The ABC of EU law

152 Pages·2017·6.04 MB·English

by  Klaus-Dieter Borchardt

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The ABC
of EU law
by
Klaus-Dieter Borchardt
December 2016

The ABC
of EU law
by
Klaus-Dieter Borchardt
December 2016
The publication The ABC of EU law can be found on the internet
at http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/home
European Commission
Directorate-General for Communication
Citizens’ Information Unit
1049 Brussels
BELGIUM
Manuscript completed in December 2016.
Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2017
The information and views in this publication are those of the author alone and do
not necessarily represent the official opinion of the European Union.
Picture credits
Pages 12, 14, 28, 52, 68, 76, 80 und 84: © European Union, 2017
Page 34: © Wikimedia Commons/Bene 16
Page 50: © Fotolia/Björn Wylezich
Page 98: © Fotolia/Andrey Armyagov
Page 106: © Fotolia/Piotr Adamowicz
Page 128: © Fotolia/xbrchx
Page 151: © Fotolia/Wavebreak Media
Print NA-07-16-024-EN-C ISBN 978-92-79-63657-8 doi:10.2775/725090
PDF NA-07-16-024-EN-N ISBN 978-92-79-63634-9 doi:10.2775/953190
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© European Union, 2017
Reproduction is authorised. For any use or reproduction of individual photos,
permission must be sought directly from the copyright holders.
THE ABC OF EU LAW 003
CONTENTS
FOREWORD. .........................................................................................................................................................................................7
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. ..............................................................................................................................................9
FROM PARIS TO LISBON VIA ROME, MAASTRICHT,
AMSTERDAM AND NICE. ...............................................................................................................................................11
First group: the Euro-Atlantic organisations ........................................................................................11
Second group: Council of Europe and OSCE .........................................................................................13
Third group: European Union .....................................................................................................................................15
FUNDAMENTAL VALUES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION .....................................................25
The EU as guarantor of peace .................................................................................................................................27
Unity and equality as the recurring theme. ...........................................................................................27
The fundamental freedoms ........................................................................................................................................29
The principle of solidarity ..............................................................................................................................................29
Respect for national identity .....................................................................................................................................30
The need for security ...........................................................................................................................................................30
The fundamental rights ...................................................................................................................................................30
THE METHODS FOR UNIFYING EUROPE. ............................................................................................37
Cooperation between the Member States. ..............................................................................................37
The concept of integration ...........................................................................................................................................37
Enhanced cooperation ........................................................................................................................................................38
THE ‘CONSTITUTION’ OF THE EUROPEAN UNION ..............................................................43
The legal nature of the EU ...........................................................................................................................................43
Van Gend & Loos 44
.....................................................................................................................................................
Costa v ENEL ................................................................................................................................................................44
The tasks of the EU. ...............................................................................................................................................................47
Economic tasks 47
..........................................................................................................................................................
Social tasks 52
.....................................................................................................................................................................
Political tasks 52
. ...............................................................................................................................................................
The powers of the EU .........................................................................................................................................................54
The institutions of the EU ..............................................................................................................................................57
Institutions .........................................................................................................................................................................................59
004 THE ABC OF EU LAW
The European Parliament (Article 14 TEU) 59
...............................................................................
The European Council (Article 15 TEU) 65
.........................................................................................
The Council (Article 16) 66
....................................................................................................................................
The European Commission (Article 17 TEU) 72
...........................................................................
The Court of Justice of the European Union (Article 19 TEU) 80
...........................
The European Central Bank (Articles 129 and 130 TFEU) 83
. ...................................
The Court of Auditors (Articles 285 and 286 TFEU) 83
.....................................................
Advisory bodies ...........................................................................................................................................................................84
European Economic and Social Committee (Article 301 TFEU) 84
......................
Committee of the Regions of the European Union
(Article 305 TFEU) 85
..................................................................................................................................................
The European Investment Bank (Article 308 TFEU)..................................................................86
THE LEGAL ORDER OF THE EUROPEAN UNION ......................................................................89
The EU as a creation of law and a Union based on law .......................................................89
The legal sources of Union law .............................................................................................................................90
The EU founding treaties as the primary source of Union law 90
.......................
The EU legal instruments as the secondary source of Union law 90
. ..............
International agreements of the EU 92
................................................................................................
Sources of unwritten law 96
...............................................................................................................................
Agreements between the Member States 97
................................................................................
The EU’s means of action .............................................................................................................................................98
Regulations as Union ‘laws’ 100
. ...................................................................................................................
Directives 101
.......................................................................................................................................................................
Decisions 105
........................................................................................................................................................................
Recommendations and opinions 108
......................................................................................................
Resolutions, declarations and action programmes 108
...................................................
Publication and communication 110
. .......................................................................................................
The legislative process in the EU .....................................................................................................................111
Approval procedure 117
............................................................................................................................................
Procedure for adopting non-legislative acts 117
.......................................................................
Procedure for adopting delegated acts and implementing acts 118
..............
The EU system of legal protection ................................................................................................................120
Treaty infringement proceedings (Article 258 TFEU) 120
..............................................
Actions for annulment (Article 263 TFEU) 122
............................................................................
Complaints for failure to act (Article 265 TFEU) 124
...........................................................
Actions for damages
(Article 268 and Article 340, second paragraph, TFEU) 124
......................................
Actions by Union staff (Article 270 TFEU) 125
.............................................................................
Preliminary rulings (Article 256 TFEU) 125
......................................................................................
THE ABC OF EU LAW 005
Provisional legal protection (Articles 278 and 279 TFEU) 125
. ................................
Preliminary rulings (Article 267 TFEU) 126
......................................................................................
Liability of the Member States for infringements of Union law ...........................129
THE POSITION OF UNION LAW IN RELATION TO
THE LEGAL ORDER AS A WHOLE ..............................................................................................................133
Autonomy of the EU legal order .......................................................................................................................133
Interaction between Union law and national law .....................................................................134
Conflict between Union law and national law ...............................................................................136
Direct applicability of Union law to national law 136
.........................................................
Primacy of Union law over national law 139
.................................................................................
Interpretation of national law in line with Union law 141
...............................................
CONCLUSIONS. ......................................................................................................................................................................145
CASE-LAW CITED ..............................................................................................................................................................147
Nature and primacy of Union law ...................................................................................................................147
Powers of the EU ...................................................................................................................................................................148
Effects of legal acts ..........................................................................................................................................................148
Fundamental rights ............................................................................................................................................................148
Legal protection ......................................................................................................................................................................148

THE ABC OF EU LAW 007
FOREWORD
The legal order created by the European Union (EU) has become an estab-
lished component of our political life and society. Each year, on the basis
of the Union treaties, thousands of decisions are taken that crucially affect
the EU Member States and the lives of their citizens. Individuals have long
since ceased to be merely citizens of their country, town or district; they are
also Union citizens. For this reason alone, it is of crucial importance that
they should be informed about the legal order that affects their daily lives.
Yet the complexities of the Union’s structure and its legal order are not
easy to grasp. This is partly due to the wording of the treaties themselves,
which is often somewhat obscure, with implications which are not easy to
appreciate. An additional factor is the unfamiliarity of many concepts with
which the treaties seek to master new situations. The following pages are
thus an attempt to provide interested citizens with an initial insight into the
structure of the Union and the supporting pillars of the EU’s legal order.