chapter 1 Flashcards
Powers in the EU
- EXECUTIVE: Responsible for setting political direction, implementing policies, and representing the EU in external matters. (eg. European council, council of the EU, European Central Bank)
- LEGISLATIVE: Engages in reviewing, amending, and passing laws and regulations. (eg. Council of the EU, European Parliament )
- JUDICIAL: Interprets EU law and resolves disputes or conflicts arising from its application. (eg. Court of Justice of the EU )
Supranational organizations
Organizations in which countries pool their sovereignty on certain
matters to allow joint decision-making.
Intergovernmental organizations:
Organizations in which member states work together on policies
of common concern but retain their full sovereignty.
ECSC
European Coal and Steel Community
main institutions ECSC
- Council of ministers (representing member states)
- high authority (daily executive)
- court of justice (interpret treaty, adjucidate states)
- common assembly (monitors activities of high authority)
treaty of Paris
1951
formally established the ECSC
Treaties of Rome
1957
Establishment of two new communities:
- European Atomic Energy Community (euratom) –> strive for the development of nuclear energy
- European Economic Community (EEC) –> focusses on establishing four economic freedoms: movement of goods, services, workers and capital.
Ratification
Procedure through which a member state formally commits itself to a treaty, in most
countries via a majority vote by its parliament.
Direct effect
individuals can directly invoke EU legislation in cases before national courts (denk aan van gend en loos)
Supremacy
if national legislation is in conflict with EU law, EU law overrides national legislation. (denk aan costa vs enel)
Judicial activism
Constellation when courts in their rulings go beyond a mere passive interpretation of existing laws and in addition base their rulings on what the judges believe has been the intention of the lawgiver.
Qualified majority voting
Decision-making rule in the Council which requires a majority that is
substantially larger than a simple majority of (50%+1), but does not require unanimity.
empty chair crisis
Na veel schuring tussen Frankrijk (en dan met name De Gaulle) en de rest van de
lidstaten, besloot De Gaulle om zijn ministers niet meer deel te laten nemen aan vergaderingen van
de Council.
Luxembourg Compromise
agreement allowing a member state to block a decision in the Council if it
declares the matter a ‘vital national interest’
European Monetary System (EMS)
fixed exchange rates between participating countries ( zorgde voor vaste wisselkoersen tussen de aangesloten lidstaten) –> 1973
Single European Act (SEA)
signed in 1986 – included measures to advance the single market project and further broadened the EU’s sphere of activity by including environmental policies, social policy and measures to increase economic and social cohesion between the member states.
The Act also formalized some forms of cooperation which had already been developed outside of the treaties: Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP).”
Ordinary legislative procedure
decisionmaking procedure that is most commonly used in the EU for
adopting legislation, giving equal powers to the European Parliament and the Council.
Treaty of Maastricht
Hiermee ging het beleid nog meer verschillende terreinen omvatten. Ook werd er een
tijdlijn tot stand gebracht om een single currency te realiseren voor landen die deel uitmaakten van de Eurozone
1992
Copenhagen criteria
Fundamental conditions regarding institutions, human rights and economic
readiness aspiring member states have to meet before being able to join the EU. (stable political institutions that foster democracy and respect human rights; a well-functioning market economy; the institutional capacity to work towards political, economic and monetary union.)
Opt-outs
Specific exceptions that are granted to a member state when it is unwilling or unable to fully accept all provisions of a treaty or a law
Treaty of Amsterdam
revision of the treaty of maastricht
EU-15 en (EU-12
15 ‘oude’ lidstaten en de 12 lidstaten die vanaf de 20e eeuw
zijn toegevoegd –>The distinction is made because of the significant differences between these countries in terms of their length of membership, political background and economic development. The level of affluence in the EU-12 is substantially lower than that of the EU-15. Also the size of the economies of the EU-12 is very small
Treaty of Nice in 2001
“The Treaty of Amsterdam had left many issues unresolved and necessitated a new round of modifications that resulted in the Treaty of Nice in 2001. It reassigned the voting weights of the member states in the Council and the number of seats for the members of the EP
Intergovernmental Conference (IGC)
meeting of the member states to discuss and decide a revision
of treaties. on its contents. As its name indicates an IGC is a purely intergovernmental affair that only involves representatives of the member state governments.
Euroscepticism
Term used for people, member states or political parties that have been highly
critical of European integration.
