¿What is the EU?
• A political project
• A process...
• Something not yet finished...
• A common market
•1958 (6) 1973 (12) 1986 (15) 1994 (25) 2007 (27)
• A legal entity
• Less than a state,
• More than an international institution
• A set of institutions
• A set of policies
• A budget
Treaties and law
The European Union is based on the
rule of law. This means that everything
that it does is derived from treaties,
which are agreed on voluntarily and
democratically by all Member States.
Based on the Treaties, EU institutions
can adopt legislation, which is then
implemented by the Member States.
Treaties and law
Sources of EU Law
Primary Legislation  Treaties
International Agreements  with third countries or
between the EU countries
Secondary Legislation  binding and non-binding legal
isntruments
Treaties and law
Sources of EU Law
Primary Legislation  Treaties
International Agreements  with third
countries or between the EU countries
Secondary Legislation  binding and nonbinding legal instruments
Treaties and law
Sources of EU Law
5th February 1963 Van Gend en Loos ruling. The
European Court of Justice specifies that the Community
constitutes a new legal order for the benefit of which
Member States have consented to a restriction of their
sovereign rights.
15th July 1964 Costa/ENEL ruling. The European Court
of Justice holds that Community law overrules national
law.
Treaties and law
The treaties constitute the European Union’s ‘primary
legislation’, which is comparable to constitutional law at
national level. They thus lay down the fundamental features
of the Union, in particular the responsibilities of the various
actors in the decision-making process, the legislative
procedures, under the Community system and the powers
conferred on them.
The treaties themselves are the subject of direct
negotiations between the governments of the Member
States, after which they have to be ratified in accordance
with the procedures applying at national level (in principle
by the national parliaments or by referendum).
Treaties and law
Previously signed treaties have been changed and updated
to keep up with developments in society.
Moreover, the founding treaties have been amended on
several occasions, in particular when new Member States
acceded in 1973 (Denmark, Ireland, United Kingdom), 1981
(Greece), 1986 (Spain, Portugal), 1995 (Austria, Finland,
Sweden) and 2004 (the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia,
Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and
Slovenia).
Treaties and law
Two main periods (and a transition phase)
ECSC Treaty (1951)
EEC Treaty (Rome Treaty) (1957)
Euratom Treaty (1957)
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Single European Act (1986)
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Maastricht Treaty on European Union (1992)
Treaty of Amsterdam (1997)
Treaty of Nice (2001)
A Constitution for Europe (October 2004)
Treaties and law
The Treaty establishing the European Coal and
Steel Community (ECSC), which was signed on
18 April 1951 in Paris, entered into force on 23
July 1952 and expired on 23 July 2002..
Treaties and law
The Treaty of Rome, establishing the European Economic
Community (EEC), signed in Rome on 25 March 1957, and
entered into force on 1 January 1958. The Treaty establishing
the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) was
signed at the same time and the two are therefore jointly
known as the Treaties of Rome.
Treaties and law
The main purpose of the Treaty establishing the European Community
(EC Treaty) was to bring about the gradual integration of the States
of Europe and to establish a common market founded on the four
freedoms of movement (for goods, services, people and capital) and on
the gradual approximation of economic policies.
To this end the Member States surrendered part of their sovereignty
and gave the Community institutions the power to adopt legislation that
would be directly applicable in the Member States (regulation,
directive, decision) and take precedence over national law.
Treaties and law
The Merger Treaty, signed in Brussels on 8 April
1965 and in force since 1 July 1967, which provided
for a Single Commission and a Single Council of the
then three European
The Single European Act (SEA), signed in
Luxembourg and the Hague, and entered into force
on 1 July 1987, provided for the adaptations required
for the achievement of the Internal Market.
Treaties and law
The Treaty on European Union, which was signed in Maastricht on 7
February 1992, entered into force on 1 November 1993. 'The
Maastricht Treaty changed the name of the European Economic
Community to simply "the European Community". It also introduced
new forms of co-operation between the Member State governments for example on defence, and in the area of "justice and home affairs".
By adding this inter-governmental co-operation to the existing
"Community" system, the Maastricht Treaty created a new structure
with three "pillars" which is political as well economic. This is the
European Union (EU).
Treaties and law
The Treaty on European Union (EU Treaty) pursues two main
objectives: the creation of a monetary union by laying down the
principles and arrangements for the introduction of the euro and the
creation of an economic and political union. This is the treaty that
originated the concept of a three-pillar structure, the first pillar
consisting of the European Community and the other two of the
common foreign and security policy and police and judicial
cooperation in criminal matters.
Treaties and law
There is, however, a big difference between the first pillar and the other
two, which have not given rise to any transfers of sovereignty to the
common institutions as was the case with the Treaty establishing the
European Community.
In these fields the Member States wished to preserve their independent
decision-making powers and restrict themselves to an
intergovernmental form of cooperation. The most important legal
instruments in these fields are the joint action, the common position,
and the framework decision, which are almost always adopted
unanimously and are binding only to a limited extent.
Treaties and law
The Treaty of Amsterdam, signed on 2 October 1997,
entered into force on 1 May 1999. It amended and
renumbered the EU and EC Treaties. Consolidated versions
of the EU and EC Treaties are attached to it. The Treaty of
Amsterdam changed the articles of the Treaty on European
Union, identified by letters A to S, into numerical form.
