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EU DECISION-MAKING AND HIERARCHY OF NORMS - Legislating in the European Union

Q: What kind of implementing act procedures are there?

There are 2 procedures: The advisory procedure default procedure. Has to be used unless mandated otherwise. Commission decides on implementing measures, keeping conclusions from committee deliberations in mind. The examination procedure Applies to implementing acts of general scope. Implementing acts pass if committee gives positive opinion, voting in accordance with QMV rules (art. 16(4-5) TEU). If committee gives negative opinion, Commission can't accept the acts. It can submit revised version to committee or submit original to appeal committee.

11 important questions on EU DECISION-MAKING AND HIERARCHY OF NORMS - Legislating in the European Union

What is the hierarchy of norms?

Primary law: these are the Treaties.
Secondary law: these are acts based on the Treaties.

The relationship between these two is quite simple but can be problematic when there is an alleged clash between two sources of primary law.

In which two cases is the EU's legislative competence phrased primarily in terms of pursuing objectives?

Establishing and ensuring the functioning of the internal market (art. 114 TFEU)
Attaining EU objectives where the necessary powers have not been provided elsewhere (art. 352 TFEU)

What is the principle of subsidiarity?

The principle of subsidiarity regulates the exercise of competence. This principle can be found in art. 5(3) TEU. The primary function is to provide an indicator against which the political institutions are to evaluate whether or not the EU should exercise its competence. The substantive Treaty principle has been supplemented by a Protocol.

What is the scope of the early warning mechanism?

The early warning mechanism has limitations:

It only applies to legislative acts.
It's limited to initial proposal and amended versions of that proposal. Doesn't allow MS parliaments to examine different preparatory acts.

There's no formal guarantee that the impact the community of national parliaments can make on EU legislative is more than negligible.

What is the principle of proportionality?

It can be found in art. 5(4) TEU. Under this principle, the Union shall not do more than is necessary to achieve the objectives of the Treaty.
The EU Court exercise only a small review of respect for this principle in context of legislation. The legislature must make political, ecomid and social choices based on complex assessments. Legislature must base its choice on objective criteria and needs to minimize substantial negative burdens on economic operators. The Court only intervenes if action is very inappropriate to the objective. Each institution is bound to ensure respect for the principle of proportionality.

What is the ordinary legislative procedure?

Art. 289 and 294 TFEU. EP and Council adopt regulation, directive or decision proposed by the Commission together. The ordinary legislative procedure is set out in art. 294 TFEU.

What is the Special legislative procedure?

It's in art. 289(2) TFEU and applies in specific cases provided by the Treaties. This procedure is specified in each particular Treaty Article that provides for it. So the procedure is depend on the situation. Most times, legal act is adopted by the Council unanimously, combined with requirement of consent of or with the EP. Sometimes the procedure signified that the EP adopts legal act after approval from the Council. Legal acts adopted through this procedure are legislative acts.

What kind of implementing act procedures are there?

There are 2 procedures:

The advisory procedure

default procedure. Has to be used unless mandated otherwise.
Commission decides on implementing measures, keeping conclusions from committee deliberations in mind.

The examination procedure

Applies to implementing acts of general scope.
Implementing acts pass if committee gives positive opinion, voting in accordance with QMV rules (art. 16(4-5) TEU).
If committee gives negative opinion, Commission can't accept the acts. It can submit revised version to committee or submit original to appeal committee.

What is enhanced cooperation?

Art. 20 TEU allows enhanced cooperation in accordance with conditions set out in the TFEU. Cooperation shall aim to further the goals of the EU, protect its interests and reinforce integration process. Rules concerning creation can be found in art. 328 and 329 TFEU.

How does a state get accession to the EU?

Accession to the EU is available to any European State which respects EU's values and is committed to promoting them under a 2-stage procedure (art. 49 TEU). Decision is taken by Council, unanimously after informing national parliaments, consulting Commission and getting consent of EP acting by majority of its competent members.

How does a state withdraw from the EU?

Art. 50 TEU says that a MS may withdraw form the EU and provides a procedure which is designed to ensure that the withdrawal is orderly. If a state wants to withdraw, they must notify the European Council of its intentions to do so. If no agreement is reached, the Treaties will cease to apply to the MS two years after notification, unless an unanimous agreement to extent this time period.

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Topics that are related to EU DECISION-MAKING AND HIERARCHY OF NORMS - Legislating in the European Union

EU DECISION-MAKING AND HIERARCHY OF NORMS - Legislating in the European Union - Forms of legislative and other normative acts

EU DECISION-MAKING AND HIERARCHY OF NORMS - Legislating in the European Union

11 important questions on EU DECISION-MAKING AND HIERARCHY OF NORMS - Legislating in the European Union

What is the hierarchy of norms?

In which two cases is the EU's legislative competence phrased primarily in terms of pursuing objectives?

What is the principle of subsidiarity?

What is the scope of the early warning mechanism?

What is the principle of proportionality?

What is the ordinary legislative procedure?

What is the Special legislative procedure?

What kind of implementing act procedures are there?

What is enhanced cooperation?

How does a state get accession to the EU?

How does a state withdraw from the EU?

Topics that are related to EU DECISION-MAKING AND HIERARCHY OF NORMS - Legislating in the European Union

EU DECISION-MAKING AND HIERARCHY OF NORMS - Legislating in the European Union - Forms of legislative and other normative acts

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