EU Treaties Flashcards
ECSC dates
Signed: 18 April 1951
Entry into force: 23 July 1952
Expired: 23 July 2002
ECSC aim
To create interindependence in coal and steel to avoid future wars. Eased up tensions after WWII
Treaty of Rome dates
Signed: 25 March 1957
Entry into force: 1 January 1958
Treaty of Rome aim
To set up the EEC and EURATOM.
Art 2 and 3(3) included equality between women and men as a policy
Merger (Brussels) Treaty
Dates
Signed: 8 April 1965
Entry into force: 1 July 1967
Merger Treaty aim
To streamline the European institutions. Creation of a single commission and council to serve the 3 European communities (EEC, EURATOM, ECSC); the council of ministers should replace the special council of ministers of the ECSC, the council of the EEC and Euratom; each community remained legally independent but shared common institutions (prior to this treaty, they already shared a Parliamentary Assembly and Court of Justice); treaty seen by some as the real beginning of the modern European Union; Repealed by the treaty of Amsterdam
Single European Act dates
Signed - 1st: 17 February 1986 (Luxembourg; 9 MS signed: DE, FR, BE, NL, LUX, UK, IE, PT & ES)
Signed 2nd: 28 February 1986 (the Hague; DK, IT + EL (Greece) signed)
Entry into force: 1 July 1987
SEA aim
Reform the institutions in preparation for ES and PT entry into the EU and speed up decision-making in preparation for the single market (to be ready by 31/12/1992) - opened way to further political integration and economic and monetary union (enshrined in Maastricht treaty)
Main changes: extension of QVM in Council. Included the European Council in the body of the Community Treaties for the first time, defining its compositions and providing for biannual meetings; expanded powers of European Community in a number of policy areas
TEU Maastricht dates
Signed: 7 February 1992
Entry into force: 1 November 1993
TEU Maastricht aim
To prepare for European Monetary Union and introduce elements of a political union (citizenship, common foreign and internal affairs policy). Main changes: setting up the EU and introduction of co-decision procedure, giving the EP more say in decision-making. New forms of cooperation between MS, for example on defence and justice and home affairs. Introduction of codecision. Set binding economic and legal conditions to join the euro area
Treaty of Amsterdam dates
Signed: 2 October 1997
Entry into force: 1 May 1999
Treaty of Nice dates
Signed: 26 February 2001
Entry into force: 1 February 2003
Treaty of Nice aim
To reform the institutions so that the EU could function efficiently after reaching 25 MS. EP’s legislative and supervisory powers are increased (can refer matters to ECJ) and QMV extended to more areas within the Council
Treaty of Amsterdam aim
Amendment, renumbering and consolidation of EU and EEC treaties. More transparent decision-making: codecision simplified and broadened in scope
Treaty of Lisbon dates
Signed: 13 December 2007
Entry into force: 1 December 2009
Treaty of Lisbon aim
Result of negative outcome of two referenda on the Constitutional Treaty in May and June 2005. Treaty establishing the European Community is renamed TFEU. No additional exclusive competences added, but changes the way the EU exercises its existing powers + new (shared) powers. Higher level of parliamentary scrutiny. Lisbon for the first time clarifies the powers of the EU and distinguishes between the 3 types of competences. Gives EU full legal personality. Provides formal procedure to withdraw from EU. OLP replaces codecision
Under which EU Treaty did environmental policy gain a legal basis as an area of EU policy?
SEA (1986/1987). The SEA introduced the ‘environment title’
Amsterdam ‘leftovers’
a number of institutional issues (size, composition of EC, weighting of votes in Council, extension of qualified majority voting);
addressed by Maastricht and Amsterdam IGCs but not satisfactorily resolved; new IGC worked on it (Feb - Dec 2000)
–> NICE TREATY
When did the Paris Treaty (ECSC treaty) expire?
2002
Name the three pillars of the European Union as in the Treaty of xxx
Maastricht Treaty establishes European Union based on three pillars:
- European Communities:
Customs Union, Single Market, Agriculture Policy, Structural Policy, Trade Policy, EU Citizenship, Education/Culture, Trans-Euro Networks, Consumer Protection, Health, Research/Environment, Social Policy, Visa/Asylum/Immigration, External Borders, EURATOM, Aid to non-member Countries - Common Foreign & Security Policy
Foreign Policy: Cooperation, Peacekeeping, Human Rights, Democracy
Security Policy: European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) - Justice and Home Affairs
Which article lays down the expiration date of the treaty of paris?
Art 97
What happened to the assets of the ECSC at the time of its expiration?
Net worth at time of dissolution assigned to the research fund for coal and steel to finance research by MS in relation to coal and steel industries
Article 240 EEC Treaty
Article 208 EAEC Treaty
Lays down that both communities are concluded “for an unlimited period”
Main provisions of the EEC Treaty
- elimination of customs duties between
Member States; - establishment of an external Common
Customs Tariff; - introduction of common policies for
agriculture (Articles 38 - 43) and transport (Articles 74 & 75); - common commercial
policy (Articles 110 to 113) - creation of a European Social Fund;
- establishment of a European Investment
Bank; - development of closer relations between
the Member States.
Convention on certain institutions
common to the European Communities
signed & entered into force alongside the EEC & EAEC Treaties
stipulated
that the Parliamentary Assembly and Court
of Justice would be common institutions.
This Convention lapsed on 1 May 1999.
