Back قانون الاتحاد الأوروبي Arabic Avropa İttifaqı hüququ AZ Право на Европейския съюз Bulgarian Dret comunitari europeu Catalan Právo Evropské unie Czech EU-ret Danish Europarecht German Ευρωπαϊκό Δίκαιο Greek Eŭropunia juro EO Derecho de la Unión Europea Spanish
European Union law is a system of rules operating within the 27 member states of the European Union (EU). It has grown over time since the 1952 founding of the European Coal and Steel Community, to promote peace, social justice, a social market economy with full employment, and environmental protection.[1][2] The Treaties of the European Union agreed to by member states form its constitutional structure. EU law is interpreted by, and EU case law is created by, the judicial branch, known collectively as the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Legal Acts of the EU are created by a variety of EU legislative procedures involving the popularly elected European Parliament, the Council of the European Union (which represents member governments), the European Commission (a cabinet which is elected jointly by the Council and Parliament) and sometimes the European Council (composed of heads of state). Only the Commission has the right to propose legislation.
Legal acts include regulations, which are automatically enforceable in all member states; directives, which typically become effective by transposition into national law; decisions on specific economic matters such as mergers or prices which are binding on the parties concerned, and non-binding recommendations and opinions. Treaties, regulations, and decisions have direct effect – they become binding without further action, and can be relied upon in lawsuits. EU laws, especially Directives, also have an indirect effect, constraining judicial interpretation of national laws. Failure of a national government to faithfully transpose a directive can result in courts enforcing the directive anyway (depending on the circumstances), or punitive action by the Commission.[3] Implementing and delegated acts allow the Commission to take certain actions within the framework set out by legislation (and oversight by committees of national representatives, the Council, and the Parliament), the equivalent of executive actions and agency rulemaking in other jurisdictions.[4]
New members may join if they agree to follow the rules of the union, and existing states may leave according to their "own constitutional requirements".[5] The withdrawal of the United Kingdom resulted in a body of retained EU law copied into UK law.
- ^ TEU article 3(1) "The Union's aim is to promote peace, its values and the well-being of its peoples." (3) "... and shall promote social justice and protection...'
- ^ TEU article 3(3) "It shall work for the sustainable development of Europe based on balanced economic growth and price stability, a highly competitive social market economy, aiming at full employment and social progress, and a high level of protection and improvement of the quality of the environment". Article 4(3) "Pursuant to the principle of sincere cooperation, the Union and the Member States shall, in full mutual respect, assist each other in carrying out tasks which flow from the Treaties".
- ^ European Commission. "Implementing EU law".
- ^ European Commission. "Types of EU law".
- ^ TEU art 50.