4. EU legislative powers

2020 ◽  
pp. 88-122
Author(s):  
Sylvia de Mars
Keyword(s):  
Transition Period ◽  
International Agreements ◽  
Soft Law ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
Principle Of Proportionality ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Legislative Processes ◽  
Domestic Law ◽  
The Eu

This chapter examines the sources of EU law. As with domestic law, there are two overarching categories of EU law: primary law and secondary law. EU primary law includes the EU Treaties and the general principles of EU law. Meanwhile, EU secondary law includes regulations, directives, decisions, international agreements, and ‘soft law’. The chapter then looks at the legislative processes that are used to adopt secondary legislation, and assesses when, or in what policy areas, the EU can make law. It also considers two mechanisms that aim to prevent the EU from extending its legislative power beyond what the Treaties have granted it: the principle of subsidiarity and the principle of proportionality. Finally, the chapter addresses the impact of Brexit on EU law, assessing what will happen to EU law in the UK during the Withdrawal Agreement's transition period.

The EU as an “enforcement patchwork”: the impact of national enforcement for compliance with EU water law in Spain and Britain

2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 331-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mónica García Quesada
Keyword(s):  
Waste Water Treatment ◽  
National Level ◽  
State Level ◽  
Detailed Examination ◽  
Deterrent Effect ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

AbstractFailures of compliance with European Union (EU) directives have revealed the EU as a political system capable of enacting laws in a wide range of different policy areas, but facing difficulties to ensure their actual implementation. Although the EU relies on national enforcement agencies to ensure compliance with the EU legislation, there is scarce analysis of the differential deterrent effect of national enforcement in EU law compliance. This article examines the enforcement of an EU water directive, the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive, in Spain and the UK. It focuses on the existing national sanctions for disciplining actors in charge of complying with EU requirements, and on the actual use of punitive sanctions. The analysis shows that a more comprehensive and active disciplinary regime at the national level contributes to explain a higher degree of compliance with EU law. The article calls for a detailed examination of the national administrative and criminal sanction system for a more comprehensive understanding of the incentives and disincentives to comply with EU law at the national state level.

3. Decision-making and democracy in the EU

2020 ◽  
pp. 61-87
Author(s):  
Sylvia de Mars
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Financial Crisis ◽  
Transition Period ◽  
Democratic Deficit ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
Democratic Government ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Big Events ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Eu

This chapter analyses what EU academics have termed the ‘democratic deficit’ in the EU. In EU law, the concept of the ‘democratic deficit’ is used to classify the EU as a system that may hold some of the qualities of a democratic government, but is lacking others. The chapter then investigates just how much ‘democracy’ exists in the EU decision-making processes. There are those who claim that the EU will never be democratic, and those who argue that the EU actually does not suffer from true shortcomings. The chapter evaluates both of those claims, and considers if recent big events in the EU — such as the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, and the so-called Eurozone financial crisis — impact upon the debate. It also looks at the nature of Brexit during the Withdrawal Agreement's transition period, as well as the future relationship between the UK and the EU.

Prospects for a close EU-UK trade deal are not good

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Transition Period ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Uk Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Limited Period ◽  
The Eu

Subject UK-EU trade talks. Significance The United Kingdom will leave the EU on January 31, 2020, but will abide by EU rules as part of the transition period, which runs to December 31, 2020. During this limited period of time, London and Brussels will seek to negotiate a permanent trading relationship. While the transition deadline can be extended, the UK government has committed not to seek an extension. Impacts The impact of no trade deal or a 'thin' one may force the UK government to increase taxes in order to meet spending pledges. UK financial services will rely on an equivalence deal with the EU; London hopes to agree this by mid-2020. The EU’s future trade policy will focus on having stronger sanction powers as well as legal ones for those that unfairly undercut EU firms.

scholarly journals Strengthening European Union Democratic Accountability Through National and Treaty-Based Pre-Legislative Controls

