European law
1/ European integration
1/1 Historical development
1945 – San Francisco Conference
End of WW2 – Adolf Hitler commits suicide
Story started in the ruins of WW2
After this war we started to think how do we return to normality
1946 – Let Europe arise
Prime minister Churchill gave a speech to the university of Zurich – ‘let
Europe arise’ speach
We need a council for Europe, this council should perform under the
wings of the united nations to give Europe structure again
Regional cooperative body = the Council of Europe
= a united states of Europe
What we would later call European integration
1949 – Schuman plan
Political parties: right – Jean Monet / Left: mr Schuman
Jean Monnet introduces the Schuman plan
Named after French Finance Minister Robert Schuman
Plan: prevent further war between France and Germany
Make war unthinkable and materially impossible
1951 – Treaty of Paris
Schuman plan led to the treaty of Paris
Start of what we call European integration
= states working together, process of cooperation
Cooperation was on the materials of fear: industrial level, economic
level, financial level, political level, cultural level, social level and
legal level
Established: European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC)
These were the main sources that you need for war and it was the
plan to make war impossible
Supervised by a high authority
States give away parts of sovereign control to the high
authority to control this cooperation
Benelux, France, Italy and Germany – UK NOT because it
opposed the idea of a high authority
Treaty came into force in 1952
1
,1955 – Spaak report
Belgian Foreign Minister = Paul-Henri Spaak
Suggested that there should be integration in a limited number of
sectors (so further then only cole and steel, he’s a fan of European
integration)
Set up an international meeting in Italy
He was asked to examine the establishment of a common
market – report was published in 1956 – laid the basis for the
Treaty Establishing the European Economic Community
(EEC Treaty)
1957 – Treaties of Rome
EEC
Remarkable features: institutional arrangements
The community was build around four institutions:
A Commission = a body of officials independent from the
member states, responsible for porposing legislation
An assembly (later to develop into European Parliament)
A Council (where national governments were represented)
A Court of Justice (to rule on whether member states or
institutions of the EEC had complied with EEC law)
EURATOM – stefje does not care about this 🤓
Both treaties entered into force in 1958
1958 – Charles de Gaulle becomes president of France
He wanted a intergovernmental Europe
His vision: European integration = intergovernmental
The supranational features of the EEC were a threat
1961 – UK wanted to join EEC
They saw that they were economically isolated because they didn’t join
the EEC Treaty
BUT both times they asked to join the EEC De Gaulle (France) denied
them
Because France used their veto here, they were left isolated until
De Gaulle resigned
1963 – Van Gend & Loos (European Court of Justice)
Facts: Van Gend & Loos a dutch transport company, was charged an import
duty on goods imported from Germany by the Dutch authorities – Van Gend &
Loos considered this a breach of article 30 TFEU – Van Gend & Loos issued this
before the Dutch tax Court, which asked the European Court of Justice if a party
could invoke and rely on treaty provisions in proceedings before a national
court. The Court said yes. The Court was asserting the powser of what was then
at the time EEC law over national law
Intergovernmentalism <> supranationalism
Direct effect
A new legal order
1973 – UK, Denmark and Ireland become members of the EEC
2
,1984 – appointment of a new Commission
Headed by: Minister Jacques Delors
4 choices for national governments:
Monetary policy
Foreign policy and defence
The internal market
All agreed that this was the logical way forward
A free market without boundaries
Institutional reform
1986 – SEA
Single European Act
Established the European Council
Brings together the heads of state, or the governments of the
member states and the President of the Commission of the
European Communities
This is NOT the Council of Europe
1989 – Collapse of the Berlin Wall
-Realization there should be more cooperation (Kohl and Mitterrand)-
1992 – Treaty of Maastricht
This is the treaty of the European Union (TEU) = you need a European
union
Proclaimed the EU as a political project
Member states established a European Union
Entered into force in 1993 (before the EEC now became EC
(=European Community))
1997 – Treaty of Amsterdam
Integrated the Schengen Agreements
Letting go of internal borders and creating an external border
2001 – Treaty of Nice and Convention on the future of Europe
Treaty of Nice
Review the composition and functioning of the institutions
cumulated in 2001
Convention on the future of Europe
In Laken
Wanted to make a constitution for the EU to turn it into a
superstate
2004 – Constitutional treaty and Impasse
Constitutional treaty
France and the Netherlands did not like this idea so no constitution
boehoe
3
, 2005 European integration had reached an impasse (= a dead end)
2007 – Treaty of Lisbon: TEU and TFEU
Member states committed to a new treaty
Startpoint: Constitutional Treaty
Treaty of Lisbon
Was actually the constitution but they took out some constitutional
elements
What the EU is, what it did and how it did it
Lead to two treaties: TEU and TFEU (legal framework of the
European Union)
2/ Legal framework
2/1 Primary EU law
TEU and TFEU
Give power to the institutions of the union to make secondary EU law
2/2 Secondary EU law
Article 288 TFEU – definition
To exercise the Union’s competences, the institutions shall adopt regulations,
directives, decisions, recommendations and opinions (= secondary law)
Regulation: shall have general application + binding in its entirety +
directly applicable
Directive: binding + leaves the choice to the national authorities of form
and methods
Decision: binding in its entirety + specifies those to whom it is addressed
(only binding for them)
Recommendations and opinions: no binding force
2/3 Other sources
Case law
Of the Court of Justice of the European Union
Legal doctrine
2/4 Finding EU-law?
