General EU knowledge

Question 1

Maastricht Treaty

Answer 1

• 1993
• created today’s institutions, including EESC and CoR
• created ECB and ESCB
• implemented 3 pillars according to powers: EC where MS transferred souvereignty, CFSP, Cooperation in the fields of justice and home affairs

Question 2

Amsterdam Treaty

Answer 2

• 1999
• Increased powers to Union, especially on employment & social policy
• community method to previuosly third pillar areas (migration, asylum, fraud)
• Stronger EP position; EP became co-legislator on equal footing with Council

Question 3

Teaty of Nice

Answer 3

• 2003
• to make EU more efficient and prepare it for enlargement
• voting rights and relative weights in Council decisive issue
• Conbent on the Future of Europe (2004): failed

Question 4

Treaty of Lisbon

Answer 4

General things
* Includes most elements from European Convention taht failed in 2004
* Treaty of Maastricht now TEU
* Teaty of Rome now TFEU
* The Treaty of Lisbon for the first time clarifies the powers of the Union. It distinguishes between three types of competences: exclusive competence, where the Union alone can legislate, and Member States only implement; shared competence, where the Member States can legislate and adopt legally binding measures if the Union has not done so; and supporting competence, where the EU adopts measures to support or complement Member States’ policies.
* The Treaty of Lisbon gives the EU full legal personality.
* The Treaty for the first time provides for a formal procedure to be followed by Member States wishing to withdraw from the European Union (Art 50 TEU)
* The Treaty of Lisbon completes the absorption of the remaining third pillar aspects of the area of freedom, security and justice (FSJ), i.e. police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters, into the first pillar.

specificiteis
* Introduced OLS, now applying to 73 policy areas (move from unanimity in 43 policy areas)
* EP now elects COM president
* Max MEP now 96, min 6
* European Council formally recongised as EU institution. Established European Council President
* Introduces HR/VP, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Appointed by QVM in European Council
* new rules for QVM in Council from 2014
* passerelle clauses allow a change from unanimous decision-making to qualified majority voting and from the consultation procedure to codecision
* 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. On CFSP matters, unanimity applies.

policy areas
* A certain number of new or extended policies have been introduced in environment policy, which now includes the fight against climate change, and energy policy, which makes new references to solidarity and the security and interconnectivity of supply.
* New policy areas: intellectual property rights, sport, space, tourism, civil protection and administrative cooperation are now possible subjects of EU law-making.
* On the common security and defence policy (CSDP) (5.1.2), the Treaty of Lisbon introduces a mutual defence clause which provides that all Member States are obliged to provide help to a Member State under attack. Also, estvbalishes PESCO

Question 5

Different forms of decision making

Answer 5

• community method: by supranational bodis
• intergouvernmental method:
• ntergovernmental cooperation outside of the formal EU processes, such as the Schengen Agreement

Question 6

Sources of EU law

Answer 6

• Treaty on European Union (TEU), Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), and their protocols (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) 1.1.5;
• Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union 4.1.2;
• The Treaty Establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) is still in force as a separate treaty;
• International agreements 5.2.1;
• General principles of Union law;
• Secondary legislation.

Question 7

Types of legal act of EU

Answer 7

• regulations, directives, decisions, recommendations and opinions. EU institutions may adopt legal acts of these kinds only if they are empowered to do so by the Treaties
• EU institutions may adopt legal acts of these kinds only if they are empowered to do so by the Treaties (principle of conferral)
• There are, in addition, various forms of action, such as recommendations, communications and acts on the organisation and running of the institutions (including interinstitutional agreements), the designation, structure and legal effects of which stem from various provisions in the Treaties or the rules adopted pursuant to the Treaties.
• directives have no immediate effect, except when (a) the directive has not been transposed into national law or has been transposed incorrectly; (b) the provisions of the directive are imperative and sufficiently clear and precise; and (c) the provisions of the directive confer rights on individuals
• Delegated acts: Delegated acts are legally binding acts that enable the Commission to supplement or amend non‑essential parts of EU legislative acts, for example, in order to define detailed measures.
• Implementing acts are legally binding acts that enable the Commission – under the supervision of committees consisting of EU countries’ representatives – to set conditions that ensure that EU laws are applied uniformly.
• Decisions are binding in their entirety. Where those to whom they are addressed are stipulated (Member States, natural or legal persons), they are binding only on them, and address situations specific to those Member States or persons.
• Recommendations and opinions do not confer any rights or obligations on those to whom they are addressed, but may provide guidance as to the interpretation and content of Union law.

