Study Notes on EU Law and Treaties

Definition: The TEU is one of the two foundational treaties governing the European Union, modified significantly by the Treaty of Lisbon in $2009$ . It establishes the EU's core values, such as democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.
Key Article 4(1): States that any competence not conferred upon the Union in the Treaties remains with the Member States. This reinforces the principle that the EU is not a federal state with inherent powers.
Key Article 5(2): Codifies the Principle of Conferral, emphasizing that the Union shall act only within the limits of the competences conferred upon it by Member States to attain the objectives set out therein.
Article 50: Provides the legal mechanism for a Member State to withdraw from the Union, as seen during the "Brexit" process.

Definition: Formerly the Treaty of Rome, the TFEU is the more technical and expansive treaty. It details the organizational and functional aspects of the EU, including the operation of the single market and the exercise of EU competences.
The Four Freedoms: The TFEU guarantees the free movement of goods, services, capital, and persons (workers) across the Union, forming the backbone of the Internal Market.
Categories of Competence:
- Exclusive Competences (Article 3 TFEU): Areas where only the EU can legislate. Examples include the customs union, the establishing of competition rules necessary for the functioning of the internal market, and monetary policy for Eurozone members.
- Shared Competences (Article 4 TFEU): Areas where both the EU and Member States can legislate. Member States can only exercise their competence to the extent that the Union has not exercised, or has decided to cease exercising, its competence. Key areas include social policy, economic and social cohesion, and energy.
- Supporting/Coordinating Competences (Article 6 TFEU): The EU can only intervene to support, coordinate, or supplement the actions of Member States. The EU cannot harmonize national laws in these areas (e.g., tourism, culture, and civil protection).

Primacy of EU Law: Established in the landmark case Costa v ENEL ( $1964$ ), this principle dictates that EU law takes precedence over conflicting national laws of Member States.
Direct Effect: Established in Van Gend en Loos ( $1963$ ), this allows individuals to invoke EU law directly before national courts, provided the provision is sufficiently clear, precise, and unconditional.

Subsidiarity (Article 5(3) TEU): In areas of non-exclusive competence, the EU shall act only if the objectives cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States at central or local levels, but can rather, by reason of scale or effects, be better achieved at Union level.
Proportionality (Article 5(4) TEU): The content and form of Union action shall not exceed what is necessary to achieve the objectives of the Treaties.

The Conflict: Directive $98/43/EC$ sought to ban all forms of tobacco advertising. Germany challenged its validity, arguing the EU was using its market-regulating powers (Article $114$ TFEU) to legislate on public health, which is a Member State competence.
Court Ruling: The European Court of Justice (ECJ) annulled the directive in Germany v Parliament and Council (Case C- $376/98$ ). The Court ruled that while the EU can harmonize laws to remove obstacles to trade, it cannot use this power as a "general power" to regulate the internal market where there is no genuine link to free movement. A subsequent, more narrowly tailored directive focused on cross-border advertising was later upheld.

Direct Applicability: They become law in all Member States immediately upon coming into force, without the need for national implementing measures. They ensure uniform application across the Union.
Example: The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ( $2016/679$ ).

Implementation: They are binding as to the result to be achieved but leave the choice of form and methods to national authorities. Member States must "transpose" the directive into national law within a specific deadline.
Transposition Deficit: If a state fails to transpose a directive correctly or on time, the Commission may initiate infringement proceedings, and individuals may claim "State Liability" under the Francovich principle.

Decisions: Binding in their entirety. If a decision specifies those to whom it is addressed, it is binding only on them (e.g., a competition law fine against a specific corporation).
Recommendations and Opinions: These are non-binding legal instruments that allow the EU institutions to make their views known or suggest a line of action without imposing legal obligations.

Role: Often described as the "Engine of Integration," it has the near-exclusive "Right of Initiative" to propose new laws.
Structure: $27$ Commissioners (one per state) who act in the interest of the Union as a whole, independent of their national governments.

Co-Decision: Most EU laws are passed via the Ordinary Legislative Procedure, where the Parliament (representing EU citizens) and the Council (representing Member State governments) must both agree on the text.
Voting in the Council: Qualified Majority Voting (QMV) is the standard. It requires support from:
- $55\%$ of Member States ( $15$ out of $27$ ).
- Member States representing at least $65\%$ of the total EU population.
- A "blocking minority" must include at least four Council members representing more than $35\%$ of the EU population.

Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU): Ensures that EU law is interpreted and applied consistently in every Member State. It rules on the legality of EU acts and decides whether Member States have fulfilled their treaty obligations.
Preliminary Ruling Procedure (Article 267 TFEU): National courts can (and sometimes must) refer questions about the interpretation or validity of EU law to the CJEU to ensure consistency across the bloc.