-> Only economic integration (less ambitious than the EU)

o EAA = European Economic area
= Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway + EU
 Not Swiss Confederation BUT has many bilateral agreements with the EU (e.g.:
free movement of workers)
 Also free movement of factors for production & trade of goods and services
between EU en 3 EFTA-states
-> SO: the EU collaborates with a lot of international organizations

o EU – UK: withdrawal-agreement (from when the UK left the EU)
 Withdrawal-agreement (from when the UK left the EU): some EU-rights continue
to exist
 Trade agreement


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, -> SO: things the EU does influences organizations or third states & the other way
around (co-existence; interaction)

B. TOOLS
-> The EU uses
Intergovernmental method
o = a way of making international law
o ‘Intergovernmental’ = between representatives of the government
o To make law at international level the representatives of the governments
negotiate an agreement

Supranational/community method
o 2 mechanisms:
- Autonomous and independent institutions: exist above the states
o Don’t depend on individual will of the MS
o Autonomy BCS they’re meant to act for the general interest of
the EU
- EU law = automatically applicable & spread in the national system: no
need to transform it in national law
o 2 principles:
 Direct effect: can be relied upon directly upon national
judges
 Primacy: superior over national law

<< SIDE NOTE (zie later)
Main EU institutions:
- Parliament
o Members: directly elected by EU citizens
o Co-decides EU budget + co-legislator + organ of political control

- European council
o Heads of state + president of the Eur. council (nl. Charles Michel) +
commission’s president (nl. Ursula Von der Leyen)
 Intergovernmental element
o Gives political impetus + identifies general political directions & priorities

- Council
o Representatives of the MS at ministerial level (≠ the heads of state!)
o Co-decides EU budget + co-legislator + role in policy-making &
coordination

- Commission
o Independent members promoting the general interest of the EU (1 per
state)
o Proposes legislation + ensures application of EU law

- Court of justice of the EU
o Independent members
o Ensures that EU law is observed in the application & interpretation of the
Treaties
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, Integration through law
o = idea that by creating rules together at Eur. level (= shared) we bring
together the MS and their citizens
o E.g.: the centrality of the Treaties on the EU in the process of European
integration
 Achieve objective by laws that apply to all the MS equally

III. EVOLUTION
A. REFORMS OF ‘CONSTITUTIONAL IMPORTANCE’
1957: EEC created by ‘Treaty establishing the European Economic Community’ (‘TEEC’)
= Treaty of Rome (6 MS)
= the ancestor of the Treaties we have today (the start of
everything)

 European integration =
o Treaty reforms
 Treaty of Rome (TEEC) has been changed several times + another
treaty was made (TEU)
 BCS of the evolution of: the political objectives, material scope of
action, toots
o Enlargements
 = increasing the number of participating states (today: 27 MS)


A. REFORMS: TOWARDS THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY
(‘EEC’)
How did we come to the Treaty of Rome?
o Zurich – 1946: Churchill wanted a kind of United States of Europe
 Project of trying to reconstruct Europe together

o Ater WWII: several initiatives taken to stimulate cooperation of the European states
 E. g.: Council of Europe signed the European Convention for the Protection of
Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR) + set up the European Court of
Human Rights (ECHR)
o Responsible for protection of human rights
-> !!! Don’t confuse: Council of Europe (≠ part of the EU) and European
Council (= part of the EU; more power!)

C. REFORMS: A COMMUNITY FOR COAL AND STEEL (ECSC, 1951)
Paris – 1950: Schuman Declaraion
o Political ambition BUT not too much
 Bringing the people in Europe closer by bringing the former enemies back
together
o Regaining trust
 By forming a system of legal commitment that will bring economies & trade
together (= creating economic integration)
 Progressively (little by little): first less ambitious form of integration and than
expanding

Paris – 1951: Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC)
o = form of economic integration creating free trade in coal and steel
 Why? = ingredients for war (for energy & weapons)
o = first step towards European economic community = IMPORTANT STEP
o Institutions:
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, - Parliament -> Will become the European Parliament
- Council of ministers -> Will become the Commission
- Court of justice

NO COMMUNITY FOR DEFENCE
o Didn’t work bcs it was too ambitous

D. REFORMS: THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY (‘EEC’)
A EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY
o Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (EEC, Treaty of Rome – 1957)
o More ambitious than the ECSC
 Why? Broader economic scope (not just coal and steel) + more ambitious
institutional framework
o Commission
o Parliament
o Council of ministers
o Court of jusice

A COMMUNITY FOR ATOMIC ENERGY
o Euratom – 1957 (also signed in Rome)

