EU law

• EU's objectives and principles

  • Decision making process
  • EU's subject
  • EU's organizing principles
• Art 3(5) TEU -> "the EU shall uphold and promote its values and interests and contribute to the protection of its citizens. It shall contribute to peace, security, the sustainable development of the Earth, solidarity and mutual respect among peoples, free and fair trade, eradication of poverty and the protection of HR, in particular the rights of the child, as well as to the strict observance and the dev of inter law, including respect for the principles of the UN Charter"
• Decision making process: art 289 TFEU


  1. Proposal by the commission to the euro parliament and the council

  2. First reading in Parliament - The parliament adopts its position by a simple maj

  3. First reading in the council - The council adopts its position by QMV, if it does, the act shall be adopted in the wording which correspond to the position of the euro parliament. If it does not, it shall adopt its position in the first reading and communicate it to the parliament

  4. Second reading. If the parliament approves the council's position, the act is adopted, if it rejects the act won't be adopted, if it proposes amendments

  5. Second reading. If the council accepts the parliament's amendments, the act is adopted, if not it is not. The council shall act unanimously on the amendments on which the commission has delivered a negative opinion

  6. Conciliation: the committee shall have the task of reaching agreement on a joint text, by QMV and by a maj of the members representing the parliament within 6 weeks of its being covened, on the basis of the positions of the parliament and the council at second reading

  7. Third reading if, within that period, the conciliation committee approved a joint text, the parliament, acting by QMV, and the council, actin by qualified maj, shall each have a period of 6 weeks from that approval in which to adopt the act in question in accordance with the joint text. If they fail to do so, the proposed act shall be deemed not to have been adopted
• The council shall adopt the decision concluding the agreement after obtaining the consent of the euro parliament in particular cases and after consulting the euro parliament in other cases.
• The voting is made with the QMV: art 16(4) TEU
• States and inter orga (Reparation for injuries) subject to inter law
• Principle of institutional balance


  • EU's inst must respect the limits of its power, the court of justice, commission, parliament, high representative and council must only act on their competence and not encroach on each other's areas of responsibility
• Principle of conferral competences


  • Art 5 TEU "EU shall act only within the limits of the competences conferred upon it by the MS in the treaties to attain the objectives set out therein. Competences not conferred upon the union in the treaties remain with the MS"
  • This principle must be respected in the internal and external action of the EU (Opinion 2/94 ECHR)
• Types of external competences

  • Express: competences which treaty provisions explicitly confer to the EU, art 2-6 TFEU
  • Residual: art 352 "if the action of the union should prove necessary to attain one of the objectives set out in the treaties, and the treaties have not provided the necessary powers, the council shall adopt the appropriate measures"
  • Implied: art 216(1) "where the treaties so provide or where the conclu of an agreement is necessary in order to achieve the union's objectives", the EU can be competent
• Competences

  • Exclusive competences
  • Shared competences
• Exclusive competences

  • A priori exclusivity: in all the fields listed in art 3 TFEU
  • Conditional exclusivity: art 3(2) TFEU "the EU shall have exclusive competence for the conclu of an inter agreement when its conclu is provided for in a legislative act of the EU or is necessary to enable the EU to exercise its internal competence, or insofar as its conclu may affect common rules or alter their scope"
• Shared competences

  • Concurrent: art 2(2) TFEU "the MS shall exercise their competence to the extent that the union has not exercised its competences. They shall exercise their competence again where the union has decided to cease exercising its competence"
  • Coexistent: art 4(4) TFEU "in the areas of dev cooperation and humanitarian aid, the union shall have competence to carry out activities and conduct a common policy, however, the exercise of that competence shall not result in MS being prevented from exercising them"
• Centre of gravity test to determine the legal basis which is the authority to act.
• Conclu of a mixed agreement is exceptional because it is the consequence of a very complex distribution of competences between the MS and the union
• Types of mixity


  • Classic mixed agreement
  • Cross pillar mixity
  • Compulsory mixity
  • Facultative mixity
• Principle of sincere cooperation


  • Obl for the MS to facilitate the achievement of EU tasks. It can be invoked in front of the court of justice (MOX plant), it is a binding obl. It is an obl of conduct to secure a minimum level of effectiveness in the external action.
  • The duty of sincere cooperation entails an obl of coherence and consistency in MS actions and inter representation (Luxembourg v Commission). MS also have a duty to inform and consult "the competent inst prior instituting dispute settlement proceedings concerning the MX plant within the framework of the convention" (MOX plant).
  • MS must ensure consistency by seeking synergy rather than just absence of contradiction
  • Duty of genuine cooperation is of general application and does not depend either on whether the community competence concerned is exclusive or on any right of the MS to enter into obl towards non-members countries (Luxembourg v Commission)
• This duty has now a constitutional foundation with art 21(3) "the union shall ensure consistency between areas of its external action and its other policies. The council, commission, high representatives of the CFSP shall ensure consistency and shall cooperate to that effect"
• Institutional ways to achieve coherence

