The EU is crucial in establishing legal frameworks for member states’ trading activities, as it is set to provide cooperation, monetary and trade prosperity, and peace between the member states. The EU has its institutions and the legal order used to make all policies, law enforcement, and transparency (DiMatteo, 2021, p. 41). The paper will start by examining the EU’s leading institutions and legal sources and finish by analysing its role in the setting of a single market. The EU institutions have a specific place in decision-making, representation, legislation, and control of the legality of laws. Further, the canon derives its foundation from the primary and secondary sources constituting the legal framework, including the treaties serving as primary documents and different legislative acts. Besides, the economic regulations provided by the laws affect the single market by allowing the free flow of goods, services, capital, and people or consumers, which helps in understanding the dynamics of economic integration and the alignments of regulations among the EU members. The EU exports a wide variety of primary organs and sources of the law, which are applicable in forming a single market to unveil the complexity of the EU and the significance of these sources in determining its economic and legal status.
Principal EU Institutions
The EU institutional structure is fashioned to uphold and examine its principles, goals, and interests while at the same time helping its people and Member States to ensure theirs. Last, this structure also significantly contributes to the cohesion, effectiveness, and consistency of EU policies and instruments. Regarding institutional structure, the Treaty on the European Union consists of seven institutions, as stipulated in Article 13, as cited in DiMatteo, 2021 (p. 561). These organisations are the most essential power holders, not only in the country but also in the world.
The European Parliament
The EU Parliament is the sole body in the European Union that all European citizens popularly elect. This organisation’s primary responsibility lies in enforcing the democratic approval of all European laws. The EU consists of members elected by the population through universal direct suffrage, lasting five years (Department for European Affairs, n.d.). In addition, the members of the European Parliament are the critical actors in engaging European institutions in matters of democracy protection and bringing their voices heard in the process of the EU legislature. The European Parliament has the authority to pass and modify laws equitably with the Council of the EU.
Additionally, it exercises oversight over the operations of all European Union institutions, organisations, and organisms, with a particular focus on the Commission. The EP has the authority to provide or deny approval for the selection of European Commissioners and to condemn the Commission collectively. Additionally, the EP exercises the financial power of the EU in conjunction with the Council, therefore enabling adjustments to EU spending.
The European Council
The European Council determines the long-term direction of the EU and its goals mainly by adopting conclusions but only by entering into negotiations and EU laws. The European Council, as it came into existence as an informal gathering in 1975, underwent a formalisation process as an institution with the entry of the Treaty of Lisbon (2009) (Citizens Information, 2022). The European Council is an institution that consists of the heads of state or government of the countries of the European Union, including the President of the EU and the President of the EU Commission. The European Council has now become the highest appeals court and supreme judge, responsible for the cases too complex for the Council of Ministers to resolve.
The Council of the European Union (the Council)
The European Council” brings together the ministers from the Council of each EU member state for deliberation, amendment, and ultimately adopting legislation, as well as synchronisation of policies. The Council and the EU Parliament are the ones that negotiate and adopt EU legislation in agreement with the EU Commission, which puts forward suggestions into consideration. This also facilitates the collaboration of policies among the EU member states (European Union, 2022). The Council serves as the EU’s executive body, according to the rules of the European Council, and is responsible for unfolding agreements between the EU and other entities or states. Subsequently, the Council collaborates with the European Parliament to approve the annual EU budget.
The European Commission
Within the EU, the European Commission plays a significant role as an integral part of the executive department. The Commission is a ‘Council of Ministers’, headed by a President of 27 members (European Union, 2022). The European Commission is responsible for formulating legislation, ensuring the effective implementation of EU regulations, and overseeing EU expenditure initiatives. The Commission formulated the EU’s overarching strategy, proposing novel EU legislation and policies, overseeing their execution, and overseeing the EU budget. Additionally, the Commission facilitates global progress and assistance.
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)
There are many opinions about the CJEU being the EU’s judicial body. The mission of CJEU is to interpret European legal documents and check their coherent operation in all countries that are part of the EU. On the other hand, CJEU serves the function of conflict resolution between the EU member states and the EU institutions (European Union, 2022). This does not only mean that it deals with the conflict itself, but it also considers Ireland’s legal system. The CJEU secures European law’s uniformity of interpretation and enforcement within all member states.
