Law on Churches and Religion in the European Legal Area – Through German Glasses

2007 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 563-576 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Michael Heinig
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
German Law ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Common Market ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Legal Situation ◽  
Antidiscrimination Law ◽  
The Common ◽  
Critique Of Ideology

Approximately ten to fifteen years ago the “danger of Europeanization” of the German law on churches and religion was hotly debated. The churches in Germany feared that the influence of the European Union would dramatically change their legal framework. But also academic writers worried about the influence of the common market law or European antidiscrimination law on the legal situation of the churches in the member states – sometimes in rather shrill tone. One almost got the impression that Brussels replaced the Marxist Ideologiekritik (critique of ideology) as the main enemy of Christianity in Europe.

Part V Judicial Review before the Court of Justice of the European Union, 3 Decentralized Judicial Review and Enforcement of EU State Aid Rules

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kreuschitz Viktor ◽  
Nehl Hanns Peter
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Judicial Review ◽  
State Aid ◽  
Common Market ◽  
Final Decision ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
National Courts ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
The Common

This chapter assesses the enforcement of EU State aid rules. The Commission is not the only authority involved in the monitoring of State aid. As regards the supervision of Member States' compliance with their obligations under Articles 107 and 108 TFEU, the national courts also have an important role to play. The implementation of that system of control is a matter for both the Commission and the national courts, their respective roles being complementary but separate. Whilst assessment of the compatibility of aid measures with the common market falls within the exclusive competence of the Commission, subject to review by the Courts of the European Union, it is for national courts to ensure the safeguarding, until the final decision of the Commission, of the rights of individuals faced with a possible breach by State authorities of the prohibition laid down by Article 108(3) TFEU.

The Transition to a New EU Plant Protection Regime – Legal Problems in the Regulatory Field

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 407-414
Author(s):  
Gérardine Garçon
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Plant Protection ◽  
Plant Protection Products ◽  
Common Market ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
The Past ◽  
Legal Problems ◽  
Council Directive ◽  
The Common

The plant protection law within the European Union has been continuously developed over the past two decades. Whereas harmonized provisions for the placing of plant protection products on the common market were introduced by Council Directive 91/414/EEC of 15 July 1991 (hereinafter the “Directive”), almost two decades later, a revision of the Directive has been passed which takes, in order to ensure consistency throughout the Member States and to provide for simplification, the form of a regulation. Regulation (EC) No. 1107/2009 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market (hereinafter the “Regulation”) was adopted on 21 October 2009.

scholarly journals Competition Law and State Aid for Failing Banks in the EU and its Specific Implications for CEE Member States

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (14) ◽  
pp. 145-157
Author(s):  
Virág Blazsek
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
State Aid ◽  
Common Market ◽  
Competition Authority ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Bank Bailouts ◽  
The Eu

The bank bailouts following the global financial crisis of 2008 have been subject to prior approval of the European Commission (EC), the competition authority of the European Union. The EC was reluctant to reject rescue efforts directed at failing banks and so it consistently approved all such requests submitted by Member States. Out of the top twenty European banks, the EC authorized State aid to at least twelve entities. In this context, the paper outlines the gradually changing interpretation of EU State aid rules, the “temporary and extraordinary rules” introduced starting from late 2008, and the extension of the “no-State aid” category. The above shifts show that the EC itself deflected from relevant EU laws in order to systemically rescue important banks in Europe and restore their financial stability. The paper argues that bank bailouts and bank rescue packages by the State have led to different effects on market structures and consumer welfare in the Eurozone and non-Eurozone areas, mostly the Eastern segments of the European Union. As such, it is argued that they are inconsistent with the European common market. Although the EC tried to minimize the distortion of competition created as a result of the aforementioned case law primarily through the application of the principle of exceptionality and different compensation measures, these efforts have been at least partially unsuccessful. Massive State aid packages, the preferential treatment of the largest, or systemically important, banks through EU State aid mechanisms – almost none of which are Central and Eastern European (CEE) – may have led to the distortion of competition on the common market. That is so mainly because of the prioritization of the stability of the financial sector and the Euro. The paper argues that State aid for failing banks may have had important positive effects in the short run, such as the promotion of the stability of the banking system and the Euro. In the longrun however, it has contributed to the unprecedented sovereign indebtedness in Europe, and contributed to an increased economic and political instability of the EU, particularly in its most vulnerable CEE segment.

