EU INSTITUTIONS – CLOE II

AUTUMN TERM, 2022-2023

COURSE COORDINATOR: PROFESSOR ROXANA - CRISTINA PETCU,

PhD

LECTURE I THE PROCESS OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION

There are several theories trying to explain the phenomenon of European

integration. In what follows we shall endeavour to propose a synthesis of these
approaches and we shall start at the very beginning, namely after the Second World
War.

THE BEGINNINGS

Just after WWII, in 1945, Winston Churchill described Europe as “a rubble heap,
a charnel house, a breeding ground for pestilence and hate”, and a year later, in 1946,
more precisely on 19 September, he delivered a famous speech in Zurich in which he
proposed a solution to remedy the situation he had described in 1945. His remedy was
“to recreate the European Family and to provide it with a structure under which it can
dwell in peace, in safety, in freedom, a kind of United States of Europe”.
The idea of an integrated Europe was not new, it was not Churchill who
mentioned it for the first time. As early as the 1920s, federalists like Coudenhove-
Kalergi perceived that European nations, which had just devastated each other in a
nonsensical war (WWI), were a natural entity that could become a significant global
force, if only they could succeed in having a federalist constitution. Richard
Coudenhove-Kalergi was the second son of Heinrich Coudenhove-Kalergi (1859-
1906), an Austro-Hungarian count and diplomat of mixed European origin, and
Mitsuko Aoyama (1874-1941), a Japanese descendant of a samurai family.
Coudenhove-Kalergi is recognized as the founder of the first popular movement for
a united Europe. His original plan was to divide the world into five groups of states: a
United States of Europe that would link continental countries with French possessions
in Africa; a Pan-American Union encompassing North and South Americas; the
British Commonwealth circling the globe; the USSR spanning Eurasia; and a Pan-
Asian Union whereby Japan and China would control most of the Pacific. The only
hope for a Europe devastated by war was to federate along lines that the Hungarian-
born Romanian Aurel Popovici (the United States of Greater Austria) and others had
proposed for Austria-Hungary. According to Coudenhove-Kalergi Pan-Europe
would encompass and extend a more flexible and more competitive Austria-Hungary,
with English serving as world language, spoken by everyone in addition to his native
tongue. He predicted that individualism and socialism would learn to cooperate
instead of compete, and urged that capitalism and communism cross-fertilize each
other just as the Protestant Reformation had spurred the Catholic church to regenerate
itself. In November 1946 and the spring of 1947, Coudenhove-Kalergi circulated an
enquiry addressed to members of European parliaments. This enquiry resulted in the
founding of the European Parliamentary Union (EPU), a nominally private
organization that held its preliminary conference on 4-5 July at Gstaad, Switzerland,
and followed it with its first full conference from 8 to 12 September. Speaking at the
first EPU conference, Coudenhove-Kalergi argued that the constitution of a wide
market with a stable currency was the vehicle for Europe to reconstruct its potential
and take the place it deserves within the concert of Nations. After the second
catastrophic war for the supremacy of one European nation over the others, Altiero
Spinelli expressed the view that the national states had lost their raison d’être, since
they could no longer guarantee the political and economic safety of their citizens and
should give way to a federation he called the EUROPEAN UNION. Altiero Spinelli
(31 August 1907 — 23 May 1986) was an Italian political theorist and a European
Federalist. Altiero Spinelli is referred to as one of the "Founding Fathers of the
European Union" due to his co-authorship of the Ventotene Manifesto, his founding
role in the European federalist movement, his strong influence on the first few
decades of post-World War II European integration and, later, his role in re-launching
the integration process in the 1980s. Spinelli was born in Rome, and joined the Italian
Communist Party (PCI) at an early age in order to oppose the regime of Benito
Mussolini's National Fascist Party. Following his entry into radical journalism, he was
arrested in 1927 and spent ten years in prison and a further six in confinement. During
the war he was interned on the island of Ventotene (in the Gulf of Gaeta) along with
some eight hundred political opponents of the regime. During those years, he broke
with the Italian Communist Party over Stalin's purges, but refused to compromise
with the fascist regime, despite offers of early release. In June 1941, well before the
outcome of the war was safely predictable, Spinelli and fellow prisoner Ernesto Rossi
completed the Ventotene Manifesto, entitled "Towards a Free and United
Europe", which argued that, if the fight against the fascist powers was successful,
it would be in vain if it merely led to the re-establishment of the old European
system of sovereign nation-states in shifting alliances. This would inevitably lead
to war again. The document called for the establishment of a European
federation by the democratic powers after the war. Because of a need for secrecy
and a lack of proper materials at the time, the Manifesto was written on cigarette
papers, concealed in the false bottom of a tin box and smuggled to the mainland. It
was then circulated through the h Italian Resistance, and was later adopted as the
programme of the Movimento Federalista Europeo,which Spinelli, Rossi and some 20
others established, as soon as they were able to leave their internment camp. The
founding meeting was held in clandestinity in Milan on the 27/28 August 1943.The
Manifesto was widely circulated in other resistance movements towards the end of the
war. Resistance leaders from several countries met clandestinely in Geneva in 1944, a
meeting attended by Spinelli. The Manifesto put forward proposals for creating a
European federation of states, the primary aim of which was to tie European countries
so closely together that they would no longer be able to go to war with one another.
As in many European left-wing political circles, this sort of move towards federalist
ideas was argued as a reaction to the destructive excesses of nationalism. The
ideological underpinnings for a united Europe can thus be traced to the hostility of
nationalism: "If a post war order is established in which each State retains its
complete national sovereignty, the basis for a Third World War would still exist even
after the Nazi attempt to establish the domination of the German race in Europe has
been frustrated" (founding meeting of the MFE). The problem was that federalists had
bright vision of Europe, but had not found the means to reach it.
There were several other groups of theorists, such as the functionalists and the
transactionalists, but they put forth rather idealized images of Europe, unrelated to the
concrete levels of existence.
One important figure, to be mentioned here is Jean Monnet. He inspired the
famous declaration made by Robert Schuman on 9 May 1950, when he stated
that “Europe will be built through concrete achievements which create a de facto
solidarity”. Jean Monnet was a French politician, instrumental in the creation of
the European Community. In 1943, he stated that "There will be no peace in Europe,
if the states are reconstituted on the basis of national sovereignty ... The
countries of Europe are too small to guarantee their peoples the necessary
prosperity and social development. The European states must constitute
themselves into a federation ..." .Together with the neofunctionalists, he shared the
view that integration is a process where the constructive functions of the main actors,
the common institutions, would induce positive reactions of the economic and
political elites, influence the behaviour of other societal groups and bring together the
citizens of the different nations. This meant that economic integration would
gradually build solidarity among participating nations and would in turn create the
need for further supranational institutions. This is the “spillover effect” defined as:
“a situation in which a given action, related to a specific goal, creates a situation
in which the original goal can be assured only by taking further actions, which in
turn create a further condition and a need for more action and so forth”.

THE MULTINATIONAL INTEGRATION PROCESS

In fact, integrated Europe is the result of a process of multinational integration.

It is a process which may be defined as follows: the voluntary establishment, by
treaty, concluded between independent states, of common institutions and the
gradual development by these states of common policies pursuing common goals
and serving common interests. The gradual development of common policies
implies that multinational integration is a constantly evolving process without a
clearly defined end. Since the process is voluntary, it means that states may join at
any point, following the criteria and procedures established by the group, or they may
leave it, if they consider that the common policies developed or envisaged by the
group, according to the majority definition of common interest, do not coincide any
more with their national interests. The primary goal of multinational integration is the
achievement of peace and security among the member states as well as between
them and the rest of the world. But such a multinational integration scheme is built
gradually by means of a large number of common policies, which cement common
interests and create real solidarity among member states. As Jean Monnet, the
intellectual father of European integration, put it, “union between individuals or
communities is not natural; it can only be the result of an intellectual process,
having as a starting point the observation of the need for change. Its driving
force must be the common interests between individuals or communities”.

COMMON POLICIES

In EU usage, “common policies” are the ones that take the place of the
essential elements of national policies (more precisely, agriculture, fisheries and
foreign trade). “Common policies” support and supplement national policies. Such
policies start out as mere objectives set in general terms by the Treaties or the
institutions and are gradually built up by common or Community legal acts. In fact,
the Treaty establishing the European Community clearly declares in its Article 2 that
“the Community shall have as its task, by establishing a common market and an
economic and monetary union and by implementing common policies and
activities referred to in Articles 3 and 4, to promote throughout the Community
a harmonious, balanced and sustainable development of economic activities”.
What is important to underline is the fact that Articles 3 and 4 of the Treaty serve as
the legal bases for common policies in a great number of sectors or for common
measures in some other fields. The distinction between common policies and
common measures is rather quantitative than qualitative.

Common policies are developed gradually by the actors of the process and they
foster political and economic integration of the participating states. Such policies
build a new concept and context of political economy which affects the actions of
political leaders and the activities of businessmen of the member states in the sense of
multinational integration. Hence, a common policy is defined as a set of decisions,
measures, rules and codes of conduct adopted by the common institutions set up
by a group of states and implemented by the common institutions and the
member states. Common policies have to be implemented by all the participants
and must be monitored by supranational executive and judiciary authorities. In
other words, by adopting a common policy, the participants agree to transfer
some of their sovereign powers to common supranational institutions. In fact, that
transfer of sovereign rights in the framework of common policies is the main
drawback but also the fundamental characteristic of multinational integration. It
explains why common policies are difficult to adopt, but also why, once adopted, they
are binding elements of the multinational structure.

There are 4 main types of common policies:

 Fundamental common policies – common policies whose basic objectives

are inscribed n the Treaty itself and are agreed by both governments and the
parliaments of the Member States
 Secondary common policies – are defined by the common legislative
bodies within the framework of the fundamental common policies and in
accordance with the Community decision-making process
 Horizontal common policies – both types of policies above can be
horizontal, when they affect the overall conditions of the economies and
societies of the Member States (social, competition, environment protection)
 Sectoral common policies – concern certain sectors of the economies of the
Member States (industry, energy, transports, agriculture, fisheries)

Common policies materialize when the common institutions clearly identify

the common need they address, the common goal they pursue and the common
interest they serve. It means that Member States must be ready to accept
compromises so as to reach solutions acceptable to all. Common policies may
develop in two senses:

 in the sense of their legal evolution, which is required to keep up with the
economic and technical progress in the subject mater that they cover
 in the sense of the expansion of their field, which may happen to cover needs
not formerly attended to in the formulation of the policy or new needs, either
encountered during the implementation of the measures initially adopted or
created by the geopolitical environment of the moment.
 BIRTH AND GROWTH OF THE COMMUNITY

On 9 May 1950, Robert Schuman (French Prime Minister and Foreign

Minister) delivered a Declaration in which he proposed the creation of a common
market in two important sectors which had, until then, been used for military
purposes, namely the steel and coal sectors. The idea was to integrate Germany
economically and politically into a European Coal and Steel Community with
France and other willing countries. He also advocated the transfer of some
sovereignty held by the States to an independent High Authority supposed to
exercise the powers previously held by the States in those sectors and the decisions of
which would be binding to these States. Coal and steel were not chosen at random,
as, in the early 1950s those were the basic sectors of a country’s industrial and
military power. It was a way to pool together France’s and Germany’s resources and
also to mark their reconciliation. In fact, Robert Schuman envisaged the creation of a
common market for all products, on a scale comparable to that of the USA. The
French Foreign Minister addressed that appeal to all European countries, but only 5
gave a favorable reply – Germany, Italy, Belgium, The Netherlands and
Luxembourg, besides France, obviously. So only six States signed the Treaty
establishing the European Coal and Steel Communities (ECSC). (CECO) in Paris on
18 April 1951. The ECSC Treaty entered into force on 23 July 1952, thus marking the
birth of the “little Europe of Six”.

Moreover, the six founding States of the ECSC wanted to integrate their armies,
as well, therefore, on 27 May 1952, in Paris, they signed the Treaty instituting the
European Defense Community which aimed at the creation of a supranational army,
placed, however, under the supreme command of NATO. Nevertheless, the EDC
project was rejected in 1954 by the French parliament.

What is important to mention is the fact that the functioning of the common
market in coal and steel showed that economic integration was possible and that it
could be extended to all economic sectors. Negotiations started, conducted by the
Belgian Foreign Minister, Paul Henri Spaak, and, on 25 March 1957, the Six were
able to sign, on Capitol Hill in Rome, the Treaties establishing the two new
Communities, namely the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) and the
European Economic Community (EEC). These two Treaties entered into force on 1
January 1958 and are known as the Treaties of Rome or the Treaty of Rome or the
EEC Treaty. 1957 is the year which marks the birth of the European Community
which was to become the European Union.

Various other countries were attracted by the successes of the Community and
decided to join it, so there have been several enlargement waves, as follows:

1. 22 January 1972 – the Accession Treaties of the UK, Ireland and Denmark
were signed (much opposition from Charles de Gaulle, resignation,
negotiations). They took effect on 1 January 1973
2. 1 January 1981 – Greece (accession application submitted in 1975 after
democracy was restored in this country)
3. 1 January 1986 – Spain and Portugal (accession applications submitted in
1977)
4. 1 January 1995 – Austria, Finland, Sweden
 5. 1 May 2004 – Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia,
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Cyprus, Malta
6. 1 January 2007 – Bulgaria and Romania
7. 1 July 2013 - Croatia

European enlargement can be defined as the process of expanding the European

Union (EU) through the accession of new member states, a process which began with
the first six founding members, the so-called Inner Six, which founded the European
Economic Community (the EU's predecessor)

The enlargement process is still ongoing. Iceland had started accession

negotiations, but it withdrew its candidacy. In 2004 the EU accepted to start accession
negotiations with Turkey as well, but this is a process that will probably last much
longer. It is currently on hold for a variety of reasons.

LECTURE II THE TREATIES

The Treaties are the primary source of European law and the legal basis of the
common policies. They are instruments of progress of the European integration.

1. THE TREATY OF PARIS

 Signed in Paris, on 15 April 1951, by France, Italy, Germany, Belgium,
Luxembourg, the Netherlands
 Established the European Coal and Steel Community
 Its main objective was

- to eliminate the various barriers to trade

- to create a common market in which coal and steel products from the
Member States could move freely in order to meet the need of all
Community inhabitants, without discrimination on grounds of
nationality
- capital and workers in both sectors should circulate freely

These rules were to be implemented by Community institutions which would

exercise the powers previously held by the states in those sectors and whose decisions
were to be binding on all Member States:

- a High Authority
- a special Council of Ministers
- a Common or European Assembly
- a European Court of Justice

The ECSC was the first international organization to be based on supranational

principles and was, through the establishment of a common market for coal and steel,
intended to expand the economies, increase employment, and raise the standard of
living within the Community. The market was also intended to progressively
rationalize the distribution of high level production whilst ensuring stability and
employment. The common market for coal was opened on 10 February 1953, and for
steel on 1 May 1953. On 11 August 1952, the United States was the first country
(aside from ECSC members) to recognize the Community and stated it would now
deal with the ECSC on coal and steel matters, establishing its delegation in Brussels.
President Monnet responded by choosing Washington D.C. as the site of the ECSC's
first external presence. The headline of the delegation's first bulletin read "Towards a
Federal Government of Europe".

The Treaty of Paris was frequently amended as the EC and EU evolved and
expanded. With the treaty due to expire in 2002, debate began at the beginning of the
1990s on what to do with it. It was eventually decided that it should be left to expire.
The areas covered by the ECSC's treaty were transferred to the Treaty of Rome and
the financial loose ends and the ECSC research fund were dealt with via a protocol of
the Treaty of Nice. The treaty finally expired on 23 July 2002. That day, the ECSC
flag was lowered for the final time outside the European Commission and replaced
with the EU flag.

Institutions

Besides the 4 institutions mentioned already, a Consultative Committee was

established alongside the High Authority, as a fifth institution representing civil
society. This was the first international representation of consumers in history. These
institutions were merged in 1967 with those of the European Community, except for
the Committee which continued to be independent until the expiration of the Treaty of
Paris in 2002. The Treaty stated that the location of the institutions would be decided
by common accord of the members, yet the issue was hotly contested. As a temporary
compromise, the institutions were provisionally located in the City of Luxembourg,
despite the Assembly being based in Strasbourg.

 The High Authority - (the predecessor to the European Commission) was

nine-member executive body which governed the community. France,
Germany and Italy appointed two members each to the Authority and the three
smaller members appointed one each. These eight members then themselves
appointed a ninth person to be President of the High Authority. Despite being
appointed by agreement of national governments acting together, the members
were to pledge not to represent their national interest, but rather took a oath to
defend the general interests of the Community as a whole. Their independence
was aided by members being barred from having any occupation outside the
Authority or having any business interests (paid or unpaid) and for three years
after they left office. To further ensure impartiality, one third of the
membership was to be renewed every two years. (article 10).The Authority's
principle innovation was its supranational character. It had a broad area of
competence to ensure the objectives of the treaty were met and that the
common market functioned smoothly. The High Authority could issue three
types of legal instruments: Decisions, which were entirely binding laws;
Recommendations, which had binding aims but the methods were left to
member states; and Opinions, which had no legal force.
 The Common Assembly (which later became the European Parliament)
was composed of 78 representatives and exercised supervisory powers over
the executive High Authority. The Common Assembly representatives were to
be national MPs delegated each year by their Parliaments to the Assembly, or
directly elected 'by universal suffrage' (article 21), but there were no actual
elections until 1979. However, to emphasize that the chamber was not a
 traditional international organization composed of representatives of national
governments, the Treaty of Paris used the term "representatives of the
peoples". The Assembly was not originally specified in the Schuman Plan
because it was hoped the Community would use the institutions (Assembly,
Court) of the Council of Europe. When this became impossible because of
British objections, separate institutions had to be created. The Assembly was
intended as a democratic counter-weight and check to the High Authority, to
advise but also to have power to sack the Authority for incompetence,
injustice, corruption or fraud. The first President (akin to a Speaker) was
Paul-Henri Spaak.
 The Special Council of Ministers (equivalent to the current Council of the
European Union) was composed of representatives of national governments.
The Presidency was held by each state for a period of three months, rotating
between them in alphabetical order. One of its key aspects was the
harmonization of the work of the High Authority and that of national
governments, which were still responsible for the state's general economic
policies. The Council was also required to issue opinions on certain areas of
work of the High Authority.
 The Court of Justice was to ensure the observation of ECSC law along with
the interpretation and application of the Treaty. The Court was composed of
seven judges, appointed by common accord of the national governments for
six years. There were no requirements that the judges had to be of a certain
nationality, simply that they be qualified and that their independence be
beyond doubt. The Court was assisted by two Advocates General.
 The Consultative Committee (similar to the Economic and Social
Committee) had between 30 and 50 members equally divided between
producers, workers, consumers and dealers in the coal and steel sector. Again,
there were no national quotas and the treaty required representatives of
European associations to organize their own democratic procedures. They
were to establish rules to make their membership fully 'representative' for
democratic organized civil society. Members were appointed for two years
and were not bound by any mandate or instruction of the organizations which
appointed them. The Committee had a plenary assembly, bureau and a
president. Again, the required democratic procedures were not introduced and
nomination of these members remained in the hands of national ministers. The
High Authority was obliged to consult the Committee in certain cases where it
was appropriate and to keep it informed. The Consultative Committee
remained separate (despite the merger of the other institutions) until 2002,
when the Treaty expired and its duties were taken over by the Economic and
Social Committee (ESC).

Achievements

Its mission (article 2) was general: to 'contribute to the expansion of the economy,
the development of employment and the improvement of the standard of living' of its
citizens. Among the ECSC's greatest achievements are those on welfare issues. Some
mines, for example were clearly unsustainable without government subsidies. Some
miners had extremely poor housing. Over 15 years it financed 112,500 flats for
workers, paying US$1,770 per flat, enabling workers to buy a home they could not
have otherwise afforded. The ECSC also paid half the occupational redeployment
costs of those workers who have lost their jobs as coal and steel facilities began to
close down. Combined with regional redevelopment aid the ECSC spent $150 million
creating 100,000 jobs, a third of which were for unemployed coal and steel workers.
Far more important than creating Europe's first social and regional policy, it is argued
that the ECSC introduced European peace. It involved the continent's first European
tax. This was a flat tax, a levy on production with a maximum rate of one percent.

2. THE TREATIES OF ROME

Six years after the Treaty of Paris, (25 March 1957), the Treaties of Rome were
signed by the six ECSC members, creating the European Economic Community (EEC)
and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or 'Euratom'). The signatories
of the historic agreement were Christian Pineau on behalf of France, Joseph Luns
from the Netherlands, Paul Henri Spaak from Belgium, Joseph Bech from
Luxemburg, Antonio Segni from Italy and Konrad Adenauer from the Federal
Republic of Germany. The Treaties were ratified by National Parliaments over the
following months and came into force on 1st January 1958.These Communities were
based, with some adjustments, on the ECSC. The Treaties of Rome were to be in
force indefinitely, unlike the Treaty of Paris which was to expire after fifty years.
These two new Communities worked on the creation of a customs union and nuclear
power community. The Rome treaties and the EEC became the most important tool
for political unification, overshadowing the ECSC. Despite being separate legal
entities, the ECSC, EEC and Euratom initially shared the Common Assembly and the
European Court of Justice, although the Councils and the High
Authority/Commissions remained separate. To avoid duplication, the Merger Treaty
merged these separate bodies of the ECSC and Euratom with the EEC. The EEC later
became one of the three pillars of the present day European Union. The Treaty
establishing the EEC affirmed in its preamble that signatory States were "determined
to lay the foundations of an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe". In this
way, the member States specifically affirmed the political objective of a progressive
political integration.

The establishment of a customs union

In fact, the brand new institution was a customs union. The EEC Treaty
abolishes quotas and customs duties between the Member States. It establishes a
common external tariff, a sort of external frontier for Member States' products,
replacing the preceding tariffs of the different states. This customs union is
accompanied by a common trade policy. This policy, managed at Community level
and no longer at state level, totally dissociates the customs union from a mere free-
trade association. The effects of dismantling customs barriers and eliminating
quantitative restrictions to trade during the transitional period were very positive,
allowing intra-Community trade and trade between the EEC and third countries to
develop rapidly. As a consequence, the EEC was colloquially known as "Common
Market". The member countries agreed to dismantle all tariff barriers over a 12-year
transitional period. In view of the economic success that freer commercial exchanges
brought about, the transitory term was shortened and in July 1968 all tariffs among
the EEC States were abrogated. At the same time, a common tariff was established for
all products coming from third countries.
 The establishment of a common market

Article 2 of the EEC Treaty specifies that "The Community shall have as its task,
by establishing a common market and progressively approximating the economic
policies of member states, to promote throughout the community a harmonious
development of economic activities, a continuous and balanced expansion, an increase
in stability, an accelerated raising of the standard of living and closer relations
between the states belonging to it".This common market is founded on the famous
"four freedoms", namely the free movement of persons, services, goods and capital. It
creates a single economic area establishing free competition between undertakings. It
lays the basis for approximating the conditions governing trade in products and
services over and above those already covered by the other treaties (ECSC and
Euratom).Article 8 of the EEC Treaty states that the Common Market will be
progressively established during a transitional period of 12 years, divided into three
stages of four years each. To each stage there is assigned a set of actions to be
initiated and carried through concurrently. Subject to the exceptions and procedures
provided for in the Treaty, the expiry of the transitional period constitutes the latest
date by which all the rules laid down must enter into force. The market being based
on the principle of free competition, the Treaty prohibits restrictive agreements and
state aids (except for the derogations provided for in the Treaty which can affect trade
between Member States and whose objective is to prevent, restrict or distort
competition. Finally, the overseas countries and territories are associated with the
Common Market and the customs union with a view to fostering trade and promoting
jointly economic and social development. As a matter of fact, the common market
meant exclusively free circulation of goods. Free movement of persons, capitals and
services continued to be subject to numerous limitations. It was necessary to wait until
the Single European Act, in 1987, when a definitive boost was given to establish a
genuine unified market. This brought about the European Union Treaty in 1992.

The development of common policies

Certain policies are formally enshrined in the Treaty, such as the common
agricultural policy (Articles 38 to 47), common trade policy (Articles 110 to 116)
and transport policy (Articles 74 to 84).Others may be launched depending on needs,
as specified in Article 235, which stipulates that: "If action by the Community should
prove necessary to attain, in the course of the operation of the common market, one of
the objectives of the Community and this Treaty has not provided the necessary
powers, the Council shall, acting unanimously on a proposal from the Commission
and after consulting the Assembly, take the appropriate measures." After the Paris
Summit of October 1972, recourse to this Article enabled the Community to develop
actions in the field of environmental, regional, social and industrial policy. The
development of these policies was accompanied by the creation of a European Social
Fund whose aim is to improve job opportunities for workers and to raise their
standard of living as well as to establish a European Investment Bank in order to
facilitate the Community's economic expansion by creating new resources.

Essentially, the CAP enacted a free market of agricultural products inside the
EEC and established protectionist policies that guaranteed sufficient revenues to
European farmers, avoiding competition from third countries' products by
guaranteeing agricultural prices. With the aim of financing the CAP, the European
Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) was established in 1962. The
CAP has continued absorbing most of the community budget, and its reform has been
one of the most badly needed in recent years.

The Treaty of Rome also established the prohibition of monopolies, some

transport common policies, and the grant of some commercial privileges to the
colonial territories of the member States. The Treaty of Rome signified the triumph of
a very realistic and gradualist approach to building the EU. The EEC from its birth
was based on a series of institutions: the European Commission, the European
Assembly, later known as European Parliament, the Court of Justice and the
Economic and Social Committee, whose competences were enlarged and modified
in the diverse agreements and treaties that succeeded the Treaty of Rome. The Treaty
that instituted the EURATOM tried to create the conditions for developing a strong
nuclear industry. It was much less important than the treaty that brought into existence
the EEC and, in fact, when people speak about the treaties of Rome refer, incorrectly,
to the one which established the EEC.

3. THE SINGLE EUROPEAN ACT

The Single European Act was signed at Luxembourg on 17 February 1986, and at
The Hague on 28 February 1986. It came into effect on 1 July 1987, under the Delors
Commission. The Single European Act committed the Community to adopt measures
with the aim of progressively establishing the internal market over a period expiring
on 31 December 1992. At the same time it consecrated the European Council,
European cooperation on foreign policy and social and economic cohesion between
member States. Lastly, it served as a legal base for numerous common policies,
notably, social, environmental, research and technology.

Major provisions of the Single European Act

 Added six new policy areas to European Community competence – single

market, monetary co-operation, social policy, cohesion (between richer and
poorer regions), research and development, environmental standards
 Extended European Parliament powers – the Council of Ministers could
overrule the EP veto in most policy areas pertaining to the single market only
by a unanimous vote
 Introduced qualified majority vote (QMV) in the Council, ending the national
veto in most areas pertaining to the single market
 Gave formal standing to the European Council, by which the heads of state
and government of the member states meet to discuss and determine policy
 Declared that the single internal EC market would by completed by 31
December 1992 and all remaining barriers to intra-Community trade removed

4. THE MAASTRICHT TREATY

The Treaty of Maastricht was signed on 7 February 1992 and was in fact made up
of two separate but interrelated Treaties: the Treaty on the European Union (TEU)
and the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC).
The Treaty of Maastricht did 4 things which were of transforming significance for
the integrationist project:
 1. it extended the competence of the Community’s institutions into new areas
2. it established new and far reaching objectives which were openly integrationist
in character
3. it aimed to create a single currency. Wrote a timetable for its introduction and
set out the rules by which member states would qualify for admission and by
which the currency would be governed (EMU)
4. it created a new structure, namely the 3 pillars.

