Discuss the rules of Competition law and how the European Commission enforces these Laws.
Introduction The main aim of the European Community was the creation of a common market. With the countries that form the Community differing in size the community did not want any 'undertaking' (businesses, from single trader to multinationals) to have an unfair advantage to competitors from different countries. I will try to discuss in this essay the rules of Competition law and how the European Commission enforces these Laws. In the EC Treaty, Article 3(g) sets down that one of the Communities activities is to make sure that 'competition in the internal market is not distorted'. When it comes to undertakings they have rules that they must follow to keep in line with the Community these are set out in Article 81 and 82 of the treaty. Article 81 deals with undertakings setting up anti-competitive agreements. Article 82 deals with any undertaking that are abusing a dominant position in the market. Article 81 This stops any undertaking from setting up an agreement with any other undertaking or group of undertakings, which will affect the trade between Member States. The agreement if found to be contrary to policy will be made void, unless they can show some sign of why it is not and they will receive an exemption. The Article sets out what is prohibited, what will happen if the rules are broken and how the commission will deal with exemptions. Undertakings This
impact of the Treaty of Lisbon
Critically evaluate the impact which, if ratified, the proposed Lisbon Reform Treaty would have on the constitution of the European Union It has been suggested that the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon would lead to a more "transparent, effective and democratic" Europe.1 The Treaty, which came about following a period of reflection and the failure to bring into force the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (Constitutional Treaty or CT), is set to make significant reforms to the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the Treaty Establishing the European Community - the latter of which is to be renamed the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). This paper will examine the key amendments to the TEU and the TFEU before going on to discuss whether these amendments will serve to aid and increase the transparency, efficiency and democracy and, in turn, aid the integration process of the European Union. The changes that are to be investigated lie predominantly in the areas of constitutional and institutional reform, and will focus on such matters as the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality in the legislative procedure; the "intergovernmental vs. supranational" debate; and the proposed use of qualified majority voting. This evaluation, however, cannot be undertaken without first addressing the presupposition by the question that the European
Explain the nature and legal effect of regulations, directives and decisions made by the council of ministers and the commission of European community.
Explain the nature and legal effect of regulations, directives and decisions made by the council of ministers and the commission of European community. Under the Article 249 of the Treaty of Rome, regulations were made, directives were issued, and decisions were taken by the Council of Ministers and the Commission of European Community. Those measures are issued under the Secondary legislation in order to develop the community policy. As in the Article 249 which states those measures as bellows: 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. The regulations are enforceable upon all the Member States, and must be entirely and directly implemented. Compare to the directive, the main difference is that the regulation has the general application, which is that it is binding on all the Member States and not specifically towards a named person or persons, so it is an abstract normative measure. As regulations own the directive application nature, they can automatically proceed into national laws for the all Member States when they
Council Directive 2004/707 on transporting retired people (fictitious), adopted on 1 November 2000, requires all Member States: a. to implement measures by March 2007 giving all retired EU workers beyond the age of 65 years the right to travel within the
Council Directive 2004/707 on transporting retired people (fictitious), adopted on 1 November 2000, requires all Member States: a. to implement measures by March 2007 giving all retired EU workers beyond the age of 65 years the right to travel within the Member State on all forms of domestic public transport free of charge; and b. to implement measures by March 2008 giving all EU workers the right to claim one complimentary flight per year to any other EU Member State from any national airline. Sadie is a Polish national living in London who, at 65 years old, has recently retired from her job as a part-time care assistant in the local nursing home. Now that she has more time on her hands, she wishes to spend more time with her family in Birmingham by travelling by train to see them on a fortnightly basis. She asks Virgin company, the company operating the trains from London to Birmingham, to allow her to travel for free. Virgin refuses to do so. Bill, a Spanish national was a teacher for 15 years in Spain before he moved to the UK. After working for 3 years as a secondary teacher in the UK, he decided to take life easier and stopped his job. At 55, he has agreed with friends that he will take care of their gardens as long as they cook for him afterwards. He now wishes to spend the winter of every year in Spain where the warmer climate is better for his health. Bill goes
Examine the law making powers of the Community Institutions and the legal effects of Community laws.
Examine the law making powers of the Community Institutions and the legal effects of Community laws The four main EC institutions that will be focussed on in this essay are the Commission, the Council, the European Parliament and the European Court of Justice. While others exist, it is these four institutions that are of interest for the purposes of this essay as they are the main bodies concerning legislation. This essay will examine each of these institutions in terms of their makeup, relative legislative power and then discuss the legal effects of each of the major types of EC laws. The College of Commissioners, more commonly known as the Commission, consists of 20 members each appointed on a renewable five year terms. According to the Treaty of Rome there must be at least one commissioner from each member state with a maximum of 2. The current convention is that the 5 larger states all have two commissioners, while the remaining ten all have one. Each commissioner is responsible for one or more of the twenty four departments, known as Directorates-general. The commissioners, while chosen by the member states, must remain independent and may not take instruction from any member government and must take a solemn vow as to this. The Treaties of Maastricht and Amsterdam have altered the appointment procedure by giving greater democratic legitimacy to the Commission by
Critically evaluate the above statement in the context of EC law making, paying particular attention to past and potential reforms of the EC Treaty.
