Chapter 1B: European Union Institutions Flashcards

1
Q

What is the European Parliament?

A

One of three legislative branches of the European Union and 7 institutions.
Along with the __Council of the European Union__, it exercises
* legislative
* budgetary functions and
Not shared:
* political counseling

Parliament retains political power of the Commission, it can force all members to resign

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2
Q

What makes the European Parliament a persuasive force among the other institutions?

A

It’s the only European institution where members are directly elected by EU citizens.

5 Year term

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3
Q

What is the European Parliaments four responsibilities?

A

Legislative development
Supervisory oversight of other institutions
Democratic representation
Development of the budget

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4
Q

What does the European Parliaments role in the legislative process help to do?

A

Guarantee democratic legitimacy of European law (although the extent of the parliamentary influence depends on which procedure applies - ordinary, consultation or consent).

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5
Q

The European Parliament cannot…

A

propose new legislation on its own accord.

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6
Q

The European Parliament can call upon the Commission to…

A

submit a legislative proposal to the Council of the European Union or invite the Commission and the Council to consider amending existing policies or developing new ones.

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7
Q

Three procedures that may apply to the legislative process for the European parliament/Council of the European Union…

A

The ordinary procedure - both parliament and council must assent to the legislation; cannot be adopted if either is opposed. This places the parliament and Council on equal footing for the majority of matters.

The consultation procedure - the council must consult the parliament but is not bound by the parliaments opinion as under this procedure only the council has legislative power

The consent procedure - the parliament’s consent is required (for particularly important decisions)

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8
Q

What’s the jingle / memory tip for the interaction between the European Commission, Parliament and Council of the European Union for legislation?

A
EC proposes
P&CEU opposes
EC requites
P&CEU says alright
It's law
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9
Q

The Lisbon Treaty requires relevant data protection legislation to be adopted under which of the three legislative procedures?

A

Ordinary.

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10
Q

Which of the EU institutions has the greatest impact on data protection and privacy issues in the EU?

A

Parliament.

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11
Q

What are the three legislative branches of the EU?

A

European Commission, European Parliament and Council of the European Union

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12
Q

The European Council defines…

A

The General political directions and priorities of the European Union.

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13
Q

The European Council exercises legislative functions - true or false?

A

False.

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14
Q

When did the European Council begin as an informal body?

A

1974.

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15
Q

When did the European Council gain formal status?

A

Treaty of Maastricht in 1992. It was established as a forum where heads of state or governments could discuss issues affecting the community.

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16
Q

What is the European Council comprised of?

A

The head of each of the 28 member states

President of the Commission

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17
Q

How often does the European Council meet to define the EU’s priorities and set a political direction for the EU?

A

4 times a year.

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18
Q

How are decisions made by the European Council?

A

By consensus or treaties that provide alternative mechanisms (e.g. unanimity or qualified majority)

Durch Konsens oder Verträge, die alternative Mechanismen vorsehen (z.B. Einstimmigkeit oder qualifizierte Mehrheit)

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19
Q

How is the president of the European Council elected? How long do they serve?

A

By a qualified majority - 2.5 years.

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20
Q

When/by what was The Council of the European Union established?

A

By treaties in the 1950s laying the foundations of the EU

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21
Q

What is the Council of the European Union also known as?

A

Council of Ministers or ‘the Council’

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22
Q

What is the role of the Council of the European Union?

A

It’s the main decision-making body of the EU, playing a part in both political and legislative decisions.

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23
Q

The Council of the European Union develops legislation from the EU alongside…who?

A

European Parliament.

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24
Q

The pairing of the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament in budgetary and legislative functions is stated in what article of the Lisbon Treaty?

A

Article 9C.

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25
Q

Who attends the Council of the European Union meetings?

A

A minister from each of the 28 member states.

26
Q

What acts can the Council of the European Union take?

A

Regulations
Directives
Decisions
Actions and positions
Recommendations
Opinions
Conclusions
Declarations
Resolutions

27
Q

Who presides over the Council of the European Union?

A

A president; held by member states on a rotational basis acting by a qualified majority. The treaties define a number of votes each member state can cast. Assessed numerically and proportionally and determined by the treaty.

28
Q

What percent of the EU’s population does a majority require (Council of the European Union president)?

A

65%

29
Q

When/by what was the foundation for the European Commission established?

A

By treaties in the 1950s laying the foundations of the EU

30
Q

When was the single European Commission created?

A

1965 when the executive bodies of the European Coal and Steel Community, European Economic Community and European Atomic Energy Community were merged.

31
Q

What is the European Commission known as in role?

A

The Executive body of the EU;
however, it has many other functions covered in Article 9D of the EU Treaty.
It’s the
guardian of the treaties,
monitoring compliance of institutions, member states and natural and legal persons.

32
Q

The European Commission has the power to initiate …

A

legislation. Union legislative acts may only be adopted on the basis of a Commission proposal.

33
Q

In order for the European Commission to monitor compliance of treaties, what grants the Commission the power to take legal and administrative action such as the power to impose a fine against a member state?