The European Central Bank
The European Central Bank (ECB) is the leading financial organisation for EU member states that embrace the euro currency. The ECB monitors the euro and decides and executes the economic and monetary policies of the European Union. The primary objective is to maintain price stability and promote economic expansion and employment generation. The Governing Council of the ECB has made decisions today about modifications to the operational framework for executing monetary policy (European Union, 2022). These changes to the framework will make it suitable when the Eurosystem balance sheet returns to its normal state.
The Court of Auditors
The European Court of Auditors in the EU is the preeminent audit institution. The European Court of Auditors oversees the collection and utilisation of EU funds, therefore contributing to improving EU financial management. The Court of Auditors audits the financial records and supervises the execution of the budgets of the EU institutions. The objective is to enhance the fiscal administration of EU funds and provide EU citizens with comprehensive reports on utilising EU funds.
Sources of EU Law
Primary Sources
A series of treaties create the primary source of law in the EU. Through these treaties, the powers of the EU and its Member States are split into two, and the boundaries of the competencies of EU institutions are defined. The primary legislative sources in the EU are the Treaties, namely, the Treaty on the EU (TEU) and the Treaty on the EU Functioning (TFEU). (The University of British Columbia, 2023). Negotiations have been conducted among the member nations via an intergovernmental conference (IGC) for each issue. The most recent International General Conference (IGC) resulted in the Lisbon Treaty, which subsequently facilitated a significant revision and restructuring of the preexisting treaties.
Secondary Sources
The components of secondary legislation include regulations, directives, and decisions, which serve as the principal legislative source after treaty law. Regulations refer to legislative measures enacted by the Council of the EU, which has obligatory force upon all member nations without necessitating the enactment of national legislation for their execution (The University of British Columbia, 2023). Directives are legislative measures enacted by the Council, explicitly targeting member nations, with the primary objective of harmonising domestic legislation. The directives are obligatory for all member nations regarding the desired outcome while allowing each country to choose the approach to accomplishing the goals. Decisions are legally binding legislation enacted by the Commission or Council, applicable to entities such as corporations, persons, or governments.
Regulation of the Single Market
The EU creates a free trade based on goods movement between member states in this regard. The laws passed by the EU lead to common standards and rules for products traded in the single market. The Free Movement of Goods (FMG) is the central aspect of the European Union’s (EU) internal market. It entails establishing and advancing a region devoid of internal boundaries, whereby commerce among EU Member States is not subject to unwarranted limitations. Article 34 TFEU pertains to impediments to commerce “between Member States” within the free circulation of goods (Cymru & Ymchwil, 2020, p. 16). Free movement rights under EU law are not activated if there is no movement between Member States in a specific instance. These include legislation about the safety of products, their labelling, packaging, and technical requirements. Goods no longer had to pay customs duties and other non-tariff barriers that allowed free trade.
The EU provides the binding regulation of the services’ free movement among the member states. EU legislation enables the facilitation of cross-border service supply inside the single market. The laws outline the fundamental concept of unrestricted service provision and ban unwarranted limitations on service providers from other EU nations. A wide range of service industries, including banking, telecommunications, transportation, and professional services, are subject to regulatory measures. According to Segura Serrano (2021), Article 56 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) also includes the clause that imposes outlawing the limitations on the provision of services to individuals who are citizens of the EU member states and residing in some other member state other than the one in which the services are intended (p. 1159). The EU services directive is the foundation for the unrestricted mobility of services. This provision facilitates the establishment and provision of services by firms in Member States that are not their own.
The EU provides for the free movement of capital inside the borders of Member States. One of the recent freedoms is the right to send money and make payments within a single internal market at all levels of the European Union. The forward march of the capital liberalisation process steadily progressed. As of the first date in 2004, the Maastricht Treaty has removed all obstacles to capital movements and transactions among Member States and other countries outside the union. On the other hand, the exemption from the ban is indicated by this prohibition (European Parliament, 2023). The rules indicate that Member States are to remove all barriers to the flow of capital among themselves and between themselves and other countries, except in limited circumstances where such restrictions may be applied under certain conditions. Freedom of capital movements signifies the single market’s core principle and contributes to achieving all other freedoms.
