EU law - Week 1B Flashcards
The competences/jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the EU can be divided into three categories. Discuss these categories of competences of the Court.
Based on Article 19(3) TEU
1. Rule on actions brought by a MS, institution or natural person
2. Preliminary tasks at the request of national judges
3. Advisory opinions/ rulings on draft agreements and other cases
What is (or are) the procedure(s) by which the European Treaties can be amended? Describe the role of the various actors involved.
Based on TEU Title VI Art. 48 part 1-5: Ordinary revision procedure
Step 1: Initiative
-The government of any Member State, the European Parliament or the European Commission may submit a proposal to the Council of Ministers to amend the European treaties.
Step 2: Proposal is considered by the convention
- After consulting the European Parliament and the Commission, the European Council decides, by simple majority voting, whether to take the proposal into consideration or not.
Step 3: Approval
- The Intergovernmental Conference has to approve of the proposed amendment(s) to the treaties by consent.
Finally, each member state separately has to approve the proposed treaty amendment(s).
Turkey is currently a “candidate” country for membership of the European Union. If the Council were to adopt a decision to approve the admission of Turkey to the European Union, would Turkey thereby become a Member State of the European Union?
Based on Article 49 TEU
The country has to respect the values referred to in Article 2. The next step is for the country to meet the key criteria for accession. These were mainly defined at the European Council in Copenhagen in 1993 and are hence referred to as ‘Copenhagen criteria’. Then, after the application is submitted to the Council and the Council approves, all other Member states with the joining countries sign the treaties together. Lastly, everyone ratifies them at home to make sure that it aligns with national laws.
Article 2 TEU lists the fundamental “values” on which the European Union and its Member States are based. Is there any way the European Union can hold a Member State that breaches these values – for example, by dramatically curtailing the freedom of expression or by affecting the independence of the national judiciary – to account? If so, how?
Article 7 TEU regard the breach of values of the EU
(1) The Council may determine that there is a clear risk of a serious breach by a MS of the values referred to in Article 2 (based on a proposal by MS)
(2) The European Council may determine the existence of a serious and persistent breach by a MS of the values referred to in Article 2 → does it by unanimity
(3) The Council may decide to suspend certain of the rights deriving from the application of the Treaties to the MS in question (including voting rights of the representative of the government of that MS in the Council)
The European Treaties are drawn up in several languages that are equally authentic. Which languages? And is English still an official language of the EU after Brexit?
Article 55 TEU, Article TFEU 358
- 24 official languages
- English does remain official language