Question 8

3 principles of when EU can act

Answer 8

• conferral – the EU has only that authority conferred upon it by the EU treaties, which have been ratified by all member countries
• proportionality – the EU action cannot exceed what is necessary to achieve the objectives of the treaties (Art 5 TEU)
• subsidiarity – in areas where either the EU or national governments can act, the EU may intervene only if it can act more effectively (Art 5 TEU)
• Under Article 5(3) of the TEU, there are three preconditions for intervention by Union institutions in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity: (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).
• The principle of subsidiarity applies only to areas in which competence is shared between the Union and the Member State
• National Parliaments can monitor compliance through procedure in Protocol Nr 2: ex ante early warnign mechanism. Yellow card (national parliaments, then vote in EP), orange card procedure (Ep votes to reject draft act)
• Subsidiarity package from 2018 strengthened role of principle of proportionality and subsidiarity in EU polciymaking

Question 9

Ordinary legislative procedure

Answer 9

Overview
* Legal basis: Art 289 and 294 TFEU
* OLS applies to 85 legal bases
* The ordinary legislative procedure includes qualified majority voting (QMV) in the Council (Article 294 TFEU). However, it does not apply to several important areas, for example fiscal policy concerning direct taxation or transnational aspects of family law, which require unanimity in the Council.
* If a legislative proposal is rejected at any stage of the procedure, or the Parliament and Council cannot reach a compromise, the proposal is not adopted and the procedure ends.
* In the last years the number of first reading agreements has risen considerably

Procedure
a. Commission proposal

b. First reading in Parliament (no time limit)

Parliament adopts its position by a simple majority. It can introduce amendments.

Before the European Parliament delivers its opinion, the Council may adopt a ‘general approach’. The Council uses this document to give the Parliament an idea of its position on the Commission’s legislative proposal. A general approach can speed up the legislative procedure and make it easier to reach an agreement between the Parliament and the Council.

The Council, the Parliament and the Commission can also organise informal interinstitutional meetings, known as ‘trilogues’, to help them reach an agreement. These meetings are attended by representatives from the Parliament, the Council and the Commission.

c. First reading in the Council (no time limit)

The Council adopts its position by QMV. It can introduce amendments to Parliament’s position.

If the Council approves Parliament’s position, the act is adopted in the wording which corresponds to Parliament’s position.

d. Second reading in Parliament (3 months, plus 1 month extension)

Parliament receives the Council’s position and has three months to take a decision. It may thus:

• Approve the proposal as amended by the Council or take no decision; in both cases, the act as amended by the Council is adopted;
• Reject the Council’s position by an absolute majority of its Members; the act is not adopted and the procedure ends;
• Adopt, by an absolute majority of its Members, amendments to the Council’s position, which are then put to the Commission and the Council for their opinion.

e. Second reading in the Council (3 months, plus 1 month extension)

• If the Council, voting by a qualified majority on Parliament’s amendments, and unanimously on those on which the Commission has delivered a negative opinion, approves all of Parliament’s amendments no later than three months after receiving them, the act is adopted.
• Otherwise, the Conciliation Committee is convened within six weeks.

f. Conciliation (The conciliation committee must be convened within 6 weeks, with a possible extension to 8 weeks. The committee then has 6 weeks to agree on a joint text.)

• The Conciliation Committee consists of an equal number of Council and Parliament representatives, assisted by the Commission. It considers the positions of Parliament and the Council and has six weeks to agree on a joint text supported by a QMV of Council representatives and a majority of Parliament’s representatives.
• The procedure stops and the act is not adopted if the Committee does not reach agreement on a joint text by the deadline.
• If it does so, the joint text is sent to the Council and Parliament for approval.

g. Conclusion of the procedure (third reading) (6 weeks for either co legislator)

• The Council and Parliament have six weeks to approve the joint text. The Council acts by a qualified majority and Parliament by a majority of the votes cast.
• The act is adopted if the Council and Parliament approve the joint text.
• If either of the institutions has not approved it by the deadline, the procedure stops and the act is not adopted.

Question 10

RIght of initiative

Answer 10

The Commission is the only EU institution empowered to initiate EU legal acts. It submits proposals for EU legal acts on its own initiative, at the request of other EU institutions or following a citizens’ initiative.

The Council (by a simple majority of its members) may request the Commission to carry out studies and submit any appropriate legislative proposals.

The Parliament (by a majority of its component members) may also ask the Commission to submit legislative proposals.