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 741-780
Author(s):  
Özlem Ülgen
Keyword(s):  
Public Consultation ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Democratic Accountability ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
National Parliaments ◽  
Member States ◽  
Treaty Ratification ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Legislative Processes ◽  
The Eu

This article considers whether greater accountability for EU supranational decision-making can be achieved through a combination of member states' legislative processes and EU treaty-based mechanisms. The EU is formed by member states' national consent through treaty ratification and a system of domestic pre-legislative controls on consent—parliamentary approval, public consultation and referendum—which operates to limit the nature and extent of EU law. Using the UK as an example to compare with other member states, the article contends that such domestic controls are prerequisites to national incorporation of EU law and strengthen democratic accountability. Consent alone, however, does not provide an adequate basis for accountability of supranational decisions; EU constitutional principles of citizenship, democracy, and political rights illustrate how the EU fulfills a role as protector of rights. The article further argues that the EU's protector role represents partial legitimacy and accountability for supranational decisions. Greater legitimacy and accountability derives from national parliaments' pre-legislative controls under EU law—scrutinizing legislation, monitoring subsidiarity, and exercising veto powers. The article concludes that if these controls are exercised properly, they represent powerful accountability mechanisms.

scholarly journals Objective justification, less discriminatory alternatives, and the ‘Great Repeal Bill’

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 195-212
Author(s):  
Michael Connolly
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
Indirect Discrimination ◽  
Domestic Courts ◽  
Apparent Reason ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Domestic Law ◽  
The Eu

On the 13 July of this year, the UK Government published the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, 1 more commonly called the ‘Great Repeal Bill’. Aside from the repeal of the European Communities Act 1972 (and with it the proposed ousting of the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice), the Bill’s purpose is to ‘convert the acquis’ of EU law and preserve any UK law implementing EU law.2 This will include ‘workers’ rights’ and with it their employment discrimination rights.3 The efficacy of such a move will be limited if the British judges fail to adopt the same interpretations of these rights as their counterparts in the Court of Justice in Luxembourg. Over the years of Britain’s membership, there have been many references to Luxembourg to clarify the meaning of particular aspects of the discrimination provisions, with the Court generally giving a more liberal interpretation than the domestic courts had suggested would be their preference. One element of the law largely untouched by this process is the objective justification defence to claims of indirect discrimination. This is because the domestic courts have maintained a fiction that their interpretation is consistent with the EU formula. For no apparent reason, the domestic courts have reworded the EU formula while labelling it as being no different. This presents a major challenge for the Bill. It would be all too easy for Parliament to assume all is well with this aspect of workers’ rights, especially when the judges tell them so. Using a handful of cases, this article exposes the shortfalls within the domestic law and suggests some solutions. It is not the purpose of this article to discuss the Bill (which no doubt is due for many amendments), but to focus on one important aspect of discrimination law, both pre- and post-Brexit.

scholarly journals A Knot Not to Be Cut? The Legacy of Brexit over the CJEU

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-36
Author(s):  
Marta Simoncini ◽  
Giuseppe Martinico
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Transition Period ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Advocate General ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Structure And Activity ◽  
The Eu

What was the role of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in the Brexit saga? And what will the impact of Brexit be over the future structure and activity of the CJEU? This article deals with this twofold question and explores three different issues. Firstly, we will offer a reflection on the questions and the risks raised by the Wightman case, where the CJEU ruled on the unilateral revocation of the UK notification of its intention to withdraw from the European Union under Art. 50 Treaty of the EU. Secondly, we will analyse the impact of Brexit on the composition of the CJEU and, particularly, the risks for the independence of the Court raised by the advanced termination of the mandate of the British Advocate General. Thirdly, we will provide some insights on the scope of the jurisdiction of the CJEU in the post-Brexit Union, emphasising how the Withdrawal Agreement maintained its jurisdiction during and even beyond the transition period. This article reflects the events that took place up to 6 October 2020.

