EU Institutions and their Engagement with EU Sources of Law - Coursework Example

EU s and their Engagement with EU Sources of Law Introduction The EU has a unique set up of s, in which the European Council (EC) sets up the Union’s broad priorities. However, the EC has no power of legislation and comprises of the Commission’s President and heads of governments or states (Smith, 2012: p15). The Union also has institutions whose main duty is to set laws. These are the European Parliament, European Commission, and the Council of the European Union. These three institutions produce the laws and policies that are applicable across the European Union through Ordinary Legislative Procedure. The Commission, in principle, is involved with proposing new legislation, which are then adopted by the European Council and the Parliament. In turn, the Commission is tasked with implementing these laws together with member countries, while also ensuring that they are implemented and applied properly (Smith, 2012: p16). Two more different institutions play key roles, they are; the EU Court of Justice and the Court of Auditors, which uphold EU law and finance EU activities respectively. Principle Institutions of the EU European Parliament The European parliament is legally based in Articles 223 to 234 and 314 TFEU. The members, who form part of the European Parliament, are elected every five years by voters in the EU as representatives of the people (Hickspell, 2013: p45). Under the Treaty of Lisbon, no country can have less than 6 members or members who surpass 96, which are determined by population. It acts as one of the main institutions for making laws and has three roles. These are debating EU laws and passing them, scrutinizing other institutions in the EU to ensure they are working democratically, and debating the EU budget and passing it. The Parliament works with the Council in several areas, such as protection of the environment and consumers, to decide on EU law content and its adoption via Ordinary Legislative procedure. The Lisbon Treaty increased the range of policies that form part of the ordinary legislative procedure, giving it more power to influence laws in funding, immigration, energy, and agriculture (Hickspell, 2013: p45). In addition, they also give the green light for new countries to join the Union. Parliament also influences other institutions, such as approving members of the EU Commission, censuring the Commission, examining reports from the Commission and questioning its commissioners. They also supervise the budget through a Parliamentary committee. Council of the European Union National ministers from different countries in the EU meet here in order to coordinate policies and pass laws. It is involved in passing laws that the Commission proposes together with Parliament, as well as in the coordination of economic policies through respective ministers of finance and economics for each country (Hickspell, 2013: p47). They are also involved in the signing of international agreements as representatives of the EU, such as agreements on science, fisheries, development, trade, and the environment. Together with Parliament, they also approve the EU budget, while they are also involved in the formulation of defence and foreign policy. Although the different countries are independent in this area, they are currently working on the Common and Security Policy through the Council. Finally, Justice Ministers as part of the Council seek to ensure that judgments in individual EU countries are recognized in the other countries (Hickspell, 2013: p45). The Council has no permanent members and ministers are sent according to the policy under discussion The European Commission This institution upholds and represents the entire EU’s interests. It drafts new law proposals for the EU, and manages daily activities of spending EU funds and implementing policies set by the EU (Hickspell, 2013: p51). It is constituted of one commissioner from each country who serves for a term of 5 years. The European Council is further tasked with nominating the President of the Commission, in addition to, other commissioners in consultation with the president nominated by the Council, on condition that it is approved by the Parliament. These commissioners are also accountable to Parliament, which can also dismiss them. The Commission oversees and implements policies for the EU by managing the budget for the EU and overseeing EU funds. It is also involved in the proposal of new laws to both the Council and Parliament. Together with the EU Court of Justice, the Commission enforces EU law, while it is also the international representative of the EU (Hickspell, 2013: p51). EU Court of Justice This institution interprets EU law to ensure its uniform application across EU countries. It is also involved in the settlement of legal disputes between institutions and governments in the EU, while organizations and individuals can also lodge cases at the General Court section if feel that an EU institution is infringing on its rights (Hickspell, 2013: p52). The Court is constituted of one judge drawn from each EU member country, as well as nine advocate generals who present their opinion impartially and publicly for cases before the Court. Both are appointed for six-year terms agreed upon by EU countries. The Court handles several types of cases, including preliminary hearing requests, actions for annulment, actions for obligation failure, direct actions, and actions for