Exam 1

Question 1

What is the legislative function?

Answer 1

Setting general rules
Acting as a legislator

Question 2

What is the executive function?

Answer 2

Exercising control
Determining course of action

Question 3

What is the judicial function?

Answer 3

Constitutional review
Acting as a constitutional court
Investigating in cases

Question 4

What is the difference between intergovernmental and supranational institutions?

Answer 4

An intergovernmental institution focuses on the member state interest, while a supranational organization considers the whole EU and its citizens, and there is pooling of sovereignty on certain matters

Question 5

Which EU institutions are intergovernmental and which are supranational?

Answer 5

Intergovernmental is the Council and the European Council
Supranational is the entire EU (plus citizens), the Commission, the court, and the European parliament

Question 6

Where is the bicameralism in the EU?

Answer 6

You have the European parliament which are elected by the citizens, and you have the Council of Ministers, which are elected by member states

Question 7

What is the European Council? Who does it exist of?

Answer 7

Sets the goals and directions of the Union, is a political connection between member-states and the Union. It consists of the Heads of State or the Government of the Member States

Question 8

What is the European Commission? What does it consist of?

Answer 8

It proposes legislation and drafts the budget, focuses on application/implementation of Union Law, represents the interests of the Union
Consists of one Commissioner from each Member State

Question 9

Wat is the Council of the European Union? Who does it consist of?

Answer 9

It has legislative & budgetary functions, makes final decisions, represents the national interests of Members
Consist of governmental ministers from each state. Under the Council is also the corepresentative groups, which discuss and advice the council

Question 10

What is the European Parliament? who does it consist of?

Answer 10

The European Parliament is involved in modifying legislature, and budgetary functions, supervises the Commission, and represents citizen interests.
Consists of directly elected members under degressive proprotionality

Question 11

What is the court of Justice and its role?

Answer 11

The Court of Justice enforces and interprets EU law, reviews legility of acts, establishes infringments of EU law, and gives preliminary rulings

Question 12

What affects the legitimacy of the EU institutional framework?

Answer 12

The complexity of it and the lack of democratic accountability

Question 13

Can member states opt out of treaties?

Answer 13

Yes, they can sometimes, but it defeats the purpose of the EU, and if the EU makes legal decisions for the Member, they are bound by what has been agreed upon under pacta sunt servanda

Question 14

What types of policies does the EU have? Explain what the different policy types aim to do

Answer 14

Re-destributive policies -> giving back to the people and helping improve social, economical and environmental circumstance, distributive policies –> what do we do with our money, which is mainly on national level focused on tax and regulatory policies –> rules and standard setting

Question 15

What is the difference between positive and negative intergration in regards to regulatory policies?

Answer 15

Positive integration is re-regulation, so it sets values and standards to uphold, replacing national rules with EU rules. Negative integration is the removal of barriers, so focusing on an open market and regulating that it is as open as possible

Question 16

Explain the principle of subsidiarity when it relates to the European Union

Answer 16

It means that to use the lowest level of governance possible in order to get the job done

Question 17

What safeguards basic fundamental rights in the EU? What is the difference in their application?

Answer 17

The european convention on Human Rights (ECHR), and the Charter of fundamental rights
The ECHR is obligatory on all member states, while the Charter is only applicable to EU institutions and member states when carrying out EU legislation

Question 18

What are the primary souces of law of the EU?

Answer 18

Treaty on the European Union (TEU)
Treay on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)
Any treaty which amends the foundational treaties

Question 19

What are the secondary sources of the EU?

Answer 19

Regulations, directives, and decisions

Question 20

What are the general principles and what is the importance of general principles in regards to Union Law?

Answer 20

General principles include those in the ECHR, the constitutional traditions of the Member States, and the Charter of the EU
General principles are important as they are there for the future, as times changes, needs might change and it can fill in gaps in the codified law and can be the basis of judicial review

Question 21

What is the difference between founding, amended, and consolidated treaties?

Answer 21

Founding is the original legislation
Amended indicates changes to the original
Consolidated contains all changes

Question 22

What is the difference between regulations, directives, and decisions?

Answer 22

Regulations and decisions are directly applicable, while directives allow the member state discretion on implementation

Question 23

How do legislative acts get enacted? How do they work?

Answer 23

There is the ordinary legislative procedure and the special legislative procedure to implement legislature. They work by

Question 24

What are passerelle clauses?

Question 25

What is required for applicability of hard law?

Answer 25

Precision, obligation to perform, and delegation to a third party that adjudicates

Question 26

Why are general principles binding while soft law (in the form of recommendations and opinions) are not?

Answer 26

Because general principles are the foundation of the law, while soft law is from a higher legal sphere,

Question 27

What is the difference between delegated act and implementing acts?

Answer 27

Delegated acts supplement/amend certain non-essential elements of legislative acts, while implementing acts ensure uniform conditions for implementing legally binding EU acts

Question 28

What is the difference between a regulation and a directive?

Answer 28

A regulaion is directly applicable to all member states, while directives first need to be transposed into national law, they just define the aim and leave it up to the member states to work out how they want to achieve it

Question 29

What type of competences are there?

Answer 29

There are exclusive, shared, and coordinating competences

Question 30

Which exclusive competences does the EU have?

Answer 30

Common commercial policy
Common fisheries policy (marine conservation)
Monetary policy for euro-countries
Internal market competition
customs union

Question 31

What is the flexibility clause and in which article is it contained?

Answer 31

Contained in article 352 TFEU

Question 32

What is the harmonisation clause, and in which article is it contained?

Answer 32

Contained in article 114 TFEU

Question 33

What is supremacy of EU Law?

Answer 33

It means that EU law has priority over national legislation, but only for areas where the EU has been given competence. It means national legislation and general principles do not override EU law

Question 34

What is the idea of Kompetenz-Kompetenz?

Answer 34

It focuses on who decides who can decide on the interpretation of law (who guards the guard?)

Question 35

How does supremacy limit the parliamentary sovereignty?

Answer 35

The adopted legislation needs to be consistent with EU law

Question 36

What do we recognize as formal soft law?

Answer 36

Recommendations and opinions, as they have no binding force

Question 37

Where do we see hard law in the European Union?

Answer 37

Regulations, directives, and decisions, which are bindbing to the member states in varying degrees