The two treaties separated the European construction into three pillars,
distinguished mainly on the basis of the decision-making process:

1. The main pillar is the European Community and where the common work of
the participants is regulated by the TEC and where the Community prevails
2. the pillar of justice and home affairs
3. the pillar of the common foreign and security policy (CFSP)

The first of three pillars, the European Community, is much more important for
the building of the EU than the other two. The Community itself is an internal
market without barriers to trade, which includes a simple customs union in which
independent nations agree not to put tariffs on each others’ goods. That is why each
member state is entitled to ask the others whether those goods circulating freely are
produced and traded under conditions which ensure fair competition. Moreover, the
internal market is more than a simple customs union, because it does not simply
guarantee the free movements of goods, but what we call the four freedoms – free
movements of goods, free movements of capital, free movements of services and free
movement of labour.
Pillars 2 and 3 were new pillars the construction of which was based on
intergovernmental cooperation. Foreign policy and criminal law are matters
traditionally regarded as fundamental to sovereignty, or the right and ability of an
independent state to govern its affairs and those of the inhabitants of it territory. That
is why the TEU required unanimity for decision-making, and, hence, any Member
State could veto a common action. Common Foreign and Security Policy as well as
Justice and Home Affairs cannot be used as a basis for Directives and Regulations,
they are conducted by the national governments through the Council of Ministers and
the European Council and give no formal powers to the supranational institutions (the
Commission, the EP and the European Court of Justice).

Major provisions of the Maastricht Treaty (TEU)

 establishment of the EU with a 3-pillar structure

 establishment of a timetable and conditions for economic and monetary union,
including a single currency
 establishment of the European Union citizenship
 further extension of EC competence to education and culture, transeuropean
networks, environmental policy, industrial policy, research and development
 agreement between 11 MS (excluding the UK) on Social Chapter
 further extension of powers of the EP
 establishment of the Cohesion fund
 ECJ was given the power to levy fines on MS
  The principle of subsidiarity was written in the Treaty
 As part of JHA, the power of the EC to deal with matters such as asylum
policy and policing

5. THE TREATY OF AMSTERDAM

The Treaty was signed on 17 June 1997 and marked some progress in several
policy areas, without bringing fundamental changes. The Treaty of Amsterdam was
an attempt to create an institutional structure, together with the appropriate policy
goals and the instruments to achieve them, capable of enabling the EU to deal with a
globalizing economy, the threats of terrorism, international crime and drug trafficking,
and threats to the environment and public health.

Major provisions of the Amsterdam Treaty

1. Extension of the Qualified Majority Vote

 Extends QMV to the following fields – employment guidelines and

incentive measures; social exclusion; free movement of persons (after
5 years)
 Special treatment for foreign nationals; public health, equal
opportunities and equal treatment for men and women; research
development; countering fraud; customs cooperation; statistics; data
protection; peripheral regions

2. Institutional Changes

 Limits the no of members of the EP to 700, however big the EU may grow
 Nomination of the Commission President by MS must be approved by the
EP; the Members of the Commission are to be nominated by common
accord between the governments and the President of the Commission; the
President of the Commission defines the Commission’s general political
guidelines
 ECJ gets direct responsibility for ensuring that human rights are respected
and its jurisdiction is extended to migration, asylum, visas and the
crossing of borders, as well as police, judicial and criminal matters
 The EC Court of Auditors is given new investigative powers

3. Development of CFSP

 Provides for greater cooperation between MSs in pursuit of CFSP

 Empowers the EU to carry out humanitarian aid and peacekeeping tasks,
to devise common strategies, general foreign policy guidelines, joint
actions and common positions
 The EU is to be represented by a group called the troika consisting of the
Presidency of the Council, the Commission and the Secretary General of
the Council, who will act as the EU’s “High Representatives for the
CFSP”.
 4. Social Questions and Civil Rights

 Empowers the Council to take appropriate action to combat discrimination

based on sex, racial or ethic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or
sexual orientation
 Provides for permanent or regular collaboration on employment and
unemployment
 Protects individuals from the processing or personal data and the free
movement of such information by institutions and administrations that
handle it

5. Internal Security

 Provides for closer cooperation between police forces and customs

authorities and directly with Europol, the European police network
 Establishes a legal requirements to have closer cooperation between MS’
police and judicial authorities to combat and prevent racism, xenophobia,
terrorism, organized crime, trafficking of persons and offence against
children, drug trafficking, corruption and fraud
 Establishes in principle a common minimum standard for rules and
penalties for organized crime, terrorism and drug trafficking.

6. Inward Migration

 Incorporates the Schengen Agreement into the Treaty

 Provides for the removal of all control on people crossing internal
borders, whether EU citizens or nationals of non-member states
 Establishes common procedures and conditions for the issue of visas by
MS and defines the terms on which nationals of non-member states shall
in principle be free to travel within the EU for 3 months
 Defines minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers in MS
and for classifying nationals of non-member countries as refugees
 Lays down the terms of entry and residence of immigrants in the EU,
and standards for procedures for the issue of long-term visas and
residence permits by MS, standards for dealing with illegal
immigration and illegal residence and the repatriation of illegal
residents.

7. The Environment, Public Health and Consumer protection

 Stipulates that a high level of human health protection must be assured in

the definition and implementation of all Community policies and activities
 Provides for a high level of consumer protection

6. THE TREATY OF NICE

The Treaty was signed on 26 February 2001, aiming to prepare the institutions of
the European Community to function with the representatives of the new MS. This
treaty was concerned with mainly 4 areas – (i) the replacement of the unanimity by
qualified majority in the decision-making procedures; (ii) the enhanced cooperation of
some MS; (iii) the weighing of votes in the Council and (iv) the size and composition
of the Commission. The Treaty came into force on 1 February 2003, after having been
first rejected by Ireland in a referendum (12 October 2002).

Major provisions of the Treaty of Nice

1. new protocol on enlargement adopted

2. QMV extended to new areas, such as:

 Certain high-level appointments, including the President of the

Commission and the High Representatives for the CFSP
 Certain aspects of the making of international agreements
 Actions taken in support of anti-discrimination measures adopted by
the MS
 Certain actions enabling citizens to take advantage of the freedom of
movement
 Most measures related to visas, asylum and immigration
 Granting of emergency financial assistance to MS
 Most industrial policy measures
 Financial and technical cooperation agreements with third countries
(does not apply to association agreements and pre-accession measures)

3. formalized the “Enhanced Cooperation”:

a) groups of at least 8 MS may make agreements among themselves which enable

them to go further in particular policy areas than the rest are prepared to do,
provided such agreements:

 further the objectives of the EU and reinforce integration

 respect the treaties and the single institutional framework of the EU
 respect existing EU law
 respect existing competences
 do not undermine market or economic and social cohesion
 respect the competences, rights and obligations of non-participating
MS
 are in principle open to all MS
 are used only as a last resort

b) established a new cooperation body, Eurojust

c) establish a clear procedure for amending the fundamental aims of the EU, in
consultation with the
European Central Bank and by unanimous vote at Council
d) the Commission President is given more power to manage the Commission
and to force the resignation of an individual Commissioner. Since 2005, the
Commission has 1 Commissioner per MS until membership reaches 27. After that,
membership is to be established at a fixed number, and according to a system of
national rotation, to be determined by unanimous vote at Council
e) fixes the maximum number of MEPs at 732 (revised to 750)
 f) established a Social Protection Committee
g) defines a procedure for setting up political parties at European level
h) some European Council meetings (which had always taken place in the
country holding the Presidency) to be held in Brussels, and, from the
accession of the 18th MS all European Council meetings are to be held in
Brussels.

7.THE EUROPEAN CONSTITUTION

The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE), commonly referred to

as the European Constitution, was created as a constitution for the European Union.
It would have replaced the existing Treaties of the European Union with a single text,
given limited legal force to the Charter of Fundamental Rights (which was
incorporated into the Constitution), and expanded Qualified Majority Voting into
policy areas which had previously been decided by unanimity among member states.

It was signed in 2004 by representatives of the then 25 member states of the

European Union and needed to be ratified by all member states to enter into force. 13
member states completed the ratification procedure, but the rejection of the
Constitution by French and Dutch voters in May and June 2005, called the future of
the Constitution into question. In light of these developments three member states,
Finland, Germany and Slovakia, abandoned their partially complete ratification
procedures and a further seven member states indefinitely postponed consideration.

Following the period of reflection, the European Council meeting in June 2007
decided to start negotiations on a new reform treaty as a replacement. This treaty was
later named the Lisbon Treaty.

The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe was signed in Rome on 29

October 2004 by 53 senior political figures from the 25 member states of the
European Union. In most cases heads of state designated plenipotentiaries to sign the
treaty, but some presidents also signed on behalf of states which were republics. Most
designated plenipotentiaries were prime ministers and foreign ministers.

Before a EU Treaty can enter into force, it must be ratified by all member states.
Ratification takes different forms in each country, depending on its traditions,
constitutional arrangements and political processes. Most member states traditionally
ratify EU treaties following parliamentary votes, while some — notably Ireland and
Denmark — also hold referendums. As a reaction to what was seen as the novel
nature of the Constitution, many advocates and opponents of the Constitution argued
that it should be subjected to Referendums across the European Union.
On 20 April 2004 then British Prime Minister Tony Blair unexpectedly promised
a referendum, a proposal which he had previously rejected. A further seven member
states announced or had already announced that they would hold referendums on the
Constitution. These being Denmark, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands,
Spain and Portugal. On 29 May 2005 the French public rejected the Constitution by
margin of 55% to 45% on a turn out of 69%. And just three days later the Dutch
rejected the constitution by a margin of 61% to 39% on a turnout of
62%.Notwithstanding the rejection in France and the Netherlands, Luxembourg held a
referendum on 10 July 2005 approving the Constitution by 57% to 43%. It was the
last referendum to be held on the Constitution as all of the other member states that
has proposed to hold referendums canceled them.

Content

Institutional structure

Under the TCE, the Council of the European Union would have been formally
renamed the "Council of Ministers", which is already its informal title. The "General
Affairs Council" would have been formally split from the "Foreign Affairs Council",
which had informally held meetings separately since June 2002. The TCE included a
flag, an anthem and a motto, which had previously not had treaty recognition,
although none of them are new.

Conferral, subsidiarity, proportionality

The TCE would have reiterated several key principles of how the Union functions:

 the principle of conferral: that all EU competences are conferred on it

voluntarily by member states;
 the principle of subsidiarity: that governmental decisions should be taken at
the lowest level possible while still remaining effective;
 the principle of proportionality: that the EU may only act to exactly the
extent that is needed to achieve its objectives;
 the primacy of EU law: in areas where member states have made legally
binding agreements at EU level, they may not then pass national laws
incompatible with those EU laws.

The TCE would have specified that the EU is a union of member states, and that
all its competences (areas of responsibility) are voluntarily conferred on it by its
member states according to the principle of conferral. The EU would have no
competences by right, and thus any areas of policy not explicitly specified in the
Constitution would have remained the domain of the sovereign member states
(notwithstanding the ‘flexibility clause' – see below).

According to the TCE, the EU may act (i.e. make laws) only where its member
states agree unanimously that actions by individual countries would be insufficient.
This is the principle of subsidiarity, and is based on the legal and political principle
that governmental decisions should be taken as close to the people as possible while
still remaining effective. It is a main argument against claims that Europe limits
national sovereignty but critics say that it is a principle to which lip service only is
paid, and, in practice, the reach of the EU has been increasingly ambitious.

Common values of the Union's member states

As stated in Articles I-1 and I-2, the Union is open to all European States that
respect the member states' common values, namely:

 human dignity
 freedom
  democracy
 equality
 the rule of law
 respect for human rights
 minority rights
 free market

Member states also declare that the following principles prevail in their society:

 pluralism
 non-discrimination
 tolerance
 justice
 solidarity
 equality of the sexes

Some of these provisions are codified for the first time in the TCE.

Aims of the Union

The aims of the EU, according to the TCE, are made explicit (Article I-
3):promotion of peace, its values and the well-being of its people

 maintenance of freedom, security and justice without internal borders, and

an internal market where competition is free and undistorted
 sustainable development based on balanced economic growth and price
stability, a highly competitive social market economy
 social justice and protection, equality between women and men, solidarity
between generations and protection of the rights of the child
 economic, social and territorial cohesion, and solidarity among member
states
 respect for linguistic and cultural diversity

In its relations with the wider world the Union's objectives are:

 to uphold and promote its values and interests

 to contribute to peace, security, the sustainable development of the Earth
 solidarity and mutual respect among people
 free and fair trade
 eradication of poverty and the protection of human rights, in particular the
rights of the child
 strict observance and development of international law, including respect
for the principles of the United Nations Charter.

Competences

The EU has six exclusive competences, policy areas in which member states have
agreed that they should act exclusively through the EU and not legislate at a national
level. The list remains unchanged from the previous treaties:
  customs union;
 those competition rules that govern the internal market;
 eurozone monetary policy;
 conservation of marine biological resources (the Common Fisheries Policy);
 common commercial policy;
 the conclusion of certain limited international agreements.

There are a number of shared competences. These are areas in which member
states agree to act individually only where they have not already acted through the EU,
or where the EU has ceased to act (though these are areas where member states may
act both nationally and through the EU if they wish). Three new competences have
been added to those in previous treaties (see below).

There are a number of areas where the EU may take only supporting, coordinating
or complementary action. In these areas, member states do not confer any
competences on the Union, but they agree to act through the Union in order to support
their work at national level. Again, three new competences have been added to those
from previous treaties (see below).

Flexibility clause

The TCE's flexibility clause allows the EU to act in areas not made explicit in the
TCE, but only:

 if all member states agree;

 with the consent of the European Parliament; and
 where this is necessary to achieve an agreed objective under the TCE.

This clause has been present inE U law since the original Treaty of Rome
established the EEC in 1958.

Common foreign and security policy

The EU is charged with defining and implementing a common foreign and

security policy in due time. The wording of this article is taken from the existing
Treaty on European Union.

New provisions

 Legal personality

The European Union for the first time has legal personality under the TCE. This
means that it is able to represent itself as a single body in certain circumstances under
international law. Most significantly, it is able to sign treaties as a single body where
all its member states agree.

 New competences

The TCE would have conferred upon the EU as new 'shared competences' the
areas of territorial cohesion, energy, and space. These are areas where the EU may act
alongside its individual member states. The EU has conferred upon it as new areas of
'supporting, coordinating or complementary action' the areas of tourism, sport, and
administrative co-operation.

Lecture III THE TREATY OF LISBON

Europe is not the same place it was 50 years ago, and nor is the rest of the world.
In a constantly changing, ever more interconnected world, Europe is grappling with
new issues: globalization, demographic shifts, climate change, the need for
sustainable energy sources and new security threats. These are the challenges facing
Europe in the 21st century.
Borders count for very little in the light of these challenges. The EU countries
cannot meet them alone. But acting as one, Europe can deliver results and respond to
the concerns of the public. For this, Europe needs to modernize. The EU has recently
expanded from 15 to 27 members; it needs effective, coherent tools so it can function
properly and respond to the rapid changes in the world. That means rethinking some
of the ground rules for working together.
The treaty signed in Lisbon on 13 December 2007 sets out to do just that. When
European leaders reached agreement on the new rules, they were thinking of the
political, economic and social changes going on, and the need to live up to the hopes
and expectations of the European public. The Treaty of Lisbon defines what the EU
can and cannot do, and what means it can use. It alters the structure of the EU’s
institutions and how they work. As a result, the EU is more democratic and its core
values are better served.
This treaty is the result of negotiations between EU member countries in an
intergovernmental conference, in which the Commission and Parliament were also
involved. The treaty was ratified by each of the EU’s 27 members. It was up to each
country to choose the procedure for ratification, in line with its own national
constitution. The Treaty entered into force on 1 December 2009, in accordance with
its Article 6, thus ending several years of negotiation about institutional issues. The
Treaty of Lisbon amends the current EU and EC treaties, without replacing them. It
provides the Union with the legal framework and tools necessary to meet future
challenges and to respond to citizens' demands.

A NEW EUROPE

 A more democratic and transparent Europe, with a strengthened role for

the European Parliament and national parliaments, more opportunities for
citizens to have their voices heard and a clearer sense of who does what at
European and national level.

- A strengthened role for the European Parliament: the European Parliament, directly
elected by EU citizens, is provided with important new powers regarding EU
legislation, the EU budget and international agreements. In particular, the increase of
co-decision procedure in policy-making ensures that the European Parliament is
placed on an equal footing with the Council, representing Member States, for the vast
bulk of EU legislation.
-A greater involvement of national parliaments: national parliaments have greater
opportunities to be involved in the work of the EU, in particular thanks to a new
mechanism to monitor that the Union only acts where results can be better attained at
EU level (subsidiarity). Together with the strengthened role for the European
Parliament, it will enhance democracy and increase legitimacy in the functioning of
the Union.
- A stronger voice for citizens: thanks to the Citizens' Initiative, one million citizens
from a number of Member States have the possibility to call on the Commission to
bring forward new policy proposals.
-Who does what: the relationship between the Member States and the European Union
become clearer with the categorization of competences.
- Withdrawal from the Union: the Treaty of Lisbon explicitly recognizes for the first
time the possibility for a Member State to withdraw from the Union.

 The Treaty of Lisbon confirms three principles of democratic governance

in Europe:

-Democratic equality: the European institutions must give equal attention to all
citizens
-Representative democracy: a greater role for the European Parliament and greater
involvement for national parliaments
-Participatory democracy: new forms of interaction between citizens and the
European institutions, like the citizens' initiative. There are already many ways in
which European citizens can find out about and take part in the political process of the
EU. The newest of these is the citizens' initiative, whereby one million citizens, from
any number of member countries, will be able to ask the Commission to present a
proposal in any of the EU's areas of responsibility. The practical details of this
initiative will be worked out once the Treaty of Lisbon takes effect. The treaty also
recognizes the importance of consultation and dialogue with associations, civil society,
workers and employers, churches and other non-denominational organisations.

 The treaty also clarifies the relations between the European Union and
its member countries.

-Lawmaking: the 'co-decision procedure' (renamed 'ordinary legislative procedure')

has been extended to several new fields. This means that Parliament now has the same
degree of lawmaking power as the Council in some areas where it used to be merely
consulted or not involved at all. These areas include legal immigration, penal judicial
cooperation (Eurojust, crime prevention, alignment of prison standards, offences and
penalties), police cooperation (Europol) and some aspects of trade policy and
agriculture. The Parliament now has a role to play in almost all lawmaking.
-Budget: the new treaty confirms the established practice of working with a
multiannual financial framework, which Parliament must approve. It also abolishes
the former distinction between 'compulsory' expenditure (like direct income support
to farmers) and 'non-compulsory' expenditure, with the result that Parliament and the
Council determine all expenditure together. This innovation creates a new balance
between the two institutions when approving the EU's budget.
-International agreements: under the Treaty of Lisbon, the European Parliament's
assent is required for all international agreements in fields governed by the ordinary
legislative procedure.
  A greater role for national parliaments
The treaty gives the national parliaments greater scope to participate alongside the
European institutions in the work of the Union. A new clause clearly sets out the
rights and duties of the national parliaments within the EU. It deals with their right to
information, the way they monitor subsidiarity, mechanisms for evaluating policy in
the field of freedom, security and justice, procedures for reforming the treaties, and so
on.

 The greatest novelty lies in new power to enforce subsidiarity. Subsidiarity

means that – except in the areas where it has exclusive powers – the EU acts
only where action will be more effective at EU-level than at national level.
Any national parliament may flag a proposal for EU action which it believes
does not respect this principle. This triggers a two-stage procedure:

-if one third of national parliaments consider that the proposal is not in line with
subsidiarity, the Commission will have to re-examine it and decide whether to
maintain, adjust or withdraw it
- if a majority of national parliaments agrees with the objection but the Commission
decides to maintain its proposal anyway, the Commission will have to explain its
reasons, and it will be up to the European Parliament and the Council to decide
whether or not to continue the legislative procedure.

 Transparency in the Council of Ministers

National parliaments and citizens are now able to see which decisions have been
taken by which national ministers in the Council, since all its deliberations on
legislative matters are made public.

 Relations between the EU and its member countries

In answer to a question frequently asked by citizens: "Who does what in the EU?" the
treaty stipulates who is to act in which domain-the Union or the member states. Three
categories of powers are thus identified:

-Exclusive powers: in fields like the customs union, the common trade policy and
competition, only the Union may legislate
-Supporting, coordinating or complementary action: in areas like culture,
education and industry, the Union may only support action by the member states (by
providing funding, for example)
-shared powers: in other fields, like the environment, transport and consumer
protection, the Union and the member states share lawmaking power, not forgetting
subsidiarity.
After joining the European Union, countries remain members by choice. The
Treaty of Lisbon includes a voluntary withdrawal clause, recognizing that the member
states may always withdraw from the Union if they wish to.

 A more efficient Europe, with simplified working methods and voting rules,
streamlined and modern institutions for a EU of 27 members and an improved
ability to act in areas of major priority for today's Union.

- Effective and efficient decision-making: qualified majority voting in the Council is

extended to new policy areas to make decision-making faster and more efficient.
From 2014 on, the calculation of qualified majority will be based on the double
majority of Member States and people, thus representing the dual legitimacy of the
Union. A double majority will be achieved when a decision is taken by 55% of the
Member States representing at least 65% of the Union’s population.
- A more stable and streamlined institutional framework: the Treaty of Lisbon creates
the function of President of the European Council elected for two and a half years,
introduces a direct link between the election of the Commission President and the
results of the European elections, provides for new arrangements for the future
composition of the European Parliament, and includes clearer rules on enhanced
cooperation and financial provisions.

 Improving the life of Europeans: the Treaty of Lisbon improves the EU's
ability to act in several policy areas of major priority for today's Union and its
citizens. This is the case in particular for the policy areas of freedom, security
and justice, such as combating terrorism or tackling crime. It also concerns to
some extent other areas including energy policy, public health, civil
protection, climate change, services of general interest, research, space,
territorial cohesion, commercial policy, humanitarian aid, sport, tourism and
administrative cooperation.
 Charter of Fundamental Rights: The Charter becomes legally binding
meaning all laws must adhere to it. The UK and Poland have certain opt outs
on this point.
 Withdrawal: For the first time countries have the right to withdraw from the
European Union
 The Treaty of Lisbon does not fundamentally change the EU’s institutional
set- up, which is still based on its three main bodies: European Parliament,
Council and European Commission.

However, it introduces a number of new elements to make these bodies more

effective, consistent and transparent, all in the cause of better serving the people of
Europe.In total, there are now seven EU institutions: the European Parliament,
European Council, Council, European Commission, European Court of Justice,
European Central Bank and European Court of Auditors. So what has the treaty
changed?

European Parliament

This body represents voters in the EU’s member countries. The treaty has boosted
its powers as regards lawmaking, the EU budget and approval of international
agreements. The composition of the parliament has also been changed - the number of
MEPs is capped at 751 (750 plus the president of the parliament). Seats are distributed
among countries according to “degressive proportionality”, i.e. MEPs from more
populous countries will each represent more people than those from smaller countries.
No country may now have less than 6 or more than 96 MEPs.

European Council

The European Council, which has the role of driving EU policy-making, now
becomes a full EU institution. Although it does not gain any new powers, it is headed
by a newly created position of president. Elected by the European Council for 2½
years, the main job of the president is to prepare the Council’s work, ensure its
continuity and work to secure consensus among member countries. The president
cannot simultaneously hold any elected position or office nationally.

The Council of the European Union

The Council represents the EU’s member governments. Its role is largely
unchanged. It continues to share lawmaking and budget power with the European
Parliament and maintain its central role in common foreign and security policy (CFSP)
and coordinating economic policies.
The main change brought by the Treaty of Lisbon concerns the decision making
process. Firstly, the default voting method for the Council is now qualified majority
voting, except where the treaties require a different procedure (e.g. a unanimous vote).
In practice, this means that qualified majority voting has been extended to many new
policy areas (e.g. immigration and culture).
As of 1 November 2014, a new voting method has been introduced - double
majority voting. To be passed by the Council, proposed EU laws will then require a
majority not only of the EU’s member countries (55 %) but also of the EU population
(65 %). This will reflect the legitimacy of the EU as a union of both peoples and
nations. It will make EU lawmaking both more transparent and more effective. And it
will be accompanied by a new mechanism (similar to the “Ioannina compromise”)
enabling a small number of member governments (close to a blocking minority) to
demonstrate their opposition to a decision. Where this mechanism is used, the Council
will be required to do everything in its power to reach a satisfactory solution between
the two parties, within a reasonable time period.

European Commission

Its main job is promoting the European public interest. The Treaty offers the
perspective that a Commissioner from each Member State becomes Member of the
Commission, while under the former Treaties that number would have been reduced
to a number inferior to that of Member States.
In another major change, there is a direct link between the results of the European
elections and the choice of candidate for president of the Commission.
The president is also stronger, as he/she has the power to dismiss fellow
Commissioners.

EU high representative for foreign and security policy / Commission vice-

president

The creation of this post is one of the major institutional innovations introduced
by the Treaty of Lisbon. It should ensure consistency in the EU’s dealings with
foreign countries and international bodies.
The high representative has a dual role: representing the Council on common
foreign and security policy matters and also being Commissioner for external
relations. Conducting both common foreign policy and common defence policy,
he/she chairs the periodic meetings of member countries’ foreign ministers (the
“foreign affairs Council”). And he/she represents the EU’s common foreign and
security policy internationally, assisted by a new European external action service,
composed of officials from the Council, Commission and national diplomatic services.
 The other institutions

No significant changes have been made to the role or powers of the European
Central Bank or the Court of Auditors. However, the treaty broadens the scope of the
European Court of Justice, especially as regards police and judicial cooperation in
criminal matters, and changes some of its procedures.
National parliaments

PROCEDURE FOR THE COMMISIONERS DESIGNATE HEARING BY

THE PE

The term of office of the European Commission, the European Union’s executive
body, lasts five years. As the last ‘College of Commissioners’ was appointed in
November 2004 it now has to be replaced. This requires the approval of the European
Parliament.
Membership of the next Commission-Under the new Lisbon Treaty the
Commission is composed of one national of each Member State. So the new
Commission will have 28 Members: a President and 27 Commissioners in charge of a
particular portfolio. several of these 26 Commissioners are Vice-Presidents assisting
the President. An innovation in the Lisbon Treaty: one of these Vice-Presidents is also
the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

Two-stage approval by Parliament

Under Article 17 of the Treaty on European Union the European Parliament’s

approval has two stages: in the first, Parliament elects the candidate proposed by the
European Council for President of the Commission. In a second stage, Parliament
approves the whole Commission as a body. To prepare for its vote it considers in
detail the candidates whom the Council has proposed as Commissioners by common
accord with the President, and in the light of the portfolios that he intends to give
them.
Evaluation criteria

Parliament evaluates the Commissioners-designate on the basis of their general

competence, European commitment and personal independence. It also assesses their
knowledge of the prospective portfolio and their communication skills. Parliament
takes particular account of the need for gender balance. It may express views on the
allocation of portfolios proposed by the President-elect.

