In this essay I shall attempt to analyse whether the separation of powers is respected in the attribution of competences within the European Union.
The separation of powers
In order to assess this question we first have to consider what the doctrine of separation of powers actually is. The idea was developed by the French jurist Montesquieu in the 18th Century. It is based on a division of power between the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. Each institution have their distinct and largely exclusive domain. The legislative function involves the enactment of general rules determining the structure and powers of public authorities and regulating the conduct of citizens and private organisations. The executive’s main function is
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The Council is not required to accept the amendments listed in the opinion of the EP. The Council and the Parliament also constitute the budgetary authority adopting the Community’s budget and overseeing its implementation.
The Executive
Executive power in the EU is shared between the European Commission and the Council of EU. The Commission plays a major role in the EU’s policy-making process as EU laws are mainly enforced by Commission action. One of the distinct functions of the Commission is initiating proposals for legislation. The Commission is the main institution preparing proposals. However, concerning common foreign and security policy and co-operation on justice and home affairs, the Council is the promoter of initiatives and also the institution implementing the policies. But the Commission may submit a proposal. The Commission has also the budgetary initiative, drawing up the preliminary draft budget, which is put to the Council. Even the Parliament has a right of initiative. It has the possibility of asking the Commission to put forward a proposal and it is also involved in the budgetary procedure from the preparation stage, particularly in laying down the general guidelines and the type of spending. This is completely against the doctrine of separation of powers. Within this principle it is unthinkable that the same institution that is legislating is also the same body drafting the
Separation of powers is an act of vesting the legislative, executive, and judicial powers of governments in separate bodies. In Document B it states "Liberty requires that great departments of powers should be separate and distinct." Separation of powers protects against tyranny because it allows each branch to have a different view point on a subject of matter. It allows people to express their
The European Union (EU) is a unique economic and political partnership between 28 different countries. It consists of about half a billion citizens, and its combined economy represents about 20 percent of the world’s total economy (Briney, 2015). Today The European Union works as a single market, with free movement of people, goods and services from one country to another. There is a standard system of laws to be followed, and since 1999 many countries share a single currency called the Euro (Europa.eu, 2015). This essay will explore the background history of the European Union and the benefits and drawbacks of the European Union.
Separation of powers is the capability of the national government are divided into three distinct branches. The legislative branch has the power to make the laws, the executive branch can enforce laws, and the judiciary can determine if laws are broken (Doc. B). The different branches have their own powers to focus on, and can improve our country by only focusing to the powers that they were appointed to. This guards against tyranny by making sure that one branch does not have more power than the other. It prevents the person or group from doing whatever they want.
”Liberty required that the three great department of power should be separate and distinct.” The Legislative, Executive,and Judiciary are the three powers of department. By separating the powers provides a safeguard by ensuring all the government powers do not fall into the hands of a group or a single person. Each power has their own rules, running style, and different types of power to rule. Therefore Separating the Powers provides a stable society and country.
The appropriation committee is indeed responsible for maintaining the budgets and setting budgets. They also do hearing on bills that affect the discretionary budget in anyway. Appropriation committee is consider one of the powerful committees in the senate, due to their influence and regulation of budgeting money. The committee also
The governmental system which embodies the European Union is currently both ambiguous and undemocratic. However, in order to explore alternative strategies of improvement, it is firstly crucial to identify the root of the deficit. One is then able to discuss contributing factors which affect the national parliaments lack of importance when creating legislation and strategies of review such as the subsidiary and proportionality tests.
The City Manager with the Budget Office are responsible for the creation of the budget but the document is designed for the people. Councilmembers or the City Manager may submit amendments after adoption of the budget. The executive position of City Manager is able to transfer budget amounts within categories, but any inter-category changes or changes in total expenditure require City Council approval. Budget Office approves all changes. This relationship demonstrates the power of the executive branch balanced by the legislature’s approval.
With regards to the claim that the European Parliament is too weak (the second of Weiler's standard version claims), Moravcsik (2002; 2003) emphasises the fact that during the last twenty years, the European Parliament is the institution which have experienced the most reforms, regarding its increase of powers, compare to the Council and the Commission. The latter argument is in fact accurate because ever since the Single European Act (1986), the European Parliament gains more and more power by reforms in every signed Treaty (Moravcsik, 2003, p. 7). Despite that, however, the Parliament is still considered to be weak compared to the other institutions, as it will be analysed later in the essay.
In 2008-2009, 203 proposals over 18 months resulted in only 6 going to the Conciliation Committee. This gives dominant oversight to the Commission in the law-making process, a key factor in democratic deficit critique in EU law-making and somewhat undermining the notion that the EP is the vehicle for EU accountability.
Based on the previous performance of the agency, the legislative body can decide to increase or cut the budget of this agency as its performance is clearly stipulated in the budget. This kind of budget helps draw the attention of a legislative body to the efficiency, effectiveness and performance of the agency. It speaks volumes about the existence of this agency based on its goals and objectives.
This paper will assess the claim that supremacy of EU law is still an evolving and debatable concept. To do this, I have divided this paper into four sections. The first section will discuss the establishment of supremacy in EU law through ECJ case law. The second section will explore the vibrant debate surrounding constitutional pluralism that has arisen since the early 1990s. The third section will examine the debate and impact of the codification of primacy in the early 2000s. The fourth section will examine the extent to which the principle of sovereignty has been accepted in three EU Member States, namely, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Poland.
An Analysis of the Powers of the European Parliament History of the European Parliament: On the 18th April 1951 the Ministers representing France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg signed in Paris a treaty which established the European Coal and Steel Community, the ECSC was born. The most important feature of the ECSC was its supranational character, it was a supranational organization. It was aptly described as a 'quasi federation in an important economic sector.[1] The Community was endowed with five organs; 1. An executive, called the High Authority 2.
Analysts and legal experts have debated on whether the EU should be a considered as a supranational legal system or an intergovernmental one. However, the current state of the EU is a mixed system, a hybrid of both supranational and intergovernmental elements. It is an intergovernmental organization that has supranational characteristics which often results in tension between the principle of national sovereignty of member states and supranationality of EU law. The EU was established by international agreements signed by member states therefore once EU legislation is passed, it becomes binding on all member states; rules can be made in the EU which have a direct impact on the Member States and thereby also a direct effect on the citizens of the member states. Most disputes about EU primary and secondary laws are decided by a body with a distinct supranational characteristics, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
In a like manner the Council of EU has also labelled itself as a legislative body. Along-side with the EP they co-legislate laws for the EU. In accordance with the Article 16 (1) TEU “The council shall, jointly with the European Parliament, exercise legislative and budgetary functions. It shall carry out policy-making and coordinating functions as laid down in the Treaties” Generally the council has to make a voting to approve all commissions legislative acts before they become laws and this happens in compliance with the European Parliament. Furthermore government ministers from each EU member state which embody the council meet to adopt, amend laws and coordinate policies of the EU member states, commonly they represent national interest.
Over the years as the European identity developed, it inevitably came across the issue of justice and home affairs (JHA) and to what extant it had dictation over its member states’ borders. As the European Community and later the European Union established and expanded its policies over issues such as asylum, immigration and police, judicial cooperation, many began to criticize the European Union saying it was relinquishing the sovereignty of its member states. As the mandate over justice and home affairs moved from the national level to the European level, the EU had to figure how much jurisdiction they could have over member states’ borders without imposing on the national governments or living up to its reputation as ‘Fortress Europe.’