scholarly journals Constituent power, citizenship, and the European Union

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
James Gallagher
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Participatory Democracy ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Citizen Involvement ◽  
Official Journal ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Constituent Power ◽  
Member States ◽  
Treaty Of Lisbon ◽  
The Eu

<p>The European Union (EU) has undergone constant political and economic integration since its inception in 1952. It has developed from a community in the aftermath of World War Two, into a Union of diverse states with its own political and legal system. It is the best example of international integration and co-operation in the world.  A number of treaties represent the primary law of the EU. The treaties represent the EU’s commitment to promote human rights, freedom, democracy, equality, and the rule of law. The Treaty of Lisbon¹ was introduced and adopted by the Member States to increase participatory democracy within the EU. Originally called the Reform Treaty, it amended the existing EU and EC treaties, providing the EU with the legal framework to meet the future challenges and to respond to the increasing demands of the citizens’ for a more transparent and open institution.  The European Parliament is the only directly elected institution of the EU, and traditionally had the least amount of power of the EU institutions. The Lisbon Treaty attempted to address the so-called democratic deficit through a range of institutional reforms that recognised the importance of European citizen involvement in the EU. Citizen involvement in the EU has also been increased through the implementation of the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI). The ECI represents a further step towards the EU becoming a true participatory democracy.  This purpose of this paper is to critically assess the democratic involvement of European citizens in the operation of the EU, and how the constitutional foundation of the EU provides for this involvement. The paper will seek to answer to what extent European Citizens’ have the ability to affect real and meaningful change upon the EU, a power that currently sits with the governments of Member States.  Democracy is often associated with the power of the citizens to affect change in the institutions that govern them. The theory of constituent power goes one step further and argues that it gives citizens the ability to alter not only the governing institutions, but the also the power that those institutions exercise. This begins with an introduction of the main institutions of the EU, before moving to discuss the theory of constituent power, before assessing what factors would be necessary for constitutent power to be successful in the EU.  ¹ Official Journal of the European Union 2007 No C 306/1 (herein after referred to as the Treaty of Lisbon). Adopted 2008, entered into force 1 December 2009.</p>

The Practices of ‘Splitting’ and ‘Common Accord’ Under Scrutiny: the European Parliament‘s Request for an Opinion of the European Court of Justice on the Istanbul Convention

2020 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 472-486
Author(s):  
Elizaveta Samoilova
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
European Court ◽  
Forms Of Violence ◽  
Istanbul Convention ◽  
The Eu

Abstract With all eyes on the recent global COVID-19 pandemic, another pandemic has been growing in the shadows: violence against women. The Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention creates a legal framework in order to protect women against all forms of violence. Its ratification process, however, has faced considerable challenges, particularly in the Central and Eastern European Member States. This article discusses the basic elements of the Istanbul Convention, reflects on the ratification process in the EU and its Member States, and sets out the main legal issues raised in the European Parliament’s request for an opinion (A-1/19 of 22 November 2019) to the Court of Justice of the European Union. Special focus is put on the choice of the correct EU legal basis and the practices of ‘splitting’ and ‘common accord’. This article argues that the European Parliament’s request for an opinion provides the perfect opportunity for the Court of Justice of the European Union to further clarify the law and the practice of concluding mixed agreements by the EU and its Member States.

Part IV Procedures before the Commission, 3 Recovery of Unlawful Aid and the Role of National Courts

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kreuschitz Viktor ◽  
Nehl Hanns Peter
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Common Market ◽  
The European Union ◽  
National Courts ◽  
The Common ◽  
State Aids

This chapter examines the recovery of unlawful and incompatible State aids, which is one of the cornerstones of free and undistorted competition in the European Union. The repayment of an aid declared unlawful and incompatible with the common market is of utmost importance, as it eliminates the distortion of competition caused by the competitive advantage afforded by the contested aid. In other words, by repaying an unlawful aid, the recipient forfeits the advantage it had enjoyed over its competitors on the market and therefore the previously existing situation is restored; it is common ground in this respect that this objective is attained once the aid in question—increased, where appropriate, by default interests—has been repaid by the recipient.