=> A single institutional framework for three communities (< the 3 Treaties: ECSC, EEC,
Euratom)
o Commission
o Parliament
o Council of ministers
o Court of Justice
-> Institutional framework from the 3 communities were merged
-> Key objective in the Treaty of Rome: to bring the MS and their citizens in
closer relation

E. FROM THE ‘EEC’ TO THE ‘EUROPEAN COMMUNITY’ (EC) WITHIN THE
‘EUROPEAN UNION’ (EU)
A bumpy start: ‘empty chair crisis’ (1965)
o 6 MS
o Objective: to build a common market
 No unanimity anymore BUT qualified majority
=> French authorities angry
-> They prevented any further discussion about the adoption of the EU
legislation

Solution = ‘Luxembourg compromise’
o Agreement: if in areas of EU law, where for decision making only the majority of the
MS is needed (= qualified majority), one of the MS has a concern than the MS won’t
take a vote and will continue the negotiations
o = to slow down the adoption process of qualified majority

1970: design of the Treaty of Rome evolves
o System of own (financial) resources
= the EEC (now: EU) will start having its own money
 Initially: the EEC budget was based on contributions of all the MS (= they all gave
a share to the budget)

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, o Problem: the EEC was vulnerable for political bargaining BCS the MS
wanted to know what will be done with the money they give
 70s: the EEC = financially independent (of the will of the MS)
o How? By a share in the consumers’ taxes
o Assembly (soon “Parliament”) elected by direct universal suffrage
 Initially: created by the Treaty of Rome as an institution of the EEC
o Composed of: representatives of each national Parliament
 70s: composed of: directly elected members
o Institutional legitimacy increases BCS it represents the citizens even more
directly
= change in European legislation

o European Council
 Wasn’t an institution until the 70s: since then heads of state had a say in things
-> For political guidance of the council
<-> The council: ministers
= change in European practice

o Growing size of the institutions
 More MS in the EU SO the institutions become bigger

o Court of Justice: increased role
 Ambitious case law
o EU law has:
 Direct effect: can be directly relied upon before national courts
 Primacy over national law



-> Parallel developments: MS start collaborating (outside of the EC)
1. Coordinated foreign policy
o Discussed in the European Council

2. Steps towards an economic and monetary union
(< European Monetary System (EMS,) European currency unit (ECU))
o EMS: beginning of monetary union (now: “euro”)
o ECU: common tool to calculate for all the currencies

3. Cooperation in the field of police, security and justice
(< Brussels Convention, TREVI Group)
o In common market: goods, services and people can move
 BUT crime can also move!

-> 70s: development: Treaty of Rome (TEEC) – 1957 - - -> Single European Act (TEC) – 1980s


F. REFORMS: THE EUROPEAN SINGLE ACT (SEA, 1986)




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, Greater involvement of ‘European Parliament’
-> The TEC = a changed version of the TEEC (= primary legal text)
-> To enhance the role of the Parliament (= the former assembly)
-> Gets more weight in decision making: consent needed

Extension of policies
-> Extension of the scope of activities of the EU
 Before focus: constructing the economic internal market (with free movement of
goods, capital, services and persons)
 Now: better cooperation on matters of economic and monetary policy & foreign
policy
 OBJECTIVE

Concept of an area without internal frontiers
-> Idea of common market - - - -> idea of internal market
=> No more border control in between the MS
-> BUT coordination of external border control
 OBJECTIVE

Objective: speed up the completion of the internal market
-> Willingness to improve the efficiency of the EU-system
o Adopting laws at EU-level with less problems to agree (will speed up the making of an
internal market)
 The council = main institution for the adoption of EU-law; main EU-legislator
-> Parliament = secondary legislator
 How? By changing the rules on decision making
o How? By reducing the vaulting threshold that will allow the adoption of
new rules
-> From unanimity tot qualified majority

More reliance on “qualified majority voting”
(QMV) at the council of ministers
-> To speed up the creation of an internal market
=> Unanimity ≠ required anymore
<-> ‘Luxembourg compromise’: MS can’t
try block the adoption of legislation
every time they have a problem with it
 Makes decision making in the council
easier


G. REFORMS: FROM THE ‘EEC’ TO THE ‘EUROPEAN COMMUNITY’ (EC)
WITHIN THE ‘EUROPEAN UNION’ (EU)

(1) Matters not fully addressed by the SEA (in the Treaty of Rome):
o Cooperation on maters of police & security + justice + asylum & migration
-> BUT there are some international agreements between some of the MS of the EEC:
1. Schengen Agreement – 1985
≠ part of European law (today: it is)
-> Objective: to prepare the elimination of internal border control + the
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