Gavin Howe
The creation of EU laws involves the popularly elected European Parliament, the Council of the European Union (representing member governments), the European Commission (elected jointly by the Council and Parliament), and sometimes the European Council (composed of heads of state). The Council is the EU's main legislative body and exercises its legislative power in co-decision with the European Parliament. The ordinary legislative procedure, also known as co-decision, gives the same law-making powers to the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union in areas like economic governance, immigration, energy, and the environment. The Commission initiates the legislative process by drafting proposals for Regulations and Directives, which are then discussed, amended, and voted on by both Parliament and Council.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of member states | 27 |
| Formation | 1952 |
| Purpose | Promote peace, social justice, a social market economy with full employment, and environmental protection |
| Constitutional structure | Treaties of the European Union |
| Interpretation of EU law | Court of Justice of the European Union |
| Creation of EU case law | Court of Justice of the European Union |
| Creation of Legal Acts | European Parliament, Council of the European Union, European Commission, and sometimes the European Council |
| Legislative procedures | Consultation and Consent |
| Legislative branches | European Commission, European Parliament, and Council of the European Union |
| Primary law | Treaties |
| Secondary law | Regulations, directives, decisions, recommendations, and opinions |
| Binding nature of secondary law | Regulations, directives, and decisions are binding; recommendations and opinions are not |
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What You'll Learn
The European Commission, Council, and Parliament
The European Parliament is elected by EU citizens and amends draft proposals, voting on whether they become EU law. The Council of the European Union, or the Council of Ministers, represents member governments and is attended by national ministers. The Council can act unanimously or by a qualified majority, depending on the policy area. The Council can also adopt legislation based on a proposal by the European Commission after consulting the European Parliament.
The European Commission is elected jointly by the Council and Parliament. It is the only EU institution empowered to initiate EU legal acts and has a virtual monopoly on the introduction of legislation into the legislative process. The Commission takes into account evaluations of existing policies and laws in the area when drafting new initiatives or reviewing existing policies and laws. It also gathers input through implementation dialogues with industry, SMEs, social partners, regional and local authorities, and through fitness checks of EU laws. The Commission's better regulation agenda allows individuals, businesses, stakeholders, national authorities, and other organisations to contribute to EU policymaking.
The Parliament and the Council review the Commission's proposal and can propose amendments. The three institutions then meet to see if they can agree on a complete set of amendments. If they cannot agree on a common final text, a second reading takes place, during which the Parliament and the Council can propose further amendments. If they still cannot agree, a conciliation committee is formed to try to find a solution.
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The Court of Justice of the European Union
The CJEU was originally established in 1951 as a single court called the Court of Justice of the European Coal and Steel Communities. With the Euratom and the European Economic Community in 1957, its name changed to the Court of Justice of the European Communities (CJEC). In 1988, the Court requested the Commission to create a Court of First Instance, and in 2004 it added the Civil Service Tribunal. In 2009, the Treaty of Lisbon renamed the court system to the "Court of Justice of the European Union" and the CJEC to the "Court of Justice".
The CJEU interprets EU law to ensure it is applied uniformly in all EU countries, and settles legal disputes between national governments and EU institutions. It can also, in certain circumstances, be used by individuals, companies, or organisations to take action against an EU institution if they feel their rights have been infringed. The Court of Justice is composed of one judge from each EU member state (27 in total), assisted by 11 Advocates General. Each case is assigned one judge (the "judge-rapporteur") and one advocate general.
The two most common forms of EU legal acts are regulations and directives, which are legally binding and applicable to all 27 countries of the EU. When the European Parliament (elected by EU citizens) and the Council of Ministers (representing national governments) amend draft proposals, they vote on whether these proposals should become EU law. National governments and the European Commission are then responsible for implementing these laws.
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The Treaties of the European Union
The European Union is based on the rule of law, meaning that every action taken by the EU is founded on treaties that have been approved voluntarily and democratically by all EU member countries. Treaties are binding agreements between member countries that set out EU objectives, rules for EU institutions, decision-making processes, and the relationship between the EU and its member countries.
The Treaty of Paris, signed in 1951, created the first European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). Its purpose was to integrate French and German coal and steel production to make war "not merely unthinkable, but materially impossible". The ECSC established an Assembly (now the European Parliament), a Council of Ministers for the member states, a Commission as the executive, and a Court of Justice to interpret the law.