Treaties and law
The Treaty of Nice, signed on 26 February 2001, entered
into force on 1 February 2003. It dealt mostly with reforming
the institutions so that the Union could function efficiently
after its enlargement to 25 Member States. The Treaty of
Nice, the former Treaty of the EU and the Treaty of the EC
have been merged into one consolidated version.
Treaties and law
The most recent one, the draft Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, aims
to replace all the existing Treaties with a single text and is the result of the work
done by the Convention on the Future of Europe and an Intergovernmental
Conference (IGC).
The Constitution was adopted by the Heads of State and Government at the Brussels
European Council on 17 and 18 June 2004 and was signed in Rome on 29 October
2004. It needs to be ratified by each Member State, in line with their own
constitutional arrangements (i.e. by parliamentary procedure and/or by referendum).
The Constitution will not take effect until it has been ratified by all 25 Member
States.
Treaties and law
International agreements are the second source of EU law.
Always agreements concluded between subjects of international law
(Member States or organisations) for the purpose of establishing
cooperation at international level.
Agreements concluded by the European Union under the first pillar are
binding on the institutions of the Union and the Member States; those
concluded by the Union under the second and third pillars are binding on
the institutions but not always on the Member States
Two main types of agreement:
• international agreements with third countries or international
organisations (association, coooperation, trade agreements)
• agreements and conventions between the Member States.
Treaties and law
The ‘secondary legislation’ is the third major source of
Community law after the treaties (primary legislation) and
international agreements:
the totality of the legislative instruments adopted by the
European institutions pursuant to the provisions of the treaties.
Secondary legislation comprises the binding legal instruments
(regulations, directives and decisions) and non-binding
instruments (resolutions, opinions) provided for in the EC
Treaty, together with a whole series of other instruments such
as the institutions’ internal regulations and Community action
programmes.
The legal instruments associated with the second and third
pillars, which do not, strictly speaking, form part of secondary
legislation since they continue to be governed by
intergovernmental relations.
Treaties and law
Binding
Primary legislation
International
Agreeements
Non binding
Treaties
International agreements with third
countries or international organisations
Agreements and conventions
between the Member States
Secondary legislation Regulations
Recomendation
Directives
Opinion
Decisions
Joint action (2nd pillar)
Framework decisions (3rd pillar)
Common position (2nd and 3rd pillar)
Treaties and law
Regulations:
Adopted by the Council in conjunction with the European
Parliament or by the Commission alone, a regulation is a
general measure that is binding in all its parts. Unlike
directives, which are addressed to the Member States, and
decisions, which are for specified recipients, regulations
are addressed to everyone.
A regulation is directly applicable, which means that it
creates law which takes immediate effect in all the
Member States in the same way as a national instrument,
without any further action on the part of the national
authorities.
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Treaties and law
Directives:
Adopted by the Council in conjunction with the European
Parliament or by the Commission alone, a directive is
addressed to the Member States. Its main purpose is to align
national legislation.
A directive is binding on the Member States as to the result to
be achieved but leaves them the choice of the form and method
they adopt to realise the Community objectives within the
framework of their internal legal order.
If a directive has not been transposed into national legislation
in a Member State, if it has been transposed incompletely or if
there is a delay in transposing it, citizens can directly invoke
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the directive in question before the national courts.
Treaties and law
Decisions:
Adopted either by the Council, by the Council in conjunction with
the European Parliament or by the Commission, a decision is the
instrument by which the Community institutions give a ruling on a
particular matter. By means of a decision, the institutions can
require a Member State or a citizen of the Union to take or refrain
from taking a particular action, or confer rights or impose
obligations on a Member State or a citizen.
A decision is:
• an individual measure, and the persons to whom it is
addressed must be specified individually, which distinguishes a
decision from a regulation,
• binding in its entirety.
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Treaties and law
Recomendations:
A recommendation allows the institutions to make their
views known and to suggest a line of action without
imposing any legal obligation on those to whom it is
addressed (the Member States, other institutions, or in
certain cases the citizens of the Union).
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Treaties and law
Opinions:
An opinion is an instrument that allows the institutions to
make a statement in a non-binding fashion, in other words
without imposing any legal obligation on those to whom it
is addressed. The aim is to set out an institution’s point of
view on a question.
Treaties and law
Joint actions:
A joint action is a legal instrument under Title V of the
Treaty on European Union and is thus of an
intergovernmental nature. Adopted by the Council of the
European Union unanimously or, in certain cases, by a
qualified majority, a joint action is binding on the Member
States, which have to achieve the objectives set unless
major difficulties arise.
Treaties and law
Framwork decision:
A framework decision is binding on the Member States as
to the result to be achieved and leave to the national
authorities the choice of form and methods (like the
directive in the Community context).
Treaties and law
Common position:
The common position in the context of the common
foreign and security policy and police and judicial
cooperation in criminal matters is a legal instrument under
Titles V and VI of the Treaty on European Union and is
intergovernmental in nature. Adopted unanimously by the
Council of the European Union, it determines the Union’s
approach to particular questions of foreign and security
policy or police and judicial cooperation in criminal
matters and gives guidance for the pursuit of national
policies in these fields.
Treaties and law
Campaign against smoking
Immigration - Assylum
Treaties and law
Recomendations:
Opinions:
Joint actions: