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3. Enforcing European law
The Commission acts as ‘guardian of the
Treaties’. This means that the Commission,
together with the Court of Justice, is responsi-
ble for making sure EU law is properly applied
in all the member states.
If it fi nds that an EU country is not applying
an EU law, it launches a process called the
‘infringement procedure’. The fi rst step is to
send the government an offi cial letter, saying
why the Commission considers this country
is infringing EU law and setting it a deadline
for sending a detailed explanation.
If the member state does not have a satisfac-
tory explanation or put matters right, the Com-
mission will send another letter confi rming
that EU law has been infringed and setting a
deadline for it to be corrected. If the member
state still fails to comply, the Commission
will refer the matter to the Court of Justice to
decide. The Court’s judgements are binding
on the member states and the EU institutions.
In cases where member states continue
failing to adhere to a judgment, the Court
can impose fi nancial sanctions.
4. Representing the EU on the
international stage
The European Commission is an important
spokesperson for the European Union on the
international stage. It is the voice of the EU in
international forums such as the World Trade
Organisation, in negotiations on the inter-
national climate change agreement, the
Kyoto Protocol, and the EU’s important aid
and trade partnership with developing
countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the
Pacifi c, known as the Cotonou Agreement.
The Commission also speaks and negotiates
on behalf of the EU in areas where the mem-
ber states have pooled sovereignty. This is
done on the basis of agreements reached in
advance with the member states.
How is the Commission’s work
organised?
It is up to the Commission President to de-
cide which commissioner will be responsible
for which policy area, and to reshuffl e these
responsibilities (if necessary) during the
Commission’s term of offi ce.
The Commission generally meets once a
week, usually on Wednesdays, and usually
in Brussels. Each item on the agenda is pre-
sented by the commissioner responsible for
that policy area, and the whole team then
takes a collective decision on it.
The Commission’s staff is organised in de-
partments, known as ‘directorates-general’
(DGs) and ‘services’ (such as the Legal Serv-
ice). Each DG is responsible for a particular
policy area and is headed by a director-general
who is answerable to one of the commission-
ers. Overall coordination is provided by the
Secretariat-General, which also manages the
weekly Commission meetings. It is headed
by the Secretary General, who is answerable
directly to the President.
It is the DGs that actually devise and draft
legislative proposals, but these proposals
become offi cial only when ‘adopted’ by
the Commission at its weekly meeting. The
procedure is roughly as follows.
Suppose, for example, that the Commission
sees a need for EU legislation to prevent
pollution of Europe’s rivers. The Directorate-
General for the Environment will draw up a
proposal, based on extensive consultations
with European industry, farming and envir-
onmental organisations, and environment
ministries in the EU countries. The draft will
also be discussed with other Commission
departments with an interest in this topic,
and checked by the Legal Service and the
Secretariat-General.
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H
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Once the proposal is fully ready, it will be put
on the agenda of a Commission meeting. If
at least 14 of the 27 commissioners approve
the proposal, the Commission will adopt it and
it will have the whole team’s unconditional
support. The document will then be sent to
the Council and the European Parliament for
them to decide on the proposal. The Commis-
sion may subsequently make amendments
in the light of the comments from these two
institutions and then send the proposal back
for fi nal approval.
European Commission President José Manuel Barroso sees for himself the dramatic effects
climate change is already having on Greenland.
© EC
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The Court of Justice of the European Commu-
nities (often referred to simply as ‘the Court’)
dates back to the very fi rst of the EU Trea-
ties, the ECSC Treaty of 1952. It is based in
Luxembourg.
Its job is to make sure that EU legislation is in-
terpreted and applied in the same way in all EU
countries, so that the law is equal for everyone.
It ensures, for example, that national courts do
not give different rulings on the same issue.
The Court also makes sure that EU mem-
ber states and institutions do what the law
requires. The Court has the power to settle
legal disputes between EU member states, EU
institutions, businesses and individuals.
The Court is composed of one judge per mem-
ber state, so that all 27 of the EU’s national
legal systems are represented. For the sake
of effi ciency, however, the Court rarely sits as
the full court. It usually sits as a ‘Grand Cham-
ber’ of just 13 judges or in chambers of fi ve or
three judges.
The Court is assisted by eight ‘advocates-
general’. Their role is to present opinions on
the cases brought before the Court. They
must do so publicly and impartially.
The judges and advocates-general are people
whose impartiality is beyond doubt. They have
the qualifi cations or competence needed for
appointment to the highest judicial positions
in their home countries. They are appointed
to the Court of Justice by joint agreement
between the governments of the EU member
states. Each is appointed for a term of six
years, which may be renewed.
