Samenvatting van de hoorcolleges van European Law: Justice and Home Affairs

European Law: Justice and Home Affairs – Lectures

Lecture 1: Introduction to EU Law, European
Union and to the Area of Freedom, Security and
Justice
Overview
- History of the EU
- EU institutions
- General Principles of EU Law
- Introduction to the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (AFSJ)

Relevance of this course




Topics of this course




Structure of the lecture




1

,Part I: European Union and EU law
History of the European Union
 European Union is developed after WOII
 After WOII there was a desire for peace and security
 2 enemies after WOII in West-Europe: France and Germany
 Create an international corporation, so if they work together, they
wouldn’t be against each other.
 European Coal and Steel Community (1951)  Important because
Coal and Steel was symbolic for the WOII. They were the main
ingredients of the WOII (werden veel gebruikt in WOII).  That’s why
it has been used as a symbol for corporation.
 The European Union started with 6 countries: Luxembourg, Belgium,
the Netherlands, France, Germany and Italy.
 The European Economic Community and the European Atomic
Energy Community (EURATOM) (1957)
 The European Union:
o Treaty of Maastricht (1992/1993): 3 pillars:
(1) The European Communities (European Coal and Steel
Community, The European Economic Community, and the
European Atomic Energy Community), (2) Common Foreign
Security Policy
(3) Justice and Home Affairs
o Treaty of Amsterdam (1997/1999): The same 3 pillars, but the
third one (Justice and Home Affairs) changed. The third pillar
went to the pillar 1.
o Treaty of Nice (2000/2003): Introduced the Charter of
Fundamental Rights. This provides the legal framework of the
EU today.
o Treaty of Lisbon (2007/2009 – present)  Member States are
still the main actor

Overview of the TEU & TFEU




2

,TFEU is a detailed treaty. Part III Title V is important for this course.

 EU citizens and third country nationals are subject to EU law.

The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (CFR)
 The CFR has the same legal value as the EU Founding Treaties – Art.
6 (1) TEU




In het rood zijn belangrijke artikelen voor dit vak/sommige problemen.

Right to an effective remedy and to a fair trial  Important!

Institutions of European Union
 Art. 13(1) TEU:
o The European Parliament (Art. 14 TEU)
o The European Council (Art. 15 TEU)  Represents the highest
level of head of States/governments (EU leaders) (e.g. Mark
Rutte is the head of the Netherlands, so he is one of the
members of the European Council).


3

, o The Council of the European Union (Art. 16 TEU)  Members
of the government; not the head of the states (government
ministers)
o The Commission (Art. 17 TEU)
o The Court of Justice of the European Union (Art. 19 TEU) 
Interpretating and applying the EU law (primary and secondary
law)

! There are 2 Councils, make sure which one you use. The
European Council is not the same as the Council of the European
Union.

EU Institutions – European Parliament
 The European Parliament – Art. 14 TEU
 Represents the peoples/citizens of the Member States
 Now 705 MEP’s (=Members of European Parliament)
 Political fractions/groups (organised by political affiliation, not by
nationality)
 Main powers of the European Parliament: Legislative, investigative,
appointment/elective, budgetary powers
More detailed rules on structure and powers: Arts. 223-234 TFEU

We, as citizens, vote for the persons in the European Parliament.

EU Institutions – European Council
 The European Council – Art. 15 TEU
 Exists of Heads of State or Government of all the Member States +
President of the Commission (e.g. Mark Rutte is the head of the
Netherlands, zo he is one of the members of the European Council).
 President of the European Council: Charles Michel
 This is the main policital decision maker.
 General political direction and priorities of the EU
 Eurotop
More detailed rules on structure and powers: Arts. 235 & 236 TFEU

EU Institutions – The Council of the EU (the Council)
The Council of the EU – Art. 16 TEU
 Represents the Member States’ (intergovernmental) interests
 Consists of the ministers from the Member States (Art. 16(2) TEU)
 Discusses different subject matters, requiring different ministers,
and different configurations of the Council (Art. 16(6) TEU)
 Legislative, executive & budgetary powers
More detailed rules on structure and powers: Arts. 237-243 TFEU

There are different councils: e.g. Council of the ministers of finance of the
Members States, or Council of the ministers of defence, Council of the
ministers of Internal Affairs




4

, The Council of the EU = The council of Europe = The council of ministers =
The council of the ministers of the EU.

Different Councils:
1. Foreign Affairs
2. General Affairs
3. Economic and Financial Affairs
4. Justice and Home Affairs
5. Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs
6. Competitiveness
7. Transport, Telecommunications and Energy
8. Agriculture and Fisheries
9. Environment
10. Education, Youth, Culture and Sports

EU Institutions –the European Commission
The European Commission – Art. 17 TEU
 The Commission consists out of 1 Commissioner per Member State
(‘Von der Leyen‘ Commission 2019-2024)
o Independent and different portfolios
Represents the EU (supranational) interests  The commissioner has to be
independent, because they need to represent the EU (supranational)
interests. The commission as a whole is supposed to be representing the
EU and not the member state where every commissioner is from.
 ‘A jack of all trades’- Art. 17 TEU
o Legislative body: quasi-monopoly the right of initiative
(proposing new legislation)
o Executive body (policy, discussions, budget)
 Adopting & implementing measures
 ‘Guardian’ of the Treaties
 Ensures Union‘s external representation  Relation with
the outside world
More detailed rules on structure and powers: Art. 244 –250 TFEU

EU Institutions – European Commission
The European Commission – Art. 17 TEU
 Ensures the application of the Treaties and measures adopted by the
institutions
o Art. 258 TFEU: Infringement procedure
 The Commission is supported by EU Agencies.
o More than 40 EU agencies (!)
o Most relevant agencies for Justice and Home Affairs: FRONTEX,
EUROPOL, Eurojust, EPPO (European Public Prosecutor’s
Office), FRA, European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) [until
2022: European Asylum Support office (EASO)]
 See Arts. 85, 86, and 88 TFEU

Agencies will be further discussed in lecture 4


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