EU Institutions and Decision-making (II) Course number : EUI03/1A1

1. EU Institutions and Decision-making (II) Course number: EUI03/1A1 Lecturer:

2. EU Competences Lecturer:

3. Aims of the lecture • To familiarize participants with competences of the European Union, • To allow participants to appreciate in which areas of EU law the EU institutions can legislate and how the roles are divided between the European Union and its Member States, • To enhance the general knowledge of EU affairs among the Ukrainian civil servants, • To facilitate understanding of EU decision-making powers and how this translates into choice of EU secondary legislation and determination of its contents.

4. Catalogue of EU competences • EU operates under the principle of attributed powers (conferral), • Catalogue is available in Articles 3-6 Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TfEU), • Inserted by Treaty of Lisbon (in force since 1 December 2009), • Although it looks comprehensive, it is incomplete as some EU competences cannot be classified into the main three categories (for instance Common Foreign and Security Policy), • The catalogue covers EU’s internal and external competences.

5. EU competences

6. Exclusive competences of the EU (I)

7. Exclusive competences of the EU (II)

8. Shared competences of the EU

9. Subsidiarity • EU secondary legislation falling under shared competences has to comply with the principle of subsidiarity, • In each and every case the EU institutions check if a particular objective can be achieved by the Member States acting alone or by the EU acting through its legislation, • Note: this is often subject to controversies between the Member States and the EU, • Note: national parliaments are involved in the subsidiarity check, • Note: effects of subsidiarity check determine the contents of EU secondary legislation, • Note: EU legal acts also have to comply with principle of proportionality.

10. Supporting competences of the EU

11. Things to remember • EU operates under the principle of conferral – it can only do when it is permitted to do so in the EU Treaties, • Competences are divided into three main categories: exclusive, shared and supporting, • When acting within many areas falling under shared competences, the EU must comply with the principle of subsidiarity: it legislates only to the extent particular matters cannot be regulated by the Member States acting alone, • All of this has implications for Ukraine: it determines the scope and depth of EU secondary legislation that Ukraine has to comply with under the Association Agreement.

12. Aims of the lecture • To familiarize participants with institutions of the European Union, • To allow participants to appreciate, which EU institutions can legislate and what is their exact role in EU decision-making process, • To enhance the general knowledge of EU affairs and EU institutional framework among the Ukrainian civil servants, • To facilitate understanding of institutional dynamics in the European Union.

13. EU decision-making • EU decision-making: multilayered and complex, • Many actors involved: Member States, EU institutions, agencies and advisory bodies, • EU decision-making procedures depend on the types of legal acts or documents that are adopted, • EU primary and secondary legislation regulates the decision-making rules, • Court of Justice of the European Union has to competence to assess the validity of EU acts.

14. Primary law • Revision of Founding Treaties: TEU, TFEU, Euratom Treaty, • Article 48 TEU: Ordinary revision procedure and Simplified revision procedures, • Ordinary revision procedure may involve Intergovernmental Conference or a Convention and Intergovernmental Conference, • Simplified revision procedures require decisions of the European Council.

15. Primary law • Revision treaties may provide comprehensive or minimal changes to the existing primary law, • Revision treaties always require unanimity of the Member States and ratification by all of them, • NOTE: accession treaties also involve all Member States (and acceding country(ies) and their unanimity.

16. Secondary legislation • Legislative acts are adopted in accordance with legislative procedures in the areas where the EU has competence, • Initiative belongs to the European Commission, • NOTE: in Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters the right to propose legislation is shared between the European Commission and a group of Member States, • All proposals for legislative acts are made public and available at Eur-lex website, • Some are accompanied by detailed studies and impact assessments.

17. Secondary legislation • NOTE: in case of important/far reaching reforms of EU law public consultations are conducted, • Green Papers: consultation documents sometimes published by the European Commission with early proposals for reforms – all made public and very transparent, • White Papers: follow-up to Green Papers, with more concrete proposals for legislation, • Other consultation methods/procedures.

18. Legislative acts

19. Legislative acts • Ordinary legislative procedure: proposals need to be approved by the European Parliament and by the Council (Art. 294 TFEU), • Special legislative procedure: depending on the procedure the decision is taken by the Council, however the European Parliament either gives assent, opinion or is not included at all, • Involvement of national parliaments: opinions on compliance with principle of subsidiarity, • Involvement of other bodies: for instance European Central Bank, Committee of the Regions, Economic and Social Committee.

20. Non-legislative acts

21. International treaties • Procedure governing conclusion of international treaties: Art. 218 TFEU, • Authorisation to negotiate: Council of the European Union, • Negotiations: European Commission, • Conclusion: Council (after consulting or with assent of the European Parliament), • Exclusive competence agreements: approval by the EU and a third country, • Mixed agreements: approval by the EU, ratification by all Member States and a third country.

22. Conclusion of international treaties Council Mandate European Commission (Negotiations) Draft agreement Council European Parliament Approval Consent National Parliaments

23. Control of legality • Revisions of primary law: no jurisdiction of the Court of Justice but legality checks can be conducted by national constitutional courts (in accordance with domestic law), • Direct action for annulment (Art. 263 TFEU): secondary legislation and other reviewable acts, • Court of Justice (depending on the type of applicant and type of legal act also General Court), • Indirect challenge qua preliminary ruling procedure to Court of Justice from a national court (Article 267 TFEU): secondary legislation and other reviewable acts, • Opinion per Article 218(11) TFEU: international treaties before their conclusion.

24. Things to remember • European Union has a complex decision-making system, • Different procedures for revisions of primary law, adoption of secondary legislation and conclusion of international treaties, • Key decision-making authorities: Council of the European Union, European Parliament, European Commission, • Court of Justice of the European Union controls the legality of EU actions.