To help the Court of Justice cope with the
large number of cases brought before it, and
to offer citizens better legal protection, a
Court of First Instance was created in 1988.
This court (which is attached to the Court
of Justice) is responsible for giving rulings
on certain kinds of case, particularly actions
brought by private individuals, companies
and some organisations, and cases relating
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ROLE //
To give legal judgments on cases brought before it
COURT OF JUSTICE //
One judge from each EU country; eight advocates-general
COURT OF FIRST
INSTANCE //
At least one judge from each EU country (27 in 2007)
CIVIL SERVICE TRIBUNAL //
Seven judges
TERM OF OFFICE //
Renewable terms of six years
ADDRESS //
Boulevard Konrad Adenauer, L-2925 Luxembourg
TEL. //
(352) 43 03-1
INTERNET //
curia.europa.eu
The Court of Justice:
upholding the law
KEY FACTS
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to competition law. This court also has one
judge from each EU country.
The European Union Civil Service Tribunal
adjudicates in disputes between the Euro-
pean Union and its civil service. This tribunal
is composed of seven judges and is attached
to the Court of First Instance.
The Court of Justice, the Court of First Instance
and the Civil Service Tribunal each have a presi-
dent chosen by their fellow judges to serve
for a renewable term of three years. Vassilios
Skouris was elected President of the Court of
Justice in 2003. Marc Jaeger was appointed
President of the Court of First Instance in 2007.
Paul J. Mahoney has been President of the Civil
Service Tribunal since 2005.
What does the Court do?
The Court gives rulings on cases brought
before it. The fi ve most common types of
case are:
1. references for a preliminary ruling;
2. actions for failure to fulfi l an obligation;
3. actions for annulment;
4. actions for failure to act;
5. actions for damages.
They are each described in greater detail
below.
1. The preliminary ruling procedure
The national courts in each EU country are re-
sponsible for ensuring that EU law is properly
applied in that country. But there is a risk that
courts in different countries might interpret
EU law in different ways.
To prevent this happening, there is a ‘pre-
liminary ruling procedure’. This means that
if a national court is in any doubt about the
interpretation or validity of an EU law it may,
and sometimes must, ask the Court of Justice
for advice. This advice is given in the form of
a ‘preliminary ruling’.
27
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Air hostesses have benefited several times from European Court of Justice rulings on equal pay and equal rights.
© Alam
y/Imageselect
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2. Actions for failure to fulfi l an
obligation
The Commission can start these proceedings
if it has reason to believe that a member state
is failing to fulfi l its obligations under EU law.
These proceedings may also be started by
another EU country.
In either case, the Court investigates the
allegations and gives its judgment. The ac-
cused member state, if it is indeed found to
be at fault, must set things right at once. If
the Court fi nds that the member state has not
complied with its judgment, it may impose a
fi ne on that country.
3. Actions for annulment
If any of the member states, the Council, the
Commission or (under certain conditions) Par-
liament believes that a particular EU law is
illegal, they may ask the Court to annul it.
These ‘actions for annulment’ can also be used
by private individuals who want the Court to
cancel a particular law because it directly and
adversely affects them as individuals.
If the Court fi nds that the law in question was
not correctly adopted or is not correctly based
on the Treaties, it may declare the law null
and void.
4. Actions for failure to act
The Treaty requires the European Parliament,
the Council and the Commission to make cer-
tain decisions under certain circumstances.
If they fail to do so, the member states, the
other EU institutions and (under certain con-
ditions) individuals or companies can lodge a
complaint with the Court so as to have this
failure to act offi cially recorded.
5. Actions for damages
Any person or company who has suffered
damage as a result of the action or inaction
of the Community or its staff may bring an
action seeking compensation before the
Court of First Instance.
How is the Court’s work
organised?
Cases are submitted to the registry and a
specifi c judge and advocate-general are
assigned to each case.
The procedure that follows is in two stages:
fi rst a written and then an oral phase.
At the fi rst stage, all the parties involved sub-
mit written statements and the judge assigned
to the case draws up a report summarising
these statements and the legal background
to the case.
Then comes the second stage — the public
hearing. Depending on the importance and
complexity of the case, this hearing can take
place before a chamber of three, fi ve or 13
judges, or before the full Court. At the hear-
ing, the parties’ lawyers put their case before
the judges and the advocate-general, who
can question them. The advocate-general
then gives his or her opinion, after which the
judges deliberate and deliver their judgment.
This will not necessarily follow the opinion of
the advocate-general.
Judgments of the Court are decided by a
majority and pronounced at a public hearing.
Dissenting opinions are not expressed. Deci-
sions are published on the day of delivery.
The procedure in the Court of First Instance
is similar, except that there is no opinion from
an advocate-general.
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