Act concerning the election of Members of Parliament by direct universal suffrage
The Act of 20 September 1976 gave Parliament new
legitimacy and authority by introducing election
by direct universal suffrage
revision in 2002, introducing the general principle of
proportional representation and other framework
provisions for national legislation on the European
elections
Single European Act
Extension of the Union’s powers
- Through the creation of a
large internal market ( to be completed by 1 January 1993, taking up and
broadening the objective of the common market
introduced in 1958
- Through the establishment of
new powers as regards:
+ Monetary policy
+ Social policy;
+ Economic and social cohesion;
+ Research and technological development;
+ The environment;
+ Cooperation in the field of foreign policy
B) Improvement in the decision-making
capacity of the Council of Ministers
Qualified majority voting in several areas:
- amendment of the common customs tariff
- freedom to provide services
- the free movement of capital
- common sea and air transport polic
- internal market
- social policy, economic and social cohesion, research
and technological development, and environmental
policy
amendment of council internal procedures: Council
could be called upon to vote not only on the
initiative of its President, but also at the request
of the Commission or a Member State if a simple
majority of the Council’s members were in favour
C) Growth of the role of the
European Parliament
Parliament’s powers
* Making Community agreements on
enlargement and association agreements
subject to Parliament’s assent;
* Introducing a procedure for cooperation with
the Council, which gave Parliament real,
albeit limited, legislative powers; it applied
to about a dozen legal bases at the time and
marked a watershed in turning Parliament into
a genuine co-legislator.
TEU Titlve V
Common Foreign & Security Policy
TEU Title VI
cooperation in the fields of justice and home affairs
Treaty of Amsterdam Article 214
Power of control
Parliament also had a vote to approve in advance the person nominated as President of the
future Commission
Article 189 Amsterdam Treaty
The Amsterdam Treaty set the maximum number of Members of the European Parliament, in line with Parliament’s request, at 700
Protocol on the Institutions
In a Union of up to 20 Member States, the Commission would comprise one national of each Member State, provided that by that date, weighting of the votes in the Council had been modified. At all events, at least a year before the 21st Member State joined, a new intergovernmental conference
would have to comprehensively review the Treaties’ provisions on the institutions
Passerelle clauses
introduced in Treaty of Lisbon
allow a change from unanimous decision-making to qualified
majority voting and from the consultation procedure to codecision (Article 31(3) TEU, Articles 81, 153,
192, 312 and 333 TFEU, plus some passerelle-type procedures concerning judicial cooperation in
criminal matters)
Enhanced cooperation
In areas where the Union has no exclusive powers, at least nine Member States can establish enhanced cooperation among themselves. Authorisation for its
use must be granted by the Council after obtaining the consent of the European Parliament.
TFEU - Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union
originated as one of the Treaties of Rome, namely the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community
Its name has been amended twice since 1957. The Maastricht Treaty of 1992 removed the word “economic” from the Treaty of Rome’s official title and, in 2009, the Treaty of Lisbon renamed it the “Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union”.
Following the 2005 referendums, which saw the failed attempt at launching a European Constitution, on 13 December 2007 the Lisbon Treaty was signed. This saw the ‘TEC’ renamed as the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and, once again, renumbered. The Lisbon reforms resulted in the merging of the three pillars into the reformed European Union.[2]
In March 2011, the European Council adopted a decision to amend the Treaty by adding a new paragraph to Article 136. The additional paragraph, which enables the establishment of a financial stability mechanism for the Eurozone, runs as follows:
The Member States whose currency is the euro may establish a stability mechanism to be activated if indispensable to safeguard the stability of the euro area as a whole. The granting of any required financial assistance under the mechanism will be made subject to strict conditionality
The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), as a result of the Lisbon Treaty, was developed from the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC or EC Treaty), as put in place by the Treaty of Maastricht.
How many Treaty Protocols are there?
There are 37 protocols,
2 annexes and 65 declarations, which are
attached to the treaties to fill in details, without
being incorporated into the full legal text
Principle of subsidiarity & proportionality
Article 5(3) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and Protocol (No 2) on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality.
first formally enshrined under Maastricht (TEC)
three conditions to be met:
a) the area concerned does not fall within the Union’s exclusive competence (i.e. non-exclusive competence)
(b) the objectives of the proposed action cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States (i.e. necessity)
(c) the action can therefore, by
reason of its scale or effects, be implemented more successfully by the Union (i.e. added value).
Proximity principle
Article 10(3) TEU
powers are exercised as close to the
citizen as possible
How many times was the “yellow card” (ex ante review of subsidiarity principle by national parliaments)? How many times the orange card?
To date, the ‘yellow card’ procedure has been triggered three times, while the ‘orange card’ procedure has never been used.
ex-post review of subsidiarity principle
Member States may bring actions for annulment before the Court against a legislative act on grounds of infringement of the principle of subsidiarity on behalf of their national parliament or a chamber
thereof, in accordance with their legal system.
The Committee of the Regions may also bring such actions against legislative acts if the TFEU provides
that it must be consulted
Treaty amendement in 2011
Amendment to Article 136 TFEU (economic policy coordination) was adopted by the European Council on 25 March 2011, under the simplified treaty revision procedure
entered into force in April 2013, thus enabling permanent crisis prevention mechanisms such as the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) to come into operation
Which Treaty introduced Delegated Acts?
Treaty of Lisbon