In specific cases, defined in the treaties, the ordinary legislative procedure can be launched:

• on the initiative of a quarter of the member states (when the proposal concerns judicial cooperation in criminal matters or police cooperation)
• on a recommendation from the European Central Bank (on proposals concerning the statute of the European system of central banks and of the European Central Bank)
• at the request of the Court of Justice of the EU (on matters relating to the statute of the Court, establishment of specialised courts attached to the General Court, etc.)
• at the request of the European Investment Bank

Question 11

Special legislative procedure

Answer 11

Legislator: The Council is, in practice, the sole legislator. The European Parliament is required to give its consent to a legislative proposal or be consulted on it.

**Legal base: **Article 289(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

Right of legislative initiative: The European Commission

Types of procedures:

• Consent: the European Parliament has the power to accept or reject a legislative proposal by an absolute majority vote, but cannot amend it. As a legislative procedure, consent is used when new legislation on combating discrimination is being adopted.
• the Parliament’s consent is also required as a non-legislative procedure, when: a) the Council adopts certain international agreements negotiated by the EU b) in cases of a serious breach of fundamental rights (Article 7 TFEU) c) for the accession of new EU members d) arrangements for withdrawal from the EU
• Consultation: the European Parliament may approve, reject or propose amendments to a legislative proposal. The Council must take the opinion into consideration, but does not have to respect it. The procedure is applicable in several areas, such as internal market exemptions and competition law. The Parliament’s consultation is also required as a non-legislative procedure when international agreements are adopted under common foreign and security policy.

Rules: The treaties do not give a precise description of special legislative procedures. The rules are therefore defined ad hoc, on the basis of the relevant treaty articles.

Question 12

Intergovernmental decision-making procedures

Answer 12

• In the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), as well as in several other fields such as enhanced cooperation, certain appointments and treaty revision, the decision-making procedure is different from that prevailing in the ordinary legislative procedure
• The challenge of the public debt crisis has provoked an increased use of such decision-making mechanisms, notably in the framework of European economic governance.

**Examples where this method is used: **
* Procedure for amendment of the treaties
* use of passerelle clause
* accession procedure
* withdrawal procedure
* sanctions procedure for a serious and persistent breach of Union principles by a Member State (Article 7 of the TEU)
* enhanced cooperation procedure

Enhanced cooperation procedure
1. General rules (Article 20 of the TEU, Article 329(1) of the TFEU)

• Proposal: exclusive right of the Commission; Member States which intend to establish enhanced cooperation can address a request to the Commission to that effect;
• Parliament’s role: consent;
• Decision: by the Council, acting by a qualified majority.

2. Cooperation in the field of the CFSP (Article 329(2) of the TFEU)

• Application to the Council by the Member States concerned;
• Proposal forwarded to the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR), who gives an opinion;
• Information of Parliament;
• The Council acts on the basis of unanimity.
• A similar procedure exists for initiating a structured cooperation in defence policy introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon (5.1.2).

Procedure for decisions in foreign affairs
The Treaty of Lisbon abolished the three-pillar structure of the previous treaties but kept foreign policy separate from the other EU policies.

A major institutional change is the creation of the office of the HR, who is assisted by a new European External Action Service and can propose initiatives under the CFSP. The CFSP has been integrated into the Union framework but follows specific rules and procedures

• Proposal: any Member State, the HR or the Commission (Article 22 of the TEU);
• Parliament’s role: regularly informed by the Presidency and consulted on the main aspects and basic choices. Under the interinstitutional agreement on financing the CFSP, this consultation process is an annual event on the basis of a Council document;
• Decision: European Council or Council, acting unanimously. The European Council defines the priorities and strategic interests of the EU; the Council takes decisions or actions. The HR and the Member States put these decisions into effect, making use of national or Union resources. The President of the European Council can convene an extraordinary meeting of the European Council if international developments so require.

Intergovernmental decision-making is also maintained in a number of specific, politically sensitive areas of EU policy, in particular:

• Justice and home affairs: measures regarding judicial cooperation in criminal matters, judicial cooperation (Article 89 of the TFEU);
• The internal market: restrictions on movement of capital (Article 64(3) of the TFEU), competition policy (Article 103(1) of the TFEU), tax harmonisation measures (Article 113 of the TFEU), approximation of laws affecting the establishment of the internal market (Article 115 of the TFEU), intellectual property rights (Article 118 of the TFEU);
• Monetary policy: conferral of specific prudential supervision tasks on the European Central Bank (ECB) (Article 127 of the TFEU);
• Other policy fields such as social policies and employment (Article 153 of the TFEU), energy (Article 194(2) of the TFEU) or environment (Article 191(3) of the TFEU).

