EU law and the legislative procedure of European Union Dr. Gábor Kozma

A., The European Union law I. The most important reasons for EU laws 1. the aims underpinning the creation of European integration a., the establishment of a common market b., the creation of an economic and monetary union c., the implementation of common policies in certain areas 2. preconditions of achievements of these objectives – a binding body of laws

II. Sources of EU law 1. Primary legal sources – the Treaties a., the creation of treaties - Inter-Governmental Conferences - agreement of all parties (Member States) - signing ceremony - ratification of agreement

b., the goals/aims of these Treaties - to lay down objectives, tasks, programmes - to create the basis for Secondary legislation 2. Secondary legal sources a., binding legal acts - regulation: it is a legal act of the European Union that becomes immediately enforceable in all member states simultaneously - the Council and Parliament, the Commission and the European Central Bank

- directive: it is a legislative act that sets out a goal that all EU countries must achieve - it leaves to the Member States the choice of form, procedure and instrument of implementation - the Member States are free to choose their method - existence of a timetable - failure of Member States - the Council and Parliament (jointly and separately) and the Commission

- decision: it is binding legal act and it is directly applicable - the existence of a target group - the Council and Parliament (jointly and separately), the Commission and the European Central Bank b., non-binding legal instruments - recommendation: it 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

- opinions: 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

III. The EU acquis 1. the definition: the accumulated legislation, legal acts, and court decisions which constitute the body of European Union law 2. structure of acquis - chapters 3. harmonization of law: a., candidate countries have to accept the acquis before they can join the EU and make EU law part of their own national legislation b., adoption and implementation of the acquis are the basis of the accession negotiations

B. , Legislative procedure of European Union I B., Legislative procedure of European Union I. The Council of the European Union and the European Parliament 1. the ordinary legislative (the co-decision) procedure a., it was introduced by Treaty of Maastricht b., procedure - submission of the Commission + discussion start - first reading - second reading - third reading (Conciliation Committee) c., most important areas

d., the importance of different methods - 1993-1999: about 40% - Conciliation Committee - 1999-2004: 22% ↔ 28% - 2004-2009: 5% ↔ 72% 2. consultation procedure a., It was introduced by Treaty of Rome b., procedure - submission of the Commission + discussion start - the Council: negotiations and requests (Parliament) - the Council decision (after Parliament opinion) - the opportunity of Parliament

c., areas: legislation concerning internal market exemptions and competition law 3. consent procedure a., it was introduced by Single European Act b., the right of veto of Parliament c., procedure - submission of the Commission + discussion start - the Council: proposal + The Parliament: yes or not d., areas: - these are usually high priority areas in terms of the EU's development (regional policy, accession treaties)

II. The Council as an independent legislative institution 1 II. The Council as an independent legislative institution 1. procedure: 2. areas: this procedure is used when setting the common external tariff and for negotiating trade agreements under the Common Commercial Policy III. The Commission as an independent legislative institution 1. meaning of this fact 2. areas a., monopolies and concessions granted to companies by Member States b., the right of workers to remain in a Member State after having been employed there