A2.3 Outline the influence and role of the European Union on UK health and safety legislation

Question 1

What is the role of the main EU institutions?

Answer 1

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

• made up of directly elected members (MEPS) so represents the citizens of the EU
• they legislate on most issues (jointly with the council)
• they exercise democratic supervision eg. a country cannot appoint a MEP without parliaments approval
• they control the EU budget (shared with the council of the European union)

COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

• one member from each of the member states
• the presidency of the council rotates every 6 months

The role of the council is:

• legislate (with European parliament)
• coordinate the broad economic policies of the member states
• conclude international agreements between the EU and one or more states or international organizations
• approve the EU’s budget (jointly with parliament)
• coordinate co-operation between the national courts and police forces in criminal matters

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

• politically independent.
• made up of commissioners from different member states. The commissioners are not national representatives. They are prohibited from taking instruction from any government or other body.
• the commission acts in the interest of the union as a whole.

the commissions role is to:

• propose legislation to parliament and council
• manage and implement EU policies and the budget
• promote and represent the interests of the EU on the international stage
• Enforce European law (jointly with the European court of justice)
• institute proceedings before the ECJ against any violations of EU member states

Question 2

What are the four instruments in EU law?

Answer 2

• TREATIES -
  a formally concluded agreement between states.

- REGULATIONS - 
regulations apply directly to the intended target. There is no requirement to assimilate them into national laws. European regulations prevail over national law. Rarely used
EG REACH (registration, evaluation, authorization, and restriction of chemicals)

• DIRECTIVES -
  directives are binding on member states with respect to the objectives to be achieved. However, the method of achieving this objective is left open.
• DECISIONS -
  specific in their application and are binding in their entirety upon those that they address.

Question 3

What is ordinary legislative procedure?

Answer 3

the main procedure for enacting EU legislation; involves the european parliament, the council of the EU, and the european commission.

Question 4

What is qualified majority voting?

Answer 4

The council of the EU votes by either qualified majority voting or unanimously.
QMV was introduced to speed up legislative procedure by not requiring unanimous agreement.

each member state has a number of votes allocated according to its population. Larger member states have more influence than small states. 255 of 355 votes must be in favor for a directive to be adopted.

Question 5

What is the role of the European Court of Justice?

Answer 5

the ECJ consists of judges appointed from the member states.
The main role of the ECJ is to ensure that EU law is interpreted and applied in the same way in each member state. The ECJ has power to settle disputes between EU institutions, member states, individuals.
EU law takes precedent over national law.