English for Tax Administration Study 3

1. English for Tax Administration Study 3 Lecturer: Miljen Matijašević e-mail: miljen.matijasevic@pravo.hr G10, room 6, Wed 11:30-12:30 Session 4, 3 Nov 2010

2. Today’s session • Revision of the previous session • EU institutions • EU legislation

3. REVISION OF THE PREVIOUS SESSION

4. ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS • What was the situation in Europe after WW2? • What two ideas were proposed at the Hague Congress 1948? • How many member states are there in the EU / COE? • What is the difference between EEC / EC / EU? • What do the European Communities include? • What year was the European Union established? • What are the three pillars of the EU? • What do you know about EU language policy? • What are the main EU institutions?

5. translate the following terms into CROATIAN • single market • common agricultural policy • economic and monetary union • EU citizenship • transeuropean traffic networks • environmental protection • social policy • common defense policy • human trafficking • bribe and corruption

6. translate the following terms into CROATIAN • jedinstveno tržište • zajednička poljoprivredna politika • gospodarska i monetarna unija • državljanstvo EU • transeuropske prometne mreže • zaštita okoliša • socijalna politika • zajednička obrambena politika • trgovanje ljudima • mito i korupcija

7. Unit 27 EU INSTITUTIONS

8. INSTITUTIONS OF THE eu Council of the European Union European Parliament (EP) European Commission (EC) European Council European Court of Justice European Court of Auditors

9. COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION • a.k.a. Council of Ministers • represents the interests of the Member States • SEAT: Bruxelles • members: 27 national government ministers • sits in 9 configurations, depending on the topic of discussion • presidency of the Council – each MS chairs for 6 months – rotation (current: Belgium)

10. COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION THE NINE CONFIGURATIONS: • General Affairs and External Relations • Economic and Financial Affairs (ECOFIN) • Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) • Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs • Competitiveness • Transport, Telecommunications and Energy • Agriculture and Fisheries • Environment • Education, Youth and Culture

11. COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION • tasks of the Council: • passes European legislation (co-decision with the EP) – proposals of the EC • co-ordinates national policies of MS • concludes international agreements • approves EU budget (shared with EP) • common foreign and security policy • freedom, security and justice • decisions made by a qualified majority vote (55% of MS representing 65% of EU population)

12. EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT • represents the interests of EU citizens • SEAT: Strasbourg, Bruxelles and Luxemburg • members: 736 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) • chosen by EU citizens in elections for the EP • elections held every 5 years • representation by political groups, not by MS

13. EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 2009-2014

14. EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT • tasks of the European Parliament: • passes European legislation (co-decision with the Council) • approves EU budget (shared with Council) • supervision of other EU institutions • approval of the members of the European Commission • receive reports by the Commission and the Council and can ask them questions

15. EUROPEAN COMMISSION • represents the interests of the EU • SEAT: Bruxelles • members: 27 members of the European Commission; commissioners • a ‘government’ for the EU – the executive • EC: 27 Directorates General (opće uprave) • members proposed by national governments, approved by the Council and the EP

16. EUROPEAN COMMISSION • tasks of the European Commission: • drafts proposals of EU legislation • implements EU policies • enforces European law (‘guardian of the Treaties’) • controls EU budget

17. EUROPEAN COuncil • defines general directions and priorities of the EU • SEAT: Bruxelles • members: Heads of States or Governments of EU Member States • headed by the President of the European Council (Herman Van Rompuy); a.k.a. President of the EU • meets every six months

18. EUROPEAN COuRT OF JUSTICE • The Court of Justice of the European Communities (HR: Sud europskih zajednica) • supervises the interpretation of EU law, enforces EU law • SEAT: Luxemburg (working language: French) • members: 27 judges • comprises: • The Court of Justice • The Court of First Instance • Civil Service Tribunal

19. EUROPEAN COuRT OF JUSTICE • usually sits in chambers (3 or 5 judges) or the Grand Chamber (13 judges) • assisted by 8 independent advocates-general who propose opinions on cases • Court of First Instance – deals with cases filed by individuals, companies, organisations and cases relating to competition law • also has 27 judges

20. EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE • jurisdiction: • supervises interpretation and application of EU law by national courts • enforces EU law • settles disputes between Member States, EU institutions, businesses and individuals • resolves disputes between EU institutions and their staff (Civil Service Tribunal)

21. EUROPEAN COURT OF AUDITORS • not an actual court • one member from each Member State • tasks: • checks EU income and expenditure (EU budget) • checks the collection of EU taxes from citizens and whether they are spent economically, legally and for the intended purpose • investigates the financial statements of any person or organisation handling EU funds • carries out a yearly audit and report to the EP and the Council

22. EU LEGISLATION

23. SOURCES OF EU LAW • EU legislation: • primary legislation • secondary legislation

24. PRIMARY LEGISLATION • founding Treaties and all Treaties amending them • Treaties concerning accession of new Member States

25. SECONDARY LEGISLATION • legal acts issued by EU institutions REGULATIONS (uredbe) DIRECTIVES (direktive) DECISIONS (odluke) also: RECOMMENDATIONS (preporuke) OPINIONS (mišljenja)

26. secondary eu legislation • REGULATIONS – binding and directly applicable in all Member States, general application • DIRECTIVES – binding, only outline the goals to be achieved and direct how Member States should legislate in certain issues • DECISIONS – binding on the addressee(s) – an individual, group, company, Member State, etc. • RECOMMENDATIONS and OPINIONS – not binding

27. ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS • Which body represents the interests of: • the EU • Member States • the people of the EU • Which body is not composed on the basis of nationality? • Which institutions are concerned with EU budget and how? • What is qualified majority voting? • In which body will the President of the RC sit when Croatia joins the EU? • Which institution has 9 different sets of members?

28. ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS • Which body proposes EU legislation? • Which bodies jointly enact EU legislation? • Which institution checks the interpretation and application of EU laws? • Which institution checks transactions of EU tax money? • Which body settles disputes between Member States? • Which institution distributes EU budget funds? • What is primary legislation of the EU? • What is the difference between regulations, directives and opinions? • What do you know about recommendations and opinions?

29. Thank you for your attention!