The Treaty of Lisbon clarifies the powers that belong to the EU, to EU member countries, and those that are shared. It also establishes the goals and values of the EU, which include promoting peace, European values, and the well-being of its citizens, as well as establishing the euro as its currency. The Treaty further obliges cooperation between EU institutions and limits their competencies to the powers within the treaties.
The Court of Justice of the European Union, also known as the CJEU, is responsible for interpreting EU law and creating EU case law. While the CJEU is the ultimate court for interpreting questions of EU law, in practice, most EU law is applied by member state courts.
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The role of national governments
National governments play a significant role in the creation and implementation of European Union (EU) laws. The EU's legal framework, encompassing 27 member states, has evolved since the 1952 establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community, promoting peace, social justice, a social market economy, full employment, and environmental protection.
The Council of the European Union, or the Council of Ministers, is a key legislative body representing the interests of national governments. It consists of government ministers from all EU members, organised by policy areas such as foreign affairs or agriculture. The Council works in conjunction with the European Parliament, which is composed of representatives directly elected by EU citizens, to amend and vote on draft proposals, shaping the EU's legal framework.
In certain areas, the EU and national governments share the ability to pass laws. National governments can act legislatively if the EU has not already proposed laws or decided against doing so. This principle, known as subsidiarity, ensures that the EU intervenes only if it can achieve greater effectiveness than individual member states. National parliaments can express their preferences to handle specific issues at the national level, providing input to the EU Commission, which plays a central role in drafting and proposing EU laws.
The implementation of EU laws also falls within the purview of national governments. Once the European Parliament and Council agree on a joint text, the proposal becomes law and is published in the EU's Official Journal. National governments are then responsible for ensuring that these laws are enforced within their respective countries.
It is worth noting that the EU's legal framework aims to maintain a delicate balance between supranational decision-making and the sovereignty of its member states. While the EU has expanded its authority over time, national governments retain their role in shaping and executing EU laws, reflecting the complex interplay between European integration and national autonomy.
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The two types of EU legal acts
The two most common forms of EU legal acts are regulations and directives. Both regulations and directives are legally binding and applicable to all EU countries. However, they differ in their level of specificity and the degree of flexibility afforded to member states in their implementation.
Regulations are legal acts that are binding in their entirety. They are directly and uniformly applicable to all EU member states as soon as they come into force, without needing to be transposed into national law. For example, when the EU's regulation on ending roaming charges while travelling within the EU expired in 2022, the Parliament and the Council adopted a new regulation to improve clarity and ensure a common approach for another ten years. If a regulation conflicts with a member state's existing law on the same subject, the regulation takes precedence.
Directives set binding objectives that EU member states must achieve, but they leave flexibility in how these objectives are achieved. Directives may apply to individual member states, groups of member states, or all member states. While the objectives are legally binding, each member state has the autonomy to enact its own legislation to achieve the specified goals. For instance, the EU single-use plastics directive aims to reduce the environmental impact of specific single-use plastics. It is up to each country to decide how to achieve this objective, whether by reducing or banning certain items such as plates, straws, or cups.
In addition to regulations and directives, there are three other types of legislative acts: decisions, recommendations, and opinions. Decisions may be addressed to member states, individual citizens, or legal entities such as corporations. They can involve fines, as in the case of the European Commission's decision to fine Microsoft Corporation for abusing its dominant market position. Recommendations and opinions are non-binding instruments that allow EU institutions to express their views and suggest courses of action without imposing legal obligations. They are often used to signal disapproval of certain practices or to comment on the work of other institutions.
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Frequently asked questions
The Council of the European Union, the European Parliament, the European Commission, and sometimes the European Council all have a hand in creating EU laws. The Council of the European Union is the main legislative body and exercises its legislative power in co-decision with the European Parliament.
The ordinary legislative procedure, also known as co-decision, is when the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union have equal law-making powers. The procedure was introduced by the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 and became the main legislative procedure with the Lisbon Treaty in 2009.
The Commission initiates the legislative process by drafting proposals for Regulations and Directives. The Commission works in close cooperation with the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament. The Maastricht Treaty has given the EP the authority to ask the Commission to put forward proposals for Regulations and Directives.
The Court of Justice of the European Union interprets EU law and creates EU case law. The Court of Justice also ensures that the law is observed in the interpretation and application of the Treaties.
