The Legal Foundations of the EU Unit 24 The Legal Foundations of the EU

Preview EU: history of integrations The first Communities Legal basis of the EU today Croatian membership Sources of EU law From the Treaties (extracts)

The roots of the European Union The history of the EU started after the World War II. Jean Monnet, often referred to as the architect of the European integration process, argued that future military conflicts can be avoided if Europe is structured on federal principles. The first strategies of European integration were rooted in the field of economy. The idea was to commonly manage resources which were used in war – coal and steel – and to support the development of heavy industry and economic cooperation instead of using these resources for the production of weapons.

The roots of the European Union One of the founding fathers of the EU, French foreign minister Robert Schuman, presented a declaration, later known as the Schuman Declaration, on 9 May 1950 proposed the creation of a European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), whose members (France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg) expanded cooperation in coal and steel production. The Treaty establishing the ECSC - signed in Paris (1951), came into force in July 1952.

The first communities The next step - to expand cooperation to other economic sectors and to achieve integration via trade: the foundation of the European Economic Community (EEC). At the same time the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) was established regulating nuclear energy as an essential resource for the development of industry and the basis for the advancement of peace.

The first communities The founding documents signed by the six countries in March 1957 were the well-known Treaties of Rome, including the EEC and EUROATOM treaties that came into force in January 1958. Referring to ECSC, EEC and EUROATOM, the term European communities was used in documents and legal acts in the period until the Maastricht Treaty (1992) that created the legal basis for the establishment of the European Union.

The Maastricht Treaty or Treaty on European Union came into force in November 1993. Its main purpose - to go further than common the economic interests of the member states and to introduce elements of a political union and cooperation. The EU created by the Maastricht Treaty consisted of three pillars – 1) the European Communities (European Community, which succeeded the EEC, the ECSE and EUROATOM), 2. common foreign and security policy and police, and 3. judicial cooperation in criminal matters. The Maastricht Treaty included plans for establishing economic and monetary union and for the future single currency of the EU. Since Jan. 2002 the Euro has been used in the euro area: 19 out of the 28 EU member states (2015).

The legal basis of the EU today The present day functioning of the EU - based on the Treaty of Lisbon - in force since Dec. 2009. The goals of this Treaty- to make the EU more democratic, efficient and transparent, and to create preconditions for meeting global challenges such as climate change, security and sustainable development.  

The legal basis of the EU today Two treaties currently in force: the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). Objectives and principles of the EU are defined by the TEU, whereas organisational and functional issues are addressed in the TFEU. Based on the Lisbon Treaty new institutions of the EU were created, and changes were made in relation to the powers of the existing institutions, especially the European Parliament, whose role in the legislative procedure became more significant.

The legal basis of the EU today A new institution: the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy; represents the EU's interests on the world stage. Instead of a rotating system of the presidency of the European Council, the Lisbon Treaty introduced the role of the permanent President of the European Council -appointed by the governments of EU Member States. One of the key aims when introducing changes to EU institutions was to make new enlargement waves and the accession of new Member States more efficient.

Croatian membership in the EU After the accession of Romania and Bulgaria in January 2007, the Republic of Croatia was the first state to join the EU since the Lisbon Treaty came into force. Croatia became the 28th member state on 1 July 2013. The crucial milestones on Croatia’s way to the membership in the EU include the signing of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement in 2001 and Croatia’s application for EU membership in 2003, which was approved by the Commission a year later. 2005 was important because the SAA entered into force and the negotiation framework was adopted.

Croatian membership in the EU The accession negotiations started in 2006 and lasted until 2011. On 6 December the Council of the EU adopted the decision on the admission of Croatia to the EU and three days later the EU and Croatia signed the accession treaty. During the pre-accession period Croatia had to harmonise its national legislation to make it compatible with EU law.

IV Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F) IV Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F). If false, provide the correct information. 1. The beginning of European integration was closely related to economic strategies. 2. The Schumann Declaration addressed the cooperation of its signatory states in the oil and coal industries. 3. More than eight European states signed the Schuman Declaration. 4. The Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community was signed in Paris in 1951. 5. The integration mechanism within the EU was largely based on trade. 6. The year 1957 is important in the history of the EU because one significant treaty was signed in Rome. 7. The focus of the EUROATOM was nuclear energy in the area of the defence industry.

True or false? 8. The Treaty on European Union entailed going a step further from the field of economic cooperation to the question of political union. 9. The rules for a single EU currency were defined already in the 1960s. 10. The Treaty of Lisbon came into force in 2009 and in fact comprised two treaties. 11. Just a few minor changes were made to the EU as a consequence of the Lisbon Treaty. 12. The Republic of Croatia has been a full member of the EU since 2011. 13. Croatia went through a short negotiation process before becoming a member of the EU. 14. One of the demanding tasks Croatia completed during the accession period was the harmonisation of national legislation with EU law.

Sources of EU law 1. Bearing in mind the different sources of law in a single state, what are the possible sources of law of EU law? 2. Does the EU have a constitution? How could a supranational union of states such as the EU have a constitution? 3. Which two of the following four institutions of the EU participate in the law making procedure? – European Council, European Parliament, Court of Justice of the European Union, Council of the European Union. 4. Have you ever read or heard the name of any legal acts of the EU in Croatian news media? Name any type of legal act either in Croatian or in English?

