Intro To EU Law Week 2

Question 1

Sources of EU Law Hierarchy

Answer 1

1. Primary Law
2. General Principles of Law
3. International Agreements ratified by the EU
4. Secondary law (regulations, directives, decisions)
5. Soft law (vs. hard law)

Question 2

Name of the sources of EU law together

Answer 2

Acquis Communautaire

Question 3

Primary EU Law

Answer 3

• ECSC
• EEC Treaty
• EAEC
• Merger Treaty
• Single European Act
• TEU (Maastricht Treaty)
• Treaty of Amsterdam
• TEU and TEC, Treaty of Nice
• Treaty of Lisbon + Charter of the fundamental rights of the EU

Question 4

Treaty on the European Union (TEU) - Lisbon treaty -

Answer 4

Common provisions; democratic principles; EU Institutions; enhanced cooperation; EU’s external actions

Question 5

Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU) - Lisbon treaty-

Answer 5

Provisions on the principles on which the EU relies, and the EU policies

Question 6

Protocols are binding/non-binding - Lisbon Treaty-

Answer 6

binding

Question 7

Declarations are binding/non-binding -Lisbon Treaty-

Answer 7

non-binding

Question 8

Charter of the Fundamental Rights of the EU: Art. 6(1) TEU

Answer 8

The Union recognises the rights, freedoms and principles set out in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union of 7 December 2000, as adapted at Strasbourg, on 12 December 2007, which shall have the same legal value as the Treaties’)

Question 9

Lisbon Treaty Structure

Answer 9

TEU + TFEU + Protocols + Annexes + Declarations + Tables of equivalence

Question 10

Institutional law (EU)

Answer 10

concerns the structure/constitution of the EU, the main institutions, the sources of EU law, principles of EU law (supremacy of EU law, direct effect), the relationship between the institutions and world;

Question 11

Procedural ‘administrative’ law (EU)

Answer 11

concerns judicial review/control in the EU – the actions that can be taken by/against the institutions, MS, natural and legal persons under EU law;

Question 12

Substantive ‘initially economic but now much broader’ law (EU)

Answer 12

concerns all policy areas on which EU integration is agreed (internal market; agriculture; equality; etc.);

Question 13

General Principles of Law

Answer 13

Elaborated in case law of the CJEU, and inspired by common national constitutional traditions and by international human rights agreements

Question 14

CJEU on the General Principles

Answer 14

Strong power in defining the meaning of these principles, elaborating new principles, and using them as grounds for review of secondary EU law.

Question 15

EU External Action (TEU)

Answer 15

The EU: an international actor active in the international scene (= States) → conclude international agreements; participate in international organizations

Question 16

EU International Agreements

Answer 16

EU only bound → concluded when in possession of competences

Question 17

Article 218 TFEU

Answer 17

Procedure for the exercise of treaty-making powers of the EU

Question 18

Article 288 TFEU

Answer 18

List of sources of secondary legislation

• Regulations
• Directives
• Decisions
• Recommendations and opinions

Question 19

Binding Secondary law

Answer 19

Regulations, Directives and Decisions

Question 20

Non-binding Secondary law

Answer 20

Recommendations and opinions

Question 21

Which institutions are involved in proposing and adopting EU secondary law?

Answer 21

Commission + Parliament and Council

Question 22

Legislative Acts (Art. 289 TFEU)

Answer 22

‘Legal acts adopted by legislative procedure shall constitute legislative acts’

Question 23

Delegated Acts (Art. 290 TFEU)

Answer 23

‘A legislative act may delegate to the Commission the power to adopt non-legislative acts of general application to supplement or amend certain non-essential elements of the legislative act’

Question 24

Implementing Acts (Art. 291 TFEU)

Answer 24

‘Where uniform conditions for implementing legally binding Union acts are needed, those acts shall confer implementing powers on the Commission, or […] on the Council’

Question 25

Legal features of regulations (Art. 288 TFEU)

Answer 25

‘A regulation shall have general application. It shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States’.

Question 26

Regulations → Directly Applicable (Secondary law)

Answer 26

Regulations become automatically part of the legal systems of EU Member States, and normally do not require further implementation → the regulation immediately becomes generally binding law in all Member States ≠ Relationship between national law and international law

Question 27

Directives (secondary law) → Art. 288 TFEU

Answer 27

A directive shall be binding, as to the result to be achieved, upon each Member State to which it is addressed, but shall leave to the national authorities the choice of form and methods’.

Question 28

Directives binding?

Answer 28

Don’t have to be addressed by the MS

Binding as to the end to be achieved

Question 29

Direct effect of Directives?

Answer 29

No horizontal direct effect

Question 30

Legal features of decisions

Answer 30

• binding in their entirety;
• adopted for specific addressees → Decisions are individual acts that may be addressed to Member States and/or to individuals (natural or legal persons) (for instance, in cases concerning competition law and state aids)

Question 31

General applications:

Answer 31

Regulations

Question 32

Specific Addressed

Answer 32

Directives + Decisions

Question 33

Binding in its entirety

Answer 33

Regulations + Decisions

Question 34

Binding as to an end to be achieved

Answer 34

Directives

Question 35

Common Foreign and Security Policy

Answer 35

not ‘communitarized’ → distinct rules concerning legal acts

Question 36

Art. 25 TEU

Answer 36

general guidelines; and decisions (to be distinguished in actions; positions)
(Decisions of art. 288 TFEU and art. 25 TEU are not the same type of decision)

Question 37

Soft law

Answer 37

Law with no binding force

Question 38

Recommendations (soft law)

Answer 38

Art. 288 TFEU

Question 39

Opinions (soft law)

Answer 39

Art. 288 TFEU

Question 40

Resolutions (soft law)

Answer 40

European Parliament

Question 41

Other examples of soft law:

Answer 41

Declarations
Action programs and plans
Communications
Conclusions
Policy guidelines

Question 42

Soft law instruments

Answer 42

mostly adopted in the practice of the European Commission

Question 43

The CJEU delivers

Answer 43

judgments, opinions, and orders → binding

Question 44

Art. 19 para 1 TEU

Answer 44

[The CJEU] shall ensure that in the interpretation and application of the Treaties the law is observed’.

Question 45

Opinion of the CJEU binding/non-binding

Answer 45

binding