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.

EU INSTITUTIONS – CLOE II
AUTUMN TERM, 2022-2023
COURSE COORDINATOR : PROFESSOR ROXANA-CRISTINA PETCU, PhD
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 organisation 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 rationalise 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 recognise 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 emphasise
that the chamber was not a traditional international organisation 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 harmonisation 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 organise their
own democratic procedures. They were to establish rules to make their membership fully 'representative' for
democratic organised civil society. Members were appointed for two years and were not bound by any mandate
or instruction of the organisations 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 unemployedcoal 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 theEuropean 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 globalising 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, organised crime, trafficking of persons, and offences
against children, drug trafficking, corruption and fraud
 Establishes in principle a common minimum standard for rules and penalties for organised 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 18 th 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 cancelled 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. TheEU 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 theEU 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.

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

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: globalisation, 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 modernise. 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
categorisation of competences.
- Withdrawal from the Union: the Treaty of Lisbon explicitly recognises 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 recognises 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, recognising 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.

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

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 parlamentarians 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, aso.

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 authorised 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, deputising 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 codecision 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-Belgianborders 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 creatin 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 adopeted.

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 organisation 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
‘organised 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 policymaking;
 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 organisations.
The third group represents a wide range of interests: NGOs, farmers' organisations, small businesses, crafts and
professions, cooperatives and non-profit associations, consumer and environmental organisations, 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 TH 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 amongst 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 codecision 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 organisations and/or non-governmental organisations, 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 organised 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 authorises 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 finalises 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
organise, 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 finalised 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 organise 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 tex t

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 municipality, 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 justification 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 government 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 offences 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 stanf 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 Englsih:

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 Indonesia
n Republic.5.We must respect the sovereignty of member states.6.Sovereignty resides with the people.7.The treaty gave Edwa
rd 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
recognised 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 Israelites 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 Rumania 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 roubles 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
organised by Member States under the framework of European policies. It enables participating States to organise 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 Justice. 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
Liechtenstein. 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 codecision 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 recognised. 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 codecision procedure
and all decisions under the cooperation procedure.To recognise 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; democratisation ; 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 organisations 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 emphasises the
______ of the integration process, by explicitly recognising 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 Organisation (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 independantly 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 organisation and functioning of the EP.
5. the chief co-ordinator 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 growt
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 organisation 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 co-ordinator 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 recognised 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 buget 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 codecision 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 initialled 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.