Sources of EU law There are three different sources of EU law: primary law, secondary law and supplementary law. Primary law - based on the founding Treaties establishing the European Union. Secondary sources are legal instruments defined in the Treaties: unilateral secondary law, conventions and agreements. Supplementary sources are elements of law not provided for by the Treaties: ECJ case law, international law and general principles of law.

Primary law Primary law includes the Treaty on the European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. These treaties determine the distribution of competences between the Union and the Member States and establish the powers of the European institutions. They provide the legal framework within which the EU institutions implement European policies. Moreover, it also includes the amending EU treaties; the protocols annexed to the founding treaties and to the amending treaties as well as the treaties on accession to the EU of new Member States.

Secondary law comprises unilateral acts and agreements. Unilateral acts are laid down in Article 288 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and include regulations, directives, decisions, opinions and recommendations. So-called atypical acts such as communications, and white and green papers, also belong to unilateral acts. Conventions and agreements refer to international agreements between the EU and a country or organisation, and agreements between member states and inter-institutional agreements.

Supplementary law Court of Justice case law, international law and general principles of law. These principles are unwritten sources of law developed by the case law of the Court of Justice. They enable the Court to implement rules in different domains, which are not specifically mentioned in the treaties

CHAPTER 2: LEGAL ACTS OF THE UNION, ADOPTION PROCEDURES AND OTHER PROVISIONS THE LEGAL ACTS OF THE UNION Article 288 To exercise the Union's competences, the institutions shall adopt regulations, directives, decisions, recommendations and opinions. A regulation shall have general application. It shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. A directive shall be binding, as to the result to be achieved, upon each Member State to which it is addressed, but shall leave to the national authorities the choice of form and methods. A decision shall be binding in its entirety. A decision which specifies those to whom it is addressed shall be binding only on them. Recommendations and opinions shall have no binding force.

THE LEGAL ACTS OF THE UNION Article 291 1. Member States shall adopt all measures of national law necessary to implement legally binding Union acts.

Conclusion Analysing Article 288, it can be concluded that primary legislation, more specifically the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, lays down the types of secondary legislation, as well as the binding or non-binding nature of each secondary legal act.

The Treaty on European Union The Treaty on European Union includes the general objectives of the Union and different provisions, such as common provisions, provisions on democratic principles, on EU institutions, on enhanced cooperation, on the common foreign and security policy, etc. The legal basis of the Union, as well as values that the EU promotes, are established for instance within the chapter on common provisions, whereas a state interested in membership in the EU can find the rules for its application in the final provisions.

COMMON PROVISIONS Article 1 By this Treaty, the HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES establish among themselves a EUROPEAN UNION, hereinafter called ‘the Union’, on which the Member States confer competences to attain objectives they have in common. This Treaty marks a new stage in the process of creating an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe, in which decisions are taken as openly as possible and as closely as possible to the citizen. The Union shall be founded on the present Treaty and on the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Treaties’). Those two Treaties shall have the same legal value. The Union shall replace and succeed the European Community.

COMMON PROVISIONS Article 2 The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. These values are common to the Member States in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail.

FINAL PROVISIONS Article 49 Any European State which respects the values referred to in Article 2 and is committed to promoting them may apply to become a member of the Union. The European Parliament and national Parliaments shall be notified of this application. The Applicant State shall address its application to the Council, which shall act unanimously after consulting the Commission and after receiving the consent of the European Parliament, which shall act by a majority of its component members. The conditions of eligibility agreed upon by the European Council shall be taken into account.

FINAL PROVISIONS The conditions of admission and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the Union is founded, which such admission entails, shall be the subject of an agreement between the Member States and the Applicant State. This agreement shall be submitted for ratification by all the contracting States in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements.

IV Choose the correct answer to complete the statement. The main sources of European Union primary law are ...   a) international agreements. b) the case law of the Court of Justice. c) the founding treaties.

Choose the correct answer to complete the statement Secondary European Union law includes ...   a) protocols annexed to the founding Treaties establishing the European Union. b) regulations, directives, decisions, opinions and recommendations. c) provisions of international law and general principles of law.

Choose the correct answer to complete the statement The case law of the Court of Justice of the EU is ...   a) the main element of the supplementary source of European Union law. b) the basis for developing new regulations of secondary European Union law. c) a guideline for drafting amendments to the founding treaties.

Choose the correct answer to complete the statement Considering the binding nature of secondary legal acts, ...   a) there are more binding acts than non-binding. b) only one type of secondary legal act is non-binding. c) three secondary legal acts have no binding force.

Choose the correct answer to complete the statement The purpose, legal basis and the values of the European Union can be found in ...   a) the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. b) in the Treaty on European Union, provisions on enhanced cooperation. c) in the Treaty on European Union, common provisions.

Choose the correct answer to complete the statement If a state is interested in membership in the European Union, it has to address its application to ...   a) the European Parliament. b) the European Council. c) the European Commission.

Answer the following questions. 1. What are possible elements of the primary source of EU law? 2. What types of legal acts are included in the secondary source of EU law? 3. What does the supplementary law of the EU consist of? 4. Can you explain the difference between a regulation and a decision?

Answer the following questions 5. What is the task of Member States concerning the implementation of secondary legal acts? 6. The respect and promotion of which values is the precondition for membership in the EU? 7. Which institutions receive the application, when a new state applies to be a member of the Union?

Answer the following questions 8. Which document contains the conditions of admission for an Applicant State? 9. Who is expected to ratify the agreement signed between Member States and an Applicant State? 10. What is the source of the original articles cited in the text above?