  • Single institutional framework (same person dealing with every external competence with its diff competences)
  • Multi-hatted GR/VP (complementary triple function)
  • Euro external action service
  • Euro council (it shall define the general pol direction and priorities and identify the strategic interests and objectives of the EU)
  • Euro parliament (democratic control and right to be informed)
• EU's external policies


  • Common Foreign Security Policy
  • Common Commercial Policy
  • Neighbourly relationship
• Common Foreign Security Policy

  • The CFSP focuses on security, defence diplomacy, and related actions
  • The objectives of the CFSP are to preserve peace, strengthen inter security, promote inter cooperation and dev and consolidate democracy.
• Art 23 TEU "the union action on the inter scene, shall be guided by the principles, shall pursue the objectives of the union, and be concluded in accordance with, the general provisions laid down in chapter 1"
• Court of justice's jurisdiction on CFSP

  • The court of justice shall not have jurisdiction with respect to the provisions relating to the CFSP with the exception of its jurisdiction with monitor compliance with art 4 TEU and to review the legality of certain decision as provided in art 275(2) TFEU
  • The court of justice can subject a CFSP measure establishing sanctions against natural or legal person to a legality control.
• Decision making process: art 24TEU

  1. Proposal: any MS, the HR or the commission

  2. Parliament's role: regularly informed by the presidency and consulted on the main aspects
• Court of justice's jurisdiction

  Shall not have jurisdiction with respect to the provisions relating to the CFSP with the exception of its jurisdiction with monitor compliance with art 4 TEU and to review the legality of certain decision as provided in art 275(2) TFEU
• Court of justice's jurisdiction

  Can subject a CFSP measure establishing sanctions against natural or legal person to a legality control
• Decision to dev a foreign policy of the union

  1. Have to be taken by the council acting unanimously, art 31 TEU

  2. Exception of the unanimity when MS abstain but still adoption unless a MS uses its right of veto
• Legal basis: art 206 + 207(1)


  The CCP involves the conclu of tariff and trade arrangement
• Exclusivity of the EU

  A priori exclusive external competence, art 3 TFEU so the MS don't have the authority to act in the field of external trade except by express authorisation of the EU. Exclusivity of the EU to ensure that the interests of the MS are separately satisfied
• Key objectives of CCP

  • To involve the union in the dev of inter trade
  • For the liberalisation of the inter trade
  • Eco dev of poorer countries
  • Elements such as huge inequalities in eco terms and climate change
• CCP can be dev by regulations, art 207(2)(3)


  "the euro parliament and the council shall adopt measures defining the framework for implementing the CCP"
• CCP procedure


  1. Commission or HR presents recommendations to the council

  2. The council defines the mandate for the nego and nominates the union negotiator (from the commission or the HR)

  3. The euro parliament must be immediately and fully informed at all stages of the procedure (art 218(10))
• CCP decision


  The council decide by QMV except for the asso and accession agreements, agreements risking prejudicing the union's cultural and linguistic diversity, and agreements in fields where unanimity would be requires for the adoption of internal acts
• Art 8 TEU


  Mandates the EU to dev special relationship with neighbouring euro countries
• Aim of special relationship

  Establish an area of prosperity and good neighbourliness funded on the values of the EU
• Asso agreement


  • An inter orga agreement establishing an asso involving reciprocal rights and obl, common action and special procedure, art 217
  • "An asso agreement creates special, privileged links with a non-member country which must, at least to a certain extent, take part in the EU system" Demirel
  • Can cover all aspect of EU external competences in relation to third states countries
• Asso to accession: art 49 TEU


  • 2 categories of States have been associated with the EU: the former colonies and the euro states mostly to prepare their accession to the EU
  • Asso agreement alone would not allow a state to join the EU, need of an inter agreement between the MS and the candidate state, negotiated by the MS with the candidate and must be ratified by all the MS
• EU global ambitions


  • Promotion of democracy
  • Fighting climate change
• EU global ambitions are very broad objectives on the international stage
• EEA agreement and the EFTA states

  • EEA is a treaty that brings Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein into EU's internal market
  • It allows that freedom of movement for goods, services, people and capitals s well as unified related policies
  • It is a mixed agreement, it covers areas where the EU and the MS have competence, so had to be ratified by the MS and the EU
  • Its mixity implies the need of the EU and the MS ratification for its entry into force, revision and its enlargement
  • Dynamic relationship -> the idea is to extend the EU single market rules, as they existed the moment the agreement was concluded and as they will be in the future
• Art 3(5) TEU


  Establishes what the EU should do among the wider world, including contributing to peace, security, solidarity, mutual respect among peoples, free and fair trade, eradication of poverty, protection of HR and the strict observance and the development of international law