Step by step

Parliament’s approval procedure is laid down in Annex XVII to its Rules of

Procedure and consists of the following steps:

 Parliament receives the Commissioner-designates’ curriculum vitae and their

declarations of financial interests.
 Parliament puts to the Commissioners-designate a series of written questions
dealing mainly with the candidates’ policy priorities in their respective fields
of responsibility. The candidates’ written replies provide the basis for the oral
stage – the hearings.
  Each Commissioner-designate is invited to a three-hour public hearing with
the parliamentary committee(s) responsible for the portfolio concerned. These
hearings enable the committees to get to know the personalities of the
Commissioners-designate and have a detailed exchange of views with the
various candidates on their priorities in their prospective areas of
responsibility.
 The committees then evaluate each of the Commissioners-designate. They
check that the Commissioners-designate have the skills required not only to be
Members of the Commission in general, but also to be in charge of a particular
portfolio.
 The results of the hearings are sent to the President of Parliament and
considered by the Conference of Presidents, comprising the President and all
political group leaders, and by the Conference of Committee Chairs.
 The Commission President presents the College of Commissioners-designate
and their programme to a plenary sitting of Parliament which the Council of
the EU is invited to attend. This presentation is followed by a debate.
 Lastly, Parliament votes on approval of the whole European Commission as a
body. The new Commission can then be formally appointed by the European
Council, acting by a qualified majority.

Lecture IV THE INSTITUTIONS

For the moment, the EU is a curious mixture of two things.

1. Firstly, it remains a system to facilitate cooperation between MS, each of

which has control over its own foreign policy, criminal law and, with certain
limited but important exceptions, taxation.
2. secondly, in some areas, it has evolved true supranational institutions which
have powers quite independently of the MS, including, in some cases, the right
to instruct and discipline those MS.

Common policies, which are the essence of the multinational integration process,
are the fruit of intensive negotiations among the MS which participate in the process.
In order to be acceptable to all MS, the conception of a common policy must try to
satisfy or, at least, not harm the national interests of the MS and, therefore, the
governments of all MS must participate in the decision-making process. However,
their participation may be direct or indirect. Decisions on fundamental common
policies, requiring new transfers of national sovereignty, are taken by the participating
governments and are outlined in treaties, signed by those governments and ratified
after authorization by the national parliaments. Decisions on secondary common
policies, that is those policies necessary to attain the goals set in the treaty, including
policy guidelines and legal acts based on the treaties, are taken by the common
institutions set up by the treaties, according to procedures and following the legal
forms agreed in the treaties. In a process of multinational integration, the governments
of the MS direct the play from the backstage, but leave the stage to the actors,
namely their representatives, appointed by them and/or by their citizens. The
principal actors of European integration are called institutions by the European
Treaties. For analytical purposes, let us consider as principal actors of European
integration, the five organs which intervene principally in the decision-making
process and therefore in the governance of the Community:
  the European Council – sets the goals of the common policies
 the European Commission – makes the proposal for the decisions to be
taken and is mainly responsible for the implementation of the common
policies
 the European Parliament
 the Council of Ministers - take the decisions together with the PE
 the Court of Justice – controls the legality of the decisions

1. THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL

 made up of the Heads of state or of governments of the EU and the President

of the European Commission
 the Council meetings are attended by each MS’s head of state, plus the prime
minister and the minister of foreign affairs, the President of the Commission
and one of his vice-presidents
 in case the European Council deals with questions linked to economic and
monetary union, finance ministers are invited. They either replace the foreign
ministers or sit alongside with them.
 The proceedings of the European Council are related to the outside world by a
system of note-takers. An official from the Council Secretariat sits in the
room and takes notes. Every quarter of an hour he is replaces and goes out to
brief orally the group of persona assistants of the permanent representatives
(called ANTICI) who sit in an area of the building called the red zone, where
the national delegations are not allowed access. Then, the Antici transmit their
notes to their own national delegations, located in another area of the building
called the blue zone.
 So information is disseminated indirectly, so that the national delegations
should know something of what is going on, but considerable delay and
without the possibility to directly attribute specific words to any of the
participants in the Council.
 European Council generally last for 2 days, which unfold as follows:

DAY 1
1. family photo;
2. address by the President of the EP (custom dating back to the 1980s, highly
appreciated by the EP, without any impact on the proceedings);
3. the full Council meets (lunch included) to debate upon the various items on the
agenda;
4. in the evening the heads of governments and the foreign ministers usually
separate for dinner;
5. in the course of the evening, a group of officials from the presidency, the
Council Secretariat and the Commission work on draft conclusions, starting from
a text prepared well in advance by the Council Secretariat. The text is amended
and completed in view of the first day’s discussions. The final draft must be
available in all official languages at dawn.
DAY 2

1. each head of government received the draft conclusions and looks at them over
breakfast, while discussing the specific points with the assistant;
2. the Council convenes again and spends the morning and, if necessary, part of
the afternoon, to finalize then conclusions;
3. the press conference

 it began on an informal basis, as “summit meetings” in the1960s, but now it is

fully institutionalized according to article 4 of the Treaty of Nice, which
provides that the European Council meets at least twice a year, under the
chairmanship of the Head of State or Government of the MS holding the
Presidency of the Council
 the Seville Council (21-22 June 2002) departed from the letter of the Treaty
and decided to meet in principle 4 times a year and that, in exceptional
circumstances, it may hold an extraordinary meeting.
 Council meetings have generally taken place in the Presidency country, but
since May 2004, they have all been held in Brussels. The decision is clearly
motivated by reasons of practicality and security, not to mention the amount of
money the host country should have spend for the organization of such a
meeting.
 The European Council defines the political guidelines of the Community and
resolves the most important problems of the European construction
 It is a forum for free and informal exchanges of views between the responsible
leaders of the MS
 It should be noted that the heads of state or governments do not adopt legal
acts formally binding the MS
 The Council issues declarations containing guidelines and general directives
for future Community action. These declarations have political values, but no
legal binding force
 The European Council is a locus of power which has a number of
characteristics:

- authority – the European Council brings together political personalities

who, in their national capacity, are ultimate decision-takers.
Collectively, they consider themselves, in the European context, as
having a similar task. Essentially, they come together to take decisions
and they expect these decisions to be respected. That is why the
Council conclusions are very specific in nature. Strictly speaking, the
council conclusions are not legally binding, but they are a sort of soft
law which the European Commission and the EP have to take into
account and respect
- informality – the European Council has always attached the highest
importance to the informality of its meetings. It works on the basis of
restricted sessions where the heads of government and the foreign
ministers sit alone, face to face, addressing each other by their first
names, the principle at work being the principle of privacy and direct
contact, quite frequently confrontational.
- Unequal relationships – in the abstract, all heads of governments are
equal, just as their states have equal status in international law. But the
 European Council is a locus of power, the fact that some participants
have in fact more power as they represent a bigger country is
immediately apparent and implicitly understood by all. Smaller
countries are diffident about the increasing power of the European
Council precisely because they know they are less well protected at
that level than in the institutions governed by legal rules and strict
procedures. The same is true foe the Commission. When operating in
the Council of Ministers, the rights and prerogatives of the
Commission are well defined and protected by the Treaty, but at
European Council level this is not the case.
- Seniority- the balance of power in the European Council in influenced
by seniority, because the number of participants is small and personal
relations important. Heads of governments of smaller MS can expect to
exert more influence after several years of being present, and
especially after having led a successful presidency. (eg. Jean Claude
Juncker, Prime Minister of Luxembourg since 1995 and also Minister
of Finance, who exercises considerable influence, thanks to his
personal qualities and also because of his seniority).
- Ambivalence- viewing the European Council as a locus of power
helps explain its ambivalence in institutional terms. Unlike the other
European institutions, its powers, procedures and decision-making
process are not determined by the Treaty. It deals with whatever
problem it wants to deal with, in the manner it judges the most
appropriate. Its role is not clearly defined anywhere, yet its role is
fundamental to the life of the UE. It can live with that ambivalence, as
it is bent on the de facto exercise of power not on legally-binding
decision-making power.

The European Council has 5 main functions:

o General political guidance and impetus – the task implies the

right to launch new activity fields (in Rome, in December 1975,
the European Council decided to initiate cooperation in the
fight against terrorism and organized crime). Basically, the
European Council fixes the agenda of the EU and is the place
where strategic orientation are given. One example of political
guidance, in the momentous decision taken at Copenhagen in
December 1993 on enlargement, when accession was offered to
central and eastern European countries, without any public
debate (or very little)
o Decision-making of last resort – although initially, the
European Council was not supposed to e an ultimate decision-
taker, now it has become a kind of court of appeal for settling
problems too complex or too politically sensitive to be resolved
at the level of the Council of Ministers. Thus, European
Council meetings have lately come to be thematic affairs (eg.
employment in Luxembourg, justice and home affairs in
Tampere, economic and social policy in Lisbon and Stockholm,
etc)
 o Visibility in external affairs – when acting in its external
capacity, the European Council operates like a “collective head
of state”. Over the years, the Council has approved a number of
statements covering events in all parts of the world and
developments in the field of diplomacy. MS have used the
European Council to express common positions on
international affairs.
o Solemn ratification of significant documents –Each European
Council regularly endorses a series of documents, reports,
action plans or contributions. These documents are submitted to
the European Council because they have been requested by a
previous European Council, or because they apply a previous
decision of the European Council or because the authors (the
European Commission, the Council of Ministers, the
Presidency) consider that the respective texts need to be
approved at that level
o Negotiation of treaty changes- the European Council is the key
forum for determining treaty reform.

2. THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS (THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN

UNION)

The Council of Ministers takes decision in particular policy areas. The Council of
Ministers operates in several formations, organized by area of activity. Each
formation brings together the relevant minister or ministers for each member state,
authorized to commit the government of the respective MS, in other words, if
ministers agree to something in Council, it is understood that they have the support of
their governments and that the legislative act thus adopted will be implemented in
their MS. There are 16 such configurations – the Agriculture Council, the Ecofin, the
JHA Council, the Social Affairs Council, the Environment Council, the Transport and
Telecommunications Council, the Fisheries Council, the Industry and Energy Council,
the Internal Market, Consumer Affairs and Tourism Council, the Research Council,
the Budget Council, the Culture Council, the Development Council, the Education
and Youth Council, the Health Council, the General Affairs and External Relations
Council.
The General Affairs and External Relations Council ( made up of the foreign
ministers) is the principal Council configuration and holds separate meetings, dealing
respectively with: a) preparation for and follow-up to the European Council,
institutional and administrative matters, horizontal dossiers which affect several of the
EU ’s policies and b) the whole of the Union’s external action, namely common
foreign and security policy, foreign trade, development cooperation and humanitarian
aid.
Some Councils (the General Affairs and External Relations, Ecofin, Agriculture,
Environment) meet once a month, the others meet two to four times a years,
depending on then topics to be discussed, while yet others are convened only once
every 6 months. Normally, Council meetings take place in Brussels, but, as a result of
an agreement with the Luxembourg government, Council meetings convened in April,
June and October are held in Luxembourg.
 Each MS hold the Presidency for six months in a system of rotation based on an
attempt to avoid two major countries of too many small countries holding it in
succession. Nowadays, a new mechanism operates – the trio, made up of the outgoing
presidency, the incumbent presidency and the incoming presidency. The troika
became effective after May 2004, when8 former communist states joined the EU. The
idea was to have such countries helped by older member states. For instance, the first
former communist country to hold the Presidency was Slovenia (the former half of
2008), which was preceded by Germany and followed by France.
When chairing the Council meeting, each holder of the Presidency chair has
formal responsibility to seek common ground between MS whose opinions differ,
suggesting compromise solutions,
At the beginning of the six-month term, each holder of the Presidency publishes a
program of legislative priorities, which generally includes some measure which has
been held up for years because no agreement has been found which can unblock it.
The selection of the priorities of each presidency is based on a three-year strategic
program adopted by the European Council, it is not a random choice.
In addition, the Presidency organizes a series of conferences, seminars and other
events to which MEPs, Commissioners, national parliamentarians and others are
invited to discuss the burning issues of the day.
Each country also takes this opportunity to promote its culture, often by financing
visits to Brussels by artists, writers, theater groups, also.
The Council is assisted by a General Secretariat, consisting of nationals
representing all the MS, separate from their counterparts in the Commission, but
organized in a similar way. The Secretariat general is headed by a Secretary General,
who is appointed by the Council acting unanimously. It is generally a diplomat or an
experienced politician. The current incumbent is Javier Solana. The Treaty of
Amsterdan modified the structure of the Secretariat and added the role of High
Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy to that of the Secretary
General (Javier Solana) and created the position of Deputy Secretary General who is
responsible for the day-to-day running of the Secretariat. The Deputy is also
appointed by the Council acting unanimously. The main body of the Secretariat is
divided into 9 Directorates-General, the largest of which is responsible for
administration. The other 8 are organized on a functional basis, according to the
Councils they serve, and the whole structure is served by a horizontal Legal Service.
The Council is also assisted by working parties of national civil servants which
examine the proposal of the Commission and report to the Permanent
Representatives Committee (COREPER), which is responsible for preparing the
work of the Council and for carrying out the tasks assigned to it by the Council. The
COREPER sits in 2 parts. Coreper Part 1, made up of deputy permanent
representatives, examines technical questions on the whole. Coreper Part 2, composed
of the Ambassadors themselves, deals with political questions on the whole. The
Commission participates in all the meetings of the working parties of national experts,
of Coreper and of the Council formations to explain its positions and to assist the
presidency in reaching agreement on its proposals. After examining an issue Coreper
either submits a report to the Council, preparing the ground for its discussion by
drawing attention to the political aspects which deserve particular attention, or, if
unanimous agreement has been reached between the Permanent Representatives and
the Commission representative, Coreper recommends that the Council adopt the
prepared text as an A item, that is without discussion.
 The Council (together with the EP in some specific areas) is the main decision-
making body of the EU. Ministers vote in the Council on the basis of simple majority,
qualified majority or unanimity, depending the rules governing the respective issue.
Decisions in some policy areas (taxation) and for most questions concerned with the
second and third pillars require unanimity, although things will change once the
Treaty of Lisbon enters into force. Under the qualified majority voting (QMV)
procedure, each MS is allocated a number of votes in approximate relation to its size.
The presidency, on behalf of the Council, is accountable to the EP. Before taking
office, the prime minister of the foreign minister of the respective MS presents its
presidency program to the EP, then representatives of the Presidency (generally the
ministers concerned by the legislative acts to be discussed and adopted by the EP)
take part in the EP plenary sessions and answer questions addressed by the MEPs. At
the end of the 6-month period, the Presidency sums ups its achievements to the EP.

3. THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION

The European Commission is made up of unelected members. Since its inception

in 1967, the Commission has grown in size with each enlargement. Since the Treaty
of Nice, there were 2 members for the 5 big MS (Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK,
France) and 1 for the small MS. After the May 2004 enlargement, the number of
members was reduced to 1 per MS.
Thus, actually, the Commission is composed of 28 Commissioners, who are
proposed by the government of each MS and are appointed, for a period of 5 years, by
the Council, acting by a qualified majority and by common accord with the nominee
for President.
The Heads of State or Government, acting by a qualified majority, nominate the
President of the Commission and the nomination must be approved by the EP. The
President and the Commissioners are subject as a body to a vote of approval by the EP.
The Parliament examines every Commissioner as to his/her ideas and program and
may put forward objections as to his/her suitability for is/her responsibilities inside
the Commission, but may not reject the appointment. Hence, in case of objections put
forth by the EP for certain members of the Commission, the President has the option
of assigning other responsibilities to the member in question or simply ask the
proposing MS to make a new proposal so as not to run the risk of rejection of the
body by the EP.
Currently, each Commissioner is given responsibility for a particular policy area,
and it is here that weaker MS are likely to lose out, seeing their nominees shunted off
to policy areas that do not touch the real centers of power or the most vital interests.
The Commissioners, despite being nominated by the MS, do not represent the
interests of the MS, but the interests of the Community as a whole. They must not
take any form of instructions from the MS, are supposed to make sure the Treaties are
respected, standing above the national interests which legitimately play themselves in
the Council.
The President of the Commission (since the Treaty of Nice) can take decisions on
the Commission’s internal organization in order to ensure that it acts consistently,
efficiently and on the basis of collective responsibility. The President can also choose
his Vice-president (although the choice has to be approved by the rest of the
Commissioners also called the COLLEGE of Commissioners) and he can also sack
(ask to resign) the Commissioners.
 The Commission works according to the principle of collective responsibility.
Decisions are taken collectively by the College of Commissioners, who together are
responsible before the European Parliament. All Commissioners are equal in the
decision-making process and equally accountable for these decisions.
The Commissioners do not have any individual decision-making powers, except
when they are authorized by the Commission to take measures in their own name in
their area of responsibility (so-called "empowerment procedure"). In this case, they
assume the political and legal responsibility on behalf of the Commission.
The President plays a significant role: under the EU Treaties, he defines the
policy direction, assigns portfolios to each of the Commissioners (e.g. internal market,
regional policy, transport, environment, agriculture, trade, etc.) and can, at any time,
change the attribution and or shape of the portfolios. The College decides on the
strategic objectives and on this basis, draws up the annual work programme.
The Vice-Presidents act on behalf of the President, deputizing for him. They steer
and coordinate the work in their area of responsibility bringing together several
Commissioners. Vice-Presidents are entrusted with well-defined priority projects [link]
that can be adapted according to need, and as new projects develop. This ensures that
the College works together in a close and flexible manner.Commissioners support
Vice-Presidents in submitting proposals to the College which, in general, deliberates
by consensus. The College may also take a vote. In this case, decisions are taken by
simple majority. Every Commissioner has one vote.

The collective responsibility ensures:

 a high quality of the decisions, as all of the Commissioners must be consulted

on each proposal;
 the independence of the institution, as its decisions are adopted without
partisan pressures;
 the sharing of political responsibility by all Commissioners, even when the
decisions are adopted by majority.

The new Commission, whose President-elect is Ursula Van der Leyen and
which will ofiicially take uo office on 1 November 2019, is composed of the
College of Commissioners of 27 members, including the President and three
Executive Vice-Presidents, as well as five Vice-Presidents, one whom is also the
High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy . The
Commissioners, one from each EU country, are the Commission's political
leadership during a 5-year term. Each Commissioner is assigned responsibility
for specific policy areas by the President.
Weekly meetings of the Commissioners - According to the rules of procedure the
Commission meets every week to discuss politically sensitive issues and adopt
proposals that need to be agreed by 'oral procedure'. In practice, the Commissioners
meet every Wednesday in Brussels except during the European Parliament's plenary
sessions when they meet in Strasbourg. Additional special sittings may be held when
necessary, for example just before or during an important meeting of the European
Council of the Council of the European Union.
The agenda for each meeting is based chiefly on the Commission work
programme. Each item on the agenda is presented by the Commissioner responsible
for the related policy area. The whole team of Commissioners then takes a collective
decision on it. This decision-making procedure at the weekly meetings is known
as 'oral procedure'. It is used only for major proposals that require oral discussion
within the Commission before they can be adopted. Most Commission decisions,
however, are not taken at its weekly meetings, but are adopted by 'written
procedure' – a proposal or draft document is circulated to all Commissioners, who
can make comments within a certain time frame.

THE FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMISSION

1. the power of initiative – it proposes new laws and other measures. Neither
the Council nor the EP has the formal power to propose legislative or other
Community measures, including Directives, Regulations, Recommendations
and the annual budget. Decisions on these proposals are taken by Council and
the EP with the co-decision procedure or, in some cases, by the Council alone,
namely by the MS. In other words, the Commission does not legislate.
2. executive body (administrative role) – the Commission has extensive
executive powers to ensure the attainment of the objectives set out. The
Commission implements the decisions taken by the legislative bodies (Council
and EP), manages the Community budget as well as the Community Funds
and the research and technological development programs
3. guardian of the Treaties and of the acquis communautaire – the
Commission is charged with ensuring that the Treaties are correctly
implemented and respected by the MS. For this purpose it has investigative
power, which it exercises at its own initiative or in response to a request from
a government or a complaint from an individual. If, following the
investigation, the Commission considers there is infringement of the
Community legislation it invites the State concerned to submit its comments
within a given period of time. If the State in question does not comply or if the
explanations provided do not convince the Commission, the latter issues a
reasoned opinion to which the MS is obliged to conform within the prescribed
time-limit. If the MS fails to conform, the Commission refers the matter to the
European Court of Justice, which arbitrates the dispute an sanctions the
irregularity as noted by the Commission and requires the MS to conform to the
Community legal order.
4. representative role – the Commission deals with aspects of foreign relations,
especially those having to do with trade. The Commission negotiates
agreements, it ensures representatives of the EU in third countries and in many
international organizations.

THE COMMISSION SERVICES

The Commission has two arms:

(1) a political arms = the College of Commissioners and

(2) an administrative arm in the form of the Commission services.

The services are organized as Directorates-General the number of which has been
constantly increasing as the Commission has been assigned or acquired increased
responsibilities and tasks, relating to various policy areas. Recruitment to the
Commission services has always been based on open competitions reflecting the
principle of merit.

Directorates-General (DGs) are generally concerned with policy sectors (for

instance, trade or environment) while other services are concerned with cross-cutting,
horizontal tasks.

Directorates-General

Communication; Economic and Financial Affairs; Enterprise and Industry;

Competition; Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion; Agriculture and Rural
Development; Energy; Mobility and Transport; Climate Action; Environment;
Research and Innovation; Communications Networks, Content and Technology;
Maritime Affairs and Fisheries; Internal Market and services; Regional and Urban
Policy; Taxation and Customs Union; Education and Culture; Health and Consumers;
Home Affairs; Justice; Trade; Enlargement Development and Cooperation - Europe
Aid; Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO); Eurostat; Human Resources and
Security; Informatics’; Budget; Interpretation; Translation;

Other Services

European Anti-Fraud Office;Joint Research Center; Legal Service; Press and

Communication; Publications Office; Secretariat General; European Political Strategy
Centre; Service for Foreign Policy Instruments; Office for Infrastructure and Logistics
in Brussels; Office for the Administration and Payment of Individual Entitlements;
Office for Infrastructure and Logistics in Luxembourg; European Personnel Selection
Office; Staff Committee - Representative Trade Unions and Staff Associations
(administratively attached to DG Human Resoutces).
Services vary considerably in size, depending on the nature of their
responsibilities. Most have between 200 and 500 full-time staff. Services are headed
by Directors General who are supported by senior staff, with the number depending
on the size, importance and mission of the service. The main function of the Director
General is to oversee the general functioning of his service, to be the principal
representative in relation to other services and the outside world and to be the main
line of communication between the service and the Commissioner responsible for the
service.
A DG as well as the other services are divided into Directorates, headed by
Directors. An average sized DG has between 3 to 6 Directorates, while a typical
Directorate is divided into units or divisions headed by a head of unit or division. A
Directorate may have between 3 to 6 units.
The Commission employs a wide variety of personnel categories, such as
permanent staff, temporary agents, contract agents, seconded national experts, etc.

4. THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

The European Parliament (EP) is elected by the citizens of the European Union to
represent their interests. Its origins go back to the 1950s and the founding treaties, and
since 1979 its members have been directly elected by the people they represent.
 Elections are held every five years, and every EU citizen is entitled to vote, and to
stand as a candidate, wherever they live in the EU. The latest elections were in June
2009. Parliament thus expresses the democratic will of the Union's citizens (more than
490 million people), and represents their interests in discussions with the other EU
institutions. The present parliament has 736 members from all 27 EU countries.
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) do not sit in national blocks, but in
eight Europe-wide political groups. Between them, they represent all views on
European integration, from the strongly pro-federalist to the openly Eurosceptic.
The President of the European Parliament
ELECTION PROCEDURE - The candidate who obtains an absolute majority of the
votes cast in a secret ballot is elected president If an absolute majority cannot be
obtained after three ballots the fourth ballot will be confined to the two members who
obtained the highest number of votes in the third ballot.
Current President - Martin Schulz - was born on 20 December 1955 and grew up in
Hehlrath Germany, close to the German-Dutch-Belgian borders After high school he
decided to try to make a living out of his passion for books and he did an
apprenticeship as a bookseller. In 1982 he opened his own bookstore in Würselen,
which he successfully ran for 12 years.Joining the Social Democratic Party of
Germany at the age of 19, he started out his political career. Aged 31, he was elected
as the youngest mayor of North Rhine-Westphalia, a post he held for 11 years. Since
1994, Martin Schulz is a Member of the European Parliament and has served in a
number of committees, first serving on the sub-committee on Human Rights and then
on the Committee on Civil Liberties and Home Affairs. He led the SPD MEPs from
2000 and was subsequently elected Vice-Chair of the Socialist MEPs. In 2004 he was
elected group leader of the second largest group in the European Parliament. As
leader of the Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, Martin Schulz
campaigned for social justice, promoting jobs and growth, reforming financial
markets, fighting climate change, championing equality and creating stronger and
more democratic Europe. Martin Schulz was elected President of the European
Parliament on 17 January 2012 for a mandate of two and half years with 387 votes.
On 1 July 2014 he was re-elected President with 409 votes, becoming the first
President in the history of the European Parliament to be re-elected for a second term.

1.Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) EPP

2. Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European
Parliament S&D
3. Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe ALDE
4. Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance Greens/EFA
5. European Conservatives and Reformists Group ECR
6. Confederal Group of the European United Left - Nordic Green Left GUE/ NGL
7. Europe of Freedom and Democracy Group EFD
8. Non-attached NA
 The European Parliament has three places of work: Brussels (Belgium),
Luxembourg and Strasbourg (France). Luxembourg is home to the administrative
offices (the ‘General Secretariat’). Meetings of the whole Parliament, known as
‘plenary sessions’, take place in Strasbourg and sometimes in Brussels. Committee
meetings are also held in Brussels.
Parliament has three main roles:
1. Passing European laws – jointly with the Council in many policy areas. The
fact that the EP is directly elected by the citizens helps guarantee the
democratic legitimacy of European law.
2. Parliament exercises democratic supervision over the other EU institutions,
and in particular the Commission. It has the power to approve or reject the
nomination of commissioners, and it has the right to censure the Commission
as a whole.
3. The power of the purse. Parliament shares with the Council authority over
the EU budget and can therefore influence EU spending. At the end of the
procedure, it adopts or rejects the budget in its entirety.

