Week 1/The EU: an international organisation or what?

2 main treaties in force today:

- Treaty on European Union (TEU)
- Treaty of the Functioning of the Union (TFEU). It derives from the European Community
Treaty (EC Treaty).

Also, the Lisbon Treaty has “abolished” the European Community (EC). The EC was part of a
three-pillar structure (created in the Treaty of Maastricht) along with the Common Foreign and
Security Policy (CFSP) and the Police and Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters (PJCC). The
Lisbon Treaty abolished the three-pillar structure and merged the EU’s components in a single
framework. Thus, the EC was also abolished as part of this.

Readings

The Schuman Declaration:

The Schuman Declaration, made on May 9, 1950, by French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman,
proposed the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). This declaration laid
the foundation for European integration and marked the beginning of what would later become
the European Union (EU).
Key points of the Schuman Declaration:
• Peace and Unity: The declaration emphasized the importance of preventing future wars in
Europe by promoting unity and cooperation among European nations.
• Common Management: It proposed the pooling of coal and steel production under a
common authority, ensuring that these vital resources would no longer be used for military
purposes and would instead be managed collectively.
• Supranational Control: The ECSC would have a supranational character, meaning that its
decisions would be made independently of national governments and would serve the
common European interest.
• Open Invitation: The declaration invited other European countries, notably West Germany
and Italy, to join this initiative and participate in the management of coal and steel
resources.

Lecture

Treaties:
A treaty is an agreement in international law subject to the will of the parties. Other essential
elements include negotiations, rati cation, right to leave and enforcement (left to the
contracting parties).

Schuman Declaration (Legal Analysis)

“Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete
achievements which rst create a de facto solidarity” . This means that the EU won’t and can’t be
a confederation.
- the only way to create cooperation amongst European states is to start from the
economy —> manifesto. Collaboration will be based on 2 products only, coal and steel.

How this is achieved —> via an International Agreement to be rati ed by States.

1. Production under supervision of “High Authority” (new supra national institution), with power
to impose decisions binding on member states. The SA is not a treaty because a treaty is
based upon the will of the parties. However, the HA has supra national powers. Hence, not all
power is in the hands of the parties.
2. Ultimate goal of the SA: “fusion of the markets and expansion of production” —> this means
common rules applicable to all members.
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 European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), 6 member states, 1951. Scope of this was the
creation of a a Customs union (aka free trade within the boundaries with common external
tari s). To be considered such, a customs union must have
- A Common External Tari (CET): all countries apply the same import duties and tari s on goods
from outside the union. This eliminates the need for internal customs borders within the union.

- Free trade among Members: customs union members bene t from tari -free trade with each
other, meaning that goods can move freely between member states without being subjected to
customs duties and/or barriers. Tari : an import tax on a good.

Therefore, the ECSC allowed for no tari s on the import/export of coal and steel only.

European Economic Community (EEC) - Treaty of Rome 1957: coal and steel is not enough
—> creation of a common market. This means:
- Free movement of all goods (not just coal and steel)
- Free movement of services (eg a French architect designing a building in Spain)
- Free movement of workers (people are encouraged to move to another state to work there)
- Free movement of capital (money can be moved without any restrictions)
In 1957, these thing had never been heard of before —> revolutionary.

This also introduces rules in competition (competition law). Competition laws int he EU allowed
for the use of aid to distort the market without it being unlawful.
Also, act 119 of the treaty: women had to be paid the same. This is relevant because it means
that whichever country women went to work (free movement of services), they would be paid the
same.

The EEC created a common market via:

- Common rules imposed on member states by the European institutions (supranational to
national)
- An international, supranational court
- Real law-making powers
- Uniform laws
- Judicial protection
Article 7 of Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68 of 1966:
A worker who is a national of a Member State may not, in the territory of another Member State,
be treated di erently from national workers by reason of his nationality in respect of any conditions
of employment and work, in particular as regards remuneration, dismissal, and should he become
unemployed, reinstatement or re-employment."

Rati cation of the Treaty of Maastricht 1992 —> the treaty that “creates” the European Union
(change of name).
Creates a three-pillar structure which was made up of:
1. the EC (Treaty of Rome)
2. the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP): provisions that dealt with defence and
foreign a airs
3. The Justice and Home A airs: immigration and police cooperation
This gives the EU a state-like structure: it has the jury, the executive (to some extent), the body,
foreign a airs, single currency etc. However, the pillars are very di erent, meaning that they have
di erent procedures, di erent legal e ects. Decisions are taken by representatives of Member
States and require unanimity. Issues are discussed through majority voting, but the decision/
outcome will be binding on all member states.

The Treaty of Amsterdam (1997) moved migration from the third pillar to the rst. Treaty of Nice
(2000) don’t bother.
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 Treaty of Lisbon (2009) is enforced at the moment —> uni ed all pillars in the EU. However,
di erent procedures are still present and unanimity is preserved for certain areas.
- Treaty of the European Union (TEU): general principles
- Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU): EU policies
- Single legal personality for the Union that allows the EU to conclude international agreements
and join international organisations.
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