Summary tutorial 7- European Union Constitutions Compared (5th Edition), ISBN: 9781780688831 Comparative Government (PUB1002/2020-200)

European Union
TEU, TFEU and EMU............................................................................................................2
EU Institutions....................................................................................................................2
Eurozone............................................................................................................................5
EU Charter..........................................................................................................................5
Supremacy of EU law..........................................................................................................5
Federally structured organization (aspects of federalism)...................................................5
EU’s competences...............................................................................................................6
Execution............................................................................................................................6
Supremacy.........................................................................................................................7
Democracy Deficit: Accountability, Legitimacy and National Parliaments...........................7
Parliaments and Law- making............................................................................................9
Article 294 TFEU.................................................................................................................9
The Commission.................................................................................................................9
Council.............................................................................................................................11
European Parliament........................................................................................................11
EU Law- making................................................................................................................11
Political parties.................................................................................................................13
Role of Member States and their parliaments in EU Law- making.....................................13
Governments, their Parliaments and their Heads of State.................................................13
The executive branch........................................................................................................13
Multiple Presidents...........................................................................................................15
Motions of no-confidence/ votes of censure.....................................................................17
Accountabilities and Dual Legitimacy...............................................................................17
Parliamentary scrutiny.....................................................................................................17

,TEU, TFEU and
EMU
European Coal
and Steel
European Community
Economic (ECS)
Community
(EEC)


European
Atomic Energy
Community
(Euratom )




The European Union was established in 1992 (the
Maastricht Treaty entered into force in 1993) as
successor and expansion of the European Communities
(EC)

The treaties governing the European Union
 Treaty on t*he European Union (TEU)
 Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)
The powers of the EU (its competences)
 Laid down in Articles 2-6 TFEU
The Economic and Monetary Union (EMU)
 indicates the economic and monetary policies of the EU as
facilitated in the TFEU
Stages of the convergence of the economies of the member states
1. Copenhagen criteria which set accession criteria for new
member states (rule of law, viable market economies)
2. The second stage is participation for at least two years in the
European Exchange Rate Mechanism
3. The third stage is admission to the euro (exception: Denmark,
UK)
* The 19 member states who have adopted the euro are called the
‘Eurozone’, and they are bound by specific rules with respect to their
economies and budgets




EU Institutions The European Parliament
 751 (705 after a Brexit) members
 Directly elected by the EU citizens every five years, with the
number of representatives reflecting the population size of each
member state
Functions
 plays an important role in EU law- making, including the budget

,  holds the Commission accountable and exercising oversight over
the other EU institutions (Art. 14 TEU and Arts. 233–234 TFEU)
The European Council
 consists of the heads of state and heads of government of the
member states
 Its president is elected every two and a half years by the
European Council and may be re-elected once (Art. 15 TEU and
Arts. 235/236 TFEU)
 The President’s mandate is dependent on the various member
states
 operates on the basis of consensus (unless the Treaties provide
otherwise) (exception: president elections- qualified majority
applies)
Functions
 a confederal institution
 develops the EU
 setts the guidelines and priorities, to be implemented by the
Council
The Council (also known as Council of Ministers or Council of the EU)
(resembling the German Bundesrat, with its role in law - making and
composition from the governments of the member states)
 consists of representatives of the member states (ministers)
 represent member states (Art. 10 (2) TEU)
 operates with qualified majority decision-making
Functions
 joint legislator with the European Parliament (Art. 16 TEU and
Arts. 237–243 TFEU)
The Commission
 consists of 28 (27) members
 operates independently from the member states, each member
state is entitled to one member in the Commission
Functions
 supervises the execution of EU law
 ensures the external representation of the EU
 has the exclusive right to initiative of law- making
 operate independently from the member states and is tasked to
promote the general interest of the EU
 One member of the Commission is specifically entrusted with
the task of conducting foreign affairs and security policy (Arts.
17/18 TEU; Arts. 244–250 TFEU)
Appointment
 The President of the Commission and the members of the
Commission are appointed by the European Council, after
involvement and agreement of the European Parliament
Dismissal
 The European Parliament may adopt a motion of censure which
leads to the dismissal of the Commission