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European Council

This institution is responsible for setting the overall agenda for the entire European Union. They do not write or propose laws themselves, but they decide when the European Union needs to tackle a specific broad issue, such as deciding to officially tackle the issue of immigration.

Council of the European Union

Also known simply as "The Council," this institution is made up of government ministers from the individual Member States. They are responsible for voting on legislative bills alongside the European Parliament, and they have the power to amend these bills.

Technical Councils

There are ten different configurations of the Council of the European Union, organized by specific policy areas. Ministers working in that specific policy area gather for their respective council, usually meeting once a month to coordinate. Examples include the Foreign Affairs Council and the Economic and Financial Affairs Council.

Committee of Permanent Representatives

Because government ministers cannot meet all the time, national delegations meet continuously between official Council meetings to keep the Council working, discuss issues, and issue recommendations.

Committee of Permanent Representatives 1

The specific division of national delegations that handles routine, day-to-day business for the Council of the European Union.

Committee of Permanent Representatives 2

The specific division of national delegations that handles high-profile, major issues for the Council of the European Union. For example, they handle matters of immigration, which is the focus of the class simulation.

European Commission

This is the specific European Union institution that is responsible for officially proposing new legislation based on articles of the European Treaty.

European Parliament

This institution votes on proposed bills alongside the Council of the European Union. They also have the power to amend the bills. Both the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union must adopt the legislation for it to pass into law.

Ordinary Legislative Procedure

The standard process for creating European Union laws. First, the European Council sets the agenda. Second, the European Commission proposes the legislation. Finally, both the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament vote on the bill, with the power to amend it, and both must adopt it for it to become law.

European Union Regulations

One of the two main types of European Union laws. A Regulation is strictly binding and directly applicable within all Member States the exact moment it is passed, meaning no further action is needed by the individual countries.

European Union Directives

One of the two main types of European Union laws. A Directive sets specific goals that the European Union wants to achieve. Every individual Member State then needs to create and enact its own domestic, national legislation in order to achieve those European goals.

1990 Dublin Convention

The very first attempt to harmonize and regulate asylum rules across the European Union. Its two primary goals were to avoid "asylum shopping" (where a refugee applies in multiple countries looking for the best outcome) and to deter unauthorized entries.

Dublin II Regulation

The law that officially integrated the 1990 Dublin Convention. It established formal rules for allocating asylum requests among European Union members and introduced the "First Country of Entry" principle.

First Country of Entry Principle

A vital legal rule stating that the European Union Member State responsible for processing an asylum request is the specific country where the refugee arrived first.

Common European Asylum System

A massive legal framework that the Dublin II Regulation became a part of. It was created to manage immigration while respecting international law, specifically regarding the treatment of refugees. It faced severe criticism from human rights non-governmental organizations and suffered from a lack of solidarity among European Union member states.

Non-refoulement Principle

A principle of international law included in the Common European Asylum System. It makes it strictly illegal to send back refugees to their home countries if they may face torture, persecution, or other serious harm.

Eurodac

A massive, Union-wide database created under the Common European Asylum System. This database strictly collects two things: rejected asylum requests and the fingerprints of asylum seekers.

European Border Surveillance System

Also known as FRONTEX. Included in the Common European Asylum System in 2004, this agency deploys alongside national coast guards to patrol the sea borders of the European Union. Its goal is to tackle both humanitarian and security crises.

Dublin III Regulation

A reform of the previous Dublin rules. It maintained that applications must be processed by the country of first entry, BUT it added a loophole: if an asylum applicant "passes through" the first country without registering, they can then apply for asylum in another European Union country.

European Union Hotspots

Facilities set up strictly in Greece and Italy for the initial reception of asylum seekers. The European Union deployed Migration Management Support Teams to these locations to help with the registration, identification, and debriefing of asylum seekers to increase efficiency.

Flaws of European Union Hotspots

A major problem is that the European Union does not actually create new hotspots; it only assists existing ones. The individual member states are forced to supply the physical infrastructure, which has led to poor conditions where asylum-seekers are kept in prolonged detention.

European Union-Turkey Statement

An agreement meant to prevent asylum-seekers from reaching European Union borders. In exchange for Turkey stopping migrants, the European Union offered visa liberalization for Turkish citizens, European Union money to help refugees, and progress on Turkey's integration into the common market.

Legal Issues with the European Union-Turkey Statement

While it decreased the number of asylum-seekers, it was likely not in accordance with international law because Turkey uses repressive measures and does not apply international human rights conventions. Importantly, it was a "political deal," not a formal treaty, meaning it was hidden from scrutiny by European institutions.

2015 List of Safe Countries of Origin

A regulation proposed by the European Commission to accelerate the applications of asylum-seekers. However, it had problems: Member States still had to do individual examinations, it made it harder for refugees to appeal a denial, and it raised ethical questions over whether countries like Turkey were truly safe.

2015 Temporary Emergence Relocation Scheme

A mandatory plan to relocate asylum-seekers from their countries of arrival to other European Union countries. The quotas were based on four metrics: the size of the country's population, the country's Gross Domestic Product, the average number of asylum applications over the last four years, and the unemployment rate.