failure to act. Each case is assigned an advocate general and judge and involves a written stage and an oral stage (Hickspell, 2013: p53). Sources and Types of EU Law Sources of EU Law Sources of EU law are categorized as primary, secondary, and supplementary law. In essence, primary law is derived from treaties signed in forming the EU, i.e. the TEU and the TFEU, which are negotiated directly between member state governments (Foster, 2010: p34). The treaties distribute competencies between member states and the Union, while also establishing the EU institutions’ powers. Thus, they are involved in determining legal frameworks for the institutions to implement EU policies. In addition, primary law also consists of Treaties on accession of new EU members, amending Treaties of the EU, and protocols annexed to amending Treaties and Founding Treaties (Foster, 2010: p34). Secondary law is made up of unilateral agreements and acts. These unilateral acts exist in two major categories. There are those listed under the Treaty of the Functioning of the EU’s Article 288: recommendations, opinions, decisions, directives, and regulations (Foster, 2010: p36). There are also those that are not listed under the Treaty of the Functioning of the EU’s Article 288, such as green and white papers, as well as atypical acts like recommendations and communications. Under secondary law, agreements and conventions are grouped together. These include agreements reached between EU member states, international agreements that are signed by the European Union and organizations and countries outside the EU, and agreements made between different institutions of the EU, i.e. inter-institutional agreements (Foster, 2010: p36). Sources of supplementary law include the Court of Justice’s case law, general law principles, and international law (Foster, 2010: p39). These have enabled the Court of Justice to fill in the gaps, which are not covered under secondary and/or primary law. One source of inspiration for the European Court of Justice is international law, especially during the development of its case law, in which it cites usage, custom, and written law. General Law principles are sources of law that are not written and are developed by the Court of Justice’s case law. These have enabled the ECJ to implement laws even where there is no mention made of the domain in the EU treaties (Foster, 2010: p39). Types of EU Law There are 3 EU law categories that are binding to the member states. Regulations apply directly and enable the uniform implementation and application of EU law across the Union (Foster, 2010: p49). They are binding on member countries and do not need additional national measures for them to be implemented. However, they require MS legislation that sets penalties for countries that do not comply, as well as for the specification of applicable enforcement authorities. The second type involves directives, which indicate what should be achieved, but leave other details to the EU member countries and only come to force when integrated into national laws. However, there are transposition deadlines given to countries for them to introduce the directive in its own legislation (Foster, 2010: p50). The third type involves decisions, which are only binding on those institutions or individuals that they address. Conclusion The European Council and the European Commission engage widely with regulations as a source of law. These regulations are binding and apply in their entirety and simultaneously to all EU member countries. Since the European Council and the European Commission represent the heads of state and governments, as well as commissioners selected by each member state, the regulations are made unanimously, and thus, override all national laws and do not have to be incorporated into the laws of individual member states. In addition, they also override all national regulations made after them, requiring that new national regulations are consistent with it. The European Council in collaboration with the European Parliament also engage extensively with directives as a source of law. These are not enforceable immediately, although they give EU member countries a set period to attain objectives and adapt to the new directives according to Article 249 of the Nice Treaty. Thus, following legislative directives by the European Parliament and the European Council, member states can choose the means and form with which to achieve the specific directives, while incorporating legislation from the EU Parliament and Council into their national laws. The European Commission also engages with directives, since it is tasked with ensuring that member states pass necessary national legislation in the right manner. The European Court of Justice also engages with directives in that the Commission takes legal action against non-complying member states at the Court. Ultimately, the Council of the European Union in conjunction with the European Commission engage with decisions as a source of law. The Council of the EU involves different ministers from member states, which makes it necessary for them to rely on decisions in cases like competition policy, which is only directed at specific organizations, institutions, or individuals and are enforceable directly. References Foster, N. G. (2010). EU law. Oxford, Oxford University Press. Hickspell, P. (2013). Institutions of the EU. Leicester, Hyperion. Smith, N. (2012). The European Union. New York, H.W. Wilson Co. Read More