Question 13

The budgetary procedure

Answer 13

• The European Parliament and the Council together form the budgetary authority.
• In 2009, the Treaty of Lisbon gave Parliament an equal say with the Council over the entire EU budget.
• Legal base: Art. 314 TFEU
• The budgetary procedure itself involves the preparation and adoption of the budget

Procedure
1) 1. Stage one: submission of the draft budget by the Commission (usually end of April)
2) Stage two: adoption of the Council’s position on the draft budget (usually end of July)
3) Stage three: Parliament’s reading: if Parliament amenda budet, it goes back to EC and Council and conciliation committee is set up
4) Stage four: meeting of the Conciliation Committee and adoption of the budget. Has 21 to agree on joint text

Supplementary and amending budgets: in the event of unavoidable, exceptional or unforeseen circumstances (in accordance with Article 44 of the Financial Rules), the Commission may propose draft amending budgets to amend the budget adopted for the current year.

MFF
* The Council also adopts, pursuant to a special legislative procedure and acting unanimously, decisions laying down the provisions applying to the EU’s own resources system (opinion of Parliament) and the multiannual financial framework (Articles 311 and 312 of the TFEU) (consent of Parliament).

Question 14

Council of the EU Powers

Powers, Coreper, Majorities

Answer 14

• Legislation
• Budget
• International agreements: The Council concludes the European Union’s international agreements, which are negotiated by the Commission and in most cases require Parliament’s consent (Article 289 of the TFEU).
• appointments: The Council, acting by qualified majority (since the Treaty of Nice), appoints the members of the Court of Auditors, the European Economic and Social Committee and the European Committee of the Regions.
• Economic policy:The Council coordinates the economic policies of the Member States (Article 121 of the TFEU) and, without prejudice to the powers of the European Central Bank, takes political decisions in the monetary field.
• Common foreign and security policy: The former troika arrangement has been replaced by a new system: chaired on a permanent basis by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Foreign Affairs Council now collaborates closely with the Commission.

Coreper
* Coreper consists of the permanent representatives of the Member States prepares the Council’s work
* Coreper meets every week to prepare the work of the Council and coordinate activities relating to codecision with Parliament.
* . It is divided into two groups: Coreper I, comprising the deputy permanent representatives, prepares work in the more technical areas, including agriculture, employment, education and the environment; Coreper II addresses matters falling more within the field of ‘high politics’, in particular foreign, economic and monetary affairs and justice and home affairs

Majorities
* Simple majority: The simple majority rule is applicable when the Treaty does not provide otherwise
* Qualified majority. Under this article (Art. 16 TEU), a favourable vote is required from at least 55% of the members of the Council representing at least 65% of the EU’s population. In practice, this means at least 15 Member States out of 27.
* Unanimity: Unanimity is only required by the Treaty for decisions in a few areas, such as taxation and social policy. Also required e.g. for treaty change.
* Zo overcome the unanimity requirement, Member States have concluded international agreements outside the EU legal order. This happened for the first time as a result of the euro crisis, with the adoption, in 2012, of the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union (the fiscal compact) and the Treaty establishing the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), as well as, in 2014, the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Transfer and Mutualisation of Contributions to the Single Resolution Fund (SRF Agreement).

Question 15

European Commission

Answer 15

Accountability
* 1. Personal accountability (Article 245 TFEU)
* Collective accountability. The Commission is collectively accountable to Parliament under Article 234 TFEU. If Parliament adopts a motion of censure against the Commission, all of its members are required to resign, including the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy as far as his or her duties in the Commission are concerned.

FIgures
The Commission has a Secretariat-General consisting of 33 directorates-general, which develop, manage and implement EU policy, law and funding. In addition, there are also 20 special departments (services and agencies), which deal with ad hoc or horizontal issues. These include the European Anti-Fraud Office, the Legal Service, the Historical Archives, the Publications Office, the European Political Strategy Centre and the Taskforce on Article 50 negotiations with the United Kingdom.

There are also six executive agencies, such as the Research Executive Agency, which perform tasks delegated to them by the Commission but which have their own legal personality.