scholarly journals The United Kingdom after brexit

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Ananieva ◽  
Lyudmila Babynina ◽  
Mark Entin ◽  
Dmitriy Galushko ◽  
Kira Godovanyuk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transition Period ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Cooperation Agreement ◽  
Conservative Government ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Economic Developments ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Uk Foreign Policy ◽  
The Eu

The edited book by Russian scholars and UK experts focuses on the political and economic developments Britain faces following the end of the post-Brexit transition period. Against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic, B. Johnson’s Conservative government was confronted with many challenges, from trying to put together an adequate anti-crisis domestic policy to fitting UK foreign policy into the «Global Britain» framework. The authors look into the UK foreign trade policy, the roadblocks in the implementation of the UK – EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the impact of Brexit and the pandemic on the competitiveness of London as a leading financial hub, and how UK plans moving over to a climate-neutral economy. Special emphasis is given to the centrifugal trends in Scotland and Northern Ireland that conspicuously manifested themselves upon the UK withdrawal from the EU, along with the phenomenon of anti-monarchism. The authors explore Russia – UK relations in the light of the Integrated Review and provide an analysis of the latest developments in the UK defense strategy and armed forces.

16. Negotiating a ‘future relationship’: EU external relations law

2020 ◽  
pp. 450-478
Author(s):  
Sylvia de Mars
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Transition Period ◽  
International Agreements ◽  
Internal Market ◽  
External Relations ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Eu

This chapter examines the ‘future relationship’ agreement(s) that will apply between the UK and the EU. Following the adoption of the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK will be looking to conclude what the EU terms a ‘future relationship’ agreement with the EU over the course of the transition period. That ‘future relationship’ will address both the conditions under which the UK trades with the EU in the future — or what replaces the internal market — and how the UK and the EU relate to each other diplomatically — or what replaces ‘membership’ of the EU as an institution. The EU Treaties set out clear processes for the conclusion of international agreements between the EU and other countries. The chapter explores what those processes are, considering what powers the EU has to conclude international agreements. It also looks at how decision-making relating to those international agreements takes place within the EU institutions.

7. Connecting EU law to domestic law: the preliminary reference procedure

2020 ◽  
pp. 179-204
Author(s):  
Sylvia de Mars
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Domestic Court ◽  
Reference Process ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Domestic Law ◽  
Law Making ◽  
Distinct Role

This chapter assesses how conflicts between national law and EU law actually reach the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). The Treaties have created a distinct role for the CJEU: it can decide cases where the validity of an EU law is not necessarily at issue, but rather its meaning is not entirely clear to a body that is meant to apply it. That process is set out in Article 267 TFEU (Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union), and involves two separate but related steps. First, a domestic court has to refer (or ask) a question of the CJEU about the meaning of EU law at stake in a dispute it is hearing. Second, the CJEU offers an interpretation of EU law to the domestic court, enabling the domestic court to decide the dispute before it. The chapter then looks at the attitude of the UK courts towards the preliminary reference process, and considers judicial law-making. It also discusses the impact of Brexit on the preliminary reference process.

EU Law in the UK

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvia de Mars
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Competition Law ◽  
Free Movement ◽  
Contextual Approach ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
History Of ◽  
Free Movement Of Goods ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Domestic Law ◽  
The Eu

EU Law in the UK tackles this subject with a post-Brexit perspective. It has a contextual approach, aiming to present the topic in a fresh and relatable way. Topics covered include the history of the EU from 1972 to the present day, the EU institutions, decision making and democracy, EU legislative powers, and the limits to those powers. The text also looks at the relations between EU and national law, domestic law, and enforcing EU law. It also considers the internal (or common, or single) market, the free movement of goods and workers, EU citizenship, and the free movement of services. Competition law is also touched upon. Finally, the text looks towards the future and considers how the UK can negotiate a future relationship with the EU.

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