23. Freedom, Security, and Justice

Author(s):  
Simon Bulmer ◽  
Owen Parker ◽  
Ian Bache ◽  
Stephen George ◽  
Charlotte Burns

This chapter examines the European Union’s (EU’s) policy activity in the area of freedom, security, and justice (AFSJ). Introduced mainly by the Maastricht Treaty of 1992, the AFSJ was initially given the name Justice and Home Affairs (JHA). The AFSJ was greatly enhanced by the Treaty of Lisbon and has matured over time, despite the controversy surrounding the way in which it strikes at national sovereignty. A key characteristic of JHA, later AFSJ, has been the use of differentiated integration. The chapter first provides a historical background on the AFSJ, focusing on the policy dynamics and JHA structures under the Treaty on European Union (TEU) as well as the reforms of the Treaty of Amsterdam. It then considers the AFSJ’s institutional character and policy content, before examining the refugee crisis. It concludes with an assessment of key explanations and debates relating to the AFSJ.

Author(s):  
Ian Bache ◽  
Simon Bulmer ◽  
Stephen George ◽  
Owen Parker

This chapter examines the European Union’s policy activity in the area of freedom, security, and justice (AFSJ). Introduced mainly by the Maastricht Treaty of 1992, the AFSJ was initially given the name, Justice and Home Affairs (JHA). The AFSJ was greatly enhanced by the Treaty of Lisbon and has matured over time despite the controversy surrounding the way in which it strikes at national sovereignty. A key characteristic of JHA, later AFSJ, has been the use of differentiated integration. The chapter first provides a historical background on the AFSJ, focusing on the policy dynamics and JHA structures under the Treaty on European Union as well as the reforms of the Treaty of Amsterdam. It then considers the AFSJ’s institutional character and policy content and concludes with an assessment of key explanations and debates relating to the AFSJ.


2021 ◽  
pp. 12-41
Author(s):  
Margot Horspool ◽  
Matthew Humphreys ◽  
Michael Wells-Greco

This chapter discusses the Treaties which together represent the primary law of the European Union; its constitutional base. These include the Single European Act 1986; the Treaty on European Union (the Maastricht Treaty) 1993; the Treaty of Amsterdam (signed June 1997, entered into force 1 May 1999); the Nice Treaty (adopted December 2001, entered into force 1 February 2003); and the Treaty of Lisbon (signed December 2007, entered into force 1 December 2009).


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 84-106
Author(s):  
Tomasz Kubin

Abstract Initially, before the entry into force of the Maastricht Treaty, differences in integration between members of the European Communities (EC; later the European Union) were relatively few and usually temporary in nature. The Schengen Agreement, the Maastricht Treaty and the Treaty of Amsterdam, and the possibility of establishing enhanced cooperation meant that the problem was becoming more and more important in the functioning of the EU—both in theory and in practice. The objective of the paper is to show that for several years, along with the stagnation in the deepening of integration between all the EU Member States, differentiation of integration in the EU is progressing very rapidly. The progressing differentiation in the EU is a consequence of mainly two processes: the development of enhanced cooperation and reforms in the eurozone, which are strengthened by the widening of the EU. The article covers the issue of the categorization of differentiation of European Union integration, which constitutes the theoretical framework for further considerations. Specified processes which contribute to increasing the differentiation of the EU are discussed, showing the development of enhanced cooperation in the EU and presenting the reforms of the eurozone. The article concludes with the identification and the consequences of differentiated integration, both those that have already occurred and those that may occur in the future.


Author(s):  
Margot Horspool ◽  
Matthew Humphreys ◽  
Michael Wells-Greco

This chapter discusses the Treaties which together represent the primary law of the European Union; its constitutional base. These include the Single European Act 1986; the Treaty on European Union (the Maastricht Treaty) 1993; the Treaty of Amsterdam (signed June 1997, entered into force 1 May 1999); the Nice Treaty (adopted December 2001, entered into force 1 February 2003); and the Treaty of Lisbon (signed December 2007, entered into force 1 December 2009).