1. Passing European laws

The most common procedure for adopting (i.e. passing) EU legislation is
‘codecision’. This procedure places the European Parliament and the Council on an
equal footing and it applies to legislation in a wide range of fields.
The CODECISION procedure
VARIANT A
1. Proposal sent from Commission to the EP and the Council;
2. Parliament first reading – no EP amendments;
3. Council first reading – the Council may adopt the text without modifying it
VARIANT B
1. Proposal sent from Commission to the EP and the Council;
2. Parliament first reading – EP amendments;
3. Commission opinion on EP amendments;
4. Council first reading – Council approves all amendments and may adopt the act
VARIANT C
1. Proposal sent from Commission to the EP and the Council;
2. Parliament first reading – EP amendments;
3. Commission opinion on EP amendments;
4. Council first reading – Council does not approve all the amendments and adopt a
common position;
5. Commission opinion on the common position;
6. PE second reading (deadline 3+1 months);
7. PE approves the common position or does not take a decision, then the act is
deemed to have been adopted.
VARIANT D
1. Proposal sent from Commission to the EP and the Council;
2. Parliament first reading – EP amendments;
3. Commission opinion on EP amendments;
4. Council first reading – Council does not approve all the amendments and adopt a
common position;
5. Commission opinion on the common position;
6. PE second reading (deadline 3+1 months);
7. PE rejects the common position (absolute majority of members), then the act is
deemed not to have been adopted.
VARIANT E
1. Proposal sent from Commission to the EP and the Council;
2. Parliament first reading – EP amendments;
3. Commission opinion on EP amendments;
4. Council first reading – Council does not approve all the amendments and adopt a
common position;
5. Commission opinion on the common position;
6. PE adopts amendments to the common position (absolute majority of members);
7. Commission opinion on EP amendments;
8. Council second reading (deadline 3+1 months);
9. Council approves PE amendments and the act is approved as amended.
VARIANT F
1. Proposal sent from Commission to the EP and the Council;
2. Parliament first reading – EP amendments;
3. Commission opinion on EP amendments;
4. Council first reading – Council does not approve all the amendments and adopt a
common position;
5. Commission opinion on the common position;
6. PE adopts amendments to the common position (absolute majority of members);
7. Commission opinion on EP amendments;
8. Council second reading (deadline 3+1 months);
9. Council does not approve PE amendments;
10. Conciliation Committee is convened within a period of 6+2 weeks and has a
further 6+2 weeks to reach agreement;
11. successful conclusion to conciliation;
12. within a period of 6+2 weeks, approval of the joint text by EP (majority vote cast)
and Council (QMV)
VARIANT G
1. Proposal sent from Commission to the EP and the Council;
2. Parliament first reading – EP amendments;
3. Commission opinion on EP amendments;
4. Council first reading – Council does not approve all the amendments and adopt a
common position;
5. Commission opinion on the common position;
6. PE adopts amendments to the common position (absolute majority of members);
7. Commission opinion on EP amendments;
8. Council second reading (deadline 3+1 months);
9. Council does not approve PE amendments;
10. Conciliation Committee is convened within a period of 6+2 weeks and has a
further 6+2 weeks to reach agreement;
11. unsuccessful conclusion to conciliation; 12. the act is not adopted.
In some fields (for example agriculture, economic policy, visas and immigration),
the Council alone legislates, but it has to consult Parliament. In addition, Parliament’s
assent is required for certain important decisions, such as allowing new countries to
join the EU. Parliament also provides impetus for new legislation by examining the
Commission’s annual work programme, considering what new laws would be
appropriate and asking the Commission to put forward proposals.
2. Democratic supervision
Parliament exercises democratic supervision over the other European institutions.
It does so in several ways. When a new Commission takes office, its members are
nominated by the EU member state governments but they cannot be appointed
without Parliament’s approval. Parliament interviews each of them individually,
including the prospective Commission President, and then votes on whether to
approve the Commission as a whole. Throughout its term of office, the Commission
remains politically accountable to Parliament, which can pass a ‘motion of censure’
calling for the Commission’s mass resignation.
More generally, Parliament exercises control by regularly examining reports sent
to it by the Commission (the annual general report, reports on the implementation of
the budget, etc.). Moreover, MEPs regularly ask the Commission questions which the
commissioners are legally required to answer. Parliament also monitors the work of
the Council: MEPs regularly ask the Council questions, and the President of the
Council attends the EP’s plenary sessions and takes part in important debates.
Parliament can exercise further democratic control by examining petitions from
citizens and setting up committees of inquiry.
Finally, Parliament provides input to every EU summit (the European Council
meetings). At the opening of each summit, the President of Parliament is invited to
express Parliament's views and concerns about topical issues and the items on the
European Council's agenda.
3. The power of the purse
The EU’s annual budget is decided jointly by Parliament and the Council.
Parliament debates it in two successive readings, and the budget does not come into
force until it has been signed by the President of Parliament.
Parliament's Committee on Budgetary Control (COCOBU) monitors how the
budget is spent, and each year Parliament decides whether to approve the
Commission’s handling of the budget for the previous financial year. This approval
process is technically known as ‘granting a discharge’.
Parliament's work is divided into two main stages:
 Preparing for the plenary session. This is done by the MEPs in the various
parliamentary committees that specialise in particular areas of EU activity.
The issues for debate are also discussed by the political groups.
 The plenary session itself. Plenary sessions are normally held in Strasbourg
(one week per month) and sometimes in Brussels (two days only). At these
sessions, Parliament examines proposed legislation and votes on amendments
before coming to a decision on the text as a whole.
Other items on the agenda may include Council or Commission ‘communications’ or
questions about what is going on in the European Union or the wider world.

4. THE EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE

The Court of Justice of the European Communities (often referred to simply as

‘the Court’) was set up under the ECSC Treaty in 1952. It is based in Luxembourg. Its
job is to make sure that EU legislation is interpreted and applied in the same way in
all EU countries, so that the law is equal for everyone. It ensures, for example, that
national courts do not give different rulings on the same issue. The Court also makes
sure that EU member states and institutions do what the law requires. The Court has
the power to settle legal disputes between EU member states, EU institutions,
businesses and individuals. The Court is composed of one judge per member state, so
that all 27 of the EU’s national legal systems are represented. For the sake of
efficiency, however, the Court rarely sits as the full court. It usually sits as a ‘Grand
Chamber’ of just 13 judges or in chambers of five or three judges. The Court is
assisted by eight ‘advocates-general’. Their role is to present reasoned opinions on the
cases brought before the Court. They must do so publicly and impartially.
The judges and advocates-general are people whose impartiality is beyond doubt.
They have the qualifications or competence needed for appointment to the highest
judicial positions in their home countries. They are appointed to the Court of Justice
by joint agreement between the governments of the EU member states. Each is
appointed for a term of six years, which may be renewed.
To help the Court of Justice cope with the large number of cases brought before it,
and to offer citizens better legal protection, a ‘Court of First Instance’ was created
in 1988. This Court (which is attached to the Court of Justice) is responsible for
giving rulings on certain kinds of case, particularly actions brought by private
individuals, companies and some organisations, and cases relating to competition law.
This court also has one judge from each EU country.
The European Union Civil Service Tribunal adjudicates in disputes between the
European Union and its civil service. This tribunal is composed of seven judges and is
attached to the Court of First Instance.
The Court of Justice, the Court of First Instance and the Civil Service Tribunal
each have a president chosen by their fellow judges to serve for a renewable term of
three years.
The Court gives rulings on cases brought before it. The five most common types of
case are:
1. references for a preliminary ruling;
2. actions for failure to fulfill an obligation;
3. actions for annulment;
4. actions for failure to act;
5. actions for damages.
1. The preliminary ruling procedure
The national courts in each EU country are responsible for ensuring that EU law is
properly applied in that country. But there is a risk that courts in different countries
might interpret EU law in different ways. To prevent this happening, there is a
‘preliminary ruling procedure’. This means that if a national court is in any doubt
about the interpretation or validity of an EU law it may, and sometimes must, ask the
Court of Justice for advice. This advice is given in the form of a ‘preliminary ruling’.
2. Proceedings for failure to fulfill an obligation
The Commission can start these proceedings if it has reason to believe that a
member state is failing to fulfill its obligations under EU law. These proceedings may
also be started by another EU country. In either case, the Court investigates the
allegations and gives its judgment. The accused member state, if it is indeed found to
be at fault, must set things right at once. If the Court finds that the member state has
not complied with its judgment, it may impose a fine on that country.
3. Actions for annulment
If any of the member states, the Council, the Commission or (under certain
conditions) Parliament believes that a particular EU law is illegal they may ask the
Court to annul it. These ‘actions for annulment’ can also be used by private
individuals who want the Court to cancel a particular law because it directly and
adversely affects them as individuals. If the Court finds that the law in question was
not correctly adopted or is not correctly based on the Treaties, it may declare the law
null and void.
4. Actions for failure to act
The Treaty requires the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission to
make certain decisions under certain circumstances. If they fail to do so, the member
states, the other Community institutions and (under certain conditions) individuals or
companies can lodge a complaint with the Court so as to have this failure to act
officially recorded.
5. Actions for damages
Any person or company who has suffered damage as a result of the action or
inaction of the Community or its staff may bring an action seeking compensation
before the Court of First Instance. Cases are submitted to the registry and a specific
judge and advocate-general are assigned to each case. The procedure that follows is in
two stages: first a written and then an oral phase. At the first stage, all the parties
involved submit written statements and the judge assigned to the case draws up a
report summarising these statements and the legal background to the case.
Then comes the second stage – the public hearing. Depending on the importance
and complexity of the case, this hearing can take place before a chamber of three, five
or 13 judges, or before the full Court. At the hearing, the parties’ lawyers put their
case before the judges and the advocate-general, who can question them. The
advocate-general then gives his or her opinion, after which the judges deliberate and
deliver their judgment.
Since 2003, advocates general are required to give an opinion on a case only if the
Court considers that this particular case raises a new point of law. Nor does the Court
necessarily follow the advocate-general’s opinion. Judgments of the Court are decided
by a majority and pronounced at a public hearing. Dissenting opinions are not
expressed. Decisions are published on the day of delivery. The procedure in the Court
of First Instance is similar, except that there is no opinion from an advocate-general.

OTHER INSTITUTIONS AND ADVISORY BODIES

The EU’s institutional structure also comprises a number of lesser-known bodies,

out of which only the European Economic and Social Committee was provided for in
the original Treaties. The newly created institutions and bodies are the result of the
evolution of European integration.

1. The European Central Bank - created by the Treaty of Maastricht. The ECB is
made up of three separate, but closely linked decision-making bodies.

 The first and the most important is the Executive Body, which consists of the
ECB President, its Vice-President and 4 Board Members. The Executive
Body is responsible for the day-to-day management of the monetary policy,
implementing decision made by the second body, namely the Governing
Council and issuing specific instruction to the national banks. The 6 members
of the Executive Board are appointed by common accord of the governments
of the MS at the level of heads of state or governments, on a recommendation
 by the Council or after consultation with the Council and the Parliament. The
President is elected for a term of 8 years, the Vice-President for a term of 4
years and the remaining members for terms between 5 and 8 years. The terms
of office for the Executive Board members are not renewable.
 The Governing Council is composed of the Governors of the central banks of
the MS belonging to the eurozone and the members of the Executive Board.
The Governing Council is responsible for formulating the monetary policy and
adopting guidelines fot its implementation. Neither the ECB nor a national
central bank nor any member of their decision-making bodies may seek or
take instructions from Community bodies, from any government of the MS or
any other body. The ECB has the exclusive right to authorize the issue of
banknotes within the Community’s eurozone.
 The General Council – comprises the president, the vice-president and
governors of all the EU national central banks, including those not
participating in the eurozone. Practically speaking, it has a very limited
practical role and the members nor participating in the euro are effectively
shut out of policy-making.

2. The European Court of Auditors

The Court of Auditors was set up in 1975. It is based in Luxembourg. The Court’s
job is to check that EU funds, which come from the taxpayers, are properly collected
and that they are spent legally, economically and for the intended purpose. Its aim is
to ensure that the taxpayers get maximum value for their money, and it has the right to
audit any person or organization handling EU funds.
The Court has one member from each EU country, appointed by the Council for a
renewable term of six years. The members elect one of their number as President for a
renewable term of three years. The Court’s main role is to check that the EU budget is
correctly implemented – in other words, that EU income and expenditure is legal and
above board and to ensure sound financial management. So its work helps guarantee
that the EU system operates efficiently and openly.
To carry out its tasks, the Court investigates the paperwork of any person or
organisation handling EU income or expenditure. It frequently carries out on-the-spot
checks. Its findings are written up in reports which bring any problems to the attention
of the Commission and EU member state governments. To do its job effectively, the
Court of Auditors must remain completely independent of the other institutions but at
the same time stay in constant touch with them.
One of its key functions is to help the European Parliament and the Council by
presenting them every year with an audit report on the previous financial year.
Parliament examines the Court’s report in detail before deciding whether or not to
approve the Commission’s handling of the budget. If satisfied, the Court of Auditors
also sends the Council and Parliament a statement of assurance that European
taxpayers' money has been properly used.
Finally, the Court of Auditors gives its opinion on proposals for EU financial
legislation and for EU action to fight fraud. The Court of Auditors has approximately
800 staff, including translators and administrators as well as auditors. The auditors are
divided into ‘audit groups’. They prepare draft reports on which the Court takes
decisions.
 The auditors frequently go on tours of inspection to the other EU institutions, the
member states and any country that receives aid from the EU. Indeed, although the
Court's work largely concerns money for which the Commission is responsible, in
practice 80% of this income and expenditure is managed by the national authorities.
The Court of Auditors has no legal powers of its own. If auditors discover fraud or
irregularities they inform OLAF – the European Anti-Fraud Office.

3. The European Economic and Social Committee

Founded in 1957 under the Treaty of Rome, the European Economic and Social
Committee (EESC) is an advisory body representing employers, trade unions, farmers,
consumers and the other interest groups that collectively make up ‘organized civil
society’. It presents their views and defends their interests in policy discussions with
the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament. So the EESC is a bridge
between the Union and its citizens, promoting a more participatory, more inclusive
and therefore more democratic society in Europe.
The Committee is an integral part of the EU’s decision-making process: it must be
consulted before decisions are taken on economic and social policy. On its own
initiative, or at the request of another EU institution, it may also give its opinion on
other matters.
The EESC has 344 members – the number from each EU country roughly
reflecting the size of its population. The members are nominated by the EU
governments but they work in complete political independence. They are appointed
for four years, and may be re-appointed.
The Committee meets in Plenary Assembly, and its discussions are prepared by
six subcommittees known as ‘sections’, each dealing with particular policy areas. It
elects its President and two Vice-Presidents for a two-year term
The European Economic and Social Committee has three main roles:
 to advise the Council, Commission and European Parliament, either at their
request or on the Committee’s own initiative;
 to encourage civil society to become more involved in EU policy-making;
 to bolster the role of civil society in non-EU countries and to help set up
advisory structures.
Working mostly in their countries of origin, the members of the Committee form
three groups that represent employers, workers and various economic and social
interests.
The Employers' Group has members from private and public sectors of industry,
small and medium-sized businesses, chambers of commerce, wholesale and retail
trade, banking and insurance, transport and agriculture.
The Workers’ Group represents all categories of employees, from manual to
executive. Its members come from national trade union organizations.
 The third group represents a wide range of interests: NGOs, farmers' organizations,
small businesses, crafts and professions, cooperatives and non-profit associations,
consumer and environmental organizations, the scientific and academic communities
and associations that represent the family, women, persons with disabilities, etc.

4. The Committee of the Regions

Set up in 1994 under the Treaty on European Union, the Committee of the
Regions (CoR) is an advisory body composed of representatives of Europe’s regional
and local authorities. The CoR has to be consulted before EU decisions are taken on
matters such as regional policy, the environment, education and transport – all of
which concern local and regional government.
The Committee has 344 members. The number from each member state
approximately reflects its population size. The members of the Committee are elected
municipal or regional politicians, often leaders of regional governments or mayors of
cities. They are nominated by the EU governments but they work in complete political
independence. The Council of the European Union appoints them for four years, and
they may be reappointed. They must also have a mandate from the authorities they
represent or must be politically accountable to them. The Committee of the Regions
chooses a President from among its members, for a term of two years. The role of the
Committee of the Regions is to put forward the local and regional points of view on
EU legislation. It does so by issuing opinions on Commission proposals.
The Commission and the Council must consult the Committee of the Regions on
topics of direct relevance to local and regional authorities, but they can also consult
the Committee whenever they wish. For its part, the Committee can adopt opinions on
its own initiative and present them to the Commission, Council and Parliament.
EU INSTITUTIONS – 2ND YEAR TRANSLATION STUDIES
AUTUMN TERM, 2013-2014
ROXANA-CRISTINA PETCU, PhD

Lecture V LAW-MAKING IN THE EU

The powers and responsibilities of the EU (its competences) are defined in the
Treaty of Roma and in the subsequent amendments. From the very beginning, the
Community had responsibility for the common policies, most importantly covering
agriculture, fisheries and international trade. There are other matters added to these
traditional responsibilities, such as transport, environmental protection, consumer
protection and public health, research and development, the promotion of economic
and social cohesion and cooperation with developing countries.

Thus, the competences of the Community result

 from the Treaty of Rome (although some of them could not be exercised
because of various political problems stemming from the national interests of
the MS)
 from each formal step in integration which added new competences
  or, in some cases, the Union simply found itself in the situation to exercise in
practice powers that it has always enjoyed in theory

DIFFERENT SORTS OF LAW

EU law takes different forms. There are binding and non-binding legal instruments.

1. Binding instruments

Directives

 sets out a policy objective but requires national legislation to implement or

transpose. This gives a certain amount of leeway to the MS and allows for
differing conditions
 A directive is a legislative act of the European Union, which requires MS to
achieve a particular result without dictating the means of achieving that result.
It can be distinguished from regulations which are self-executing and do not
require any implementing measures. Directives normally leave member states
with a certain amount of leeway as to the exact rules to be adopted. Directives
can be adopted by means of a variety of legislative procedures depending on
their subject matter.
 they are binding. The legal basis for the enactment of directives is article 249
of the Treaty establishing the European Community and, as such, directives
only apply within the European Community pillar of the European Union.
Article 249
In order to carry out their task and in accordance with the provisions of this
Treaty, the European Parliament acting jointly with the Council, the Council
and the Commission shall make regulations and issue directives, take
decisions, make recommendations or deliver opinions. A regulation shall have
general application. It shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable
in all Member States. 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. A decision shall be
binding in its entirety upon those to whom it is addressed. Recommendations
and opinions shall have no binding force.

 The Council can delegate legislative authority to the Commission and,

depending on the area and the appropriate legislative procedure, both
institutions can make laws. There are Council regulations and Commission
regulations. Article 249 does not clearly distinguish between legislative acts
and administrative acts, as is normally done in national legal systems
 a time limit (2 years or less) is usually laid down for the transposition of a
directive (often breached).

 in case of breach or in case the Commission is not convinced that the national
implementing legislation is adequate, the ECJ has the final word
 Notwithstanding the fact that directives were not originally thought to be
binding before they were implemented by member states, the European Court
of Justice developed the doctrine of direct effect where unimplemented or
badly implemented directives can actually have direct legal force. The court
 found that member states could be liable to pay damages to individuals and
companies who had been adversely affected by the non-implementation of a
directive.

Regulations

 apply immediately throughout the territory of the EU, without requirement for
legislation at national level. A regulation is a legislative act of the European
Union which becomes immediately enforceable as law in all member states
simultaneously. Regulations can be distinguished from directives, at least in
principle, need to be transposed into national law. Regulations can be adopted
by means of a variety of legislative procedures depending on their subject
matter.
 are binding. The legal basis for the enactment of regulations is article 249 of
the Treaty establishing the European Community and, as such, regulations
only apply within the European Community pillar of the European Union.
 The Council can delegate legislative authority to the Commission and,
depending on the area and the appropriate legislative procedure, both
institutions can make laws. There are Council regulations and Commission
regulations. Article 249 does not clearly distinguish between legislative acts
and administrative acts, as is normally done in national legal systems.
 Regulations are in some sense equivalent to "Acts of Parliament", in the sense
that what they say is law, and do not need to be mediated into national law by
means of implementing measures. As such, regulations constitute one of the
most powerful forms of European Union law and a great deal of care is
required in their drafting and formulation.
 When a regulation comes into force it overrides all national laws dealing with
the same subject matter and subsequent national legislation must be consistent
with and made in the light of the regulation. While member states are
prohibited from obscuring the direct effect of regulations, it is common
practice to pass legislation dealing with consequential matters arising from the
coming into force of a regulation.

Decisions

 are binding, but apply only to the body or bodies to which they are addressed,
which may be a MS, a legal person (usually a corporation) or a natural person
 A Decision (defined in Article 249/EC) is one of the three binding instruments
provided by secondary EU legislation. A decision is binding on the person or
entity to which it is addressed. Decisions may be addressed to member states
or individuals. The Council of the European Union can delegate power to
make decisions to the European Commission.
 The legislative procedure for adoption of a decision varies depending on its
subject matter. The co-decision procedure requires agreement of and allows
amendments by both the European Parliament and the Council of the
European Union. The Assent procedure requires agreement of both Parliament
and Council, but the Parliament can only agree or disagree to the text as a
whole - it cannot propose amendments. The Consultation procedure requires
agreement of the Council alone, the Parliament merely being consulted on the
 text. In some areas, such as competition policy, the Commission may itself
issue decisions.
 Common uses of decisions involve the Commission ruling on proposed
mergers, and day-to-day agricultural matters (e.g. setting standard prices for
vegetables).
 On the basis of case law, decisions may have direct effect, that is to say they
may be invoked by individuals before national courts

The EU institutions may have a certain amount of leeway in deciding which sort
of law is appropriate in which case, but in reality this is usually dictated by the
Treaties.

2. Non-binding instruments

Recommendations

 used by the Commission or the Council, but does not bind the MS.
 A recommendation in the European Union (introduced in Article 249/EC) is
one of two kinds of non-binding acts cited in the Treaty of Rome.
 Recommendations are without legal force but are negotiated and voted on
according to the appropriate procedure. Recommendations differ from
regulations, directives and decisions, in that they are not binding for Member
States. Though without legal force, they do have a political weight. The
recommendation is an instrument of indirect action aiming at preparation of
legislation in Member States, differing from the Directive only by the absence
of obligatory power.
 According to the terms of the Treaty on the European Union "In order to
ensure the proper functioning and development of the common market, the
Commission (…) formulate recommendations or deliver opinions on matters
dealt with in this Treaty, if it expressively so provides or if the Commission
considers it necessary."
 Concretely, recommendations can be used by the Commission to raze barriers
of competition caused by the establishment or the modification of internal
norms of a Member State. If a country does not conform to a recommendation,
the Commission cannot propose the adoption of a Directive aimed at other
Member Countries, in order to elide this distortion

Opinions

 It requires little explanation

 For instance, the Economic and Social Committee or the Committee of the
Regions may issue opinions on the various legislative proposals tabled by the
Commission. These committees may also issue own opinions on a variety of
matters they consider relevant or important at a specific given time.

Communications

 Issued by the Commission; a document in which the Commission states its

views on a specific issue
Declarations

 Issued by the Council

Resolutions

 Issued by the PE
 Deal with issues over which it has no real power, but where it hopes to
exercise influence
 Every session, the PE passes resolutions on human rights or crises which are
beyond its reach
 The PE has entire committees which deal with no legislative proposals at all,
except through the consultation procedure, simply because it does not have
competence in those areas.

Each of the major EU institutions has a role to play in the creation and
implementation of the EU law. Their role is determined by the type of law being made
and the policy area it covers. For every proposed law their must be a legal base to be
found in the treaty. In other words, when the Commission makes a legislative
proposal, it must be able to cite an article in the Treaty which gives the EU the
authority to make laws in that specific area of policy. The ‘treaty base’ can be
challenged before the Court of Justice, which has the final say as to whether or not it
is legitimate. The choice of the treaty base is crucial, because on it will depend which
of the various legislative procedures is used, and thus the extent of influence on the
EP and whether the Council, in approving, rejecting or amending the proposal, must
do so by unanimity or by Qualified Majority Voting (OMV).
QMV means that laws which are opposed by a sovereign state’s government and
may be abhorrent to its people can be imposed upon them. There may be defenses to
this, but practicality simply will not do. Majority voting has been extended to new
areas at every amendment of the Treaty since the Single European Act. Up to now,
only the most politically sensitive issues have been left to unanimity, namely defense
operations, most tax matters as well as cultural policy among MS.

THE LEGISLATIVE PROCEDURES

Decision-making at European Union level involves various European institutions, in

particular
 the European Commission,
 the European Parliament (EP),
 the Council of the European Union.
In general, it is the European Commission that proposes new legislation, but it is
the Council and Parliament that pass the laws. In some cases, the Council can act
alone. Other institutions also have roles to play. The main forms of EU law are
directives and regulations. The rules and procedures for EU decision-making are laid
down in the treaties. Every proposal for a new European law is based on a specific
treaty article, referred to as the ‘legal basis’ of the proposal. This determines which
legislative procedure must be followed. The three main procedures are
‘consultation’, ‘assent’ and ‘co-decision’.

1. Co-decision

This is the procedure now used for most EU law-making. In the co-decision
procedure, Parliament does not merely give its opinion: it shares legislative power
equally with the Council. If Council and Parliament cannot agree on a piece of
proposed legislation, it is put before a conciliation committee, composed of equal
numbers of Council and Parliament representatives. Once this committee has reached
an agreement, the text is sent once again to Parliament and the Council so that they
can finally adopt it as law. Conciliation is becoming increasingly rare. Most laws
passed in co-decision are, in fact, adopted either at the first or second reading as a
result of good cooperation between the three institutions.
Having been established by the Maastricht Treaty, and extended and adapted by
the Treaty of Amsterdam to make it more effective, the co-decision procedure now
covers 43 areas under the first pillar (based on the Treaty establishing the European
Community) following the entry into force of the Treaty of Nice.As defined in Article
251 of the EC Treaty, the co-decision procedure is the legislative procedure which is
central to the Community's decision-making system. It is based on the principle of
parity and means that neither institution (European Parliament or Council) may adopt
legislation without the other's assent. Since the entry into force of the Amsterdam
Treaty until 30 June 2007, 635 co-decision procedures have been successfully
completed (apart from two cases). This site contains references to the provisions of
the Treaty and to the legal bases of the procedure. In this regard, it is important to
bear in mind the existence of the Joint Declaration on practical arrangements for the
new co-decision procedure, which was adopted by the three institutions when the
Amsterdam Treaty came into force. It serves as a practical reference framework for
each institution as regards the role it has to play at the various stages of the procedure.
Declaration n°34 annexed to the Treaty of Amsterdam calls on the institutions to
make every effort to ensure that the co-decision procedure operates as expeditiously
as possible and in particular that in no case should the actual period between the
second reading by the European Parliament and the outcome of the Conciliation
Committee exceed nine months.
Attention should also be drawn to the interinstitutional agreement on "better
lawmaking", which was signed by the European Parliament, the Council and the
Commission on 16 December 2003. The agreement sets out best practice and lays
down new objectives and commitments, including:
 the improvement of interinstitutional coordination and transparency ;
 the establishment of a sound framework for "alternative instruments" ;
 the increased used of impact analyses in the Community decision-making
process ;
 the desire to establish a mandatory time limit for transposing directives into
national law.
CO-DECISION IN DETAIL

1. COMMISSION PROPOSAL

1. The Commission has a monopoly of legislative initiative in all the areas which are
subject to the co-decision procedure. In accordance with the Treaty establishing the
European Community (EC Treaty), only the Commission may put forward legislative
proposals. It may also itself alter any such proposal (Article 250(2) EC Treaty). The
legal basis adopted by the Commission will determine the legislative procedure.The
Commission’s proposal is the result of an extensive consultation process, which may
be conducted in various ways (impact assessment, reports by experts, consultation of
national experts, international organizations and/or non-governmental organizations,
consultation via Green and White Papers, etc.). A consultation process is also
launched among the different Commission departments in order to ensure that all
aspects of the matter in question are taken into account (Interservice
Consultation).The Commission’s proposal is adopted by the College of
Commissioners on the basis of either a written procedure (no discussion among
Commissioners) or an oral procedure (the dossier is discussed by the College of
Commissioners), and is published in the Official Journal of the European Union (“C”
Series).The proposal is forwarded simultaneously to the European Parliament and to
the Council.As far as the legislative process is concerned, relations between the
European Parliament and the Commission are governed generally by the Framework
Agreement on relations between the European Parliament and the Commission drawn
up in 2005.

1a Opinions of the Committee of the Regions and the Economic and Social Committee

The Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions
respectively consist of “representatives of the various economic and social
components of orgazed civil society …” and “representatives of regional and local
bodies …”. The provisions governing the Economic and Social Committee and the
Committee of the Regions are contained in Articles 257 to 265 of the EC Treaty.
These Committees must be consulted by the Commission and the Council where the
Treaty so provides or in cases in which the latter consider it appropriate. The Council
or the Commission can set a time limit for the submission of opinions (Article 262
and 265 of the EC Treaty). The European Parliament (EP) also has the option of
consulting the two Committees. In addition, the Economic and Social Committee and
the Committee of the Regions may issue opinions in cases considered by them to be
appropriate.

