Notes – European Union Law
Maud van Deijne – Semester 2 Year 2
Week 0
Lecture 1 – 1/2
Course structure: format
1. Weekly tutorials
- 4 groups
- Attendance highly encouraged
- Come prepared: active participation + not recorded
2. Pre-recorded clips
- Essential
- But not sufficient to pass the course: study the class materials!
3. Weekly tasks
- Not graded + no feedback
- Good for practice!!
- Discussed during the tutorials … essential for active participation
- Comparable to exam questions: helpful training!
Course structure: material
• Textbook: Barnard & Peer’s book is compulsory!
- New version: 4th ed, May 2023, but you may also use the previous version
- One copy is available at TiU library for consultation
- Your main companion!
- Work with your own summaries and note down key points
• Legislation
- Everything is freely available on EUR-Lex!
- Blackstone’s bundle is optional
- Highlight main provisions
- In your notes, work with cross-references (textbook, legislation & case law)
• Case law
- Case law will be a key source for this course
- Useful to understand how EU law has evolved, and learn how it is
interpreted and applied
- Use CURIA
- Learn how to read cases + read them quickly
- Mind old numbering of treaty articles quoted in “old” landmark cases →
take notes on correct numbering
- Work with cross-references with your textbook & legislation
- Wirk with your own summaries and notes
Exams
• Midterm 50%: 19/3 → bundles 1-6
- 120 minutes
- 2 open questions (15 points each) + 1 case (20 points) → total max 50
points
• Final 50%: 24/5 → bundles 7-12
- 120 minutes
- 2 open questions (15 points each) + 1 case (20 points) → total max 50
points
1
, • Resit 100%: 28/6 → covers the whole course (1-12)
- 240 minutes
- 4 open questions (15 points each) + 2 cases (20 points each) → total max
100 points
• Registration required
• Exams administered via canvas → take home!!
→ train with the weekly assignments!! Learn to use your time wisely!!
Tips on how to successfully complete the course
• Self-study: do it gradually!
• Train to write short summaries (use your own words/time management)
• Try to work with study groups but do not share notes
• Do not underestimate an open book exam! (time is too short to look for
answers in your book/the exam questions are not just about knowledge; they
also require critical reflection and application fo what you studied)
• Download the treaties during the course + highlight the spoken about
provisions
• Build up a study routine during the course
Course goals – what will you learn?
• How is EU Law produced? (institutions, principles, types of legal acts)
• How is EU law applied? (effects of EU law in national systems, relation with
national law, impact on invidivudal rights)
• What specific norms regulate … (free movement of goods? Workers &
persons? Competition law?)
• How have these norms evolved in the case law of the CJEU?
• What actions are available … (to challenge the legality and validity of EU legal
acts? And to challenge the inaction of EU MSs? And to challenge national law
diverging from EU law? And to interpret EU law?)
• Skills:
- Find
- Read
- Understand
- Explain
- Apply
→ EU legislation (EUR-Lex) + EU case law (CJEU website)
2
,Bundle 1 – European Integration: Drivers and Phases
KC 1 – What is the EU? How does it work?
Overview
• What is the European Union?
• What are the current legal foundations of the EU?
What is the European Union?
• The EU is an International Organization (IO), just as eg the World Trade
Organization or the United Nations → all international organizations are
creatures of international law: states have created the international
organization by means of international treaties → which specify the powers
and structure/organization of the organization
• Created by a Treaty (International Law) to achieve specific goals/to perform
specific tasks…
• … Equipped with the necessary design (powers, institutions) to achieve those
goals/tasks
• The EU has a regional nature – but it is not the only IO in the European
Region → Council of Europe
• Council of Europe = 47 Member States, European Union = 27 Member States
What is the relation between the EU and the CoE?
• Council of Europe is another IO with a regional nature
• All EU Member States (MS) are member of the CoE
• European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR, 1950)
→ International Treaty, which proposes a catalogue of civil political rights that
states which are party to this convention are committed to guarantee
• European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)
→ compulsory Supranational Court interpreting the ECHR, sitting in
Strasbourg
What are the current legal foundations of the EU?
• EU Primary Legal Sources
- How does the EU work? (institutions, goals, principles, policy areas)
- How can the EU validly produce and enforce legal norms?
→ The EU is currently based on the Lisbon Treaty (2 Treaties – same legal value) →
signed: 13 December 2007 – Entered into force: 1 December 2009
• Treaty on European Union (TEU): General provisions
- Democratic principles
- EU principles
- Institutions
- Enhanced cooperation
- External action
• Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU): Specific provisions
- Rules on EU competences, Functioning of: Institutions, EU citizenship,
Policies, Decision making
+ Protocols to the Treaty of Lisbon (1-37)
- Legal value?