** Full initiative: the power of proposal**
* Legislative initiative
* Bugdetary initiative
* Relations with non-member countries: Where the Council has given a mandate, the Commission is responsible for negotiating international agreements under Articles 207 and 218 TFEU, which are then submitted to the Council with a view to their conclusion. As regards foreign and security policy, it is the High Representative who negotiates agreements

Limited initiative: the power of recommendation or opinion
In the context of Economic and Monetary Union:
* Recommendations for the draft broad guidelines for the Member States’ economic policies, and warnings if those policies are likely to be incompatible with the guidelines (Article 121(4) TFEU);
* Assessment proposals to enable the Council to determine whether a Member State has an excessive deficit (Article 126(6) TFEU);
* Recommendations on measures to be taken if a non-euro area Member State is in difficulties as regards its balance of payments, as provided for in Article 143 TFEU;
* Recommendations for the exchange rate between the single currency and other currencies and for general orientations for exchange-rate policy, as provided for in Article 219 TFEU;
* An assessment of national policy plans and presentation of country-specific draft recommendations falling under the European Semester.

Under the Common Foreign and Security Policy
In this area, many competences have been transferred from the Commission to the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the European External Action Service (EEAS).

Power to monitor the implementation of Union law
The Commission is required under the Treaties to ensure that the Treaties themselves, and any decisions taken to implement them (secondary legislation), are properly enforced. Therein lies its role as guardian of the Treaties. This role is exercised mainly through the procedure applied to Member States where they have failed to fulfil an obligation under the Treaties, as set out in Article 258 TFEU.

Implementing powers
The main powers vested in the Commission are as follows:
* Implementing the budget
* Authorising the Member States to take safeguard measures laid down in the Treaties, particularly during transitional periods
* Enforcing competiton rules

Question 16

EU Values

Answer 16

Values in Art 2 TEU: Human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, Rule of law, human rights,

History:
* The European Communities (EC) (now the European Union) were originally created as an international organisation with an essentially economic scope of action. There was therefore no perceived need for explicit rules concerning respect for fundamental rights, which for a long time were not mentioned in the Treaties, and were anyway considered as guaranteed by the 1950 European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR), to which the Member States were signatories.
* However, once the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) had affirmed the principles of direct effect and of primacy of European law, a question was evident: If European law were to prevail even over domestic constitutional law, it would become possible for it to breach fundamental rights
* With the progressive expansion of EU competences to policies having a direct impact on fundamental rights - such as justice and home affairs, which then developed into a fully-fledged area of freedom, security and justice - the Treaties were changed in order to firmly anchor the EU to the protection of fundamental rights.
* The Treaty of Maastricht included references to the ECHR and the common constitutional traditions of Member States as general principles of EU law, while the Treaty of Amsterdam affirmed the European ‘principles’ upon which the EU is founded (in the Treaty of Lisbon, ‘values’ as listed in Article 2 TEU) and created a procedure to suspend the rights provided for by the Treaties in cases of serious and persistent violations of fundamental rights by a Member State
* The drafting of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and its entry into force together with the Treaty of Lisbon are the latest developments in this process of codification intended to ensure the protection of fundamental rights in the EU.

EU Charter of Fundamental RIghts
* In parallel to the ‘external’ scrutiny mechanism provided for by EC accession to the ECHR to ensure the conformity of legislation and policies with fundamental rights, an ‘internal’ scrutiny mechanism was needed at EC level to allow for a preliminary and autonomous judicial check by the CJEU.
* For this to happen, the existence of a bill of rights specific to the EU was necessary, and at the 1999 European Council in Cologne it was decided to convoke a Convention to draft a Charter of Fundamental Rights.
* However, only with the adoption of the Treaty of Lisbon on 1 December 2009 did the Charter come into direct effect, as provided for by Article 6(1) TEU, thereby becoming a binding source of primary law.
* The Charter, although based on the ECHR and other European and international instruments, was innovative in various ways, notably since it includes, among other issues, disability, age and sexual orientation as prohibited grounds of discrimination, and enshrines access to documents, data protection and good administration among the fundamental rights it affirms.
* While the scope of application of the Charter is, on the one hand, potentially very broad, as most of the rights it recognises are granted to ‘everyone’ regardless of nationality or status, Article 51 does on the other hand limit its application to the EU institutions and bodies and, when they act to implement EU law, to the Member States.

