Web-Companion Essential EU Law in Text: Suggested solutions to the exercises
Please find hereinafter the suggested solutions to the 64 exercises contained in the book "Tobler/Beglinger, Essential EU Law in Text, 5th edition, HVG-ORAC 2020, ISBN 978-963-258-490-4". To give you an idea how the exercises in the book are phrased, they have been added for the first three instances. Any comments or feedback are welcome.The development of the European Union – Exercise 1
Exercise: (added for illustration purpose)
There is a (not very serious) booklet with the title “Bluff your way in the EEC, EC, EU”, in which both the words “EEC” and “EC” are crossed out. Using this title, please explain briefly the development from the EEC to the EU in legal terms.
Suggested solution:
The title of the booklet concerns the development of the European Economic Community (EEC), set up in 1958 and abolished (or, rather: changed in nature) in 2009. The EEC was set up as a novel type of international organisation through the EEC Treaty of 1957 (entry into force in 1958). The Treaty was repeatedly revised. The crossing out of the word “EEC” in the title of the “Bluff your way” booklet relates to the change of name of the Community through the Maastricht revision in 1992/1993. The “EEC” was renamed “European Community” (EC) and the European Union (EU) was set up. Especially in popular literature on the EU, it is sometimes stated that the EC, together with the two other European Communities that existed at that time (namely the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom)), was superseded by the EU when this new international organisation was set up through the Maastricht Treaty. In fact, given that it was published in 1995, the title of the “Bluff your way” booklet indicates as much by crossing out “EEC”. However, this is not correct. Rather, the three Communities (EC, ECSC, Euratom) continued to exist when the EU came into being. As for the EC and the EU Treaties, they were also revised three times following the Maastricht revision.
From today’s perspective, it can be said that the crossing out of the word “EC” in the title of the “Bluff your way” booklet relates to the Lisbon revision (2007/2009). Through this revision, the EC was integrated into the EU. It no longer exists under the name EC, which is now part of the EU. The former EC Treaty is now called the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU. It is the repeatedly revised version of the original EEC Treaty of 1957. (Note: the Constitutional Treaty – which never entered into force – would have put an end to this Treaty by integrating its contents into the EU Treaty. Note also: as for the other two Communities, Euratom still exists but the ECSC does not. It had been given a limited lifetime of 50 years and expired in 2002.)
[Relevant Charts: Chapter 2, in particular Charts 2/4-2/23]
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