- As “footnotes”, interpretative tools → specify notions used in the treaties,
such as proportionality or subsidiarity
3
, • Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (CFR): written Bill of
Rights for the EU
- Currently same value as the other Treaties see art 6(1) TEU, so must be
considered as EU primary law
Catalogue of Rights in the EU?
→ The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (CFR)
• Created in 2000 → it became HARD LAW with the Lisbon Treaty
• Outcome of a process of “Codification”
• Before the CFR, all individual rights were in CJEU’s case law
• Before the Lisbon Treaty, CFR was used as soft law (interpretative tool)
• Scope of application: the CFR applies only when* EU law is applicable (for
instance, when MS implement EU Law) → see art 51 CFR
Is there a relation between EU law and the ECHR?
European Union – CFR , Council of Europe – ECHR
→ all MS of EU are also parties to the CoE, but not the other way around!! Thus all
EU MS are committed to protect the rights of both catalogues (CFR and ECHR)
• The European Convention on Human Rights is NOT EU LAW! → have to look
at the ECHR as an international treaty that is linked to CoE → in itself, this is
not a legal act of the EU and it is not EU law
• Future Accession (?), see art 6(2) TEU → rights included in ECHR are also to
be considered a source of EU law as general principles of EU law
• Fundamental Rights as guaranteed in the ECHR and in MS constitutional
system are general principles of EU law
• Interpretation Charter Fundamental Rights must no lowering the standards of
protection provided by the ECHR, see art 53 CFR
KC 2 – European Integration in 3 words
→ origin and drivers of European integration + European integration in 3 words
(representative of the process)
The ‘EU’ project: how did we get here? → origins and drivers of EU integration →
the two faces of nationalism
• 19th century – Unification Nation States (Germany – Italy)
- Nationalism
- Push towards unification; prior boundaries … too small!
• 20th century – National Conflicts on a world scale: WWI, WWII
→ Goal: Long-Lasting Peace
→ Strategy: creating supranational institutions
1945: UN, international level
1950: ECHR/CoE, supranational regional level
• 1951 – European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC)
- 6 Member States: DE, FR, IT, BE, NL, LU
- Supranational management of strategic resources
• 1950-4 – European Defense Community (EDC), European Political
Community (EPC)
- Common foreign policy / European legislative body (federation)
4
Maud van Deijne – Semester 2 Year 2
Week 0
Lecture 1 – 1/2
Course structure: format
1. Weekly tutorials
- 4 groups
- Attendance highly encouraged
- Come prepared: active participation + not recorded
2. Pre-recorded clips
- Essential
- But not sufficient to pass the course: study the class materials!
3. Weekly tasks
- Not graded + no feedback
- Good for practice!!
- Discussed during the tutorials … essential for active participation
- Comparable to exam questions: helpful training!
Course structure: material
• Textbook: Barnard & Peer’s book is compulsory!
- New version: 4th ed, May 2023, but you may also use the previous version
- One copy is available at TiU library for consultation
- Your main companion!
- Work with your own summaries and note down key points
• Legislation
- Everything is freely available on EUR-Lex!
- Blackstone’s bundle is optional
- Highlight main provisions
- In your notes, work with cross-references (textbook, legislation & case law)
• Case law
- Case law will be a key source for this course
- Useful to understand how EU law has evolved, and learn how it is
interpreted and applied
- Use CURIA
- Learn how to read cases + read them quickly
- Mind old numbering of treaty articles quoted in “old” landmark cases →
take notes on correct numbering
- Work with cross-references with your textbook & legislation
- Wirk with your own summaries and notes
Exams
• Midterm 50%: 19/3 → bundles 1-6
- 120 minutes
- 2 open questions (15 points each) + 1 case (20 points) → total max 50
points
• Final 50%: 24/5 → bundles 7-12
- 120 minutes
- 2 open questions (15 points each) + 1 case (20 points) → total max 50
points
1
, • Resit 100%: 28/6 → covers the whole course (1-12)
- 240 minutes
- 4 open questions (15 points each) + 2 cases (20 points each) → total max
100 points
• Registration required
• Exams administered via canvas → take home!!
→ train with the weekly assignments!! Learn to use your time wisely!!
Tips on how to successfully complete the course
• Self-study: do it gradually!
• Train to write short summaries (use your own words/time management)
• Try to work with study groups but do not share notes
• Do not underestimate an open book exam! (time is too short to look for
answers in your book/the exam questions are not just about knowledge; they
also require critical reflection and application fo what you studied)
• Download the treaties during the course + highlight the spoken about
provisions
• Build up a study routine during the course
Course goals – what will you learn?