A

Articles 226 and 228 of TFEU.

34
Q

What articles of TFEU allow the European Commission the supervisory powers over other institutions?

A

Article 230 and 232.

35
Q

All 28 states have their own commissioner; European Commissioners should be …. what?

A

Independent and with no allegiance to the country that nominates them. Member states should not influence their decisions or duties. They are nominated by the member state but are appointed to the office only with parliament’s approval.

36
Q

Parliament exercises a function of oversight of the European Commission and its activities; why is this important?

A

It introduces an element of democratic accountability.

37
Q

The Commission has the power to adopt what data protection assurances?

A

Adequacy findings for adequate levels of data protection in line with EU standards.

38
Q

The Commission was responsible for the 2012 reform of data protection rules, which led to the adoption of…

A

GDPR and LEDP directive; it’s the most active EU function in data protection.

39
Q

What was the Court of Justice of the European Union originally called?

A

Court of Justice of the European Communities.

40
Q

The Court of Justice of the European Union was set up under what treaty/ why?

A

Treaty of Paris 1951 to implement the legal framework of the European Coal and Steel Community.

41
Q

The Court of Justice became the community’s court when the European Community…

A

was set up under the Treaty of Rome 1957.

42
Q

The Court of Justice’s powers were extended upon the creation of the EU under what treaty?

A

The Treaty of Maastricht in 1992.

43
Q

Which Treaty renamed the Court of Justice to The Court of Justice of the European Union?

A

The Lisbon Treaty.

44
Q

What is the role of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)?

A

It’s the judicial body of the EU that makes decisions on issues of EU law and enforces European decisions either in respect of actions taken by the Commission against a member state or action taken by an individual to enforce their rights under EU law.

45
Q

The CJEU is divided into what two parts?

A

The Court of Justice (ECJ) and the General Court (aka Court of First Instance or CFI).

46
Q

How many judges does the Court of Justice (ECJ) have?

A

28 (one for each member state, for 6 years).

47
Q

How long does the President of the Court of Justice sit?

A

3 years.

48
Q

The ECJ had eight advocates, whose role it is to…

A

assist the ECJ by giving reasoned, nonbinding opinions to decide the case.

49
Q

What did the ECJ rule in the Google Spain case on the right to be forgotten?

A

Where individuals object and certain circumstances are met search engines must remove the list of results displayed following a search made on a person’s name, links to pages published by third parties, and results that contain information relating to that person.

50
Q

What did the ECJ do in the Weltimmo case?

A

It intervened to clarify how data protection law applies in cross border situations within the EU and took the view that even minimal activities in a member state can trigger the application of that member state’s data protection law.

51
Q

What did the ECJ in the Schrems ruling of October 2015?

A

Invalidated the Commission’s decision that Safe Harbor was adequate as a framework to legitimise international data transfers to the United States.

52
Q

Is the European Court of Human Rights an institution of the EU?

A

No; it sits in Strasbour as part of the apparatus of the Council of Europe (47 member states).

53
Q

What is the European Court of Human Rights?

A

An international court founded in 1959 to oversee the European Convention on Human Rights, ensuring that states respect the rights within.

54
Q

How does the European Court of Human Rights oversee the European Convention on Human Rights?

A

It examines complaints (aka applications) lodged by individuals or states and when it finds that a state has violated one or more of these rights or guarantees it issues a judgement - which is binding.

55
Q

What happens if the judgement of the European Court of Human Rights does not in whole or in part represent the unanimous opinion of the ECHR’s judges?

A

Any judge may deliver a separate opinion.

56
Q

The states that may bring a case before the European Court of Human Rights are…

A
  • a state where a citizen is alleged to be a victim of a violation of the convention
  • a state that referred the case to the commission
  • a state against which a complaint has been lodged
57
Q

The European Court of Human Rights does not have the power to…

A

Overrule national decisions or to annul national laws; it has no power of enforcement, and the responsibility to supervise execution and ensure that compensation is paid passes to the Council after the ECHR’s judgement.

58
Q

The European Convention on Human Rights protects the following rights…

A
  • right to life
  • right to a fair hearing in civil/criminal matters
  • the right to respect for private and family life
  • freedom of expression
  • freedom of thought, conscience and religion
  • right to an effective remedy
  • the right to peaceful enjoyment of possessions
  • the right to vote and stand for election
59
Q

Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights protects the right to respect for private and family life but does not specifically address data protection, however…

A

The ECHR has pointed out that the use of modern electronic techniques to process personal data should be kept under control to ensure that the right to a private life is safeguarded as in Article 8.

60
Q

In three French cases brought before the European Court of Human Rights in 2009, the court reaffirmed the fundamental role of the protection of personal data but held that…

A

automated processing of data for police purposes and applicants’ inclusion in the national police database of sex offenders was not contrary to Article 8 of the convention.

61
Q

In the 2007 judgement in Copland v. United Kingdom, the European Court of Human Rights concluded that …

A

monitoring the applicant’s email at work was contrary to Article 8 of the Convention as no provision was made for this in the law.