The Relocation Scheme Lawsuit

Several countries refused to participate in the 2015 Temporary Emergence Relocation Scheme but were outvoted in the Council. In response, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary brought a lawsuit before the European Court of Justice. They lost the lawsuit, proving the scheme was hard to implement because countries simply refused to comply.

European Resettlement Scheme

Because the mandatory relocation scheme failed and countries refused to comply, it was replaced by this voluntary relocation scheme. Because it was voluntary, there were huge differences in participation among the various member states.

European Border and Coast Guard

In 2016, the European Union reformed the European Border Surveillance System into this new agency. It assists Member States with border management, but it has a major limitation: it strictly requires the consent of the Member State before it can operate there.

2024 Pact of Migration and Asylum

First presented in 2020 and passed in 2024. It does not radically change the original framework, but it does three main things: it expands the Eurodac database, introduces new conditions for the transfer of asylum applications, and makes it faster to turn back some asylum seekers.

New Application Transfer Conditions

While the "First Country of Entry" principle remains, the new 2024 Pact allows asylum applications to be transferred to a third country based on three exceptions: a familial connection, previous residence in that country, or the educational history of the applicant.

Faster Asylum Denials

The new 2024 Pact makes it much easier to turn away asylum requests if the applicant fits either of two criteria: they transited through a safe third country before reaching the European Union, OR they come from a country that has a historical acceptance rate of twenty percent or lower for its residents' asylum requests.

European Common Market

One of the main goals of the European project is an economic union. This market is an area encompassing all European Union Member States that functions entirely as one single territory for economic purposes.

The Four Freedoms of the Common Market

The European Common Market guarantees the absolute free movement of four specific things across all Member States: Goods, Services, Capital, and People.

2024 European Union Artificial Intelligence Act

A new regulation that classifies all types of Artificial Intelligence into four distinct categories based on danger: Unacceptable risk (which is entirely prohibited), High risk (which is strictly regulated), Limited risk, and Minimal risk.

Artificial Intelligence Act Penalties

Under the new regulation, companies are held fully liable for any non-compliance. They face massive fees of up to forty-three million euros, OR seven percent of a company’s annual global revenue.

Unacceptable Risk Artificial Intelligence

Uses of Artificial Intelligence that are completely forbidden by the European Union. This includes social scoring systems (assigning scores to individuals based on their behavior), predictive policing tools, exploitative Artificial Intelligence (such as interactive toys that exploit children), and the use of facial recognition systems in public spaces.

European Court of Justice Composition

This court is made up of exactly twenty-seven judges. They serve six-year terms, which can be renewed only once. Crucially, each individual judge must be confirmed by ALL Member States of the European Union.

European Court of Justice Function

Because the European Union does NOT have a formal Constitution, this court uses the European Union Treaties to ensure that all European Union laws are in compliance. They can declare a Member State in violation of European Union law, and they provide interpretations of laws to help states implement them.

Lawsuit Standing before the European Court of Justice

Individuals CANNOT be plaintiffs or defendants before this court. Only Member States and the European Commission can bring cases. The Commission can sue a Member State, and a Member State can sue another Member State or a European Union institution (usually to obtain the annulment of a Regulation or Directive).

Preliminary Ruling Procedure

A highly important procedure where domestic, national courts can refer a case directly to the European Court of Justice to clarify exactly how European Union law applies. As a result, domestic courts can enforce European Union law against national law.

Effectiveness of the European Court of Justice

Because the "Preliminary ruling procedure" increases the direct implementation of European Union law at the local level, it makes this court the MOST effective international court. Historically it hardly ever ruled against states, but recently it has become a lot more independent.

Doctrine of European Union Law Supremacy

A legal doctrine created by the European Court of Justice which dictates that Member States must entirely disapply their own national laws if those laws contradict European Union law. The European Union law is supreme over the national law.

European Parliament Political Groups

The political factions within the Parliament. Importantly, they are "cross-national," meaning politicians organize themselves by their shared political ideology, rather than grouping up with people from their same home country.

Requirements to Form a European Parliament Political Group

In order to officially form a new political group, politicians must meet two requirements: they need at least twenty-five Members of the European Parliament, and those members must represent at least one quarter of the Member States (which equates to AT LEAST seven Member States).

Article 50 of the Treaty on the European Union

The formal, legal procedure that a country must activate in order to leave the European Union. The United Kingdom activated this in 2017 to initiate Brexit.

Brexit Timeline

The United Kingdom activated the formal procedure to leave in 2017. Following several rounds of negotiations and a few extension requests, they established a withdrawal agreement and officially left the European Union in January 2020.

Factors Influencing the Brexit Vote

Several potential factors might have affected why people voted to leave the European Union. The data highlights four major factors: Education level, Age, Immigration (specifically non-white populations and European Union migrants), and Identification with the United Kingdom Independence Party.

Evaluating Legality without a Constitution

If a country like Hungary files a lawsuit against the European Commission arguing that a new European Union Regulation is illegal, the European Court of Justice cannot use a constitution to evaluate it because one does not exist. Instead, the court uses the founding European Union Treaties to assess the legality.

Domestic Lawsuits over European Regulations

If an asylum seeker files a lawsuit in a local domestic court claiming that European Union regulations were ignored, the local court uses the "Preliminary Ruling Procedure" to ask the European Court of Justice for clarification. Following the "Doctrine of European Union Law Supremacy," the local court must then prioritize the European law over its own national laws.