Introduction

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-42
Author(s):  
Adrian Briggs
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
International Law ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Private International Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Common ◽  
Law And Legislation

This introductory chapter begins with a brief discussion of the effect of the unexecuted decision of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union. If the United Kingdom were to withdraw on the terms approved by Parliament, the resulting legal framework would, in principle, be that put in place by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. That is to say, on ‘Exit Day’, the European Communities Act 1972 will be repealed. This will, at a stroke, remove the legal basis upon which a substantial body of private international law takes effect in the legal order of the United Kingdom. The chapter then sets out the book’s focus, which is the conflict of laws, followed by discussions of the common law’s conception of private international law and legislation establishing private international law as European law.

scholarly journals A New Crisis Manager at the Horizon – The Case of the European Union

2000 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-263
Author(s):  
Steven Blockmans
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Crisis Management ◽  
Security Policy ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Management Capability ◽  
Concrete Form ◽  
Foreign And Security Policy ◽  
The Common

The 1999 Kosovo crisis has forced the European Union to finally give concrete form to its ambitions in the sphere of the common foreign and security policy. At a time when agreement on defence issues seems out of reach, the member states' focus is on the development of a crisis management capability. It is argued that when the Union's diplomatic structures are complemented with military and civilian crisis response tools, much needed balance will be given to the Union's persona as an economic giant and a political dwarf. The article includes a number of measures which should be taken with a view to reinforcing and extending the Union's external role in this field.

scholarly journals Economic convergence on different spatial levels: the conflict between cohesion and growth

2006 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Kramar
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Policy Research ◽  
Common Market ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Level ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Policies ◽  
Conflicting Goals

Abstract The analysis of economic disparities within the European Union strongly depends on the regional level considered. Whereas the economic gap between the member states has decreased over the last decades, regional disparities have rather deepened. The reason for these contradictory findings can be found in the increasing disparities within many of the member states: Especially in growing economies the gap between urban centres and rural peripheries tends to widen. The spatial concentration of research and development, high skilled labour, infrastructure and foreign investment in the capitals will therefore supposably become a big challenge for the accession countries, which will have to face increasing international competition. Joining a common market of more than 450 million people means new opportunities, challenges and threats for economic development, which have to be faced by local, regional and national governments as well as by European institutions. EU-policies act in the dichotomy between the conflicting goals of economic growth and cohesion. Since they strongly influence regional conditions for production it is of great political interest whether a certain measure fosters economic efficiency by favouring the highly developed centres or rather enhances convergence by promoting lagging regions. The answer is, however, not trivial and needs closer examination: Measures encouraging regional cohesion on the European level can also increase disparities within a state or a region at the same time. This is the reason why the regional effects of EU-policies have to be analysed on different spatial levels. Dealing with the spatial impacts of various European Policies (Regional Policy, TransEuropean Networks, Common Agricultural Policy, Research and Technological Development Policy) there is some evidence that these policies try to compensate the effects of growing competition in the common market by concentrating their efforts on urban growth poles within the underdeveloped countries. Doing that, the European Union comes up to the two conflicting goals of growth and cohesion by promoting efficient economic development in the member states on the one hand and regional convergence on the European level on the other. This approach is of course mainly directed at European objectives and brings about new problems for the member states: According to the principle of subsidiarity the growing divergence within the member states is, however, not a policy task of the European Union but of the member states: Therefore national politics are still required to take on responsibility for these intranational problems by adopting their transport, regional and economic policies to the new challenge.

Circular Migration between Fact and Fiction

2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 184-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Schneider ◽  
Bernd Parusel
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Circular Migration ◽  
Member States ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
Third Country Nationals

Political actors in the European Union and in the eu member states have arrived to maintain that managed circular migration can generate benefits both for the destination countries and for the countries of origin of the migrants. Despite the fact that Germany so far has barely engaged in fostering circular migration through distinct programmes, a not inconsiderable share of foreigners from third countries living in Germany today can be viewed as circular migrants. This paper takes an inventory of the extent and characteristics of such spontaneous back-and-forth cross border movements by providing a specific, clear-cut definition for circular migration and thus analysing stock data on third country nationals residing in Germany. Furthermore, we scrutinise the German legal framework with a view to its propensity to encourage patterns of circular migration.

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