• How is EU Law produced? (institutions, principles, types of legal acts)
• How is EU law applied? (effects of EU law in national systems, relation with
national law, impact on invidivudal rights)
• What specific norms regulate … (free movement of goods? Workers &
persons? Competition law?)
• How have these norms evolved in the case law of the CJEU?
• What actions are available … (to challenge the legality and validity of EU legal
acts? And to challenge the inaction of EU MSs? And to challenge national law
diverging from EU law? And to interpret EU law?)
• Skills:
- Find
- Read
- Understand
- Explain
- Apply
→ EU legislation (EUR-Lex) + EU case law (CJEU website)
2
,Bundle 1 – European Integration: Drivers and Phases
KC 1 – What is the EU? How does it work?
Overview
• What is the European Union?
• What are the current legal foundations of the EU?
What is the European Union?
• The EU is an International Organization (IO), just as eg the World Trade
Organization or the United Nations → all international organizations are
creatures of international law: states have created the international
organization by means of international treaties → which specify the powers
and structure/organization of the organization
• Created by a Treaty (International Law) to achieve specific goals/to perform
specific tasks…
• … Equipped with the necessary design (powers, institutions) to achieve those
goals/tasks
• The EU has a regional nature – but it is not the only IO in the European
Region → Council of Europe
• Council of Europe = 47 Member States, European Union = 27 Member States
What is the relation between the EU and the CoE?
• Council of Europe is another IO with a regional nature
• All EU Member States (MS) are member of the CoE
• European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR, 1950)
→ International Treaty, which proposes a catalogue of civil political rights that
states which are party to this convention are committed to guarantee
• European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)
→ compulsory Supranational Court interpreting the ECHR, sitting in
Strasbourg
What are the current legal foundations of the EU?
• EU Primary Legal Sources
- How does the EU work? (institutions, goals, principles, policy areas)
- How can the EU validly produce and enforce legal norms?
→ The EU is currently based on the Lisbon Treaty (2 Treaties – same legal value) →
signed: 13 December 2007 – Entered into force: 1 December 2009
• Treaty on European Union (TEU): General provisions
- Democratic principles
- EU principles
- Institutions
- Enhanced cooperation
- External action
• Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU): Specific provisions
- Rules on EU competences, Functioning of: Institutions, EU citizenship,
Policies, Decision making
+ Protocols to the Treaty of Lisbon (1-37)
- Legal value?
- As “footnotes”, interpretative tools → specify notions used in the treaties,
such as proportionality or subsidiarity
3
, • Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (CFR): written Bill of
Rights for the EU
- Currently same value as the other Treaties see art 6(1) TEU, so must be
considered as EU primary law
Catalogue of Rights in the EU?
→ The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (CFR)
• Created in 2000 → it became HARD LAW with the Lisbon Treaty
• Outcome of a process of “Codification”
• Before the CFR, all individual rights were in CJEU’s case law
• Before the Lisbon Treaty, CFR was used as soft law (interpretative tool)
• Scope of application: the CFR applies only when* EU law is applicable (for
instance, when MS implement EU Law) → see art 51 CFR
Is there a relation between EU law and the ECHR?
European Union – CFR , Council of Europe – ECHR
→ all MS of EU are also parties to the CoE, but not the other way around!! Thus all
EU MS are committed to protect the rights of both catalogues (CFR and ECHR)
• The European Convention on Human Rights is NOT EU LAW! → have to look
at the ECHR as an international treaty that is linked to CoE → in itself, this is
not a legal act of the EU and it is not EU law
• Future Accession (?), see art 6(2) TEU → rights included in ECHR are also to
be considered a source of EU law as general principles of EU law
• Fundamental Rights as guaranteed in the ECHR and in MS constitutional
system are general principles of EU law
• Interpretation Charter Fundamental Rights must no lowering the standards of
protection provided by the ECHR, see art 53 CFR
KC 2 – European Integration in 3 words
→ origin and drivers of European integration + European integration in 3 words
(representative of the process)
The ‘EU’ project: how did we get here? → origins and drivers of EU integration →
the two faces of nationalism
• 19th century – Unification Nation States (Germany – Italy)
- Nationalism
- Push towards unification; prior boundaries … too small!
• 20th century – National Conflicts on a world scale: WWI, WWII
→ Goal: Long-Lasting Peace
→ Strategy: creating supranational institutions
1945: UN, international level
1950: ECHR/CoE, supranational regional level
• 1951 – European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC)
- 6 Member States: DE, FR, IT, BE, NL, LU
- Supranational management of strategic resources
• 1950-4 – European Defense Community (EDC), European Political
Community (EPC)
- Common foreign policy / European legislative body (federation)
4