2020 ◽  
pp. 67-82
Author(s):  
Frank Schimmelfennig ◽  
Thomas Winzen

This chapter offers an empirical analysis of the conditions under which member states negotiate opt-outs from EU reform and enlargement treaties, covering all treaties since the Maastricht Treaty on European Union. The analysis suggests that constitutional and instrumental logics of differentiation co-exist in European integration. In reform treaties, differentiated integration tends to be driven by wealthy member states with Eurosceptic governments and populations that hold comparatively exclusive national identity conceptions. In contrast, in enlargements, comparatively poor member states that cause distributional concerns, have weak governance capacity, and require help in meeting the competitive pressures of membership are the main source of differentiation. The chapter also shows evidence of path-dependent differentiation. Once countries have opted out of a policy area, these initial opt-outs trigger further differentiation over time.


Author(s):  
Frank Schimmelfennig ◽  
Thomas Winzen ◽  
Tobias Lenz ◽  
Jofre Rocabert ◽  
Loriana Crasnic ◽  
...  

The chapter analyses the development of the European Parliament (EP) since the European Coal and Steel Community (1952). Specifically, it includes the establishment of an international parliamentary institution (IPI) in 1952, the initial creation of legislative powers in the Single European Act (1986), the renegotiation of legislative powers ahead of the Treaty of Amsterdam (1997) and the extension and consolidation of legislative powers in the Treaty of Lisbon (2009). The EP is the earliest case of IPI establishment in the sample and the most successful case of IPI empowerment. Even though the effective conditions for IPI establishment and empowerment have varied over time, parliamentarization in the EU has generally resulted from strategic democratic legitimation in an IO characterized by a configuration of high and increasing authority, general purpose, and democratic membership.


Author(s):  
Neil Parpworth

This chapter discusses the primary and secondary laws of the European Union (EU). Treaties are the primary law of the EU. In addition to the treaties that originally established the three European Communities, a number of other treaties have subsequently been made. These include the Treaty on European Union (the Maastricht Treaty), the Treaty of Amsterdam, the Treaty of Nice, and the Lisbon Treaty, all of which have made important amendments to the foundation treaties. Article 288 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) confers legislative power on the Union’s institutions to make secondary legislation in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty. This secondary legislation may take different forms: regulations, directives, decisions, recommendations, and opinions. The chapter also discusses the concepts of direct applicability and direct effect, and the relationship between EU law and the English courts.


Author(s):  
Kees van Kersbergen ◽  
Bertjan Verbeek

Since the Maastricht Treaty (1993), subsidiarity has guided the political process surrounding the distribution of competences between administrative layers in the European Union (EU). The EU’s subsidiarity regime affects the politics and governance of the EU, because the notion of subsidiarity allows for continuous negotiation over its practical use. The constant battle over subsidiarity implies that the notion changes its meaning over time and alters the power relations between different actors within the EU. Since the Lisbon Treaty (2009), subsidiarity has mainly strengthened the position of member states at the expense of the Commission.


1998 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 217-231
Author(s):  
Timothy Pratt

While the Community Treaties provided the institutional framework for the European Community, much of what now makes up the constitution of the European Union was not provided for in those Treaties, but evolved within that framework. This is certainly true of the role of national parliaments. There is nothing about the role of national parliaments in any of the Treaties concluded prior to the Maastricht Treaty, and even then the references appear not in the body of the Treaty, but only in two Declarations annexed to it, one on the role of national parliaments in the European Union and the other on the Conference of the Parliaments. While the former states that it is important to encourage greater involvement of national parliaments in the activities of the European Union, it gives no indication of what that involvement should be. The Treaty of Amsterdam goes a step further. It includes a protocol on the role of national parliaments. This is important in that, for the first time, it gives substantive treaty recognition to their involvement in European Union activities. But, while it is markedly more supportive than the Maastricht Declarations, it does not confer any specific powers on national parliaments, nor does it attempt to define their functions.


Author(s):  
Neil Parpworth

This chapter discusses the primary and secondary laws of the European Union (EU). Treaties are the primary law of the EU. In addition to the treaties that originally established the three European Communities, a number of other treaties have subsequently been made. These include the Treaty on European Union (the Maastricht Treaty), the Treaty of Amsterdam, the Treaty of Nice, and the Lisbon Treaty, all of which have made important amendments to the foundation treaties. Article 288 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) confers legislative power on the Union’s institutions to make secondary legislation in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty. This secondary legislation may take different forms: regulations, directives, decisions, recommendations, and opinions. The chapter also discusses the concepts of direct applicability and direct effect, and the relationship between EU law and the English courts, and concludes by considering the likely enduring impact of EU law even after the UK has ceased to be a member state.


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