Sacha Garben - Böcker

The Competence Question in the (Con)Federal European Union provides a uniquely holistic understanding of the EU as a contested authority-construction, the legal concepts and political factors that make it (d)evolve, and the normative stakes at hand. The book analyses the source, force, and extent of the EU's powers from the EEC Treaty until today, demonstrating how ongoing constitutional negotiations between Member States, the Court of Justice, political institutions, and national courts have unsettled the EU legal order in both functional and foundational terms. In doing so, it offers new insights into the functioning and malfunctioning of the EU legal order from a constitutional and democratic perspective. Drawing on historical examples to illustrate the distinction between compound systems of conferred powers (confederations) and those whose powers have been constitutionally established (federations), the book exposes a confederal conundrum. The EU's powers are conferred by its Member States (as in a confederation), but are given federal effect and have virtually unlimited material scope (competence creep). This, the book argues, can be democratically and constitutionally problematic.Pinpointing the crucial legitimacy problem that underlies EU authority-construction, the book offers students and academics an accessible yet rigorous account of the current state of EU law. It is an essential resource for anyone seeking to understand the dynamic process of European integration and its constitutional implications.

The issue of competence division is of fundamental importance as it reflects the ‘power bargain’ struck between the Member States and their Union, determining the limits of the authority of the EU as well as the limits of the authority of the Member States. It defines the nature of the EU as a polity, as well as the identity of the Member States. After over six years since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, it is high time to take stock of whether the reforms that were adopted to make the Union’s system of division of competences between the EU Member States clearer, more coherent, and better at containing European integration, have been successful. This book asks whether ‘the competence problem’ has finally been solved. Given the fundamental importance of this question, this publication will be of interest to a wide audience, from constitutional and substantive EU law scholars to practitioners in the EU institutions and EU legal practice more generally.

Better Regulation in the EU is a perennial and topical question which has important implications for the future direction of EU law. While actions directed at improving the quality and accessibility of EU regulation are not novel, in recent years the Better Regulation Agenda has significantly affected the structural organisation and day-to-day operation of the EU legislative process. Yet, many questions about the future of the Agenda remain, not least in light of Brexit. Exploring the Better Regulation Agenda (and its relation to the overall EU legal and political order) necessitates an integrated, interdisciplinary approach. This edited volume presents insights from economics, political science and legal scholarship. Furthermore, to allow full understanding, it examines institutional practice, where the Agenda is made and shaped on a daily basis. Hence, the book features contributions from the perspective of the work of the main EU institutions: the European Commission, the Parliament, the Council and the Court of Justice. This results in a seminal overview of the subject, of interest to scholars and practitioners alike.

Despite their many obvious interconnections, EU and international law are all too often studied and practised in different spheres. While it is natural for each to insist on its own unique characteristics, and in particular for the EU to emphasise its sui generis nature, important insights might be lost because of this exclusionary approach. This book aims to break through some of those barriers and to show how more interaction between the two spheres might be encouraged. In so doing, it offers a constitutional dimension but also a substantive one, identifying policy areas where EU and international law and their respective actors work alongside each other. Offering a 360-degree view on both EU and international institutional and substantive law, this collection presents a refreshing perspective on a longstanding issue.

This book takes a wide-ranging approach to tackle the complex question of the current state of constitutional democracy in the EU. It brings together a broad set of academics and practitioners with legal and political perspectives to focus on both topical and perennial issues concerning constitutional democracy (including safeguarding the rule of law and respect for fundamental rights) in theory and practice, primarily at EU level but also with due regard to national and global developments. This approach underlines that rather than a single problématique to be analysed and resolved, we are presently facing a kaleidoscopic spectrum of related challenges that influence each other in elusive, multifaceted ways. Critical Reflections on Constitutional Democracy in the European Union offers a rich analysis of the issues as well as concrete policy recommendations, which will appeal to scholars and practitioners, students and interested citizens alike. It provides a meaningful contribution to the array of existing scholarship and debate by proposing original elements of analysis, challenging often-made assumptions, destabilising settled understandings and proposing fundamental reforms. Overall, the collection injects a set of fresh critical perspectives on this fundamental issue that is as contemporary as it is eternal.

The issue of competence division is of fundamental importance as it reflects the ‘power bargain’ struck between the Member States and their Union, determining the limits of the authority of the EU as well as the limits of the authority of the Member States. It defines the nature of the EU as a polity, as well as the identity of the Member States. After over six years since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, it is high time to take stock of whether the reforms that were adopted to make the Union’s system of division of competences between the EU Member States clearer, more coherent, and better at containing European integration, have been successful. This book asks whether ‘the competence problem’ has finally been solved. Given the fundamental importance of this question, this publication will be of interest to a wide audience, from constitutional and substantive EU law scholars to practitioners in the EU institutions and EU legal practice more generally.

This edited volume brings together leading authors and actors in EU internal market law and policy, revisiting the classic themes in a contemporary context and considering (re-)directions for the future. The EU would not be where and what it is today without its internal market. It is the cradle of the EU’s most important legal doctrines and the source of the most significant amount of European integration. And, as Brexit has underlined, it remains the primary political reason for EU membership. Considering the well-established and fundamental nature of internal market law, it is striking to find many crucial doctrinal questions still unanswered today, as explored by this book. Furthermore, these questions now find a new legal, social and political context: one that is acutely aware of the contested nature of the EU and its policies and the need to embed the internal market project in a broader setting of constitutional norms and values. This need is made all the more pressing by the rapidly changing and often disruptive technological context. The various contributions to this book contribute to finding a new direction for continued European integration in changing times, by rethinking, and where necessary reinventing, the role and purpose of this area that remains the EU’s beating heart.