2. European Parliament (EP) First reading

The European Parliament delivers an opinion at first reading. This opinion,

prepared by a rapporteur, is discussed and amended within the relevant parliamentary
committee, then debated in plenary session, where it is adopted by a simple
majority.Legal basis: Article 251(2) EC Treaty and Rules 34 - 40 and 38 - 53 of the
EP’s Rules of Procedure.Upon receiving the Commission’s proposal, the European
Parliament gets ready to prepare and adopt its opinion. The Treaty does not set any
time limit for the European Parliament to give its opinion. In practice, this phase lasts
for eight months on average. It may, however, be much longer, depending on the
technical or political complexity of the dossiers.If the parliamentary committee
responsible for the dossier does not propose any amendments, the European
Parliament tends to use the simplified fast-track procedures (see Rules 131 and 43 of
the EP’s Rules of Procedure).

Work in parliamentary committee:

The parliamentary committee responsible is named, along with any other

committees which are asked for an opinion (Rule 40 of the EP's Rules of Procedure).
The legal basis and financial aspects may be evaluated by the parliamentary
committees responsible for legal affairs and budgetary issues (Rules 35 and 36 of the
EP’s Rules of Procedure). Within the parliamentary committee responsible,
coordinators (representing political groups) entrust the drafting of the report to a
rapporteur (see Rule 42 of the EP’s Rules of Procedure) chosen by a weighting system
representative of the political groupings within the committee.Other political groups
may also appoint a “shadow rapporteur”, who will be responsible for preparing the
group’s position and monitoring the work of the rapporteur.The parliamentary
committee meets several times to study the draft report prepared by the rapporteur.
The rapporteur and the members or substitutes of both the parliamentary committee
responsible and any other EP committee may propose amendments to the
Commission’s proposal. These amendments, together with those proposed by the
parliamentary committees asked for an opinion, are put to the vote in the
parliamentary committee responsible, on the basis of a simple majority. Voting on a
report is concluded by a vote on the Commission’s proposal as amended and on a
legislative resolution (see Rules 46 and 185 of the EP’s Rules of Procedure).

Adoption in plenary

Once the report is adopted in the parliamentary committee, it is placed on the

agenda of the plenary session.Additional amendments to the report, including
amendments adopted in parliamentary committee, may be tabled by political groups
or at least 37 Members (Rule 150 of the EP’s Rules of Procedure) and put to the
plenary’s vote. As a general rule, the deadline for tabling new amendments in plenary
is noon on the Thursday of the week preceding the session.In the course of the plenary
debate ahead of the vote, the Commissioner announces and explains the
Commission’s position on the amendments tabled. The Commission’s position on the
EP’s amendments is prepared by the Directorate-General in charge of the dossier and
approved by the College of Commissioners. In practice, the College’s decision is
prepared by the Inter-institutional relations group (comprising members of the
Commission cabinets responsible for inter-institutional relations), and subsequently
ratified by the College.A simple majority is required for adopting amendments, the
Commission's proposal as amended and the legislative resolution (see Rule 51 of the
EP’s Rules of Procedure).If the legislative resolution accompanying the report has
been adopted in parliamentary committee virtually unanimously (with fewer than 10%
of votes against), the report may be adopted by the plenary without further
amendment or debate (Rule 131 of the EP’s Rules of Procedure).Although the Treaty
does not explicitly allow the European Parliament to reject the Commission’s
proposal at first reading, Rule 52 of the EP’s Rules of Procedure foresees the situation
in which the Commission’s proposal, as amended, fails to secure a majority of the
final votes cast. In this case, the President of the European Parliament will suspend
the vote on the legislative resolution (normally taken following the final vote on the
proposal as amended) and will request the Commission to withdraw its proposal. If
the Commission does so, the legislative procedure is stopped. If the Commission
refuses to withdraw its proposal, the matter is referred back to the parliamentary
committee. However, there is nothing to prevent the European Parliament from
adopting an opinion containing amendments which completely nullify the
Commission’s proposal. Such a step will not necessarily stop the legislative procedure
and the Commission can always submit an amended proposal, while the Council can
adopt a common position.

3. Amended Commission proposal

Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty authorizes the Commission to alter its legislative
proposal, enabling it to incorporate European Parliament amendments which, in its
view, improve the initial proposal and/or are likely to facilitate an agreement.Legal
basis: Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty.In accordance with § 13 of the Joint
Declaration on practical arrangements for the new codecision procedure, the
Commission must exercise its right of initiative in a constructive manner with a view
to making it easier to reconcile the positions of the Council and the European
Parliament. To this end, the Commission may incorporate into its amended proposal
the European Parliament amendments which it supports, either unaltered or suitably
reworded.As far as internal procedures are concerned, the amended proposal is
prepared by the Commission’s Directorate-General in charge of the dossier, on the
basis of the mandate obtained from the College of Commissioners before the plenary.
The Legal Service and the Secretariat-General are consulted, and the amended
proposal is adopted by the College and published in the Official Journal.

4. Council first reading

The Council makes its position known after preparatory work has taken place
within working parties made up of experts from the Member States and chaired by the
Member State holding the six-monthly Presidency of the Council. This preparatory
work runs concurrently with the European Parliament’s activity (cf. § 6 of the Joint
Declaration). The Council finalizes its position on the basis of the Commission’s
proposal, amended where necessary, in the light of the European Parliament’s first
reading and resultant amendments.

There are three possible scenarios:

 the Council accepts without alteration the Commission’s proposal, which the
European Parliament has not amended, and the act can be adopted ;
 the Council accepts all the European Parliament’s amendments which the
Commission has incorporated into its amended proposal, and the act can be
adopted ;
 in all other cases, the Council adopts a common position.

Legal basis: Article 251(2) EC Treaty.

 Preparation of the Council’s position

 The Council’s decisions are prepared within specific working parties made up of
representatives of the Member States and chaired by the representative of the Member
State holding the six-monthly Presidency, assisted by the General Secretariat of the
Council of Ministers. The Commission has a role to play in providing expertise.The
working parties report to the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper, Part
I or II), which prepares every Council decision taken at Ministerial level.

 Adoption of the decision by the Council

Decisions prepared by Coreper are adopted by the Council of Ministers either

without debate, when an agreement has been found at the preparatory stage ("A" item),
or with debate ( “B” item). In both cases, the deliberations are in the public domain.
In accordance with Article 250(1) of the EC Treaty, the Council will act by a qualified
majority with the agreement of the Commission. However, if its position differs from
that of the Commission, unanimity will be required.

5. The Council approves all the EP amendments

If the Council approves the Commission’s proposal as amended by the European

Parliament, the act is deemed to have been adopted.Legal basis: Article 251(2), first
and second indents, of the EC Treaty.When the European Parliament has introduced
amendments, adoption of the act is dependent on the Council approving all the
amendments by a qualified majority if the Commission has incorporated them into its
amended proposal, or by unanimity if this has not been done.When the co-legislators
are seeking to conclude an agreement at first reading, it is often the case that they
organize, in accordance with paragraphs 7, 8 and 9 of the Joint Declaration on
practical arrangements for the new codecision procedure, informal tripartite meetings
attended by representatives of the European Parliament (rapporteur and, where
appropriate, shadow rapporteurs), the Council (chair of the working party and/or
Coreper), and the Commission (department responsible for the dossier and the
Commission’s Secretariat-General). The aim is to ensure that the Parliament
amendments adopted in plenary are wholly acceptable to the Council. The
Commission frequently plays a mediating and editing role in respect of these
compromise texts.

6. The Council can adopt the act as amended

The legislative act is submitted directly for the signature of the Presidents and
Secretaries-General of the European Parliament and of the Council, and is published
in the Official Journal.The procedure is ended.

7. The EP has approved the proposal without amendment

If the European Parliament has not adopted any amendments, and if the Council
does not wish to alter the Commission’s proposal, it can adopt the act on that basis by
a qualified majority – (with exceptions).Legal basis: Article 251(2), second indent, of
the EC Treaty.
8. The Council can adopt the Act

The legislative act is submitted directly for the signature of the Presidents and
Secretaries-General of the European Parliament and of the Council and is published in
the Official Journal.The procedure is ended.

9. Council common position

When the Council does not share the views expressed by Parliament, it adopts a
common position, which is forwarded to the European Parliament together with a
statement of reasons. Where the European Parliament has approved the Commission’s
proposal without amendment, but the Council wishes to make changes to it, the
Council will again adopt a common position. Legal basis: Article 251(2), third indent,
of the EC Treaty.

 Preparation of the common position:

The decision is prepared by the working parties and Coreper. In the next stage of
this preparatory work, the Council will establish or negotiate a “political
agreement” laying down the broad outlines of the proposed common position. The
details of this agreement are subsequently finalized by the working party, verified by
lawyer-linguists and formally adopted as a Common Position by the Council of
Ministers at a subsequent meeting. The Council may, on occasion, reach an agreement
in principle before the European Parliament delivers its opinion, commonly termed a
“general approach” . The Commission does not take a definitive position at this stage,
since it needs to be able first of all to react to any amendments of the European
Parliament. The Council moves from the general approach to a political agreement,
then to a common position after examining the EP’s opinion, unless the EP
amendments coincide with the general approach, allowing the act in question to be
adopted. Wherever possible, informal contacts may be established in the period
between the political agreement and the formal notification of the common position,
with a view to facilitating an agreement at second reading.

 Adoption of the common position:

Adoption may take place without debate (“A” item on the agenda) or with debate
(“B” item) or, in exceptional cases, by written procedure. In the first two instances,
the deliberations are in the public domain. The Council’s decision requires a qualified
majority (see Article 205 EC Treaty), except in the fields of culture, free movement of
citizens, social security and coordination of rules governing professions, for which
unanimity is required (link to scope).The European Parliament is generally notified of
the common position at the plenary session following its formal adoption. The time
limits laid down by the Treaty for the subsequent stages of the procedure start to run
when Parliament receives the common position.The statement of reasons is
accompanied by any statements made by the Council and/or the Commission for the
Council minutes, as well as unilateral statements by delegations.No time limit is laid
down in the Treaty for the adoption of a common position by the Council. In the past,
this phase has lasted for an average of 15 months from the start of the procedure,
depending on the complexity of the dossiers. The adoption of certain politically
sensitive common positions has sometimes taken several years.
10. Commission communication on the common position

In this document, which is forwarded to the European Parliament in tandem with

the common position, the Commission explains why it has decided to support or
oppose the common position. The Commission also comments on the Council’s
reaction to the EP amendments which it had supported in plenary at the first reading.
Legal basis: Article 251(2), third indent, of the EC Treaty.

11. EP second reading

A three-month time limit is laid down by the Treaty (this period may be extended
by a month) for the European Parliament to take action on the basis of the Council’s
common position.The adoption procedure is broadly similar to that at first reading. As
a general rule, the amendments must: include amendments adopted at first reading
and not accepted by the Council; or be concerned with a part of the common position
which did not appear in, or is substantially different from, the Commission’s initial
proposal; or introduce a compromise between the positions of the co-legislators.

The President of the European Parliament makes an announcement, in plenary

session, acknowledging receipt of the Council’s common position and the
Commission’s communication thereon, duly translated into all the official languages.
The three-month time limit starts to run on the day following receipt (see Rule 57 of
the EP's Rules of Procedure).

 Work in parliamentary committee:

The procedure for second reading in parliamentary committee generally follows

the rules and practice of the first reading, with the difference that the text to be
amended is the Council’s common position and not the Commission’s proposal. The
parliamentary committees which were asked for an opinion at first reading are not
consulted anew, except in specific cases. The amendments adopted in parliamentary
committee constitute “the recommendation for second reading”, which is normally
defended by the same rapporteur as at first reading. It includes proposed amendments,
where appropriate. Amendments may also be tabled personally by other Members of
the European Parliament. Pursuant to Rule 62 of the EP's Rules of Procedure, the
amendments must either include amendments adopted at first reading and not
accepted by the Council, or be concerned with a part of the common position that did
not appear in, or is substantially different from, the Commission’s initial proposal, or
introduce a compromise between the positions of the co-legislators. If new European
elections have taken place, the rules for first reading will apply (Rule 62(3) of the
EP's Rules of Procedure).The proposed amendments are put to the vote in the
parliamentary committee responsible, which takes a decision by simple majority.

 Adoption in plenary session :

The plenary makes its position known on the basis of the amendments included in
the recommendation adopted by the parliamentary committee and any amendments
tabled in plenary by political groups or by a minimum of 37 Members. The rules on
the admissibility of amendments applying to the parliamentary committee are also
applicable for amendments tabled at the plenary stage. The plenary adopts
amendments by absolute majority. The European Parliament may extend the three-
month time limit by a further month (Article 251(7) of the EC Treaty and Rule 58 of
the EP's Rules of Procedure).

12. EP approves the common position or does not take a decision

If the European Parliament endorses the common position as it stands, fails to

adopt amendments as a result of not obtaining an absolute majority of its Members
(393 votes) or does not take a decision within the stipulated time limit, the President
of Parliament will declare that the common position is approved and the act is adopted
in accordance with the common position.Legal basis: Article 251(2)(a) of the EC
Treaty, Rule 67 of the EP's Rules of Procedure

13. Act deemed to have been adopted

The legislative act is submitted directly for the signature of the Presidents and
Secretaries–General of the European Parliament and of the Council, and is published
in the Official Journal.The procedure is ended.

14. EP rejects the common position

Rejection of the common position requires the votes of an absolute majority of the
component Members of the European Parliament – The act is deemed not to have
been adopted. Legal basis: Article 251(2)(b) of the EC Treaty; Rule 61 of the EP’s
Rules of Procedure.

In contrast to the first reading, the Treaty explicitly confers on the European
Parliament the right to reject the Council’s common position. Up till now, the
European Parliament has never exercised this prerogative.

15. Act deemed not to have been adopted

The procedure is ended.

16. EP proposes amendments to the common position

The European Parliament may propose amendments to the common position, by

an absolute majority of its component Members (393 votes ) and the text thus
amended is forwarded to the Council and the Commission. Legal basis: Article
251(2)(c) of the EC Treaty; Rule 62 of the EP's Rules of Procedure.

Once adopted in parliamentary committee, the recommendation for second

reading is placed on the agenda of the plenary session. As with the first reading, at
this stage, any new amendment must be tabled by a political group or by at least 37
Members of Parliament. Voting is based on an absolute majority of the component
Members of the European Parliament (393 votes).During the plenary debate
preceding the vote, the Commissioner announces and explains the Commission’s
position on the amendments tabled. The Commission’s position on the European
Parliament’s amendments is prepared by the Directorate-General in charge of the
dossier and approved by the College of Commissioners. In practice, the College’s
decision is prepared by the Inter-institutional relations group (comprising members of
the Commission cabinets responsible for inter-institutional relations), and
subsequently ratified by the College.

17. Commission opinion on EP amendments

The Treaty specifically requires the Commission to deliver an opinion on the

European Parliament’s amendments. The Commission’s position on the European
Parliament’s amendments will determine the type of vote necessary in the Council: if
the Commission has given a negative opinion on at least one amendment, the Council
will have to act unanimously as regards acceptance of the European Parliament’s
position overall. Legal basis: Article 251(2)(c) and (3) of the EC Treaty.

In practice, the Commission’s opinion is a written reflection of the position

expressed by the Commissioner in plenary on the amendments adopted by the
European Parliament, accompanied where necessary by texts reformulating the EP
amendments accepted partially, in principle or subject to redrafting by the
Commission.

18. Council second reading

The Council has a period of three months (which may be extended by a further
month), following receipt of the European Parliament’s amendments, in which to
approve them by a qualified majority or unanimously if the Commission has delivered
a negative opinion. The Council may extend the three-month time limit by a further
month. The time limit starts to run from the official receipt of the amendments
resulting from the European Parliament’s second reading, in all the official
languages.The Council’s internal workings are broadly similar to the preparation of
the common position: the competent working party prepares a position which is
submitted to Coreper and adopted by the Council.

19. The Council approves the amended common position

If the Council agrees to accept all the amendments of the European Parliament,
the act will be deemed to have been adopted in the form of the common position thus
amended.Legal basis: Article 251(3) EC Treaty.

Seeking an agreement at second reading: informal proceedings

In accordance with the Joint Declaration on practical arrangements for the new
codecision procedure (in particular, paragraphs 19 to 23), where an agreement at
second reading appears to be attainable, informal contacts are established between the
co-legislators in order to reconcile their positions. Such contacts may take the form of
bilateral meetings between representatives of the European Parliament and the
Presidency or, as is more often the case, informal tripartite meetings in the presence of
the Commission. Owing to the ad-hoc nature of such contacts, no “standard” format
of representation has been laid down but, as a general rule, they involve the rapporteur
(accompanied where necessary by shadow rapporteurs from other political groups),
the chairperson of the relevant Council working party assisted by the General
Secretariat of the Council and representatives of the Commission (usually the expert
in charge of the dossier and his or her direct superior assisted by the Commission’s
Secretariat-General and Legal Service). The purpose of these contacts is to get
agreement on a package of amendments acceptable to the Council and the European
Parliament. The Commission’s endorsement is particularly important, in view of the
fact that, if it opposes an amendment which the European Parliament wants to adopt,
the Council will have to act unanimously to accept that amendment. If these contacts
prove fruitful, the Coreper chair will send a letter to the chair of the parliamentary
committee responsible, whereby the Council undertakes to approve the European
Parliament’s amendments if they are in line with the compromise identified jointly.
The compromise amendments are then tabled either in parliamentary committee (if
they are identified at an early stage) or, more frequently, just before the plenary
session. They are co-signed for their groups by the rapporteur and the principal
shadow rapporteurs, thereby guaranteeing an adequate majority. The political groups
within the European Parliament coordinate their votes in order to adopt the
amendments negotiated with the Council. If those amendments are adopted in
accordance with the agreement reached, the Council will adopt the act and the
procedure will be concluded.

20. Act adopted as amended

The legislative act is submitted directly for the signature of the Presidents and
Secretaries-General of the European Parliament and of the Council, and is published
in the Official Journal.The procedure is ended.

21. The Council does not approve the amendments to the common position

If, within a three-month period (may be extended by one month), the Council does
not approve all the amendments of the European Parliament, the President of the
Council, in agreement with the President of the European Parliament, will convene a
meeting of the Conciliation Committee within six weeks (may be extended by two
weeks). Legal basis: Article 251(3) of the EC Treaty. Should the Council fail to
approve all the amendments adopted by the European Parliament, then the
conciliation procedure will be set in motion. The Commission’s opinion on the
European Parliament’s amendments is therefore particularly important, since the
Council will have to act unanimously in order to adopt a parliamentary amendment on
which the Commission has given a negative opinion.

22. Convening of the Conciliation Committee

The Committee has to be convened within six or, if extended, eight weeks from
the time of the Council’s formal decision. It is deemed to have been convened when
its first meeting takes place.The period between the end of the Council’s second
reading and the convening of the Conciliation Committee is used to prepare the work
of the latter, through informal meetings between the three institutions. These informal
trialogues bring together small teams of negotiators for each co-legislator, with
participation by the Commission. Each team reports to their delegation within the
Conciliation Committee.This intervening period also gives the European Parliament
the opportunity to appoint its delegation to the Conciliation Committee and give a
mandate to its negotiators, in many cases even before the Council’s position at second
reading has been formally concluded.
23. The conciliation procedure

Composition: the Conciliation Committee brings together members of the Council or

their representatives and an equal number of representatives of the European
Parliament, as well as the Commissioner responsible.

Modus operandi: in most cases, negotiations are conducted during informal

trialogues involving small teams of negotiators for each institution, with the
Commission playing a mediating role. The participants in these trialogues report to
their respective delegations. The compromise (“joint text”) resulting from the
informal trialogues, which often takes the form of a “package”, is submitted to the
delegations for approval.

Decision-making: each delegation to the Conciliation Committee must approve the

joint text in accordance with its own rules: qualified majority for the Council’s
delegation (unanimity in cases where the Treaty specifies an exception to the qualified
majority rule) and simple majority for the European Parliament’s delegation.

The Commission’s role: Given that it is the originator of the legislative proposal and
can attend meetings of the delegations of both the EP and the Council, the
Commission plays a mediating role and frequently proposes compromises. Its main
aim is to reconcile the positions of the two co-legislators while defending, as far as
possible, the general interest and the requirements of the Treaty in line with its
proposal. It is important to note that, at this stage of the procedure, the Commission
can no longer prevent the Council from acting by a qualified majority without its
agreement.

Elements for negotiation: negotiations focus on all the amendments adopted by the
European Parliament at second reading on the basis of the Council's common position.

Time limits: the Treaty stipulates a time limit of six weeks (which may be extended
by two weeks) for approving a joint text. The first meeting of the Conciliation
Committee signals the start of that period.

Legal basis: Article 251(4) of the EC Treaty.

Time limits: The Treaty is crystal clear on the question of time limits: after the
Council’s second reading, the President of the Council, in agreement with the
President of the European Parliament, has 6 (8) weeks to open the conciliation
procedure. The Conciliation Committee itself has 6 (8) weeks to reach agreement on a
joint text.In practice, these periods of time are often too short to allow negotiations to
be conducted, since the matters at issue may be extremely complex and involve a
large number of interested parties. As a result, contacts frequently take place even
before the formal conclusion of the Council’s second reading, when it becomes clear
that the Council will not accept all the amendments of the European Parliament. Since
the Council has 3 (4) months in which to complete its second reading, the time
thereby made available to the negotiators may be used to develop contacts, especially
through informal trialogues. In theory, the duration of work after the second European
Parliament reading may extend over 10 months, although the declaration annexed to
the Treaty of Amsterdam (Declaration – No 34 – on respect for time limits under the
codecision procedure) states that the period in question should not exceed 9 months.
“Informal trialogue”: the true negotiating forum

The briefness of the periods laid down by the Treaty for reaching an agreement,
combined with the complexity of dossiers and the constricted timetable make it
necessary to organize work on an informal basis upstream of conciliation. Thus, the
negotiators frequently meet well in advance of the opening of formal conciliation.
These meetings, mostly on a trilateral basis, constitute informal trialogues at technical
or political levels, with a limited number of participants in the interest of effectiveness.
For the European Parliament, the participants are the chairperson of the delegation,
the chair of the parliamentary committee and the rapporteur, assisted by members of
the European Parliament's conciliations secretariat and, if necessary, a member of the
European Parliament's legal service. For the Council, the permanent representative of
the Member State holding the Council Presidency is assisted by members of the
Council's secretariat, including its legal service.

Lastly, the Commission is represented in the trialogues by the Director-General of

the department in charge of the dossier, assisted by experts, its legal service and
Secretariat-General. The participants in the trialogues operate on the basis of
negotiating mandates given to them by their respective delegations. They explore
possible avenues of compromise in an informal manner and report to their delegations.
Informal technical trialogues may also be organised, attended for the most part by the
three institutions’ experts and secretariats.

Composition of delegations to the Conciliation Committee

Council: Generally speaking, the Council’s delegation brings together the Member
States’ representatives within Coreper. The Council’s delegation is chaired by the
Minister presiding over the Council in charge of the dossier. It acts by a qualified
majority independently of the Commission’s opinion (except for dossiers in respect of
which the Treaty requires unanimity).

EP: A European Parliament delegation is appointed for each dossier going to

conciliation. It is composed of 27 Members of Parliament and 27 substitutes. Three
Vice-Presidents of the European Parliament are permanent members of the
Conciliation Committee, co-chairing it by turns. The other EP delegation members are
appointed by the political groups, in proportion to the size of each group within the
European Parliament. As a general rule, they belong to the parliamentary committee
responsible for the dossier. The delegation's decisions are taken by a majority of its
component members (i.e. 14 votes).

Conduct of negotiations

The work of the Conciliation Committee is prepared in the course of trialogues

where teams of negotiators from the three institutions attempt to draw up a
compromise (“joint text”), often on the basis of a general package aimed at striking an
overall balance. Attempts are often made to conclude the conciliation procedure at the
first meeting of the Conciliation Committee, sometimes through a straightforward
statement of agreement. In some cases, several meetings of the Conciliation
Committee will be necessary to ensure that the members of the delegations are fully
aware of the position and the determination of their counterparts. These meetings may
be preceded by trialogues and technical sessions.
Proceedings of the Conciliation Committee

The Conciliation Committee brings together the delegations of the European

Parliament and the Council, and the Commissioner in charge of the dossier. The
Conciliation Committee is chaired jointly by the chairpersons of the delegations from
the two “co-legislator” institutions (a Vice-President of the European Parliament or a
Minister of the Member State holding the Presidency). Under the terms of § 32 of the
Joint Declaration on practical arrangements for the new codecision procedure, the
Conciliation Committee meets alternately at the premises of the European Parliament
and of the Council. Immediately prior to the meeting of the Conciliation Committee,
the two co-chairs and the Commissioner normally get together to prepare the ground.
As a general rule, this trialogue is preceded by a preparatory meeting of each
delegation.

Documents available to the Conciliation Committee: the Commission’s proposal,

the Council’s common position, amendments proposed by the European Parliament,
the Commission’s opinion thereon, and a joint working document from the European
Parliament and Council delegations. In practice, this document tends to take the form
of a synoptic table in four columns, containing

(1) the Council’s common position

(2) the EP’s amendments at second reading

(3) the Council’s position on the EP amendments (mostly in the form of

compromise suggestions)

(4) the EP delegation’s position on the Council’s proposals

Any compromise suggestions made by the Commission tend to take the form of
footnotes. For the most important dossiers, the meeting of the Conciliation Committee
is followed by a press conference making the outcome of the negotiations known to
the media.

24. The Conciliation Committee produces a joint text

Once the negotiators have arrived at a compromise, the Conciliation Committee

must give approval in the form of a “joint text”. The Council's delegation acts by a
qualified majority (unanimity in cases stipulated by the Treaty) while the European
Parliament’s delegation acts by a simple majority of its component members (14 votes
minimum).

Legal basis: Article 251(4) of the EC Treaty.

25. Parliament and the Council adopt the act in accordance with the joint text

The European Parliament (by a majority of the votes cast; no amendment may be
tabled) and the Council (by a qualified majority with certain exceptions) must adopt
the act within six (or eight) weeks, in line with the joint text.

Legal basis: Article 251(5) of the EC Treaty.

26. Act adopted

The legislative act is submitted directly for the signature of the Presidents and
Secretaries-General of the European Parliament and of the Council, and is published
in the Official Journal.

The procedure is ended.

27. Parliament and the Council do not approve the joint text

Should either of the institutions fail to give approval within the stipulated time
limit, the act is deemed not to have been adopted and the procedure is ended. Legal
basis: Article 251(5) of the EC Treaty.In practice, approval of the joint text by the
Council (27 Member States) does not pose a problem, since the Council’s delegation
within the Conciliation Committee is made up of one representative per Member State
(often the same representative as in Coreper). On the European Parliament’s side,
approval may be more problematic, since the European Parliament’s delegation to the
Conciliation Committee (27 members) is not automatically representative of the 785
Members of the European Parliament.

28. Act not adopted

The procedure is ended.

29. The Conciliation Committee does not produce a joint text

The act is deemed not to have been adopted and the procedure is ended. Legal
basis: Article 251(6) of the EC Treaty.

30. Act not adopted

The procedure is ended.

2. Assent
The assent procedure means that the Council has to obtain the European
Parliament's assent before certain very important decisions are taken. The procedure
is the same as in the case of consultation, except that Parliament cannot amend a
proposal: it must either accept or reject it. Acceptance (‘assent’) requires an absolute
majority of the vote cast. The assent procedure is mostly used for agreements with
other countries, including the agreements allowing new countries to join the EU.
3. Consultation
The consultation procedure is used in areas such as agriculture, taxation and
competition. Based on a proposal from the Commission, the Council consults
Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the
Regions.
Parliament can:
 approve the Commission proposal,
  reject it,
 or ask for amendments.
If Parliament asks for amendments, the Commission will consider all the changes
Parliament suggests. If it accepts any of these suggestions it will send the Council an
amended proposal. The Council examines the amended proposal and either adopts it
or amends it further. In this procedure, as in all others, if the Council amends a
Commission proposal it must do so unanimously.

