3. Governmental Structure

2021 ◽  
pp. 73-112
Author(s):  
Robert Schütze

This chapter examines the internal composition, internal powers, and internal procedures of the European Parliament, the European Council, and the Council of Ministers. It begins by looking at the role of the separation-of-powers principle in the European Union. Unlike the US Constitution, the EU Treaties do not discuss each institution within the context of one governmental function. Instead, each institution has ‘its’ article in the Treaty on European Union, whose first section then describes the combination of governmental functions in which it partakes. The European Treaties have thus ‘set up a system for distributing powers among different [Union] institutions’. And it is this conception of the separation-of-powers principle that informs Article 13(2) TEU. The provision is thus known as the principle of interinstitutional balance.

2021 ◽  
pp. 73-112
Author(s):  
Robert Schütze

This chapter examines the internal composition, internal powers, and internal procedures of the European Parliament, the European Council, and the Council of Ministers. It begins by looking at the role of the separation-of-powers principle in the European Union. Unlike the US Constitution, the EU Treaties do not discuss each institution within the context of one governmental function. Instead, each institution has ‘its’ article in the Treaty on European Union, whose first section then describes the combination of governmental functions in which it partakes. The European Treaties have thus ‘set up a system for distributing powers among different [Union] institutions’. And it is this conception of the separation-of-powers principle that informs Article 13(2) TEU. The provision is thus known as the principle of interinstitutional balance.


2002 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 551-574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Ballmann ◽  
David Epstein ◽  
Sharyn O'Halloran

Although relatively unknown outside of Europe, comitology committees are an object of considerable controversy in the European Union (EU). Controversy stems from their pivotal role in overseeing policy implementation authority delegated from the Council of Ministers (Council) to the European Commission (Commission). In this article, we employ a game-theoretic model to analyze the influence of these, committees on policy outcomes. Our analysis provides three important insights. First, we show that, contrary to the conventional wisdom, comitology committees move outcomes toward the Commission's preferred policies rather than the Council's. Second, we demonstrate that the possibility of a Council veto may also move outcomes away from Council members' policy preferences and toward the Commission's. Third, the 1999 changes to the comitology procedures, designed to enhance the Commission's autonomy in policymaking, may have had the exact opposite effect. Paradoxically, we conclude that comitology serves to enhance the Commission's role in policy implementation and thereby strengthens the separation of powers within the EU.


2012 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 663-695
Author(s):  
Bilyana Petkova

AbstractBuilding on the theory of democratic constitutionalism, I assess the political implications of the constitutional space formed by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and national constitutional courts in Europe. Democratic constitutionalism helps situate the role of constitutional courts in stimulating a degree of consensus, necessary for governance of heterogeneous communities such as the United States and the European Union. Questions of legitimacy and confidence in the judiciary come to the fore. I examine a mechanism used by the US Supreme Court, the CJEU and the ECtHR alike to foster democratic constitutionalism: in order to confront challenges to judicial legitimacy and remain responsive to the extra-judicial environment, these courts rely on majoritarian trends, or consensus, inspired by, but not limited to, the constitutional law of federal states and member countries.


2002 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 156-157

‘Internet Review’ identifies relevant and useful Websites related to entrepreneurship and innovation. This issue's article reviews Websites on women entrepreneurs. The US Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy estimated that there were 9.1 million women-owned firms in 2001, employing 27.5 million people and contributing $3.6 trillion in sales and revenue to the US economy. Over 18 million women business owners set up one-third of the companies created in the European Union. International research results suggest that the needs of women entrepreneurs worldwide are similar and that their major problems are finance/capital, education/training and networks/markets.