Better Regulation in the EU is a perennial and topical question which has important implications for the future direction of EU law. While actions directed at improving the quality and accessibility of EU regulation are not novel, in recent years the Better Regulation Agenda has significantly affected the structural organisation and day-to-day operation of the EU legislative process. Yet, many questions about the future of the Agenda remain, not least in light of Brexit. Exploring the Better Regulation Agenda (and its relation to the overall EU legal and political order) necessitates an integrated, interdisciplinary approach. This edited volume presents insights from economics, political science and legal scholarship. Furthermore, to allow full understanding, it examines institutional practice, where the Agenda is made and shaped on a daily basis. Hence, the book features contributions from the perspective of the work of the main EU institutions: the European Commission, the Parliament, the Council and the Court of Justice. This results in a seminal overview of the subject, of interest to scholars and practitioners alike.

This edited volume brings together leading authors and actors in EU internal market law and policy, revisiting the classic themes in a contemporary context and considering (re-)directions for the future. The EU would not be where and what it is today without its internal market. It is the cradle of the EU’s most important legal doctrines and the source of the most significant amount of European integration. And, as Brexit has underlined, it remains the primary political reason for EU membership. Considering the well-established and fundamental nature of internal market law, it is striking to find many crucial doctrinal questions still unanswered today, as explored by this book. Furthermore, these questions now find a new legal, social and political context: one that is acutely aware of the contested nature of the EU and its policies and the need to embed the internal market project in a broader setting of constitutional norms and values. This need is made all the more pressing by the rapidly changing and often disruptive technological context. The various contributions to this book contribute to finding a new direction for continued European integration in changing times, by rethinking, and where necessary reinventing, the role and purpose of this area that remains the EU’s beating heart.

Despite their many obvious interconnections, EU and international law are all too often studied and practised in different spheres. While it is natural for each to insist on its own unique characteristics, and in particular for the EU to emphasise its sui generis nature, important insights might be lost because of this exclusionary approach. This book aims to break through some of those barriers and to show how more interaction between the two spheres might be encouraged. In so doing, it offers a constitutional dimension but also a substantive one, identifying policy areas where EU and international law and their respective actors work alongside each other. Offering a 360-degree view on both EU and international institutional and substantive law, this collection presents a refreshing perspective on a longstanding issue.

This book takes a wide-ranging approach to tackle the complex question of the current state of constitutional democracy in the EU. It brings together a broad set of academics and practitioners with legal and political perspectives to focus on both topical and perennial issues concerning constitutional democracy (including safeguarding the rule of law and respect for fundamental rights) in theory and practice, primarily at EU level but also with due regard to national and global developments. This approach underlines that rather than a single problématique to be analysed and resolved, we are presently facing a kaleidoscopic spectrum of related challenges that influence each other in elusive, multifaceted ways. Critical Reflections on Constitutional Democracy in the European Union offers a rich analysis of the issues as well as concrete policy recommendations, which will appeal to scholars and practitioners, students and interested citizens alike. It provides a meaningful contribution to the array of existing scholarship and debate by proposing original elements of analysis, challenging often-made assumptions, destabilising settled understandings and proposing fundamental reforms. Overall, the collection injects a set of fresh critical perspectives on this fundamental issue that is as contemporary as it is eternal.

This timely book astutely charts the transformative effect of the war in Ukraine on the EU, from both a legal and policy perspective.The EU, itself a unique peace project born out of two world wars, consistently evolves from one security crisis to the next. Departing from the usual broad sweep of deepening and widening, this book focuses on the constitutional and substantive impact on the EU of the recent war in Ukraine. More so than ever before, this particular war proves to be a truly pivotal moment for the EU. Drawing on expert contributions from both academia and the EU institutions, this book offers a masterful exploration of how the EU is being challenged to the core.

This timely book astutely charts the transformative effect of the war in Ukraine on the EU, from both a legal and policy perspective.The EU, itself a unique peace project born out of two world wars, consistently evolves from one security crisis to the next. Departing from the usual broad sweep of deepening and widening, this book focuses on the constitutional and substantive impact on the EU of the recent war in Ukraine. More so than ever before, this particular war proves to be a truly pivotal moment for the EU. Drawing on expert contributions from both academia and the EU institutions, this book offers a masterful exploration of how the EU is being challenged to the core.

This open access book adds a new dimension to the long-standing research on the co-existence of European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the EU, and their inter-related action and explicit interaction. As the two Courts are increasingly called upon to interpret corresponding rights, particularly owing to the ever-growing importance of fundamental rights in the EU legal order, the stakes intensify. Prior studies have mostly focused on the constitutional and substantive issues connected to this interaction. This book focuses on another dimension: the lesser-told yet fascinating tale of two – increasingly substantively overlapping – European-level judicial systems with their own procedures and institutional idiosyncrasies, their own terminology, and with their own epistemic communities of practitioners and scholars, and their own relationship to national law.In this collection a team of experts – academics and practitioners - from both systems bridges the gap between these two worlds of fundamental and human rights protection, investigating their commonalities and differences. They address the questions ‘who can go where?’, ‘on what procedural roads?’, ‘at what speed?’ and ‘to what final destination?’.This book is an essential resource for anyone working or studying the protection of fundamental and human rights in Europe. The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by KU Leuven.