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A) Introduction to the European Union THE EUROPEAN UNION 30 The European Community/Union (EU) was established 31 in 1958. It is currently made up of fifteen democratic States for the purposes of, among other things, promoting European unity, improving living and working conditions for citizens, promoting peace, and assisting developing countries. The Member States are identified in Appendix II. The EU is a community of shared values founded on the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and the rule of law. The EC seeks to uphold the universality, interdependence and indivisibility of all human rights. It offers protections for both civil and political rights, and economic, social and cultural rights. Although the founding treaties of the EU contained no specific provisions on fundamental rights, the Court of Justice has gradually developed a system of guarantees. The rulings given by the Court have been essentially based on: In addition to the case-law of the Court of Justice, the Treaty of Amsterdam 33 has given formal recognition to human rights. 1) Summary of the Treaty of Amsterdam 34 The provisions of the new Treaty include the following: 2) Key Institutions of the EU Parliament of the European Union 35 Elected every five years, the European Parliament is the expression of the democratic will of the Union's 374 million citizens. Brought together within pan-European political groups, the major political parties operating in the Member States are represented. Parliament has three essential functions: 1. It shares with the Council the power to legislate, i.e. to adopt European laws (directives, regulations, decisions). Its involvement in the legislative process helps to guarantee the democratic legitimacy of the texts adopted; 2. It shares budgetary authority with the Council, and can therefore influence European Union (EU) spending. At the end of the procedure, it adopts the budget in its entirety; 3. It exercises democratic supervision over the Commission. It approves the nomination of Commissioners and has the right to censure the Commission. It also exercises political supervision over all the institutions. Council of the European Union 36 The Council is the EU's main decision-making body. It is the embodiment of the Member States, whose representatives it brings together regularly at the ministerial level. The Council has a number of key responsibilities, but one of its most important roles is its task of legislating on a wide range of EU issues. The Council exercises this power in co-decision with the European Parliament. The European Commission 37 The European Commission embodies and upholds the general interest of the Union. The President and Members of the Commission are appointed by the Member States after they have been approved by the European Parliament. The Commission is the driving force in the Union's institutional system: 1. It has the right to initiate draft legislation and therefore presents legislative proposals to Parliament and the Council; 2. As the Union's executive body, it is responsible for implementing the European legislation (directives, regulations, decisions), budget and programmes adopted by Parliament and the Council; 3. It acts as guardian of the Treaties and, together with the Court of Justice, ensures that Community law is properly applied; 4. It represents the Union on the international stage and negotiates international agreements, chiefly in the fields of trade and cooperation. Economic and Social Committee 38 The European Economic and Social Committee (ECSC) represents the views and interests of organised civil society vis-a-vis the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament. The Committee has to be consulted on matters relating to economic and social policy; it may also issue opinions on its own initiative on other matters which it considers to be important. EU legislation that has been brought into force is included in Section A below. The most recent legislation was selected where it was found to be relevant to reproductive and sexual health rights. The Court of Justice 39 and the Court of First Instance The Court of Justice ensures that Community law is uniformly interpreted and effectively applied. It has jurisdiction in disputes involving Member States, EU institutions, businesses and individuals. The Court of Justice has jurisdiction to hear disputes to which the Member States, the Community institutions, undertakings and individuals may be parties. Information for this introduction was taken from the EU homepage at: http://www.europa.eu.int/inst-en.htm. Treaty Establishing the European Community, Official Journal C 340, 10.11.1997, pp. 173-308 Ibid. Entered into force 1 May 1999. Note: since the adoption of this Treaty, the Treaty of Nice has amended this treaty. The Nice was signed 26 February 2001 and has not yet entered into force. A full text version can be found at: http://europa.eu.int/abc/treaties_en.htm . Due to space constraints, the full text of this Treaty could not be reproduced in this compilation. A full text version may be found at: http://europa.eu.int/abc/treaties_en.htm . This summary was taken from a document titled "The Amsterdam Treaty: A Comprehensive Guide" available on the Europa website at: http://europa.eu.int/scadplus/leg/en/lvb/a10000.htm. For more information on the Parliament of the EU, see: http://www.europarl.eu.int/home/default_en.htm For more information on the Council of the EU, see: http://ue.eu.int/en/summ.htm For more information on the European Commission, see: http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/index_en.htm For more information on this Committee, see: http://www.ces.eu.int/index800.htm For more information on the court and its procedures, see: http://curia.eu.int/en/index.htm
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