Question 17

EU Values - sanction mechanism Art 7

Answer 17

Preventive mechanism
* With the Amsterdam Treaty a new sanction mechanism was created to ensure that fundamental rights, as well as other European principles and values such as democracy, the rule of law, equality and the protection of minorities are respected by the Member States beyond the legal limits posed by EU competences.
* This meant giving the EU the power to intervene in areas otherwise left to Member States, in situations of ‘serious and persistent breach’ of these values.
* Paragraph 1 of Article 7 TEU provides for a ‘preventive phase’, empowering one third of Member States, Parliament and the Commission to initiate a procedure
* whereby the Council can determine by a four-fifths majority the existence of a ‘clear risk of a serious breach’ in a Member State of the EU values proclaimed in Article 2 TEU
* Before proceeding to such a determination, a hearing of the Member State in question must take place and recommendations may be made to it, while Parliament has to give its consent by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast and an absolute majority of its component members

Cases
* This preventive procedure was activated for the first time on 20 December 2017 by the Commission in relation to Poland, and on 12 September 2018 by Parliament in relation to Hungary, but remains blocked in Council,

Sanctioning mechanism
* Article 7(2) and 7(3) TEU provide, in the case of the ‘existence of a serious and persistent breach’ of EU values, for a ‘sanctioning mechanism’ that can be triggered by the Commission or by one third of Member States (not Parliament), after the Member State in question has been invited to submit its observations.
* The European Council determines the existence of the breach by unanimity, after obtaining Parliament’s consent by the same majority as for the preventive mechanism
* The Council can decide to suspend certain membership rights of the Member State in question, including voting rights in the Council, this time acting by qualified majority.
* The determination and adoption of sanctions remain difficult to achieve, due to the unanimity requirement, as demonstrated by the fact that the Governments of Hungary and Poland announced they would veto any such decisions concerning the other Member State.

Question 18

EU framwork to strengthen rule of law

Answer 18

Overview
* In order to fill the gap between the politically difficult activation of the Article 7 TEU procedures (used to address situations outside the remit of EU law) and infringement procedures with limited effect (used in specific situations falling within the scope of EU law), he Commission, in 2014, launched an EU framework to strengthen the rule of law
* Intended to precede and complement Article 7 TEU, it provides for three stages: Commission assessment, i.e. a structured dialogue between the Commission and the Member State, followed if need be by a rule of law opinion; a Commission rule of law recommendation; and follow-up by the Member State to the recommendation

2019 update
* In July 2019, the Commission made a further step forward in its communication entitled ‘Strengthening the rule of law within the Union: A blueprint for action’ and launched a rule of law mechanism, comprising an annual review cycle based on a rule of law report monitoring the situation in the Member States, which forms the basis of interinstitutional dialogue.
* The report substantially strengthens EU monitoring by encompassing, in comparison to the EU Justice Scoreboard and other monitoring and reporting instruments, not only civil but also criminal and administrative justice, addressing judicial independence, corruption, media pluralism, separation of powers and civil society space.

Question 19

Other instruments to protect EU values

Answer 19

EC instruments
* When proposing a new legislative initiative, the Commission addresses its compatibility with fundamental rights by means of an impact assessment, an aspect which is also subsequently examined by the Council and Parliament.
* The Commission** furthermore publishes an annual report on the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which is examined and debated by the Council, which adopts conclusions on it, and by Parliament, in the framework of its annual report on the situation of fundamental rights in the EU
* In December 2020, the Commission launched a new strategy to strengthen the implementation of the Charter in the EU, including in relation to EU funds through the Charter-specific ‘enabling condition’ introduced in the 2021 Common Provisions Regulation. Cohesion funds for Poland and Hungary have not been disbursed on this basis.
* Furthermore, in the context of the European Semester, issues connected to EU values are monitored and can be the subject of country-specific recommendations.** The areas concerned include justice systems (on the basis of the Justice Scoreboard), as well as disability, social rights and citizens’ rights (in relation to protection from organised crime and corruption).
* Infringement proceedings are an important instrument to sanction violations of EU values in the Union, and the CJEU is developing its jurisprudence on the matter.
* The Commission is also strengthening equality and the protection of minorities – two of the pillars of Article 2 TEU – through specific strategies, proposals and action to promote gender equality and to combat violence against women and domestic violence, racism, hate speech, hate crime and anti-semitism and to protect the rights of LGBTIQ people, Roma, persons with disabilities and children, under the overarching concept of ‘A Union of Equality’.
* After a blockage caused by the vetoes of the Governments of Hungary and Poland, an agreement was finally reached at the European Council of 10-11 December 2020 on a regulation on a general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget
* The regulation makes it possible to protect the EU budget where it is established that breaches of the principles of the rule of law in a Member State affect, or seriously risk affecting, the sound financial management of the EU budget
* An action brought by the Hungarian and Polish Governments against the regulation was dismissed by the CJEU, which opened the way for the Commission and the Council to trigger the mechanism against Hungary, leading to the suspension of EUR 6.3 billion.
* Finally, also implementation and disbursement of RRF funds based on CSRs and Rule of Law reports as well as Article 7 retaed issues are currentyl being discusses by the Commisison,

EUA
* The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), established in 2007 in Vienna, plays an important role in monitoring the situation of fundamental rights in the EU.
* The FRA is tasked with the collection, analysis, dissemination and evaluation of information and data related to fundamental rights. It also conducts research and scientific surveys, and publishes annual and thematic reports on fundamental rights.