THE BUDGET

The Budget is dealt with under a special procedure. The EU has four sources of
revenue, called own resources:

 import tariffs – 75% goes direct to the EU, while MS retain the rest in respect
to administrative costs
 levies – on agricultural imports (including a special levy on sugar). Again the
EU gets 75% of the proceeds
 VAT-based contributions – until 2003, 0.75% of VAT receipts was paid to the
EU. In 2004, it was reduced to 0.5%.
 Contributions based on GNP (Gross National Product) – open to constant
negotiations, but was set at 1.02% for 2003.

Spending those resources is governed by a complex bureaucratic procedure.

Before the Treaty of Lisbon came into force, spending was divided into (i)
‘compulsory expenditure’ (CAP spending, spending under the European Agricultural
Guarantee and Guidance Fund and some structural spending) and (ii) ‘non-
compulsory spending’.

The Budgetary procedure

 The EP and the Council form what is known as the budgetary authority, yet
the budget itself begins life as a Commission proposal, called Preliminary
Draft Budget, which is first sent to the Council, where it must arrive at the
latest by 1 September so that it may be implemented from 1 January the
following year.
 The Council, acting by qualified majority, considers the Commission’s
proposal and adopts a modified version of it, known as the draft budget.
 The draft budget must be forwarded to the EP by 5 October
 The EP has 45 days to adopt the budget or demand amendments
 If, in that time, the EP fails to state a position, the budget is deemed approved
 If the EP proposes changes, it sends the draft budget back to Council and
requests amendments
 If the requested changes refer to the compulsory expenditure, a majority of
votes cast is necessary
 If the changes required affect the non-compulsory expenditure, they must be
adopted under an absolute majority of all members
  When the Council receives the EP’s proposals, it has 15 days for the second
reading
 If it accepts all the EP’s proposals, the budget is adopted
 If not, what happens depends on the nature of the amendments
 If the EP proposal requires an increase in overall EU expenditure, the Council
must adopt it by QMV; if no QMV is found, the proposal falls
 If the Council wants to adopt an EP proposal only modified, it sends it back to
the EP, which within 15 days, must conduct its own second reading
 If the EP misses this deadline, the Council proposal is integrated within the
budget and the budget is adopted
 The EP has the possibility, based on the double majority, to reject the whole
budget, and so, the whole process starts all over again based on a new proposal
from the Commission
 If the budget is not voted for by 1 January, the UE must finance its activities
through a system known as “provisional twelfths”.
 It is an idea borrowed from the USA, which means that an appropriation is
made each month which the equivalent of one twelfth of the previous year’s
budget.

EU INSTITUTIONS – CLOE II
AUTUMN TERM, 2022-2023
COURSE COORDINATOR : PROFESSOR ROXANA-CRISTINA PETCU,
PhD

WORKSHEET- Lecture I - THE PROCESS OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION

I. Answer the following questions:

1. How did Winston Churchill describe Europe in 1945, just after WWII?
2. Mention a few attempts to build an integrated Europe before 1950.
3. Mention a few reasons to justify the creation of an integrated Europe.
4. Mention the contribution made by Robert Schuman and Jean Monet to the creation
of an integrated Europe.
5. Define the process of multinational integration.
6. Define the concept of common policy.
7. Define the four types of common policies and exemplify.
8. Which was the first European Community to be established in 1951-1952 and by
which states?
9. What was the European Defense Community?
10. Which were the next European Communities to be created in 1957?
11. Define the concept of enlargement.
12. Define the spillover effect and its role in the European integration.
13. Name the enlargement waves that have taken place so far.
14. Name the main aim of the process of multinational integration.

II. Match the terms below with the appropriate definition. Provide their
Romanian equivalents. Use the English terms to fill in the sentences below and
then translate these sentences into Romanian:

European integration, European accession, join the EU, federalism, sovereignty,

supremacy, raison d’être,
purge,(political) manifesto, nation state, spillover effect, common market,
economic and monetary union, binding decision, legislative body

A. Definitions

1. A representative assembly of persons that makes statutory laws for a municipa

lity, state, or nation.
2. to fulfill all obligations as a Member State, especially in the course of
transition, reform and adoption and implementation of the acquis
communautaire (Community law)
3. an abrupt or violent removal of a group of people.
4. the authority of a state to govern itself or another state.
5. a group of countries imposing few or no duties on trade with one another and a
common tariff on trade with other countries / a name for the European
Economic Community or European Union, used especially in the 1960s and
1970s.
6. a published verbal declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer,
be it an individual, group, political party or government.
7. the process of industrial, political, legal, economic, social and
cultural integration of states wholly or partially in Europe.
8. the state or condition of being superior to all others in authority, power, or
status.
9. a decision made by a third party or a court (judge) that is obligatory/
mandatory for the party/ parties which it addresses.
10. a French phrase meaning reason for being, used to mean a reason or justificati
on for the existence of something or
someone.
11. a form of political organization in which a group of people who share the same
history, traditions or language live in a particular area under one government.
12. satisfying all the essential conditions a candidate country must fulfill in order
to become a EU member state.
13. the combination of European Union member states into a cohesive economic
system, most notably represented with the adoption of the euro as the national
currency of participating members.
14.a system of government in which power is divided between a national governm
ent and various regional governments.
15. integration between states in one economic sector will create strong incentives
for integration in further sectors, in order to fully capture the perks of integration
in the sector in which it started.

B. Sentences:

1. The moderator has no special power or ____ over his brethren, but is honoured
and obeyed as Primus inter pares.
2. All applications for _____ are subject to an opinion issued by the Commission
and a decision taken by the Council.
3. Back in 2004, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and seven others
increase the world’s largest _____ to 25 countries.
4. Besides being a ______, the senate is the highest court of justice in the case of
political offenses or the impeachment of ministers.
 5. It was only in 1948 that a Jewish _______ was belatedly established in the
former Ottoman Palestine.
6. According to some thinkers, a "positive ______ " is when the sector such as
coal and steel governed by the central institutions creates pressure so that the
neighboring areas of policy such as taxation and wages are influenced by
integration.
7. The decision to form an _____was taken by the European Council in the
Dutch city of Maastricht in December 1991, and was later enshrined in the
Maastricht Treaty.
8. All the Polish parties united in a joint central committee which issued
a _____ in favour of performing their duty to the state.
9. A development of European identity is regarded by supporters of ______ as
part of the pursuit of a politically, economically and militarily influential
united Europe.
10. When he was young, Carl's _____ was enjoying life and exploring its
possibilities.
11. The duke as a devout Catholic desired to _____ the state of heresy, and
initiated repressive measures against the people there, but after some severe
and not very successful fighting he ended by allowing them a measure of
religious liberty in those valleys.
12. One party went beyond ______ and proposed to split Spain into cantons.
13. A judgment is a _____ of a court regarding the rights and liabilities of parties
in a legal action or proceeding binding decision
14. Currently there are about 6-7 countries wanting to _______.
15. Nations can retain _____ in plenty of ways, peaceably co-exist, and get
economic benefits without merging into some large country.

III. What do the following acronyms stand for?

EU, EPU, ECSC, NATO, MFE, EURATOM, EEC, EMU, PM, UK, USA

IV.Match the terms that indicate various forms of State systems with the correct
definition; provide their equivalents in Romanian. Give examples of states that
illustrate these concepts:

people’s republic; colony; dictatorship; constitutional monarchy; republic;

presidential republic; parliamentary republic; absolute monarchy; monarchy;
federal republic, confederation; dominion; principality; theocratic state
(theocracy); sovereign state; nation state; empire; democracy; oligarchy;
dependency

1. a system of government where an executive branch is led by a president who serves

as both head of state and head of government
2. state under the control of a Church or state-sponsored religion; a form of
government in which a state is governed by immediate divine guidance or by officials
who are regarded as divinely guided.
3. a government run by only a few, often the wealthy
4. a form of government in which the right to govern is held by the majority of
citizens within a country or a state
5. a type of government where absolute sovereignty is allotted to an individual or a
small clique
6. a state founded and controlled by a national Communist party
7. a state with a monarch at the head
8. a type of republic that operates under a parliamentary system of government where
the executive branch (the government) derives its legitimacy from and is accountable
to the legislature (the parliament). People elect their representatives in a national
legislature, and the legislature then chooses its own executive from the dominant
political party.
9. the authority of a state to govern itself or another state
10. federation of states with a republican form of government. A federation is the
central government.
11. a dependent territorial entity subject to the sovereignty of an independent country,
but considered part of that country for purposes of relations with third countries
12. a sovereign state of which most of the citizens or subjects are united also by
factors which define a nation, such as language or common descent
13. a form of government in which a monarchacts as head of state within the
parameters of a written (i.e., codified), unwritten (i.e., uncodified) or
blended constitution
14. a more or less permanent union of states with some or most political power vested
in a central authority
15. a state ruled by a prince
16. a country that was part of the British Empire but had its own government
17. a state in which the absolute monarch serves as the sole source of political power
in the state and is not legally bound by any constitution
18. an extensive group of states or countries ruled over by a single monarch, an
oligarchy, or a sovereign state
19. a state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected
representatives, and which has an elected or nominated president
20. a country or province controlled by another

V. Find the verbs that best complete the sentences below; translate the sentences
into Romanian:
Deliver a speech, to federate, to result in; go to war; constitute into a federation;
to inscribe in the Treaty; to address a need; to pursue a goal; to attend to; to
enter into force

1. I must ____to my duties as hostess and I don’t have any time to lose.
2. When the colonies agreed to____ as states, they ceded Customs and excise
duties to the commonwealth government.
3. Students will be provided with valuable skills that will enable them to
collaborate across cultures and borders to ______shared global challenges in
the years ahead.
 4. And then somebody waltzed in and _________ such an important message
that he wanted nothing more than to be hundreds of miles away.
5. Back in the 19th century, the provinces in that area proved to be unable to
______ themselves into a nation state.
6. Euclid discusses all these things in the thirteenth book of his Elements, where
he proves that no more regular bodies are possible, and shows how to _____
them in a sphere.
7. An interim agreement to curb Iran's nuclear programme will ____ into force
on 20 January.
8. Does the government really think they must _____ to war irrespective of the
costs?
9. And in that future the world will have plentiful, free, clean energy that
will _____ in dramatically lower costs for everything, everywhere.
10. What are some worthy goals to______ in life?

VI. Identify the meanings of the verb constitute in the sentences below; suggest possible
definitions for each meaning; translate these sentences into Romanian; use the verb constitute
to translate the sentences under B from Romanian into English:

A.
1. Copper and tin constitute bronze.
2. Rabies is transmitted through a bite; ... patting a rabid animal
in itself does not constitute exposure.
3. The agency is a body that is duly constituted under the charter.
4. He was constituted a treasurer.
5. Imports constitute a challenge to local goods.
6. There were enough members present to constitute a quorum.
7. His failure to act constituted a breach of duty

B. 1. Un an are 12 luni. 2. Dupa alegeri se va constitui un nou guvern. 3. 70% din

studentii de la aceasta facultate sunt femei. 4.Portugalia este una din tarile care
alcatuiesc UE. 5. Aceasta scrisoare nu reprezinta o oferta de angajare/loc de
munca.6.Comisia a fost infiintata printr-o lege adoptata de Parlament. 7. A fost numit
director general al firmei.

VII. In the sentences below, identify the collocations which include the noun
sovereignty. Translate the sentences into Romanian. Use these collocations in
sentences of your own.

1. Demonstrators demanded full sovereignty for the self-proclaimed republic.

2. Parliamentary sovereignty is a concept in the constitutional law of some
parliamentary democracies which holds that the legislative body has absolute
sovereignty, and is supreme over all other government institutions, including
executive or judicial bodies.
3. China exercises sovereignty over Hong Kong.
4. In 1949 the Dutch ceded sovereignty of the Dutch East Indies to the Indonesian Re
public.
5. We must respect the sovereignty of member states.
6. Sovereignty resides with the people.
7. The treaty gave Edward III sovereignty over Calais and the whole of Aquitaine.
8. The handover of sovereignty to the newly elected government went very smoothly.
9. The process of European integration is somewhat undermined by
fears about the transfer of sovereignty to the European Union.
10. Some politicians in the Member States are
alarmed over the potential loss of national sovereignty.
11. There are two countries which have a claim to sovereignty over the islands.
12. The Government’s action constitutes an attack on the sovereignty of Parliament.
13. Protesters called on the government to adopt a declaration of sovereignty.
14. Popular sovereignty refers to
the doctrine that sovereign power is vested in the people and that those chosen to
govern, as trustees of such power, must exercise it in conformity with the general will.
15. De jure, or legal, sovereignty concerns the expressed and institutionally
recognized right to exercise control over a territory.
16. De facto, or actual, sovereignty is concerned with whether control in fact exists.
17. The member states of international organizations may voluntarily bind themselves
by treaty to a supranational organization, such as a continental union. In the case of
the European Union members states this is called pooled sovereignty.
18. The annexation of Crimea by Russia is a violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty.

VIII. Match the terms that indicate various forms of understandings with the
correct definition; provide their equivalents in Romanian; use these terms to fill
the blanks in the sentences under B below; translate the sentences into
Romanian.

Treaty, accord; alliance; compact; convention; covenant; pact; entente; entente

cordiale; bargain; bond; charter; concord, contract; deal; settlement; agreement;
protocol; pledge; understanding

A. 1. an agreement made in an informal way or not expressed in words.

2. an agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law,
namely sovereign states and international organizations.
3. an international agreement, especially one dealing with a specific
matter, as postal service or copyright.
4. an agreement creating obligations enforceable by law.
5. a friendly understanding or informal alliance between states or factions.
6. an official agreement intended to resolve a dispute or conflict.
7. an international agreement; settlement of questions outstanding among nations.
8. the understanding between Britain and France reached in 1904, forming the basis of
Anglo-French cooperation in the First World War.
9. a written grant by the sovereign or legislative power of a country, by which a body
such as a borough, company, or university is created or its rights and privileges
defined.
10. a negotiated and typically legally binding arrangement between parties as to a
course of action.
11. a union or association formed for mutual benefit, especially between countries or
organizations;
12. an agreement in writing under seal, as to pay a stated annual sum to a
charity/(Bible) God’s promise to the Israelis and their commitment to worship him
alone.
13. an agreement between two or more people or groups as to what each will do for
the other.
14. the original draft of a diplomatic document, especially of the terms of a treaty
agreed to in conference and signed by the parties.
15. an agreement or covenant between two or more parties
16. agreement by stipulation, compact, or covenant.
17. a formal agreement between individuals or parties.
18. an agreement with legal force, an incentive to fulfill an obligation.
19. an agreement entered into by two or more parties for their mutual benefit,
especially in a business or political context.
20. solemn promise or undertaking.

B.1. We have an ______with them that we won’t compete directly. 2.He thought for a
long moment, knowing no peace ______ could be reached with the Indians. 3.
A _____ on the religious orders was concluded in 1904, but had not received the
assent of the Senate in 1908. 4. In 1893 a ____ was made with the Eastern and South
Africa Telegraph Company for the construction of a cable from Zanzibar to the
Seychelles and Mauritius, over a distance of 2210 m. 5. The event also contributed
towards the conclusion of an _____ between Turkey and Romania in the summer of
1910.6. The parties have not been able to reach/negotiate a ______ in the case. 7. It
was only when the impossibility of realizing the "Northern _____" became patent that
his influence began to wane, and Russia sacrificed millions of rubles fruitlessly in the
endeavour to carry out his pet scheme.8. It favoured an Anglo-French _____, seeing
therein a substantial guarantee for the due carrying-out of those pacts. 9. In April 1695
he was impeached once more by the Commons for having received a bribe of 5000
guineas to procure the new ___ for the East India Company. 10. The Pope in October
signed an _____binding him to withdraw his troops from Parma and Piacenza.11.
These naval victories were followed by a further military ____ with France against
Spain, termed the treaty of Paris (the 23rd of March 1657). 12. A tenant is not
responsible, under such a _____, for deterioration due to diminution in value caused
by lapse of time or by the elements./ A _____ is a religious covenant described in
the Bible, applying to all humanity, and is principally an agreement made
between God and man. 13. By the year 1431 the façade was nearly completed, and
Contarini made a _____ with Martino and Giovanni Benzon for the marbles to cover
what was yet unfinished. 14. At the opening of the conference (23rd June 1882) Italy
secured the signature of a self-denying ______ whereby all the great powers
undertook to avoid isolated action. 15. The _____ is an intergovernmental treaty, a
new stricter version of the Stability and Growth Pact, signed on 2 March 2012 by
all member states of the European Union (EU), except the Czech Republic, the United
Kingdom, and Croatia. 16. The ____ of the Order with the towns and the Hanse was
one great cause of its prosperity until the close of the 14th century. 17. The _____ was
a military treaty and association of East European countries, formed in 1955 by the
Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and
Romania, which was dissolved in 1991.18. Herbert resented his wife for subjecting
him to the ____ of matrimony. 19. They closed the ____ after a week of negotiating.
20. The conference ended with a joint ____ to limit pollution.

IX. Translate into Romanian: The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the

European Union enshrines certain political, social, and economic rights for European
Union (EU) citizens and residents into EU law. It was drafted by the European
Convention and solemnly proclaimed on 7 December 2000 by the European
Parliament, the Council of Ministers and the European Commission. However, its
then legal status was uncertain and it did not have full legal effect[1] until the entry
into force of the Treaty of Lisbon on 1 December 2009.Under the Charter,
the European Union must act and legislate consistently with the Charter and the EU's
courts will strike down legislation adopted by the EU's institutions that contravenes it.
The Charter applies to the Institutions of the European Union and its member
states.Following the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty in 2009 the fundamental
rights charter has the same legal value as the European Union treaties. The Charter
referred to in the Treaty is an amended version of the 2000 document which was
solemnly declared by the same three institutions a day before the signing of the
Lisbon Treaty itself.Article 51(1) of the Charter addresses the Charter to the EU's
institutions, bodies established under EU law and, when implementing EU laws, the
EU's member states. In addition both Article 6 of the amended Treaty of European
Union and Article 51(2) of the Charter itself restrict the Charter from extending the
competences of the EU. A consequence of this is that the EU will not be able to
legislate to vindicate a right set out in the Charter unless the power to do such is set
out in the Treaties proper. Furthermore, individuals will not be able to take a member
state to court for failing to uphold the rights in the Charter unless the member state in
question was implementing EU law. It is this last point that has been subject to the
most debate.The Charter is not the first attempt to place human rights principles at the
core of European Union law. All EU member states are, and candidate states are
required to be, signatories to the Council of Europe's European Convention on Human
Rights, so that many principles from the Convention, such as the right to a fair trial,
were taken as the baseline for European Court of Justice jurisprudence even before
their formal reiteration in Charter. In interpreting the human rights protections
provided by the general principles of EU law (described in the Court cases section
above), the ECJ had already dealt with the issue of whether the rights protected by
those general principles applied to member states. Having ruled in Johnston v Royal
Ulster Constabulary[10] that a right to fair procedures was one of the general principles
of EU law, in Kremzow v Austria[11] the ECJ had to decide whether or not a member
state was obliged to apply that principle in relation to a wrongful conviction for
murder. Kremzow's lawyers argued that his case came within the scope of EU law on
the grounds that his wrongful conviction and sentence had breached his right to free
movement within the EU. The ECJ responded by saying that since the laws under
which Kremzow had been convicted were not enacted to secure compliance with EU
law, his predicament fell outside the scope of EU law.The wording in Kremzow v
Austria, referring to the "field of application of EU law", differs from the wording in
the Charter which refers to the implementation of EU law.[12] However, the amended
explanatory memorandum issued alongside the Charter in 2007 describes the wording
used in the Charter as reflecting ECJ precedent.

X. Translate into English: Pactul de la Varşovia sau Tratatul de la Varşovia, numit

în mod oficial Tratatul de prietenie, cooperare şi asistenţă mutuală a fost o alianţă
militară a ţărilor din Europa Răsăriteană şi din Blocul Răsăritean, care voiau să se
apere împotriva ameninţării pe care o percepeau din partea alianţei NATO (care a fost
fondată în 1949). Crearea Pactului de la Varşovia a fost grăbită de
integrarea Germaniei de Vest "remilitarizată" în NATO prin ratificarea de către
ţările ocidentale a Înţelegerilor de la Paris. Tratatul de la Varşovia a fost iniţiat de
către Nikita Hruşciov în 1955 şi a fost semnat la Varşovia pe 14 mai 1955.Pactul şi-a
încetat existenţa pe 3 martie 1991 şi a fost în mod oficial dizolvat la întâlnirea de
la Praga, pe 1 iulie1991. Toate statele comuniste ale Europei Răsăritene au semnat
acest pact, (cu excepţia Iugoslaviei). Membrii Pactului de la Varşovia şi-au luat
angajamentul să se apere unii pe alţii, dacă unul sau mai mulţi dintre ei erau atacaţi.
Tratatul declara de asemenea că semnatarii îşi bazau relaţiile pe principiul
neintervenţiei în afacerile interne şi pe respectul suveraniţăţii şi independenţei
naţionale – până la urmă, aceste principii vor fi încălcate mai târziu în cazul
intervenţiilor din Ungaria - (1956) şi Cehoslovacia - (1968).Albania a încetat să mai
fie membru activ al alianţei în 1961 ca urmare a rupturii chino-sovietice, criză în care
regimul dur stalinist din Albania s-a situat de partea Chinei. Albania s-a retras în mod
oficial din Pact în 1968. După terminarea oficială a celui de-al doilea război mondial,
în conformitate cu discursul lui W. Churchill (prim ministru al Regatului Unit la acea
dată), de la Fulton, s-a declanşat Războiul rece şi a apărut conceptul de cortină de fier.
Urmare a politicii consecvente de apărare a sistemului economic şi politic (implicit a
intereslor economice ale marelui capital din lumea occidentală) trupele germane, în
calitate de "prizonieri", aflate pe teritoriul Germaniei de Vest au fost reînarmate şi au
constituit baza viitorului "Bundeswehr" - armata regulată a R.F.G.Pe fondul
evenimentelor din 1948 din Cehoslovacia (expulzări ale etnicilor germani, alegeri,
reconstrucţie economică) apare infiltrarea agenţilor serviciilor speciale
ale S.U.A. şi Marii Britanii cu rol de "agitatori". Existând cauza, trupele sovietice nu
părăsesc Europa Centrală şi de Est cucerită-eliberată, staţionând pe teritoriul mai
multor state. Aflate pe linia de demarcaţie dintre cele două blocuri foste aliate, armata
sovietică nu a plecat din Ungaria decât după dizolvarea Tratatului de la Varşovia. In
timpul revoluţiei maghiare din 1956, guvernul maghiar s-a împărţit în două facţiuni,
una condusă de Imre Nagy iar alta condusă de János Kádár. Pentru a ajuta la scăderea
tensiunilor, trupele sovietice s-au retras parţial (şi-au redus numărul) din Ungaria pe
durata disputelor interne. Când facţiunea lui Imre Nagy a declarat că Ungaria s-a
retras din alianţă iar partizanii săi au atacat unităţile militare -garnizoanele armatei
sovietice a urmat replica iar militarii Tratatului de la Varşovia au reintrat în ţară în
octombrie 1956 la cererea lui János Kádár şi a facţiunii sale, iar rezistenţa (impropriu
spus dacă trupele sovietice ar fi părăsit vreodată Ungaria) maghiară (parţial sprijinită
moral, militar şi mai ales financiariar de către N.A.T.O.) a fost înfrântă în două
săptămâni.Forţele Tratatului (Pactului) de la Varşovia au fost folosite şi în luna
august1968, după declararea-declanşarea evenimentelor interne din Cehia Primăverii
de la Praga, când a fost invadată Cehoslovaciapentru a pune capăt reformelor puse în
practică de guvernul lui Alexander Dubček.Şeful departamentului militar al Partidului
Comunist Cehoslovac, Generalul Locotenent Vaclav Prchlik, denunţase deja, într-o
conferinţă de presă televizată, Tratatul de la Varşovia ca pe o alianţă inegală şi
declarase că armata cehoslovacă era pregătită să apere, prin luptă dacă era necesar,
suveranitatea ţării. Pe 20 august 1968, o forţă constituită din 23 de divizii ale armatei
sovietice au intrat în Cehoslovacia sprijinită şi de o divizie maghiară, două est-
germane, una bulgară şi două poloneze. România a fost contra intervenţiei şi în
consecinţă a refuzat să contribuie cu trupe.Această interventie a fost explicată
de Doctrina Brejnev care afirma că: "Atunci când forţe care sunt
ostile socialismului încearcă să deturneze către capitalism dezvoltarea unor ţari
socialiste, acest fapt nu devine numai o problemă a ţării în discuţie, dar şi o problemă
şi o preocupare a tuturor ţărilor socialiste." În mod implicit, acestă doctrină rezerva
chiar conducerii Uniunii Sovieticedreptul de a defini "socialismul" şi "capitalismul" în
conformitate cu propriile interese.

EU INSTITUTIONS – CLOE II
AUTUMN TERM, 2022-2023
COURSE COORDINATOR: PROFESSOR ROXANA-CRISTINA PETCU,
PhD

WORKSHEET- LECTURE II - THE TREATIES

I. Answer the following questions:
1. Give a brief definition of the European treaties.
2. When was the Treaty of Paris signed and which were the signatory states?
3. Mention the main objective of the Treaty of Paris.
4. Mention the principle on which the European Steel and Coal Community was based
and why.
5. Mention the institutions created by the Treaty of Paris.
6. Briefly describe the High Authority.
7. Briefly describe the Common Assembly.
8. Briefly describe the Special Council of Ministers.
9. Briefly describe the Court of Justice.
10. Briefly describe the Consultative Committee.
11.Mention the treaties signed in Rome on 25 March 1957.
12. What did the EEC aim to establish?
13.Which common policies are formally enshrined in the EEC?
14.When and where was the Single European Act signed and which were its main
provisions?
15.When was the Treaty of Maastricht signed ? How many treaties was the Treaty
made up of?
16.Name the four main achievements of the Treaty of Maastricht.
17.Mention the three pillars of the new structure created by the Treaty of Maastricht
and briefly describe them.
18.Mention the main achievements of the Treaty of Amsterdam.
19. Which were the main provisions of the Treaty of Nice signed on 26 February 2001.
20. Briefly mention the changes that should have been made by the European
Constitution , had it been ratified by all the member states.

II. Match the terms below with the appropriate definition. Provide their
Romanian equivalents. Use the English terms to translate the Romanian
sentences below into English:
primary law; secondary law; founding Member State; the supranational
principle; executive body; legal instrument; supervisory power; direct universal
suffrage; presidency of the Council of Ministers; harmonization; Advocate
General; signatory party/state; customs union; legal entity’; customs duties;
common external tariff; free circulation/movement of goods; European
competences; qualified majority vote;formal standing; single currency; common
foreign and security policy; unanimity; veto; the principle of subsidiarity; the
Schengen Agreement; enhanced cooperation; Eurojust; the principle of conferral;
the principle of proportionality; the primacy of EU law; international law.