EUR-lex
4
1/ European integration
1/1 Historical development
1945 – San Francisco Conference
End of WW2 – Adolf Hitler commits suicide
Story started in the ruins of WW2
After this war we started to think how do we return to normality
1946 – Let Europe arise
Prime minister Churchill gave a speech to the university of Zurich – ‘let
Europe arise’ speach
We need a council for Europe, this council should perform under the
wings of the united nations to give Europe structure again
Regional cooperative body = the Council of Europe
= a united states of Europe
What we would later call European integration
1949 – Schuman plan
Political parties: right – Jean Monet / Left: mr Schuman
Jean Monnet introduces the Schuman plan
Named after French Finance Minister Robert Schuman
Plan: prevent further war between France and Germany
Make war unthinkable and materially impossible
1951 – Treaty of Paris
Schuman plan led to the treaty of Paris
Start of what we call European integration
= states working together, process of cooperation
Cooperation was on the materials of fear: industrial level, economic
level, financial level, political level, cultural level, social level and
legal level
Established: European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC)
These were the main sources that you need for war and it was the
plan to make war impossible
Supervised by a high authority
States give away parts of sovereign control to the high
authority to control this cooperation
Benelux, France, Italy and Germany – UK NOT because it
opposed the idea of a high authority
Treaty came into force in 1952
1
,1955 – Spaak report
Belgian Foreign Minister = Paul-Henri Spaak
Suggested that there should be integration in a limited number of
sectors (so further then only cole and steel, he’s a fan of European
integration)
Set up an international meeting in Italy
He was asked to examine the establishment of a common
market – report was published in 1956 – laid the basis for the
Treaty Establishing the European Economic Community
(EEC Treaty)
1957 – Treaties of Rome
EEC
Remarkable features: institutional arrangements
The community was build around four institutions:
A Commission = a body of officials independent from the
member states, responsible for porposing legislation
An assembly (later to develop into European Parliament)
A Council (where national governments were represented)
A Court of Justice (to rule on whether member states or
institutions of the EEC had complied with EEC law)
EURATOM – stefje does not care about this 🤓
Both treaties entered into force in 1958
1958 – Charles de Gaulle becomes president of France
He wanted a intergovernmental Europe
His vision: European integration = intergovernmental
The supranational features of the EEC were a threat
1961 – UK wanted to join EEC
They saw that they were economically isolated because they didn’t join
the EEC Treaty
BUT both times they asked to join the EEC De Gaulle (France) denied
them
Because France used their veto here, they were left isolated until
De Gaulle resigned
1963 – Van Gend & Loos (European Court of Justice)
Facts: Van Gend & Loos a dutch transport company, was charged an import
duty on goods imported from Germany by the Dutch authorities – Van Gend &
Loos considered this a breach of article 30 TFEU – Van Gend & Loos issued this
before the Dutch tax Court, which asked the European Court of Justice if a party
could invoke and rely on treaty provisions in proceedings before a national
court. The Court said yes. The Court was asserting the powser of what was then
at the time EEC law over national law
Intergovernmentalism <> supranationalism
Direct effect
A new legal order
1973 – UK, Denmark and Ireland become members of the EEC
2
,1984 – appointment of a new Commission
Headed by: Minister Jacques Delors
4 choices for national governments:
Monetary policy
Foreign policy and defence
The internal market
All agreed that this was the logical way forward
A free market without boundaries
Institutional reform
1986 – SEA
Single European Act
Established the European Council
Brings together the heads of state, or the governments of the
member states and the President of the Commission of the
European Communities
This is NOT the Council of Europe
1989 – Collapse of the Berlin Wall
-Realization there should be more cooperation (Kohl and Mitterrand)-
1992 – Treaty of Maastricht
This is the treaty of the European Union (TEU) = you need a European
union
Proclaimed the EU as a political project
Member states established a European Union
Entered into force in 1993 (before the EEC now became EC
(=European Community))
1997 – Treaty of Amsterdam
Integrated the Schengen Agreements
Letting go of internal borders and creating an external border
2001 – Treaty of Nice and Convention on the future of Europe
Treaty of Nice
Review the composition and functioning of the institutions
cumulated in 2001
Convention on the future of Europe
In Laken
Wanted to make a constitution for the EU to turn it into a
superstate
2004 – Constitutional treaty and Impasse
Constitutional treaty
France and the Netherlands did not like this idea so no constitution
boehoe
3
, 2005 European integration had reached an impasse (= a dead end)
2007 – Treaty of Lisbon: TEU and TFEU
Member states committed to a new treaty
Startpoint: Constitutional Treaty
Treaty of Lisbon
Was actually the constitution but they took out some constitutional
elements
What the EU is, what it did and how it did it
Lead to two treaties: TEU and TFEU (legal framework of the
European Union)
2/ Legal framework
2/1 Primary EU law
TEU and TFEU
Give power to the institutions of the union to make secondary EU law
2/2 Secondary EU law
Article 288 TFEU – definition
To exercise the Union’s competences, the institutions shall adopt regulations,
directives, decisions, recommendations and opinions (= secondary law)
Regulation: shall have general application + binding in its entirety +
directly applicable
Directive: binding + leaves the choice to the national authorities of form
and methods
Decision: binding in its entirety + specifies those to whom it is addressed
(only binding for them)
Recommendations and opinions: no binding force
2/3 Other sources
Case law
Of the Court of Justice of the European Union
Legal doctrine
2/4 Finding EU-law?
EUR-lex
4
