Book review, EU – Baltic States, Legislation

Therefore books on the EU legal system – in particular, concerning its “new version” after the Lisbon Treaty entered into force – are presently in great demand. One of the sorts was recently published in Denmark by the Lawyers and Economists Publishing House.  The book is written by four Danish researchers working in two universities: in Law Institute of the South Danish University and in Business Law Institute in Arhus University*).

*) Daniel B. T., Elholm T., Starup P and Steinicke M. Grundlæggende EU-Ret. EU efter Lissabontraktaten. –2nd edition, Jurist-og Økonomforbundets Forlag. –2011, –819 pp. (In Danish). ISBN 978-87-574-2264-1.  

The scope of the book is to provide an overview of the European Union’s legal background mainly for the university’s law students. However, the book can be used as a reliable source of reference for all interested in the modern EU development: civil servants, managers, decision-makers, etc.  

The authors, however, underlined that the book’s focus was primarily “on making a broader picture of the EU law than normally provided” (p.29). I must say, that the authors’ promise was fulfilled: the book really gives a broad and concise account of the present EU legal system.

Two parts for one goal

The book is divided into two main parts. The first part covers such issues as the main changes in the EU law after the new Lisbon Treaty was enforced, including chapters on the EU institutional system, sources and principles of the EU law, division of economic competences, etc.

Important in the first part are the issues directly connected to the EU law, such as the legal efficiency (ch.6), the EU court system (ch.7), cooperation in criminal and police spheres (ch.8), EU legal sanctions (ch.9) and the EU foreign affairs and security policy (ch.10). 

As to the EU institutions, notable enough is the fact that there are actually two EU commissioners dealing with the legal issues (V. Redding with justice and human rights; and C. Malmstrom with “home affairs”). However, the EU –so far- doe not have a Commissioner with the competences of “the EU law”.

I think that after the next enlargement, in efforts to find a position for the newcomers, such commissioner will be in place. Without such a key EU legal figure, we have intensive Commission’s efforts to streamline the EU legal development: since 1984 the Commission issues annual reports on monitoring the Union’s law application in the member states, e.g. one of the most extensive reports was the one in 2009. Since that year, the new priorities were introduced, e.g. to tackle late transposition, assessing impact on “regulatory cycle”, legal enforcement and correct application. Another notable event: EU legal simplification and efficiency is presently under the Commission’s President Barroso personal control.    

The size of the Treaty’s two components provided practitioners with the notion of their impact. In the legal sphere it is rarely that the size determines the impact; most often it is the other way around. In the Lisbon Treaty’s composition it is the size and impact that matters: the TEU is composed of just 55 articles while TFEU of 358, which gives an idea that the first is of a “general importance” while the second is more of practical and detailed regulation.

The authors correctly reminded the readers that there was a third treaty in the EU legal system, i.e. the Euratom Treaty (dated from 1957, with amendments), the fact which is often forgotten by the students.  

The Court of Justice: role in politics and law

Recent CoJ’s decisions –particularly about sensitive human rights issues- which are becoming so important for Denmark, make the book’s chapter on “Court’s control” (Chapter 7) even more interesting. The Danish present political situation concerning integration issues was really tense, i.e. it even resulted in a ministerial rocade followed by the changes in the previously government- nominee heading the post for several years. 

Special attention to the European Court (ch.7, pp. 299-351) is quite understandable: the whole system is changed by the new Treaty. The EU judicial system presently consists of three courts: the Court of Justice of the European Union (CoJ), the General Court and specialised courts. In Danish, a different terminology is used, correspondingly, Domstolen, Retten and Specialretter.

Through more than 50 pages (written by B.T. Daniel) the whole theory of the EU “judicial system” is explained. It is a good reference material for anyone studying the EU judiciary; though a much shorter version could be used as well. In a recent book on Union’ law by K.-D. Borchardt there is a goog example of this. **)

**)See: The ABC of European Union Law, by professor Klaus-Dieter Borchardt, 2010, pp. 66-73.

An interesting summary is produced about the treaty’s provisions concerning “measures to comply with the judgement of the Court” (TFEU, art. 260, p.1). The Treaty emphasises that the Commission “shall specify the amount of the lump sum or penalty payment to be paid by the member state concerned” (ibid, p.2). However, the payment obligation can only take place after the Court judgment.

There are no definite criteria as to the imposition of the lump sum or penalty; the book managed to sum-up some of the Court’s practice, after analysing several cases (p.319): from a lump sum of €20 mln (in 2002 decision) to €20 thousand for each day of infringement (in 1997) to €624,150 a year (in 2001) to €57,7 mln for each six month (in the Court’s 2002 decision).

The book’s part two is more connected to legal aspects of the single market and legal aspects of the Union’s social and economic development. First, there is an introductory chapter on the Single Market (SM), followed by the chapters on such issues as “four basic freedoms” and in particular: movements of goods (ch.12 and 13), freedom of movement of people with the comments on Directive 2004/38 (ch.15), as well as free movement of workers (ch.18).

For business people, a special chapter was included concerning freedom of establishment (ch.19).

Very sensitive issues of financial services are described in two chapters (20 and 21) providing some references to important CoJ decisions in 1992 and 1993.

The book’s second part is concluded by the chapters on the EU’s competition policy with particular attention to mergers, acquisitions and dominance (ch. 22 and 23).     

In the conclusion, it has to be particularly mentioned that the book provides an important impetus into the proper understanding of the EU law by both specialists in the field and the general public.

Recent attention to the EU law from the side of the Commission makes these efforts even more appropriate in understanding the economic effect of legal regulations in modern time. Thus in September 2010 a special “impact assessment board” of the Union’s legislation was established, which will provide a “legal audit” (within the framework of Court of Auditors). The Court has already examined more than a hundred of the Commission’s own impact assessments; the Commission’s Action Program on legal simplification announced in October 2010 aims at 25 per cent reduction in legal documents by 2012.

The simplification efforts would generate savings of about €38 bln for the EU companies, thereby reducing administrative burden by 31 per cent. 

The book provides a valuable account of the EU acquis’ “state-of-art” and those modifications made by the Lisbon Treaty. The students of laws, the academia and the general public really need such publications.