Research Guides: European Union Law: Home

Getting Started

The European Union (EU) is a supranational political union of European member states established by the Maastricht Treaty (1993). The EU is the successor organization to the earlier European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and European Economic Community (EEC). Since the founding of the Coal and Steel Community in 1951, the EU has grown from six to 28 member states. A list of member states is provided below.

The European Union pursues a common policy with respect to trade, agriculture, fisheries, and other areas of the European Common Market. The EU also has its own legal system, citizenship, and foreign and security policy. Most of its member states share a common currency (the Euro), and EU law also guarantees free movement of goods, services, workers, and capital. The EU has a population of over 510 million and a GDP of nearly 20 trillion USD.

The purpose of this guide is to assist with research of European Union law and EU political institutions. Like domestic law, EU law is divided into "primary" and "secondary" legislation. The EU's primary legislation take the form of treaties, which are the basis or ground rules for all EU legislative and regulatory activity. Secondary legislation, which includes regulations, directives and decisions, are extracted from the principles and objectives set out in the treaties.

Introductory resources

European Union Law by Anthony Arnull
Call Number: KJE947 .A758 2017
ISBN: 9780198749981
Publication Date: 2017-05-25
The European Union is rarely out of the news and, as it deals with the consequences of the Brexit vote and struggles to emerge from the eurozone crisis, it faces difficult questions about its future. In this debate, the law has a central role to play, whether the issue be the governance ofthe eurozone, the internal market, "clawing back powers from Europe" or reducing so-called "Brussels red tape".In this Very Short Introduction Anthony Arnull looks at the laws and legal system of the European Union, including EU courts, and discusses the range of issues that the European Union has been given the power to regulate, such as the free movement of goods and people. He considers why anorganisation based on international treaties has proved capable of having far-reaching effects on both its Member States and on countries that lie beyond its borders, and discusses how its law and legal system have proved remarkably effective in ensuring that Member States respect the commitmentsthey made when they signed the Treaties. Answering some of the key questions surrounding EU law, such as what exactly it is about, and how it has become part of the legal DNA of its Member States so much more effectively than other treaty-based regimes, Arnull considers the future for the EuropeanUnion.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, andenthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Research Handbook on EU Institutional Law by Adam Łazowski (Editor); Steven Blockmans (Editor)
Call Number: KJE947 .R468 2016
ISBN: 9781782544739
Publication Date: 2016-09-30
Research Handbook on EU Institutional Law offers a critical look into the European Union: its legal foundations, competences and institutions. It provides an analysis of the EU legal system, its application at the national level and the prevalent role of the Court of Justice. Throughout the course of the Handbook the expert contributors discuss whether the European Union is well well-equipped for the 21st century and the numerous crises it has to handle. They revisit the call for an EU reform made in the Laeken Conclusions in 2001 to verify if its objectives have been achieved by the Treaty of Lisbon and in daily practice of the EU institutions. The book also delves into the concept of a Europe of different speeds, which - according to some - is inevitable in the EU comprising 28 Member States. Overall, the assessment of the changes introduced by the Lisbon Treaty is positive, even if there are plenty of suggestions for further reforms to re-fit the EU for purpose.Students and scholars will find this original Handbook to be an invaluable resource, particularly due to its focus on topics for future discussion. Researchers and policy-makers will also benefit from the points raised in this book.
Principles of European Union Law by Ralph Folsom
Call Number: KJE949 .F553 2017
ISBN: 9781683289449
Publication Date: 2017-08-30
This advanced, detailed guide provides a comprehensive review of laws and policies of the European Union. Chapter 1 looks at the history of the European Union including BREXIT. Chapters 2 and 3 focus on critical EU processes behind lawmaking and litigation. Chapter 4 examines the free movement of goods, services, capital, and people (including mass migration), while Chapter 5 covers a broad selection of internal EU legal regimes concerning business law, ranging from taxation to agriculture. The EU's complex external trade, foreign investment and customs law is analyzed in Chapter 6. Antitrust law and regulation of business agreements are covered in Chapter 7. The Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, along with the EU Charter of Fundamental Freedoms, are reproduced in Appendices.
The Oxford Handbook of European Union Law by Anthony Arnull (Editor); Damian Chalmers (Editor)
Call Number: KJE947 .O94 2015
ISBN: 9780199672646
Publication Date: 2015-08-25
Since its formation the European Union has expanded beyond all expectations, and this expansion seems set to continue as more countries seek accession and the scope of EU law expands, touching more and more aspects of its citizens' lives. The EU has never been stronger and yet it now appearsto be reaching a crisis point, beset on all sides by conflict and challenges to its legitimacy. Nationalist sentiment is on the rise and the Eurozone crisis has had a deep and lasting impact. EU law, always controversial, continues to perplex, not least because it remains difficult to analyse. Whatis the EU? An international organization, or a federation? Should its legal concepts be measured against national standards, or another norm?The Oxford Handbook of EU Law illuminates the richness and complexity of the debates surrounding the law and policies of the EU. Comprising eight sections, it examines how we are to conceptualize EU law; the architecture of EU law; making and administering EU law; the economic constitution and thecitizen; regulation of the market place; economic, monetary, and fiscal union; the Area of Freedom, Security, and Justice; and what lies beyond the regulatory state. Each chapter summarizes, analyses, and reflects on the state of play in a given area, and suggests how it is likely to develop in theforeseeable future. Written by an international team of leading commentators, this Oxford Handbook creates a vivid and provocative tapestry of the key issues shaping the laws of the European Union.