"There is almost universal agreement that the EU suffers from a democratic deficit. Yet, beyond that, regarding the nature of the deficit, or the steps that might be taken to remedy it, the consensus ends" (Sionaidh Douglas-Scott, Constitutional Law of the European Union p129) Critically evaluate the above statement in the context of EC law making, paying particular attention to past and potential reforms of the EC Treaty Article 6 of the Treaty on European Union claims that the Union is built upon a principle of democracy, in assessing this claim it important to understand what is meant by this term. An excellent definition of democracy has been offered by Beetham. He defined it as being "responsible rule according to related principles of popular control and political equality1"; this can be interpreted to mean transparent, legitimate and accountable governance. Through the examination of the roles of four of the key institutions, the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission and the National Parliaments, I intend to show that the problems faced by Europe are problems facing all democracies and that the solution to the European problem may be a radical shake up of the structure. One of the key features of any democratic system is a directly elected Parliament. The European Community has one in the shape of the European Parliament. The European Parliament started
In theory, the European Commission represents the EU interest, the European Parliament acts as the voice of the people of the EU, and the Council represents the interests of national governments. The reality is quite different. Discuss.
. 'In theory, the European Commission represents the EU interest, the European Parliament acts as the voice of the people of the EU, and the Council represents the interests of national governments. The reality is quite different.' Discuss. The Treaty on European Union and the Lisbon Treaty allocate various agendas for each institutional settlement of the European Union. On the one hand it could well be argued that these agendas are generally adhered to, given -for instance- that the Commission works under the principle of collegiality. However instances do arise where such notion could be contested, given the bureaucracy of the system and the inevitable invocation of personal agendas of the officials who occupy posts within the system. It goes to say that such features of the institutional settlement allow us to distinguish between the supranational and the intergovernmental aspects of each institution thereby enabling us to juxtapose the state agendas of the institutional settlement and the reality. The Commission is often described as the body with the sole agenda of promoting European integration. Consisting of 27 commissioners whose 'independence is beyond doubt,'1 they are required not to seek or take instructions from any government or any other body, and must also not find themselves in a position where a 'conflict of interest' can potentially arise.2 Thus they are
Discuss the pros and cons of the requirement of individual and direct concern for natural and legal persons to challenge Community acts pursuant to Article 230 ECT.
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The ECJ's primary purpose in creating the concept of direct effect was to ensure the efficient development of the Union, rather than to empower the individual. Discuss.
The ECJ's primary purpose in creating the concept of direct effect was to ensure the efficient development of the Union, rather than to empower the individual. Discuss. The European Community Treaty was formed for the economic integration between the Member States that can be achieved through their fundamental principles. The Fundamental principles1 are: The free movement of goods, workers, capital and services, The creation of common custom tariff for the regulation and administration of trade between the community and non-community countries, The establishment of common commercial policy for the economic relations between community and rest of the world, and The making of economic policies between the member states for their benefit. When these policies are to be achieved, problems would even start arising between Member States. For solving these problems of the community, European Court of Justice has come into existence. The main purpose of European Court of Justice is: To hear actions between Member states and Community as well as by individuals against the acts of Community institution, It takes into consideration the right of Court to award damages for unlawful acts committed by the Community institutions, and It refers to the cases by national courts of Member States on matter relating to the interpretation and application of the Community law. When a state joins
Analyse the distinguishing characteristics of the freedom of establishment and the freedom of services, taking into account the ECJ case-law. Consider further whether the concept of freedom of services applies only to economic activity and its potential i
Analyse the distinguishing characteristics of the freedom of establishment and the freedom of services, taking into account the ECJ case-law. Consider further whether the concept of freedom of services applies only to economic activity and its potential implications for EU citizens. In this essay I shall analyse the freedom of establishment and services, in line with looking at ECJ case law. The European Union was formed at the end of World War 2 and was initially an economic and political based organisation. The Treaty of Rome1 describes the union as "establishing a common market and progressively approximating the economic policies of the Member States to promote throughout the Community a harmonious development of economic activities and balanced expansion, an increase in stability, an accelerated raising of the standard of living and closer relations between the states belonging to it.2" This broad definition lies at the core of the EU and its functions as well as its activities. The EU is constantly trying to ensure that they do not have too many restrictions on the rights of their members as well as not discriminating against any particular national living in another member state. Presently the European Union guarantees many freedoms to the nationals of its member states. These include the freedom of labour, services, goods and capital. However these freedoms are