B. Definitions:

1. the powers assigned to the Union by the Treaties;

2. the power of oversight over an inferior body;
3. a type of cooperation organized by Member States under the framework of
European policies. It enables participating States to organize greater cooperation than
that initially provided for by the Treaties under the policy concerned.
4. the supreme source of law of the European Union (EU), that is it prevails over all
other sources of law.
5. movement of goods within the EU Member States without Customs presentation or
the payment of customs duties;
6. an administrative body which operates, implements and enforces the laws created
by the legislative;
7. the EU must not undertake or regulate what can be managed or regulated more
efficiently at national or regional levels;
8. the six states which signed the Treaty of Rome, which created the European
Economic Community (EEC) and established a customs union;
9. The body of law that governs the legal relations between or among states or nations;
10. a senior law officer of the law, usually charged with assisting the judges in the
European Court of Justic;
11. the content and form of Union action shall not exceed what is necessary to achieve
the objectives of the Treaties (Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union);
12. law/legislation made by the EU institutions;
13. a legal construct through which the law allows a group of natural persons to act as
if they were a single person for certain purposes;
14. official position;
15. a principle which states that within a multinational political union power is
negotiated power and delegated to a supranational authority/institution by the
governments of the member states;
16. an agency of the European Union (EU) dealing with judicial co-operation in
criminal matters, the seat of which is in The Hague;
17. the right to vote extended for all adults who are not disqualified by law;
18. any formally executed written document that can be formally attributed to its
author, records and formally expresses a legally enforceable act, process, or
contractual duty, obligation, or right, and therefore evidences that act, process, or
agreement;
19. the currency which replaced the national currencies of twelve member states of
the European Union in 2002
20. the duties levied by a government on imported goods;
21. The presidency of the Council rotates among the EU member states at regular
intervals; it is not an individual, but rather the position is held by a national
government;
22. the quality or state of being unanimous;
23. (EU) the process of creating common standards across the internal market;
24. the Union shall act within the limits of the competences conferred upon it by the
Member States in the Treaties to attain the objectives set out therein, all other
competences remaining with the Member States;
25. a decision is supported by 55% of the Member States, including at least fifteen of
them, representing at the same time at least 65% of the Union's population;
26. an agreement between European countries to get rid of all controls at their borders,
and so allow people and goods complete freedom to move between
their countries. The agreement involves all members of the European Union except
the UK, Ireland, Bulgaria, and Romania, and also Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, and
Liechtenstei;
27. The tariff is common to all EU members, but the rates of duty differ from one
kind of import to another depending on what they are and where they come from. The
rates depend on the economic sensitivity of products;
28. the policy which aims to strengthen the EU's external ability to act through the
development of civilian and military capabilities in Conflict Preventionand Crisis
Management;
29. the people, organizations, or countries that have signed an official document;
30. a constitutional right to reject a decision or proposal made by a lawmaking body;
31. Agreement between two or more (usually neighboring) countries to remove trade
barriers, and reduce or eliminate customs duty on mutual trade. A customs union
generally imposes a common external-tariff on imports from non-member countries;
32. a principle which states that when there is conflict between European law and
the law of Member States, European law highly prevails (i.e.) the European
Union law can take effect.

C.Translate into English:

1. Libera circulatie a marfurilor, una din cele patru libertati fundamentale ale pietei
interne, este asigurata prin eliminarea taxelor vamale si a restrictiilor cantitative si
prin interzicerea masurilor cu efecte echivalente
2. Izvoarele principale ale legislatiei primare europene sunt tratatele care stau la baza
UE.
3. In 2004, dupa atentatele teroriste de la Madrid, care au dus la pierderea a mai mult
de 290 de vieti omenesti si la multe alte victime, s-a infiintat echipa/brigada antitero a
Eurojust.
4. Numele monedei unice a fost un aspect controversat, dar lipsit de importanta pentru
BCE.
5. Din punct de vedere istoric, la inceput conceptul de vot universal se referea numai
la dreptul de vot acordat barbatilor adulti.
6. Prin prevalenta dreptului comunitar se intelege faptul ca, in situatia in carethe
primacy of EU law exista un conflict intre o lege national si o lege europeana, legea
europeana are precedenta, iar cea nationala nu se aplica.
7. Reuniunile Consiliului sunt prezidate de ministrul de resort din statul care detine
presedintia rotativa a Consiliului de Ministri.
8. Comunitatea Europeana a Carbunelui si Otelului ca si Comunitatea Economica
Europeana au fost creat de Cei Sase, adica de statele membre fondatoare.
9. Cand un grup de tari infiinteaza o uniune vamala trebuie introdus si un tariff extern
comun.
10. In conformitate cu principiul conferirii, UE este o uniune de state membre si toate
competentele uniunii sunt conferite Uniunii de buna-voie de catre statele membre.
11. Consiliul European defineste principiile si orientarile generale ale politicii externe
si de securitate comuna ca si strategiile comune ce vor fi aplicate de UE.
12. Legea a oficializat pozitia organizatiei.
13. Legislatia secundara a UE cuprinde acte si acorduri unilaterale, adica regulamente,
directive, decizii, avize si recomandariu, ca si acte atipice, cum ar fi comunicarile si
recomandarile, dar si cartile albe si cele verzi.
14. Criza migrantilor exercita presiune asupra Acordului Schengen, acord prin care s-
au eliminat granitele interne ale UE, facilitand calatoriile fara pasaport aproape in
toata Uniunea.
15.Cel mai bun exemplu de armonizare din istoria moderna este formarea Uniunii
Europene.
16. Comisia Europeana este organul executiv al UE, adica se ocupa de aplicarea si
respectarea legislatiei europene.
17. Dreptul international se refera la normele acceptate in general de majoritatea
statelor civilizate ca norme obligatorii in relatiile reciproce.
18.Uniunea vamala incearca sa creeze o piata comuna pentru comertul liber dintre
statele membre utiulizand o strategie comerciala comuna in relatie cu statele care nu
sunt membre ale uniunii vamale
19. Principiul subsidiaritatii are ca scop determinarea celui mai relevant nivel de
interventie in domeniile in care UE si statele membre au competente partajate.
20. Rolul celor 9 avocati generali ai Curtii Europene de Justitie este sa examineze
actele depuse la dosar si marturiile din fiecare dosar care aduc in discutie o chestiune
de drept si sa prezinte Curtii o opinie imaprtiala privind solutia juridica.
21.UE, a carei constructie se bazeaza, intre altele, pe principiul supranational, este
singura structura care asigura organizarea unor alegei internationale, depasind nivelul
de integrare politica oferit de obicei de dreptul international.
22. In UE, exista o peocedura numita cooperarea extinsa care permite unui numar de
cel putin 9 state sa stabileasca o cooperare sau o integrare avansata intr-un domeniu
care tine de structurile europene, dar fara implicarea celorlate state membre.
23.Votul cu majoritate calificata este o procedura de vot folosita de Consiliul de
Ministri al UE care permite adoptarea unor hotarari fara unanimitate.
24. Acest nou instrument juridic poate deveni o cale de a intensifica participarea
cetatenilor europeni.
25.Daca nu se poate asigura unanimitatea pe nici un aspect, membrii Comisiei vor
supune chestiunea respectiva atentiei guvernelor implicate.
26.Parlamentul European are o serie de puteri de supraveghere si control care permit
PE sa-si exercite supravegherea asupra celorlate institutii, sa monitorizeze utilizarea
adecvata a bugetului UE si sa asigure aplicarea corecta a legislatiei UE.
27. UE are competenta exclusive de a adopta directive si de a incheia acorduri
internationale atunci cand un instrument legislative al UE prevede astfel.
28. La ora actuala in UE exista trei categorii de persoane juridice supranationale.
29.Termenul “stat semnatar” se refera la un stat care sustine politic tratatul respectiv
si care este dispus sa participe in continuare la procesul definit de tratat.
30. In legislatia europeana, principiul proportionalitatii presupune o tripla verificare:1)
daca masura este potrivita pentru a atinge un obiectiv legitim, 2) daca masura este
necesara pentru a atinge acel obiectv sau daca exista mijloace mai putin restrictive si 3)
daca masura are efecte excesive asupra intereselor unei persoane.
31. Nici unul dintre cele doua state nu are dreptul de veto in privinta modificarilor la
lege.
32. Rata stabilita pentru taxele vamale este fie specifica fie se bazeaza pe valoarea
marfurilor.

III. Use the phrases below including the term TREATY to fill the blanks in the
following sentences; translate the sentences into Romanian:

expire (about a treaty); bilateral treaty; multilateral treaty; peace treaty; the
formation of a treaty; violate a treaty; terminate a treaty; withdraw from a
treaty; denunciation of a treaty; treaty breach; conclude a treaty; amend a treaty;
supplement a treaty; execute a treaty; interpretation of a treaty; invalid treaty;
enshrined in the treaty

1. A treaty is deemed as an ______ if consent to the treaty has been given by a body
without power to do so under the domestic law of that state.
2. The _________, such as the NATO Treaty, is along and complex process.
3. Despite what one might think, a treaty like the treaties between Switzerland and
the European Union is a _____, although it has more than two parties, as, on the one
hand it has Switzerland, and on the other hand all the Member States of the EU.
4. As obligations in international law are traditionally viewed as arising only from the
consent of states, many treaties expressly allow a state to______ as long as it follows
certain procedures of notification.
5. If parties want to _____, the first possibility is to re-negotiate the treaty provisions.
6. A _____ is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or
governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties.
7. A ______ does not automatically trigger the suspension of the treaty relations, as it
depends on how the other parties regard the breach and how they resolve to respond
to it.
8. A______, concluded among several countries, is an agreement which establishes
rights and obligations between each party and every other party.
9. To _____ means that merely becoming a party puts the treaty and all of its
obligations in action.
10. Treaties sometimes include provisions regulating the ways to ______if certain
defined conditions are met.
11. In international law, a protocol is used to add additional provisions to a previous
treaty, in other words to ______ or international agreement.
12. The contracting parties to a treaty decide to ______ when they have agreed upon
all the provisions.
13. The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs provides that the treaty will terminate if,
as a result of _______ the number of parties falls below 40.
14. If a party has materially _______, the other parties may invoke this breach as
grounds for temporarily suspending their obligations to that party under the treaty .
15. No one party to a treaty can impose its particular _______ upon the other parties.
16. The first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol ______in 2012.
17.This right is ______ , including the Treaty of Lisbon.
IV. Select the appropriate verb from the list below to complete the sentences,
translate the sentences into Romanian; use the English VP in sentences of your
own:

Remove; cross; issue; receive; classify; lay down; establish; deal with; repatriate;
return

1. Directive 2008/115/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16

December 2008 provides EU countries with common standards and procedures
to____ illegal immigrants.
2. International law _____a stateless person as someone who is "not considered as a
national by any state under the operation of its law".
3. The Schengen Agreement ____ all bored controls between the member states of the
Schengen Area.
4. The only way to ____ illegal immigration effectively is to remove the incentives
that draw them here.
5. The EU has the competence to _____the conditions of entry and residence for
third-country nationals entering and residing legally in one Member State for
purposes of family reunification.
6. Schengen cooperation enhances the free movement of persons by enabling citizens
to ____ internal borders without being subjected to border checks.
7. There are governments that frequently_____ illegal immigrants as a matter of
government policy.
8. The authorities shall ____a long-term visa within one month after the visa
application has been submitted.
9. The Treaty of Amsterdam created Community competences and established the
legal basis for regulations meant to ______illegal immigration and illegal residence.
10. Each state has its own national asylum system which establishes conditions to
____asylum-seekers who actually qualify for international protection.

V. Translate into Romanian: The Maastricht Treaty creates the European Union,
which consists of three pillars: the European Communities, common foreign and
security policy and police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters.The first pillar
consists of the European Community, the European Coal and Steel Community
(ECSC) and Euratom and concerns the domains in which the Member States share
their sovereignty via the Community institutions. The process known as the
Community method applies in this connection, i.e. a proposal by the European
Commission, its adoption by the Council and the European Parliament and the
monitoring of compliance with Community law by the Court of Justice.The second
pillar establishes common foreign and security policy (CFSP), enshrined in Title V of
the Treaty on European Union. This replaces the provisions of the Single European
Act and allows Member States to take joint action in the field of foreign policy. This
pillar involves an intergovernmental decision-making process which largely relies on
unanimity. The Commission and Parliament play a modest role and the Court of
Justice has no say in this area.The third pillar concerns cooperation in the field of
justice and home affairs (JHA), provided for in Title VI of the Treaty on European
Union. The Union is expected to undertake joint action so as to offer European
citizens a high level of protection in the area of freedom, security and justice. The
decision-making process is also intergovernmental.In the wake of the Single
European Act, the Maastricht Treaty also expands the role of the European Parliament.
The scope of the cooperation procedure and the assent procedure has been extended to
new areas. Besides, the Treaty creates a new co-decision procedure which allows the
European Parliament to adopt acts in conjunction with the Council. This procedure
entails stronger contacts between the Parliament and the Council in order to reach
agreement. Besides, the Treaty involves Parliament in the procedure for confirming
the Commission. The role played by the European political parties in European
integration is recognized. They contribute to forming a European awareness and to
expressing the political will of the Europeans. As regards the Commission, the
duration of its term of office has been extended from four to five years with a view to
aligning it to with that of the European Parliament.Like the Single Act, this Treaty
extends qualified majority voting within the Council to cover most decisions under
the co-decision procedure and all decisions under the cooperation procedure.To
recognize the importance of the regional dimension, the Treaty creates the Committee
of the Regions. Made up of representatives of the regional authorities, this Committee
plays an advisory role.

VI. Translate into English: Uniunea Europeană se bazează pe norme de drept.

Aceasta înseamnă că orice măsură luată de UE derivă din tratatele care au fost
aprobate în mod voluntar şi democratic de toate ţările membre. De exemplu, dacă un
anumit domeniu politic nu figurează într-un tratat, Comisia nu poate propune un act
legislativ în domeniul respectiv.Tratatul este un acord cu forţă juridică obligatorie
între statele membre ale UE. Tratatul stabileşte obiectivele UE, regulile de funcţionare
a instituţiilor europene, procedura de luare a deciziilor şi relaţiile existente între
Uniune şi statele membre.Tratatele sunt modificate pentru a permite creşterea
eficienţei şi transparenţei UE, pentru a pregăti extinderile viitoare şi pentru a
introduce noi domenii de cooperare - cum ar fi moneda unică.În baza tratatelor,
instituţiile UE au posibilitatea de a adopta acte legislative, pe care statele membre le
aplică ulterior.

EU INSTITUTIONS – CLOE II
AUTUMN TERM, 2022-2023
COURSE COORDINATOR: PROFESSOR ROXANA-CRISTINA PETCU,
PhD

WORKSHEET - Lecture III - THE TREATY OF LISBON

I. Answer the following questions:

1. Why was a new treaty necessary?
2. When was the Treaty of Lisbon signed?
3. When did the Treaty enter into force?
4. Mention the enhanced role of the European Parliament as established by the Treaty.
5. Describe the role of the ordinary legislative procedure (co-decision).
6. Which is the role granted to national parliaments by the Treaty?
7. What categories of powers are identified by the Treaty?
8. Name the instrument provided by the Treaty which enhanced the participation of
the European citizens in the political process.
9. Define the double majority as basis for the calculation of qualified majority voting.
10. Which are the new positions created by the Treaty of Lisbon?
11. Name a new provision in the Treaty which grants Member States a right they did
not have before.
12. Name the seven European institutions provided by the Treaty.
13. State how the seats in the European Parliament are distributed among countries.
14. Which is the status of the European Council as established by the Treaty?
15. Name the powers shared by the European Parliament and the Council of the
European Union.
16. Name the new provisions made by the Treaty with respect to the European
Commission.
17. Name the new Service created by the Treaty and state its role.
18. Describe the election of the President of the European Commission.
19. Mention the role of the President of the European Commission.
20. Describe the procedure for the evaluation of the Commissioners-designate.
21. Describe the steps to be followed between the hearings of the Commissioners –
designate and the formal appointment of the European Commission.

II. Use the terms below to fill the blanks in the following text; translate the text
into Romanian:

to withdraw; European Union; democratization; Treaty of Lisbon; citizens'

initiative; European Parliament; voluntary nature; lower chamber; Member
States; democratic foundations; Senate; democratic equality; ordinary legislative
procedure; national parliaments; representative democracy; legal personality;
assent; participatory democracy

The ______ was signed by the heads of State or government of the 27 _______, on
13 December 2007. The most important reforms proposed by the defunct
Constitution are taken over by the Treaty of Lisbon. First of all, the European Union
absorbed the European Community, which ceased to exist as of the coming into force
of the new treaty, the 1st December 2009. Henceforth we speak only of the ______,
but we necessarily refer to the European Community concerning all legislation
enacted on its basis. The European Union now has a single _______ under which it
can negotiate, sign and implement all its external commitments, policies and activities,
including trade, aid to development, representation in third countries and in
international organizations and foreign and security policy. Under the new Treaty, the
European Union becomes more democratic. The powers of the _____ are increased
considerably. The ''codecision procedure'' of the Parliament and the Council is
renamed ________ and is extended to several new fields, including justice and home
affairs, some aspects of the common trade and agricultural policies, as well as the EU
budget. Thus, the Parliament now has the functions of a _____, representing the
citizens of the Union, while the Council plays the role of a _______, representing the
governments of the Member States. The Parliament and the Council have equal
powers concerning the whole budget, which is called ''Union budget''. The
Parliament's _______ is required for all international agreements in fields governed
by the ordinary legislative procedure. The Treaty of Lisbon contains many other
elements aiming at the further _______ of the functioning of the Union. It defines, for
the first time, the _____ of the Union, which are based on three principles: those of
________, ________ and _______. It gives the _______ greater scope to participate
alongside the European institutions in the work of the Union, clearly setting out their
rights to information, to mechanisms for evaluating policy in the field of freedom,
security and justice, to procedures for reforming the treaties and, most importantly, to
monitor that the Union only acts where its action is more effective than an action
undertaken at the national level. It invites citizens to participate in the policies of the
Union thanks to the _______, whereby one million citizens, from a number of
member countries, are able to ask the Commission to present a proposal in any of the
EU's areas of responsibility. It emphasizes the ______ of the integration process, by
explicitly recognizing the possibility for a Member State _______from the Union.

III. Match the terms below with the appropriate definition. Provide their
Romanian equivalents. Translate these definitions into Romanian. Use the
English terms to translate the Romanian sentences below into English.

EU institution; EU summit; informal summit; High Representative of the Union

for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy ; consent (assent procedure);
consultation procedure; multiannual financial framework (MFF); College of
Commissioners; EU accession; Citizens' Initiative; High Representative for the
Common Foreign and Security Policy; European Commissioner for External
Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy; blocking minority; Trio of
presidencies; Euro Group; ECOFIN; withdrawal agreement; Court of First
Instance; General Court; Court of Justice of the European Union; Permanent
Structured Cooperation in Defence; intergovernmental conference; Passerelle
Clause; President-elect; Commissioner-designate;EP Rules of Procedure;
Conference of Presidents; Conference of Committee Chairs; Charter of
Fundamental Rights; World Trade Organization (WTO); Transatlantic Trade
and Investment Partnership (TTIP); Emissions Trading System; fiscal and
macroeconomic surveillance legislation (six-pack); budgetary rules (two-pack);
European Public Prosecutor's office;

1. The possibility, added by the Treaty of Lisbon, for those members whose military
capabilities fulfill higher criteria and which have made more binding commitments to
one another in this area with a view to the most demanding missions to establish
permanent structured cooperation within the EU framework.
2. a supranational institution which acts independently of the Member States in terms
of its composition and manner of operation.
3. the first large greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme in the world, establishing
the 'cap and trade' principle, under which a maximum (cap) is set on the total amount
of greenhouse gases that can be emitted by all participating installations. 'Allowances'
for emissions are then auctioned off or allocated for free, and can subsequently be
traded.
4. procedure introduced by the Single European Act, under which the Council of the
European Union must obtain Parliament's acceptance before certain decisions can be
made, this procedure requiring an absolute majority of votes.
5. establish the internal organization and functioning of the EP.
5. the chief coordinator and representative of the Common Foreign and Security
Policy (CFSP) within the European Union.
7. the political body that coordinates the work of the EP committees and ensures the
smooth cooperation between them. It consists of the Chairs of all standing and
special committees and meets on Tuesdays of the Strasbourg part-sessions. The Chair
is elected from among its members for a two and a half year mandate.
8. an independent Union body with the authority to investigate and prosecute EU-
fraud and other crimes affecting the Union's financial interests, in order to protect the
Union's financial.
9. meeting of the European Council comprising heads of state or government of EU
member states.
10. a former member of the European Commission with responsibility over the
Commissions external representation in the world and the European
Union's Neighbourhood Policy.
11. a free trade agreement between the European Union and the United States,
currently under negotiations, with the aim of promoting multilateral economic growth
12. meeting of the members of a council which is not organized
according to the prescribed, official, or customary way or manner.
13. the court which ensures that the law is observed in the interpretation and
application of the Treaties, reviews the legality of the acts of the institutions of the
European Union, ensures that the Member States comply with obligations under the
Treaties; and interprets European Union law at the request of the national courts and
tribunals.
14. a set of European legislative measures which introduces greater macroeconomic
surveillance. These measures were bundled into a "six pack" of regulations, The six
regulations aim at strengthening the procedures to reduce public deficits and
address macroeconomic imbalances.
15. Under this procedure the Council, acting either unanimously or by a qualified
majority depending on the policy area concerned, can adopt legislation based on a
proposal by the European Commission after consulting the European Parliament.
16. name under which the General Court of the European Court of Justice was known
prior to the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon.
17. brings together into a single text all the personal, civic, political, economic and
social rights enjoyed by people within the EU.
18. The meeting format including all commissioners, including the President and the
vice-presidents of the European Commission, who meet once a week, usually on
Wednesday, in Brussels; the agendas of the meetings are determined by the President.
19. a governing body of the European Parliament, responsible for the organization of
Parliament, its administrative matters and agenda. It consists of the President of
Parliament and the chairmen of the political groups; it meets approximately twice a
month.
20. The process to join the European Union after fulfilling the economic and political
conditions called the Copenhagen criteria (after the Copenhagen summit in June
1993), which require a stable democratic government that respects the rule of law, and
its corresponding freedoms and institutions.
21. the formal procedure for negotiating amendments to the founding treaties of
the European Union. Under the treaties, such a procedure is called into being by
the European Council, and is composed of representatives of the member states, with
the Commission, and to a lesser degree the Parliament also participating.
22. an official document which lays down the maximum annual amounts which the
EU may spend in different political fields over a period of at least 5 years.
23. measures meant to increase transparency on the budgetary decisions of the
Member States, stronger coordination in the euro area starting with the 2014
budgetary cycle, and the recognition of the special needs of euro area Member States
under severe financial pressure.
24. introduced with the Treaty of Lisbon, aimed at increasing direct democracy in
the European Union, enables one million EU citizens, who are nationals of at least
one quarter of the Member States, to call directly on the European Commission to
propose a legal act in an area where the Member States have conferred powers onto
the EU level .
25. According to Article 17 of the Treaty on European Union, as amended by
the Treaty of Lisbon, the nominee for the official position which the European
Council votes for by qualified majority, taking account of the latest European
elections; the proposal is then put before Parliament which must approve or veto the
appointment. If an absolute majority of MEPs support the nominee, he/she is elected.
26. Member states holding the presidency work together closely in groups of three
who set long-term goals and prepare a common agenda determining the topics and
major issues that will be addressed by the Council over an 18 month period.
27. deals with the global rules of trade between nations. Its main function is to ensure
that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible.
28.the chief coordinator and representative of the Common Foreign and Security
Policy within the European Union.
29. a constituent court of the Court of Justice of the European Union which hears
actions taken against the institutions of the European Union by individuals and
member states, although certain matters are reserved for the European Court of Justice.
Decisions of the General Court can be appealed to the Court of Justice, but only on a
point of law.
30. a situation in which least 4 countries (or, if not all countries participate in the vote,
the minimum number of countries representing more than 35% of the population of
the participating countries, plus one country) vote against the proposal.
31. the recognized collective term for informal meetings of the finance ministers of
the eurozone, i.e. those member states of the European Union (EU) which have
adopted the euro as their official currency.
32.a clause in treaties of the European Union that allows the alteration of a legislative
procedurewithout a formal amendment of the treaties. Unlike formal treaty revision
this use of this clause does not require national ratification.
33. one of the oldest configurations of the Council of the European Union, composed
of the economics and finance ministers of the 28 European Union member states, as
well as Budget Ministers when budgetary issues are discussed.
34.the person nominated by their member state (except for those states who provided
the President and High Representative) in consultation with the Commission President,
to become a European Commissioner.
35. according to the Treaty of Lisbon, when a Member State wants to exit the EU,
such an agreement is negotiated between the Union and the State.

