European Law 101
What is law?
- Law is a systemized set of rules to make society liveable. If we didn’t have a law, there would
be Darwinism, where the strongest, the fittest, the one who can adapt the most, will survive.
- Law tries to create harmony and order. Not justice.
Who creates the law?
- Religious law, the rules come from “above”, and they are international.
- In secular law, it’s the politicians.
!Doesn’t the parliament make laws? Partocracy the political parties make the laws, and
those political parties, they bring forward a member of parliament.
Self administered justice
- Not tolerated Taking justice into your own hands.
Civil Law & Common Law
- Civil: Law invented by Napoleon (Belgium)
The Belgian judged have more discretionary power, they can interpret the law
- Common law: (USA)
judged have to follow precedent.
Supranational law
- Has direct effect and can penetrate national law.
Welfare state:
- When somebody is ill, poor, has an handicap,… you can “ask” for help from the government
‘Social security’. (e.g. OCMW)
- We MUST take care of each other, if you want it or not.
Difference EU - Europe
- Membership – Territory
- Britain will not be a member of the EU but is still in Europe.
Unified Europe
- Even before the 20the century, efforts were made to unify Europe , both on a political and
military level:
o Roman Empire: Several peoples living under the Roman Empire
o Middle Ages: monarchs also wanted to conquer countries and make it one.
o Coudenhove - Kalergi
- 3 big names after WWII:
o Schuman
o Spinelli
o Monet
,Pillars
1. Peace, avoiding war: not relevant anymore. Security more important now
2. Economic revival/ collaboration: Working together to build a stronger economy
Marshall Plan
- American initiative to help Western Europe, in which the US gave money in economic
assistance to help rebuild Western European economies after WOII.
Europe got help to recover,
USA created a new “market” for their products to be sold.
Benelux
- Initiative taken by Belgium, immediately after WWII
- Together with Netherland and Luxembourg the Benelux customs union was formed to make
trade easier between these countries.
Foundational treaties EU
1. Treaty of Paris 1951: The European community of coal (source of energy) and steel (making
weapons,…)
2. Treaty of Rome 1957: Establishment of EEC (European Economic Community) (All about
collaborating)
Modifications initial treaties
For example:
1. Treaty of Maastricht
2. Treaty of Lisbon
3. Treaty of Amsterdam
4. …
was intended not only to evolve economically, but also political, and each
time they were revised, they came a step closer to political unification.
Who can join the European Union?
- You have to be a democracy
o Citizens have the power, but in Belgium that is not very true because we can not
directly vote for our premier. We have a representative democracy which means that
during the elections, we vote for people who represent us and who are going to be
our voice in parliament.
- You have to respond to political and economic criteria, the “Copenhagen Criteria”
o You have to accept the “Acquis Communautaire”, the whole body of legislation that
already exists you have to “swallow” all political and legal decisions taken in the
past and implement them.
- The financial perspective
o The yearly budget
Roman Empire History (Classical Antiquity)
- Roman Empire was very successful in the 1 st and 2nd century.
- In the 3rd century there was an imperial crisis after the emperor died.
, - Severus Alexander (14yo) inherits the empire of Rome, but he looks for advise from his
mother and grandmother because he is to young.
- He faces big problems like:
Military attacks (the Germans are attacking)
Health issues (crisis, epidemic,…)
Hyper inflation (the prices of the goods are increasing a lot)
A lack of leadership.
- He asked his mother what he could do against the Germans and she told him to bribe them
(omkopen), so they wouldn’t attack them.
- His soldiers wanted to fight and because of that they lost their respect and killed him
- Then there was a 50 year period of instability.
- Many people claimed that they were the new emperor but no one really got the throne.
- DIOCLETIAN: he instals firm fixed leadership. He is the new leader.
- He realized the empire was too big.
- New system TETRARCHY: not rule by king but rule by 4. He appoints 3 other leaders.
- It did not go well, there was only one ruler left at the end and his empire collapsed as well.
In 284 Diocletian: He is the new emperor. He calmed everything down and said he was the formal
leader, and everybody accepted it. He had a very specific plan.
Tetrarchy (the rule by four) (he engaged, hired, or appointment 3 other emperors/leaders):
it’s a collegial way of leading the empire. Example of Europe decentralisation. If you put four
gentlemen together, they are going to fight with each other (egos are too big). That’s the end
of the tetrarchy. REMEMBER: Europe is difficult to manage and there were unifications.
Coudenhove – Kalergie
- He had the founding ideology of the EU. He wrote about the EU before its existence.
- He was extreme right
- Pan European movement (involving all or most of the nations of Europe)
- There was a lot of racism in Europe because everyone was white and there were colonial
problems.
- He wanted to Bring in people with different skin colors and mix all people together so that
there was no more racism.
- Kalergi wanted to create a united state of Europe
Supranationalism: The country cannot decide for its own anymore but it’s on the European level
decided. A lot of things e.g. food is decided on European level.
The Kalergi Plan
He took an idea: PAN-EU = goal of making one Europe united. He wrote a book about this
idea. He wanted to abolish white Europe nations. He wanted to inject these nation with
others and let them make children with each other. He wanted to abolish racism/white
supremacy by making everyone kind of the same.
Schengen
- No police/customs checks at borders between EU countries.
- More cooperation between police from different EU countries.