Furthermore, it is indirectly responsible for the driving force of economic growth by enabling the allocation of capital resources and holding the euro as an international currency, which strengthens the EU’s voice on the global stage. EU legislation measures up to this by removing all impediments to capital mobility within the single market, thus providing an environment for the unrestricted flow of money inside the EU. These regulations revolve around foreign currency, investment, and the financial market. As stated by the EUR-Lex (2021: p. 65), Article 63 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU prohibits the free movement of money among the EU member states and the movement of money between the EU member states. The non-EU member states are restricted concerning objective public value unless they are considered essential. The union drives member states’ financial integration and cooperation through the EU Commission and bodies such as the European Central Bank and the European System of Central Banks.
The EU controls the free movement of persons over the member countries. Inside the EU, legislation set aside guarantees the right of citizens from EU member states to move and live as they wish in a single market. These include regulations about acknowledging professional credentials, coordination of social security, and equitable treatment in work and other domains. Consequently, individuals are granted unrestricted mobility throughout the EU member states and are entitled to reside in those nations, provided they satisfy specific criteria. Accordingly, freedom of movement takes place between all member states of the EU, but strict limitations are imposed on potential members of the EU (European Commission, 2023). On the other hand, all EU regulations touch upon the rights and duties of different individuals who are not citizens of the EU.
The competition policy of the EU is the key to its necessary regulation of the single market. As such, the importance of the competition policy should be considered. In that context, the EU is trying to power up the policy framework that can contribute to improved competitiveness through increased technological competition. Competition law is essential for the regulation of market performance and setting the stage for each company doing business internationally (Bauer, 2023). The plan’s endeavour to attain this objective is to eliminate market barriers, dissuade anti-competitive behaviour, and benefit consumers and businesses in LAM countries.
The application of competition rules is in line with EU legislation to secure fair competition within the single market and keep anti-competitive practices to a minimum. Policies will be implemented to stop cartel formation, address the abuse of dominant positions, and adversely affect competition levels by competition authorities. First, TFEU gives the EU institutions the power to prohibit the provisions of the market and any consequences of competition distortions, which can include occupying market positions, anti-competitive agreements, and mergers, which can result in the disparity of competition. The European Commission supervises and verifies those rules, and states’ anti-trust bodies are responsible for their enforcement.
In the end, one of the numerous tasks of the EU is to set up standards for evaluating the single market, which secures consumer protection. Consumer protection in the context of the single market means preventing its failure. The stated aim is that the level of consumer protection in the EU is identical, adequate, and robust for everybody, irrespective of where they are, how they travel, or what they buy. Such a provision will allow them to pursue their economic interests despite the danger that arises across borders. Moreover, it has the added objective of building up consumer’s ability to protect themselves against transgressions. The EU legal regime offers provisions protecting consumers in the Single Market: market safety, consumer rights, and restriction of unfair economic activity. Promoting consumer protection within the global arena involves avoiding unfair practices by non-EU countries and protecting EU consumers and their products from discriminatory treatment. This can be implemented by quotas, applying tariffs, and introducing rules of origin, which shall be co-operated with the EU’s counterparts’ authorities in various EU partner nations (European Parliament, 2023). Through these laws, customers will be given convenient opportunities to select products that meet their requirements and, simultaneously, be provided with an opportunity to seek redress in cases that have gone wrong. They will be protected from fraud and unfair advertising.
Consequently, forming a single market and economic integration among member states through the EU’s institutional architecture and legislation have become achievable. As a regulatory centre, the EU plays a role in influencing the different policies. Here, the actual and derivative sources of EU guidelines that play the role of the governance of the single market were illustrated. An ethical message underlined that the EU maintains the unobstructed trade of commodities, services, money, and mobile individuals. Thus, the ongoing development of the EU will guarantee that its institutions and legislative framework become more effective in influencing the trajectory of European integration and economic well-being.
Bibliographies
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