Short Briefing on EU Law - Introductory Part

Before delving into the world of 'Law' or for being more specific European Law (short: EU Law) I would like to introduce you to the term European Union. The EU is an economic and political union of 27 'Member States' (in short MS). These MS are primarily located in Europe or at all outside Europe. The EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundation of the pre-existing European Economic Community.

Here a short overview of how Europe Integrated into a Single Community (European Integration):

1952 (Paris): ECSC= European Coal and Steel Community. Member States that integrated this Community were France, Italy, Germany, Benelux. This Community lived a time period from 1952 till 2002 (approximately 50 years).

1958 (Rome): EAEC; EEC - European Coal and Steel Community

1965: Merger Treaty (Council, Commission) composed by: 3 MS, 1 Commission, 1 Council, and 1 high Authority.

1966: Luxembourg Compromise (1st Crisis of the EU: France disputes with the other Member States)

1973: So called Europe of 9 - UK, Ireland and Denmark froms part of the Community

1981: Greece is integrated into the Community

1986: Spain and Portugal - Europe of 12

1987: SEA = Single European Act

• Introduction of an Internal Market Aim (border crossing character - can be regarded as Imports/Exports, exchange of services and workers among Europe of 12 without barriers hindering trade)
  
• "EU" aim

1993: TEU = The Maastricht Treaty (The current European Union is founded upon this existing Treaty)

- Introduction of an Economic and Monetary Union (EMU): Single currency "the €uro"

- Three-pillar-structure of the EU:

• P1: ECSC; EAEC; E(E)C - Accronyms of the different types of the existing Communities
• P2: CFSP= Common Foreign and Security Policy
• P3: JHA= Justice and Home Affairs

- Introduction of the term: Citizenship of the Union

- EP: Co-decision procedure (done by the Council and the Parliament)

- The former EECT (Treaty) changed to ECT - European Community Treaty; commonly spoken as EC Treaty.

1995: Sweden, Finland and Austria join the EU - now Europe of 15

1999: ToA = Treaty of Amsterdam (this is a review on the former Treaty of Maastricht of 1993) focusing more or less in:

• Parts of Pillar 3 - Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) were integrated into the EC Treaty (EC Treaty)
• Flexible Integration
• Extension of co-decision procedure
• The ECT = European Community Treaty is often refered as EC...

2000: EU Charter of Fundamental Rights: created during the 1960's integrated and created by the Court of Justice in 2000. These Fundamental Rights are not found in the present EC Treaty, but would become bidning its in entire so if the Lisbon Treaty comes into force.

2003: Treaty of Nice (TN) in force: Institutional reform!

2004: Accesion of 10 other MS: Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovenia, The slovak Republic, the Czech Republic

2007: Accession of Bulgaria and Romania

2009: Treaty of Lisbon?