2015 ◽  
Vol 59 (11) ◽  
pp. 38-46
Author(s):  
A. Kokeev

Relations between Germany, the US and NATO today are the core of transatlantic links. After the Cold War and the reunification of Germany, NATO has lost its former importance to Germany which was not a "frontline state" anymore. The EU acquired a greater importance for German politicians applying both for certain political independence and for establishing of a broad partnership with Russia and China. The task of the European Union Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) development has been regarded by Berlin as a necessary component of the NATO's transformation into a “balanced Euro-American alliance”, and the realization of this project as the most important prerequisite for a more independent foreign policy. Germany’s refusal to support the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 led to the first serious crisis in US Germany relations. At the same time, there was no radical break of the deeply rooted Atlanticism tradition in German policy. It was Angela Merkel as a new head of the German government (2005) who managed to smooth largely disagreements in relations with the United States. Atlanticism remains one of the fundamental foreign policy elements for any German government, mostly because Berlin’s hope for deepening of the European integration and transition to the EU CFSP seems unrealistic in the foreseeable future. However, there is still a fundamental basis of disagreements emerged in the transatlantic relationship (reduction of a military threat weakening Berlin’s dependence from Washington, and the growing influence of Germany in the European Union). According to the federal government's opinion, Germany's contribution to the NATO military component should not be in increasing, but in optimizing of military expenses. However, taking into account the incipient signs of the crisis overcoming in the EU, and still a tough situation around Ukraine, it seems that in the medium-term perspective one should expect further enhancing of Germany’s participation in NATO military activities and, therefore, a growth in its military expenses. In Berlin, there is a wide support for the idea of the European army. However, most experts agree that it can be implemented only when the EU develops the Common Foreign and Defense Policy to a certain extent. The US Germany espionage scandals following one after another since 2013 have seriously undermined the traditional German trust to the United States as a reliable partner. However, under the impact of the Ukrainian conflict, the value of military-political dimension of Germany’s transatlantic relations and its dependence on the US and NATO security guarantees increased. At the same time, Washington expects from Berlin as a recognized European leader a more active policy toward Russia and in respect of some other international issues. In the current international political situation, the desire to expand political influence in the world and achieve a greater autonomy claimed by German leaders seems to Berlin only possible in the context of transatlantic relations strengthening and solidarity within the NATO the only military-political organization of the West which is able to ensure the collective defense for its members against the external threats. However, it is important to take into consideration that not only the value of the United States and NATO for Germany, but also the role of Germany in the North Atlantic Alliance as a “representative of European interests” has increased. The role of Germany as a mediator in establishing the West–Russia relations remains equally important.


Author(s):  
Colin Faragher

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. Public Law Concentrate looks at all aspects of constitutional law including sources, rule of law, separation of powers, role of the executive, constitutional monarchy, and the Royal Prerogative. It also discusses parliamentary sovereignty and the changing constitutional relationship between the UK and the EU together with the status of EU retained and converted law under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 as amended by the 2020 Act, the Agreement on Trade and Cooperation effective from 1 January 2021, and the European Union (Future Relationship) Act 2020. Also covered are: administrative law, judicial review, human rights, police powers, public order, terrorism, the constitutional status of the Sewel Convention, legislative consent motion procedure, use of secondary legislation by the executive to amend law and make regulations creating criminal offences, especially under the Coronavirus Act 2020 and the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984, the separation of powers implications of Henry VIII Clauses, the constitutional role of the Horuse of Lords in scrutinizing and amending primary legislation, the Speakers’ Ruling in the House of Commons on Points of Order and the Contempt of Parliament Motion, whip system, back bench revolts, confidence and supply agreements in government formation, and current legislative and executive devolution in Northern Ireland. The book additionally examines the continuing impact of the HRA 1998 and the European Court of Human Rights on parliamentary sovereignty and the significance of the 2021 Independent Review of the HRA.


2012 ◽  
pp. 539-567
Author(s):  
Anna Liguori ◽  
Novella Ricciuti

Frontex, the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union, was set up in 2004 to reinforce cooperation between national border authorities. The present research intends to analyze the role of the Agency after the adoption of the new Regulation 1168/2011, which considerably extends the Frontex mandate (inter alia, providing for the creation of European Border Guards and strengthening the role of the Agency in joint operations) and introduces several references for the full respect of fundamental rights in all Frontex activities . The aim is to investigate if the mechanisms introduced to promote and monitor human rights are consistent with the Agency's obligations to respect human rights, in the light of the recent inquiry promoted by the European Ombudsman. A particular focus will concern the question of the allocation of responsibility among Members States and Frontex in case of violations of human rights during joint operations at sea, and the legal remedies available for individuals.


Federalism ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 165-186
Author(s):  
M. V. Gligich-Zolotareva

American and European federalism served as a real model in the construction of the domestic state system for a long time. It is difficult to deny that these were indeed the best known examples  of  the  organization  of  the  administration  of  geographically  complex  states.  But the  coronavirus  pandemic  has  escalated  old  socio-political  and  economic  contradictions. The regionalization become one of the trends in the development of the state in the era of coronavirus. It means that role of regions and municipalities become disproportionately sharp. As a result decentralization and even separatism have grown. Similar problems can lead to the undermining not only of the economy, but also of territorial and even political integrity in most countries. The situation of tension between the center and the regions concerned not only sufficiently well-established Federal state such as the US, but the so-called “regional states” – Great Britain, Italy, Spain, and even interstate associations represented by the European  Union.  Obviously,  the  well-studied  models  of  federalism  of  Western  countries can no longer be a reference point for Russia and other countries. We need own models of state-territorial structure.


Author(s):  
Jeffrey Lewis

This chapter examines the role of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) in the European Union. Coreper originated as a diplomatic forum to meet regularly and prepare meetings of the Council of Ministers. It evolved into a locus of continuous negotiation and de facto decision-making, gaining a reputation as ‘the place to do the deal’. Coreper is the site in EU decision-making where national interests and European solutions interact more frequently, more intensively, and across more issue areas than any other. The chapter first provides an overview of the origins of Coreper before discussing its structure and powers. It then considers how Coreper, as an institutional environment, gives rise to what neo-institutionalists call ‘logic of appropriateness’, which informs bargaining behaviour and influences everyday decision-making outcomes.


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