Question 20

Strategy to strengthen the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the EU (2020)

Answer 20

Overview
In order to ensure that the Charter becomes a reality for all, the strategy sets out the direction of the Charter implementation for the next 10 years.

The strategy focuses on four pillars:

1. Effective application by the Member States:
2. Empowering civil society organisations, rights defenders and justice practitioners
3. The Charter as a compass for EU institutions
4. Strengthening people’s awareness

Question 21

Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme

Answer 21

• The objective of the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme is to protect and promote rights and values as enshrined in the EU Treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights. In particular, by supporting civil society organisations active at local, regional, national and transnational level.
• The programme is based on four strands: 1)Equality, Rights and Gender Equality; 2) Citizens’ engagement and participation 3) Daphne - fight violence, including gender-based violence; 4) Union values - protect and promote Union values
• Management mode: Direct and indirect management
• Total budget: € 1.56 billion

Question 22

Consumer protection

Answer 22

• Consumer protection is to be built into all relevant policy areas of EU legislation.
• The EU institutions systematically monitor consumer policy by means of the consumer conditions scoreboard, which monitors national conditions for consumers in three areas
• In addition, on 28 April 2021, the single market programme was launched with a view to helping the single market reach its full potential and ensure Europe’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. With a budget of EUR 4.2 billion for the 2021-2027 period, it provides an integrated package to support and strengthen the governance of the single market, including for financial services.
• The programme of EU action in the field of consumer policy is based on the New Consumer Agenda, adopted on 13 November 2020.
• The agenda presents an updated vision for EU consumer policy from 2020 to 2025, with the headline, ‘Strengthening consumer resilience for sustainable recovery’.

The agenda covers five key priority areas:
**1. Green transition: empower consumers to play active role: **
The agenda covers five key priority areas:
Negative environmental impacts and early obsolescence 21 are a growing concern for EU consumers. 85% would welcome better information on durability of a good when deciding on a purchase.
Initiatives:
* the Farm to Fork Strategy 25 and the EU Biodiversity Strategy 26 , announcing key actions 27 and initiatives aiming at reducing the environmental and climate footprint of the EU food systems and empowering consumers to make informed, healthy and sustainable food choices 28 ;
* the recently published Roadmap for the 2021 Zero Pollution Action Plan 29 , which identifies consumer products as an important area for action and explores ways to incentivise 30 consumers to make cleaner choices;
* the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability 31 , which has also announced actions aiming to increase the information on chemicals available to consumers,
* the forthcoming Renewed Sustainable Finance Strategy will seek to offer consumers new opportunities to have a positive impact on sustainability by providing them with reliable, complete and trusted information on the financial products they invest in
* the Renovation Wave 33 presents a strategy to make homes for consumers fit for a greener and digital society, including strengthened information tools for consumers.
* Furthermore, the new Circular Economy Action Plan sets out a number of specific initiatives 34 to fight early obsolescence and promote durability, recyclability, reparability, and accessibility 35 of products, and to support action by business. Notably, the Sustainable Products Initiative 36 will aim to make sustainable products the norm, by establishing product sustainability principles and revising the Ecodesign Directive 37
* The upcoming EU Textiles Strategy will seek to empower consumers to choose sustainable textiles and have easy access to re-use and repair services.
* The review of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive aims to make all packaging re-usable and recyclable in an economically viable way and address overpackaging.

2. Digital transformation: ensuring consumers are as protected online as they are offline
Compared with 2009, the share of online shoppers had almost doubled from 32% to 60%
Initiatives:
* a proposal (AI ACT) to guarantee a high level of protection of consumer interest and the protection of fundamental rights, in turn building the trust necessary for the societal uptake of AI;
* as regards civil liability, measures to ensure that victims of damage caused by AI applications have the same level of protection in practice as victims of damage caused by other products or services.
* the revision of the General Product Safety Directiv
* etc.