Translate into English:

1.In conformitate cu Tratatul de la Lisabona, Curtea de Justitie a UE este formata din

Curtea de Justitie, Curtea Generala si instantele specializate. Cu alte cuvinte, oficial,
termenul Curtea de Justitie a UE desemneaza doua nivele de jurisdictie.
2. Pe 17 iulie 2013, Comisia Europeana a adoptat o propunere legislative privind
infiintarea Parchetului European, care se va ocupa de infractiunile contra instereselor
financiare ale UE.
3.Principala datorie a Eurogrupului este sa asigure o stransa coordonare a politicilor
economice ale sattelor acre folosesc moneda euro si, de asemnea, sa promoveze
conditiile pentru o crestere economica mai puternica. Totodata, Eurogrup se ocupa de
organizarea intalnirii la cel mai inalt nivel a statelor care folosesc moneda euro ca si
de continuarea activitatilor de dupa reuniune.
4. Majoritatea institutiilor europene au fost create odata cu infiintarea Comunitatii
Europene in 1958. De atunci s-au petrecut multe schimbari, mai ales in contextul
deplasarii centrului de putere de la Consiliu spre Parlament.
5. Ca urmare a concluziilor Consiliului European de la Koln din iunie 1999, care
stabilea ca drepturile fundamentale aplicabile in UE trebuie reunite intr-o carta care sa
le asigure o mai mare vizibilitate, s-a alcatuit o conventie foamta din cate un
reprezentant al fiecarui Stat membru UE ca si al Comisiei Europene, precum si
eurodeputati si parlamentari nationali care a redactat Carta Drepturilor Fundamentale.
6.Colegiul Comisarilor fucntioneaza pe baza principiului raspunderii colective,
deoarece hotararile se iau colectiv de catre Comisarii care raspund coelctiv fata de PE.
Toti Comisarii sunt egali in procesul decizional si poarta aceeasi raspundere pentru
aceste decizii.
7. Luni, 12 octombrie 2915, Consiliul pentru Afaceri Externe, prezidat de Federica
Mogherini, Inaltul Reprezentatnt al UE pentru afaceri externe si politica de securitate
s-a axat pe prioritatile agendei internationale, mai ales asupra subiectului migratiei, ca
si asupra Libiei si Siriei.
8.Minoritatea blocanta este numarul de voturi necesar in Consiliul Uniunii Europene
pentru a bloca o decizie care trebuie luata cu majoritate calificata.
9. In fiecare luna, Conferinta presedintilor de comisii prezinta Conferintei
presedintilor o recomandare privind proiectul de ordine de zi al sesiunii urmatoare, ca
si o examinare privind compatibilitatea dintre proiectele de legislatie si regulile
Tratatului in materie de acte delagte si acte de punere in aplicare.
10.Consiliul European defineste directia generala si prioritatile politicii UE, dar nu
este o institutie cu puteri legislative, adica nu negociaza si nici nu adopata legislatie
europeana.
11. De la retragerea Groenlandei din UE s-a creat un precedent conform caruia, daca o
tara dorestea sa se retraga din UE, probabil putea s-o faca, dar trebuia sa se semneze
acorduri speciale si sa se stabileasca conditii din cauza angajamentele preliminare
asumate fata de UE si fata de statele membre. Procedura presupune semnarea unui
tratat de retragere, asas cum stabileste Tratatul de la Lisabona.
12.Scopul acordului de liber schimb UE-SUA este sa inlature toate diferentele de
reglementare dintre SUA si statele europene.
13. Tratatul de la Nisa prevede ca Tribunalul in prima instanta va fi alacauit din cate
un judecator din fiecare Stat Membru.Numarul exact de judecatori va fi stabilit prin
statutul Curtii de Justitie.
14. Sistemul de comercializare a emisiilor aplicat de UE este cel mai amplu
mechanism de comercializare a emisiilor cu effect de gaze de sera; stabileste un
plafon al totalului emisiilor permis de mechanism, iar companiilor reglementate prin
acest mechanism li se acorda credite pana la atingerea plafonului. Companiile trebuie
sa masoare sis a raporteze emisiile de carbon si sa dea un credit pentru fiecare tona
emisa. Companiile isi pot comercializa creditele , find astfel stimulate sa-si reduca
emisiile.
15. Procedura de acord, denumita anterior procedura de aviz cnform, a fost introdusa
prin Actul Unic European in 1986 in doua domenii: acordurile de asociere si
acordurile de aderare la UE,Domeniul de aplicare al procedurii a fost largit prin
modificarile ulterioare ale tratatelor
16. Organizatia Mondiata a Comertului (OIM), infiintata in 1995, dupa runda
Uruguay de negocieri privind comertul al nivel global, este o puternica agentie a
comertului mondial, unul dintre mecanismele globalizarii corporatiste, care a extins
Acordul general pentru Traife si Comert (GATT), transformandu-l intr-un cod
commercial aplicabil la nivel mondial.
17. Curtea de Justitie a UE aplica legislatia europeana, iar in domeniile reglementate
de legislatia europeana este cea mai inalta instanta din UE, fiind deasupra curtilor
supreme nationale.
18. La conferinta de presa ulterioara consiliului informal care a i-a reunite pe sefii de
stat sau de guvern pe 23 sept 2015, presedintele Donald Tusk a prezentat rezultatele
convenite ale reuniunii.
19. Cooperarea structurata permanenta in materie de aparare, mentionata in Tratatul
de la Lisabona si adusa in discutie de presedintia belgiana a Consiliului Uniunii
Europene, permite unui grup restrans de state membre care indeplinesc anumite
criterii, cum ar fi angajamentul bugetar si capacitatea de a desfasura forte militare, sa
initieze o cooperare mai stransa pentru a consolida capacitatea de aparare europeana.
20. Doua dintre motivele principale pentru care Consiliul UE a introdus sistemul de
trio al presedintiilor sunt continuitatea activitatii si utilizarea eficienta a resurselor.
Este un sistem prin care trei state membre care preiau presedintia succesiv coopereaza
strans in conformitate cu programul comun al celor trei pe durata celor 6 luni cat
fiecare stat detine presedinti.
21. Legislatia pentru supraveghere fiscala si macroeconomica, asa-numitul pachet al
celor 6 masuri, a intrat in vigoare pe 13 decembrie 2011 si cuprinde cinci regulamente
si o directiva. Face parte din legislatia secundara a UE si se aplica tuturor celor 28 de
state membre, avand o serie de prevederi specirfice pentru statele din zona euro, mai
ales referitoare la sanctiunile financiare.
22. Initial, Tratatul de la Roma din 1957 a acordat PE doar un rol consultative in
procesul legislative, deoarece Comisia inainta propunerile legislative si Consiliul
adopta legile, PE nu putea decat sa aprobe sau sa respinga o propunere legislative.
Consiliul nu avea obligatia legala de a tine cont de opinia PE, dar conform
jurisprudentel Curtii de Justitie, nu putea lua o decizie fara sa treaca prin procedura de
consultare cu PE.
23. Pentru a putea lansa o initiative a cetatenilor, acestia trebuie sa alcatuiasca un
“comitet al cetatenilor”format din cel putin 7 cetateni UE cu domiciliul in cel putin 7
state membre diferite. Membri comitetului cetatenesc trebuie sa fie cetateni ai UE cu
varsta minima necesara pentru a putea participa in alegerile pentru PE (18 ani, cu
exceptia Austriei unde varsta minima este de 16 ani).
24. Conferinta interguvernamentala initiata de Consiliul European in iunie 2007 avea
sarcina de a redacta un tratat reformator care sa consolideze eficienta si legitimitatea
democratica a UE, ca si coerenta actiunilor externe ale Uniunii.
25. Pozitia de Inalt Reprezentant pentru politica externa si de securitate comuna ca si
de secretar general al Consiliului UE a fost create prin Tratatul de la Amsterdam in
1997 si a fost ocupata de Javier Solana intre 1999 si 2009.
26. In conformitate cu Regulamentul de procedura al PE, orice eurodeputat poate
adresa o intrebare cu solicitare de raspuns scris Presedintelui Consiliului European,
Consiliului UE sau Comisiei Europene in conformitate cu criteriile stabilite in anexa
la Regulament.
27. Toate cererile de aderare la UE sunt subiectul unui aviz emis de Comisiei si a
unei hotarari luate de Consiliu
28. Cadrul financiar multianual stabileste limitele bugetelor anuale ale UE si cuprinde
perioade de la 5 la 7 ani.
29. Aflata la Buxelles, pe data de 19 mai 2009, doamna Benita Ferrero-Waldner, pe
atunci Comisar pentru relatii externe si politica europeana de vecinatate, a rostit o
alocutiune pe tema dialogului strategic dintre Europea si China.
30. In alocutiunea initiala rostita in fata EP pe date de 10 oct 2014, presedintele ales al
Comisiei Europene Jean-Claude Jubcker a subliniat o serie de modificari pe care le va
face portofoliilor comisarilor desemnati la cererea comisiilor parlamentare care au
participat la audierile comisarilor desemnati.
31. La consiliul informal ECOFIN, care a avut loc la Luxemburg pe data de 11
septembrie 2015, ministri au abordat problema crizei refugiatilor si impactul financiar
asupra UE.
32. La reuniunile conferintei presedintilor au acces toti eurodeputatii si dupa fiecare
sedinta se publica un proces verbal textual, initial intr-o versiune in mai multe limbi,
apoi in traducere.
33. Pachetul celor doua masuri sau regulile bugetare curpind doua regulamente
destinate sa consolideze in continuare integrarea economica si convergenta dintre
statele membre ale zonei euro.
34. Fiecare comisar desemnat primeste o serie de cinci intrebari din partea
eurodeputatilor, membri ai comisiei EP de resort, intrebari la care trebuie sa raspunda
in scris.35. O clauza pasarela permite o derogare de la procedurile legislative stabilite
de tratate, astfel incat, in situatii specifice si in anumite conditii, se poate trece de la
votul in unanimitate la votul prin majoritate calificate intr-un anume domeniu de
politica.

IV. Use the words/ phrases below to fill the blanks in the following sentences.
Translate the sentences into Romanian:

to appoint; be removed; voting procedure; elected position/ office; lawmaking;

EP seats; to place on an equal footing with; to be bound by; to submit the draft
budget to Parliament; scrutiny of legislative proposals (legislative scrutiny); to
enforce subsidiarity; to dismiss; to amend the Treaty; come into effect; term of
office; antitrust law, cartel, merger; state aid; delegated acts; implementing acts.

1. The King had the power to ______ the Parliament.

2. The authorization of GMO’s is done on a case-by-case basis and is therefore
an issue of individual scope, so reach new authorization is adopted as an
_______ .
3. The documents ______ from the premises by the customs officials.
4. The Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras insisted on Monday that the Greek
government ________ to show that Greece is ready overhaul its economy by
reforming its labor markets, raising taxes, cutting spending and putting state
investments up for sale.
5. _______ is a mechanism to determine whether a particular legal instrument is
effective for accomplishing the ends for which it is or will be created.
6. He was ______Advocate General at the European Court of Justice.
7. _______refers to legislation enacted by the federal government to regulate
trade abd commerce by preventing unlawful practices, price-fixing and
monopolies.
8. In the European Parliament there are several ______available, such as the
roll-call vote.
 9. In the EU new food labeling regulation, the Council and European Parliament
used ______ to allow the Commission to adjust and adapt the definition of
engineered nanomaterials to technical and scientific progress for a period of
five years.
10. An official is someone who holds an_____ by virtue of an election or may also
be appointed to that position.
11. The new law___ women_____ men.
12. The principle of subsidiarity is one of the key components of a system of
multilevel governance, but the _______ is still feeble.
13. Unless you are an influential member of an energy____ you are not going to
change gas prices in your favour.
14. The EU _____ process is long and complicated.
15. The biggest ever industrial_____ was between the motor companies Daimler-
Benz and Chrysler.
16. In the EP elections, the allocation of_____ to each member state is based on
the principle of degressive proportionality, so that, while the size of the
population of each country is taken into account, smaller states elect more
MEPs than is proportional to their populations.
17. They_____ the terms of the contract to finish the works if they want to be paid.
18. The Treaty of Lisbon, which came into force in December 2009, introduced
new procedures to________ .
19. As my ______ comes to an end, I would like to offer you a personal account
of what I have done over these last 30 months and the goals that I have
pursued, and hopefully, achieved.
20. The new law_______ on New Year’s Day.
21. _____ is defined as an advantage in any form whatsoever conferred on
a selective basis to undertakings by national public authorities.

V. Translate into Romanian: Evolving from the failed constitutional treaty, the
Lisbon Treaty proposed greater coherence, efficiency and democratic legitimacy in an
enlarged European Union. Following protracted ratification, the Reform Treaty
continues to face challenges however. Following the treaty of Nice a Convention on
the Future of Europe (aka European Convention) was established to draw up a draft
constitutional treaty for Europe between March 2002 and July 2003. The Draft Treaty
establishing a Constitution for Europe was the subject of an intergovernmental
conference intended to revise the structure and decision making process to support the
enlargement of the Union. Although the treaty was adopted by the Heads of State and
Government at the Brussels European Council on 17 and 18 June 2004 and signed in
Rome on 29 October 2004, it was never ratified. Reflection on the reform process,
prompted the establishment of a new Inter Governmental Conference in 2007. The
resulting 'Reform Treaty' was drawn up under the Portuguese presidency, and signed
at Lisbon. While the constitutional treaty (see below) was rejected by referenda, the
initial rejection of the Lisbon Treaty by referendum of the Republic of Ireland in June
2008 was reversed in October 2009 by a 67 % vote in favour of ratification.
Unanimous ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon followed as instruments of ratification
were deposited by the final member states with the Italian government. While the
treaty entered force several months before David Cameron took office at Downing
street, the new UK government has proposed, through the Queen’s Speech of 25 May
2010, legislation to ensure that 'British people have their say on any proposed transfer
of powers to the European Union'.
EU INSTITUTIONS – CLOE II
AUTUMN TERM, 2022-2023
COURSE COORDINATOR: PROFESSOR ROXANA-CRISTINA PETCU,
PhD

WORKSHEET - Lecture IV - THE INSTITUTIONS

I. Answer the following questions:

1. Name the five institutions of the EU and briefly state their role.
2. What is the European Council made up of?
3. How is information disseminated during the meetings of the European Council?
4. Briefly describe the what happens during the two days of the European Council.
5. When was the European Council institutionalized?
6. How many meetings does the European Council have every year?
7. What don-t the heads of state and government do?
8. What does the European Council issue?
9. Name the characteristics of the European Council and briefly describe them.
10. Name the functions of the European Council and briefly describe them.
11. What is the Council of the European Union made up of?
12. How does the Council of the European Union operate? Name its formations and
define the role of the General Affairs Council as well the role of the Foreign Affairs
Council.
13. Describe the voting procedure in the Council of the European Union.
14. Describe the Presidency of the Council of the European Union and its role.
15. Mention the role of the General Secretariat and the Secretary General.
16. What is COREPER and what does it do?
17. What is the European Commission made up of?
18. How are the Commissioners selected and appointed?
19. What interests do the Commissioners represent?
20. What is the role of the President of the European Commission?
21, Briefly describe the functions of the European Commission.
22. Briefly describe the services of the Commission.
23. How are the MEPs elected?
24. Define the political groups which sit in the EP.
25. How many places of work does the EP have?
26. Define the roles of the EP.
27. Briefly describe the co-decision procedure.
28. When was the European Court of Justice set up? Where is it based?
29. Briefly describe the organization of the Court.
30. Briefly describe the most common types of cases appearing in front of the Court.
31. Provide a brief description of the European Central Bank.
32. Provide a brief description of the European Court of Auditors.
33. Provide a brief description of the European Economic and Social Committee.
34. Provide a brief description of the Committee of the Regions

II. Provide the Romanian equivalents of the following English terms; use the
English terms to fill in the blanks in the sentences below; translate these
sentences into Romanian:
foreign policy; criminal law; taxation; supranational institution; fundamental
common policies; secondary common policies, EU guidelines; legal acts; organ(s);
governance; heads of state; head of government; minister of foreign affairs/
foreign ministers; finance ministers; note-takers; ANTICI; State of the
Union address; Council conclusions, draft conclusions; to convene; political
guidelines of the Community; locus of power; soft law; hard law; equal status in
international law; seniority, de facto; de jure; legally-binding decision; non-
legally-binding decision; general political guidance and impetus; strategic
orientation; decision-maker of last resort; “collective head of state”; solemn
ratification of significant documents; negotiation of treaty changes; treaty
reform; Chancellor of the Exchequer.

1.During each of its meetings the European Council adopts_________ which are
used to identify specific issues of concern for the EU and outline particular actions to
take or goals to reach.
2. The________ is a political office in the United Kingdom, responsible for
Britain's money and economy. In other countries the job is called Minister of the
Treasury or of Finance.
3. This is how our Founding Fathers intended our nation to behave: To try to achieve
our ______ aims through negotiation and, if that failed, through economic sanctions.
4. The Federal Council is the seven-member executive council which constitutes the
federal government of Switzerland and serves as the______ and government of
Switzerland.
5. Nothing is permitted to escape_________, and duplicated taxes on the same thing
are frequent.
6. The governor sends a message at the beginning of each session of the legislature,
and may_____ the houses in extraordinary session when he deems it necessary
7. When the decision made by a 3rd party or a court (a judge) is obligatory, you will
have to follow it because it is a______ .
8. The generic term used for either the highest or second highest official in the
executive branch of a sovereign state who often presides over a cabinet is _________ .
9. Whenever________ are necessary, the negotiations are carried out by duly
accredited representatives of the executive branch of the government; for instance, in
the United States the process is ordinarily conducted by officials of the Deptartment
of State under the authority of the President.
10. Iraq’s high tribunal sentences the former Iraqi _______ Tareq Aziz
(Saddam’s_______) to death, while his lawyer said the sentence was unfair and
excessive.
11. ________is the body of law that relates to and regulates social conduct and
proscribes whatever is threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property,
health, safety, and moral welfare of people.
12. Despite the fact that the European Council It does not exercise legislative
functions, it provides the Union with the necessary ____________ for its development
and also defines the general priorities.
13. in international law where there are no sovereign governing bodies, _______refers
to actual binding legal instruments and laws which give States and international actors
actual binding responsibilities as well as rights.
14. The _______ group is made up of ambassadors’ assistants, a top European
Commission official, a member of the private office of the head of the Council of
Ministers’ secretariat and a member of the Council’s legal service. It is a powerful
body which prepares some of the Union’s most politically sensitive meetings.
15. In terms of asylum and immigration the European Council established the_______,
while underlining the need for efficient and well-managed migration, asylum and
border policy, guided by solidarity and fair sharing of responsibility.
16. It took a very long time for a________ to materialize in Europe under the form of
the European Coal and Steel Community’s High Authority, which was the European
Commission’s predecessor.
17. A legislative act, that is a formal written enactment produced by a legislature, is
called _______.
18. The European Council is a key institution of the European Union which takes
nearly all major decisions for the EU and which has a number of fundamental features,
among which the indefinable_________ .
19. The European Council is one of the 7 EU institutions, whose main role is
to determine the ____________, - essentially setting the policy agenda for the EU.
20. This committee will be the chief ________ of the administration.
21. The two archbishops and the bishops of London, Durham and Winchester -
always sit, the others taking their seats in order of _________ of consecration.
22. The term ______ refers to quasi-legal instruments which do not have any legally
binding force, or whose binding force is somewhat "weaker" than the binding force of
traditional law.
23. One of the almost constant features of the European Union has become ________,
which lately has come to involve not only the representatives as the only significant
actors in this process, but also the European Commission.
24. The City Corporation exercises a control over the majority of the London markets,
which dates from the close of the 14th century, when dealers were placed under
the ________ of the mayor and aldermen.
25. Nevertheless Queen Elizabeth I, on succeeding to the English throne, was
disposed to come to terms with Shane, who after his father's death was the
________chief of the formidable O'Neill clan.
26. The European Council publishes _______about how it imposes and enforces
aspects of European Union economic sanctions, and the role of Member States.
27. An illegal action, such as forcing, tricking, or coercing a person into an agreement,
results in a _________, which the person has no obligation to observe.
28. The statements made by the ________of Slovenia and Germany break a long-held
taboo during the Eurozone crisis talks, where policy makers have been insisting that
they are entirely focused on keeping Greece in the currency union with the help of
more bailout loans.
29. The General Affairs Council acts as a coordinating body and a when the other
councils are deadlocked on a legislative proposal. If the General Affairs Council
cannot break the deadlock, it sends the issue up to the European Council for a political
decision.
30. You must always make sure that what you do is _______ so that you do not get
any fines or penalties against you.
31. The European Council, acting as a collective Head of State, has developed further
roles, such as the settlement of issues outstanding from discussions at a lower level,
and the ___________________ .
32. The different national delegations accompanying the heads of state or heads of
government for the duration of the European Council meetings are dependent on
_______ for information about the ongoing procedures.
33. In accordance with Article 2(3)(a) of the Council's Rules of Procedure,
delegations will find attached the______ prepared by the President of the European
Council, in close cooperation with the member of the European Council representing
the Member State holding the six-monthly Presidency of the Council and with the
President of the Commission.
34. The _________ , instituted by the Lisbon Treaty, is the annual speech addressed
by the President of the European Commission to the European Parliament plenary
session in September.
35. Prince Albert II is the current _____ of the principality of Monaco. He is the son
of Ranier III, Prince of Monaco, and the American actress Grace Kelly.
36. EU policies whose basic objectives and scope are inscribed in the Treaty itself and
are, therefore, agreed by both the governments and the parliaments of all the Member
States are called_______.
37. Eu policies defined by the common legislative bodies of the EU within the
framework of the fundamental common policies, in accordance with the decision-
making procedure prescribed in the treaty are called______ .

III. Provide Romanian equivalents of the following English terms; use the
English terms in sentences of your own.

Council formation; Agriculture and Fisheries Council; Competitiveness Council;

Economic and financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN); Education, Youth, Culture
and Sports Council; Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs
Council; Environment Council; Foreign Affairs Council; General Affairs
Council; Justice and Home Affairs Council (JHA); Transport,
Telecommunications and Energy Council; program of legislative priorities;
Permanent Representatives Committee (COREPER), Legal Service; qualified
majority (or double majority); blocking minority; opt-out; to nominate/
nomination; guardian of the Treaties; the power of initiative; infringement of the
Community legislation; Directorates-General; MEPs; the power of the purse;
Commission opinion; common position; to settle legal disputes; Grand Chamber;
advocates-general; references for a preliminary ruling; actions for failure to
fulfill an obligations; actions for annulment; actions for failure to act; actions for
damages; the registry of the Court.

IV. The following terms refer to various voting procedures. Match the terms
with their correct definitions, and provide their Romanian equivalents:

Simple majority; qualified majority; blocking minority; roll-call vote; vote by a

show of hands; veto; abstention; weighted votes; vote in favour of/ for; vote
against something/ vote something down; cast one’s vote; split vote; vote en bloc;
unanimity; direct, universal suffrage; single vote; take a vote on an issue/ to take
(hold) a vote; absolute majority; quorum; tie vote; voting card; to have a vote;
motion carried; motion rejected; vote by ballot; vote by mail; electronic vote;
voting machine; casting vote; free vote, vote of no confidence (vote of censure)

1. To give a formal indication of a choice between two or more candidates or courses

of action, expressed typically through a ballot or a show of hands or by voice.
 2. a vote on a motion put by the Opposition censuring an aspect of the Government's
policy; if the motion is carried the Government is obliged to.
3. a majority in which the highest number of votes cast for any one candidate, issue,
or item exceeds the second-highest number, while not constituting an absolute
majority.
4. A blue non-transferable chip card used by MEPs to vote in the Chamber, which
they insert into the slot in the terminal at the Member's seat.
5. to defeat something such as a law or plan by voting against it
6. Agreement by all people involved; consensus.
7. a process that allows people to vote in secret so that other people cannot see their
votes.
8. The Treaty of Lisbon also provides for a blocking minority composed of at least
four Member States representing over 35% of the EU population.
9. to put something to the vote.
10. the raising of hands to indicate voting for or against a proposition.
11. have the right
to express one's preference for a candidate or for a proposed resolution of an issue.
12. voting method which employs a terminal into which a card is inserted and this
activates a yellow warning light and an animated display to signal the vote taken by
the voter.
13. to place one's ballot in the ballot box.
14. a number of votes constituting more than half of the number cast.
15. a constitutional right to reject a decision or proposal made by a lawmaking body.
16.The deciding vote of a presiding officer in an assembly or council, exercised when
there is a deadlock due to a tie.
17. such a majority is achieved if it covers at least 55% of Member States representing
at least 65% of the population of the EU.
18. occurs where one single vote is taken on a number of items, motions or
recommendations – vote en bloc (vot in bloc)
19. a mechanical apparatus used in a polling place to register and count the votes.
20. In this system of voting, the vote of each member is recorded as each member
inserts his card at the voting station and a running count of votes is displayed, while
the names of all those voting for and against are automatically recorded.
21. the minimum number of members of an assembly or society that must be present
at any of its meetings to make the proceedings of that meeting valid.
22. an instance of declining to vote for or against a proposal or motion.
23. voting an amendment, article or paragraph of the text under consideration in two
or more parts.
24. In a parliamentary procedure, when a vote is taken on a motion, and the number
of those who agree outnumber those who do not, the chair speaks up indicating that
the suggestion in the motion has been adopted by the meeting.
25. voting system based on the idea that not all voters should have the same amount
of influence over the outcome of an election, so, are given different amounts of say
concerning the outcome.
26. an equal number of votes for the two sides.
27. a parliamentary division in which members vote according to their own beliefs
rather than following a party policy.
28. in parliamentary law and procedure, when a proposal raised at a meeting and
submitted for consideration, debate and vote, is not accepted proposal to.
29. a system for conducting elections in which voters receive and return ballots via
the mail.
30. when an item is placed on the agenda for adoption without amendment.

V.Match the words/phrases in List A with the words/phrases in List B, give the
Romanian equivalents of the noun phrases thus obtained and use them to fill the
blanks in the sentences below. Translate the sentences into Romanian:

List A: advisory; the power; advocates; Directorates; actions for; common;

proceedings for failure; plenary; point; guardian; preliminary ruling; actions for;
infringement of; registry; democratic; the power of; dissenting; term of; Commission;
Grand; actions for;
List B: of the court; general; the Community legislation; procedure; of initiative;
sessions; to fulfill an obligation; position; supervision; failure to act; Chamber;
damages; General; annulment; of the Treaties; of the Treaties; opinion; of law; the
purse; opinions; body
1. Congress will be exercising its ______in a rational way, rather than running up a
debt and then refusing to pay it.
2. According to the founding treaties, the European Commission (EC) has
supranational monopoly over the ______ as a guarantee of impartiality and expertise
over the policy proposals that were submitted to the attention of the legislative
branches.
3. Individuals or Member States who have suffered damage may obtain compensation
on behalf of the institution that caused it by bringing an ____ before the Court of
Justice of the European Union.
4. By virtue of its power of ______, the Parliament supervises all Community
activities.
5. A ______presents the reasons for which one of the judges taking part in the
deliberations voted against the final decision reached by the majority.
6. The opinions of the ______ are advisory and do not bind the Court, but they are
nonetheless very influential and are followed in the majority of cases.
7. As _______, the European Commission is responsible for ensuring that the
European law is properly applied in all the Member States.
8. The _______ enables national courts to question the European Court of Justice on
the interpretation or validity of European law. The reference for such a procedure
therefore offers a means to guarantee legal certainty by uniform application of EU law.
9. The Commission is divided into departments known as _____, each of them
classified according to the policy it deals with.
10. In jurisprudence, a_______ is a question which must be answered by applying
relevant legal principles, by an interpretation of the law.
11. An______ brought before the European Court of Justice consists of a review of
the legality of European acts which may lead to the annulment of the act concerned.
12. An example of an _____ is when a city wants to know the environmental impact
of putting a campground in on the lake, so they hire a group of people to look into the
pros/cons and make a report.
13. That president’s ____ was wasted in quarrels with the Legislature.
14. Prior to 2004, the European Court of Justice met as a full chamber for all cases,
but it now may sit as a _______ of 13 judges or in Chambers of 3 to 5 judges.
15. An______ is an instrument that allows this institution to make a statement in a
non-binding fashion, in other words without imposing any legal obligation on those to
whom it is addressed.
16. _______are legal proceedings brought before the Court of Justice of the European
Union which enable the Court of Justice to control Member States’ compliance with
their obligations under European law.
17. Sessions which bring together all the MEPs and are chaired by the President of the
European Parliament are called _____.
18. The Commission, as the investigative authority and the guardian of the treaties
does not negotiate the question of the existence of an ______ and the appropriate
sanction.
19. When the Council does not share the views expressed by Parliament, it adopts
a _____, which is forwarded to the European Parliament together with a statement of
reasons.
20. The administrators of the Court are responsible for the______ as well as for the
receipt, transmission and custody of documents and pleadings that have been entered
in a register initiated by the President.
21.In case the Council or the Commission has failed to meet its obligation to act, thus
infringing the provisions of the Treaties, a Member State, and possibly an individual
may initiate _________ .

VI. Translate into English:

Curtea de Justitie a Comunitatilor Europene (CEJ), cu sediul la Luxemburg a fost
înființată în anul 1952 in baza Tratatul de la Paris, care a instituit Comunitatea
Europeanã a Cãrbunelui si Otelului. Curtea de Justitie a fost înfiintatã în virtutea art.
31-45 din Tratat. Curtea avea rolul de a afectua un control judiciar independent asupra
actelor Înaltei Autoritãti si ale statelor comunitare. Curtea avea sarcina de a
supraveghea respectãrea Tratatului si solutionarea diferendelor dintre tãrile membre
sau dintre particulari si Înalta Autoritate. Initial Curtea era compusã din 7 judecãtori si
2 avocati generali numiti de comun acord de cãtre guvernele statelor membre pentru o
perioadã de 6 ani. Avea în aparatul sãu un grefier, ales prin scrutin secret.
Odatã cu Tratatele semnate în 1957 la Roma, au fost create douã noi Comunitãti cu o
structurã asemãnãtoare cu cea a CECO, dar cele trei Curti de Justitie astfel rezultate s-
au unificat într-o Curte de Justitie unicã. Rolul Curtii de Justitie este sa asigure
uniformitatea interpretarii si aplicarii dreptului comunitar in fiecare stat membru.
Curtea de Justitie are puterea de a judeca litigiile dintre statele membre ale Uniunii,
dintre institutiile europene, dintre companii si dintre indivizi. La ora actuala, Curtea
de Justiţie este compusă din 28 de judecători şi 9 avocaţi generali. Judecătorii şi
avocaţii generali sunt desemnaţi de comun acord de către guvernele statelor membre,
pentru un mandat de şase ani care poate fi reînnoit. Aceştia sunt aleşi din rândul
juriştilor care oferă toate garanţiile de independenţă şi care întrunesc condiţiile cerute
pentru exercitarea, în ţările lor, a celor mai înalte funcţii jurisdicţionale sau a căror
competenţă este recunoscută.