EU Separation of Powers

Executive Branch

Under the EU treaties there are three distinct institutions, each of which conducts duties that may be regarded as executive in nature:

The European Council brings together heads of state and government, along with the president of the European Commission, and meets at least four times a year; its goal is to provide the impetus for the development of the Union and to issue general policy guidelines. The Treaty of Lisbon established the position of "permanent" (full-time) president of the European Council. Leaders of the EU member states appoint the president for a 2 1/2 year term, renewable once. The president's responsibilities include chairing the EU summits and providing policy and organizational continuity.

The Council of the EU is composed of ministers of each EU member state and meets regularly in 10 different configurations depending on the subject matter. The Council of the EU directs policymaking and coordinating functions as well as legislative functions. Ministers of EU member states chair meetings of the Council of the EU based on a 6-month rotating presidency except for the meetings of EU Foreign Ministers in the Foreign Affairs Council that are chaired by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

The European Commission is directed by a College of Commissioners composed of 28 members (one from each member country) including the president; each commissioner is responsible for one or more policy areas. The Commission's main responsibilities include the sole right to initiate EU legislation (except for foreign and security/defense policy), promoting the general interest of the EU, acting as "guardian of the Treaties" by monitoring the application of EU law, implementing/executing the EU budget, managing programs, negotiating on the EU's behalf in core policy areas such as trade, and ensuring the Union's external representation in some policy areas.

Legislative Branch

The legislative branch consists of two legislative bodies: The Council of the EU (28 seats; ministers representing the 28 member states) and the European Parliament (751 seats; seats allocated among member states roughly in proportion to population size; members elected by proportional representation to serve 5-year terms).

Judicial Branch

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) is the supreme judicial authority of the EU. The ECJ guarantees that EU law is interpreted and applied uniformly throughout the EU, negotiates disputed issues among the EU institutions and with member states, and issues opinions on questions of EU law referred by member state courts.

The ECJ is composed of 28 judges - 1 from each member state. The ECJ may sit as a full court, in a "Grand Chamber" of 13 judges in special cases, but typically sits in chambers of 3 to 5 judges. ECJ judges are appointed by the common consent of the member states to serve 6-year renewable terms. The subordinate courts are the General Court and the Civil Service Tribunal.

EU Decision Making

The EU’s customary decision-making procedure is known as "Ordinary Legislative Procedure." This means that the directly elected European Parliament has to approve EU legislation in conjunction with the Council (the governments of the 28 EU countries).

Before the EU Commission proposes new initiatives it appraises the potential economic, social and environmental consequences that they may have. It does this by preparing "impact assessments" which set out the advantages and disadvantages of possible policy options. The European Commission is the EU's politically independent executive branch.The EU Commission is solely responsible for composing proposals for new European legislation, and it administers the decisions of the European Parliament and the Council of the EU. The EU Commission also communes with interested parties such as non-governmental organizations, local authorities and representatives of industry and civil society. Groups of experts give advice on technical issues. In this way, the Commission ensures that legislative proposals correspond to the needs of those most concerned and avoids unnecessary red tape.

Citizens, businesses and organizations can participate in the consultation procedure via the public consultations website. National parliaments can formally express their reservations if they feel that it would be better to deal with an issue at a national level rather than the EU level.

Review and Adoption

The European Parliament and the Council inspect proposals by the Commission and propose amendments. If the Council and the Parliament cannot agree on amendments, a second reading takes place. In the subsequent reading, the Parliament and Council can again propose amendments. Parliament has the power to block the proposed legislation if it cannot agree with the Council.

If the European Parliament and the Council agree on amendments, the proposed legislation can be adopted. If they cannot agree, a conciliation committee tries to find a solution. Both the Council and the Parliament can nullify a legislative proposal at this final reading.

EU Legal System

The EU's legal system is an uncommon supranational legal system in which, according to an interpretive declaration of member-state governments appended to the Treaty of Lisbon, "the Treaties and the law adopted by the Union on the basis of the Treaties have primacy over the law of Member States" under conditions laid down in the case law of the Court of Justice. Key principles of EU law include fundamental rights as guaranteed by the Charter of Fundamental Rights and as resulting from constitutional traditions common to the EU's 28-member states. Secondary legislation - which includes directives, regulations, and decisions - is derived from the principles and objectives set out in the treaties.