**3. Effective enforcement and redress: ensuring all consumers fully benefit from their rights **
* Assess authorities’ toolbox to tackle practices breaching EU consumer law -> evaluation of the CPC Regulation
* Coordinate and support the enforcement work of the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) network to tackle illegal practice

4. . CONSUMER VULNERABILITY strengthen consumer awareness, addressing the needs of different consumer groups
In 2018, 10% of EU households had arrears on a mortgage, rent, utility bills or loan payments, and were at risk of over-indebtedness.
Initiatives:
* Improve availability of debt advice services in Member States
* Strengthen safety of childcare products

5. CONSUMER PROTECTION IN THE GLOBAL CONTEXT: promoting high-level consumer protection abroad
Purchases from sellers outside the EU increased from 17% in 2014 to 27% in 2019
Initiatives:
* Offer regulatory support to EU partner countries
* Set up an Action Plan with China to enhance cooperation on product safety for products sold online

Question 23

Public health policies (focus on recent developemnts)

Answer 23

Overview
* In recent years, the EU institutions have focused on three key dimensions that have direct implications for public health policies:
* Consolidation of the institutional framework
* The need to strengthen rapid response capacity: The COVID-19 pandemic has again highlighted the need for the EU to have a rapid response capacity to enable it to react to major health threats in a coordinated manner, especially in an age in which rapid global transport makes it easier for diseases to spread. In this vein, the Commission established a new dedicated European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) in September 2021.
* The need for improved coordination of health promotion and disease prevention

History
* The Maastricht Treaty of 1992, which created the European Union, introduced public health into the founding treaty.
* Current and 4th health programme is the EU4hralth programme

Synergies with other policy areas
* The ‘Farm to Fork’ Strategy will contribute to the production of not only sustainable, but also healthier food
* the Zero Pollution Action Plan will create a cleaner and healthier living space; (including 30% target of reduciton of noise pollution)
* the EU4Health Programme (2021-2027), together with other funds and programmes, will help to address health issues from different viewpoint
* Mitigating the impact of climate change also includes tackling the health problems brought, or exacerbated, by climate change, such as the increasing number of deaths due to heatwaves and natural disasters, and changing patterns of infection for water-borne diseases and diseases transmitted by insects, snails or other cold-blooded animals.

Disease prevention and healh promotion
* Parliament, therefore, set up a dedicated Special Committee on Beating Cancer (BECA) (2020-2022), and the Commission presented its Europe’s beating cancer plan in 2021, covering prevention, early diagnosis, treatment and follow-up.
* Mental health:
* In December 2020, the Council approved the new 2021-2025 EU Drugs Strategy. The document establishes an overarching political framework and sets out strategic priorities for EU policy on illicit drugs under three main strands: drug supply reduction, drug demand reduction and addressing drug-related harm

Societal changes, demographic transition
* In 2020, the WHO launched the Decade of Healthy Ageing, and in this context, the Commission published a green paper on ageing in January 2021.
* In 2020, the Commission put forward the European Agenda for Migration and the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, which aim to further streamline European policies in this area.
* ack in 2015, Parliament called for action to reduce childhood inequalities in areas such as health, and for the introduction of a Child Guarantee in the context of an EU plan to combat child poverty. In June 2021, the Commission’s proposal for establishing a European Child Guarantee was adopted by the Council. As a next step, Member States are developing national plans outlining how they will implement the Child Guarantee until 2030.

Medicines
* The new clinical trials regulation of 2014 became applicable in early 2022. In the field of medical devices and in-vitro diagnostic devices, two new regulations took effect in 2021 and 2022.
* Access to affordable medicines and the tackling of medicine shortages will feature on the political agenda in the coming years, including in the light of Brexit.
* The Commission presented its Pharmaceutical Package in April 2023, aiming to make medicines more available, accessible and affordable. At the same time it proposed a Council Recommendation to step up the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

ehealth
* The digitalisation of the healthcare sector forms part of the EU’s digital single market strategy and has enormous potential; to make it work, several measures are being prepared.
* A legislative proposal for a European health data space was presented in May 2022.
* A new regulation to strengthen EU-level cooperation among Member States for assessing health technologies was adopted in December 2021. HTA assesses the added value of new or existing health technologies compared with oher health technologies

Question 24

Food safety

Answer 24

• Following the precautionary principle, the EU has set up a strict legal framework for the cultivation or commercialisation of GMOs that are used in food or feed
• Before any GMO can be put on the market, EFSA, together with the Member States’ scientific bodies, carries out a scientific risk assessment to exclude any danger to either human or animal health and the environment.
• Member States are allowed to restrict or ban the cultivation of crops containing GMOs on their own territory, even if this is allowed at EU level.