Introduction
On 18 October 2007, EU leaders agreed on a final text of the new EU Reform Treaty during the summit in Lisbon. After two years of stalemate, all 27 member states consent to this new Treaty, even though some political issues still had to be resolved. The target date for ratification will be June 2009 (EurActiv, 2007b).
Although the Reform Treaty was praised by most EU leaders, it also has to face criticism (EurActiv, 2007c). On the one hand, critics find fault with the rash com-promise concerning the “last-minute problems”, for example, Italy’s unhappiness with the reallocation of European Parliament seats in the Treaty or Poland, which was demanding more changes to the bloc's voting rules (International Herald Trib-une, 2007). On the other hand, critics argue that the new EU Reform Treaty could be seen as the “same old EU constitution in a different package” (The Scotsman, 2007).
Of course, besides the items which are kept or dropped, there are new elements determined in the new Reform Treaty so it is obvious, that there are differences in comparison to the old EU constitution. But how will these differences, changes, have an effect on business? How significant are they? Stephen Mulvey describes the critical uncertainty concerning the new Reform Treaty and its changes as fol-lows:
The question here is whether the essential qualities that made the constitu-tion a constitution have been removed, or whether the things that have been changed are mere details. (Mulvey, 2007)
This report will have a closer look at the possible effects of the new EU Reform Treaty concerning competition and the importance of competition as a part of the internal market.
Competition and the possible effects of the EU Reform Treaty
After the publication of the new EU Reform Treaty’s items, several questions might have been arisen due to France’s request to leave out a reference to “free and undistorted competition”. The French President Nicolas Sarkozy argued that com-petition was not an end in itself and this reference should not be seen as an objec-tive of the EU. As an agreed consequence, it was moved to a protocol (EurActiv, 2007b). France’s fear of a free market in Europe was one of the main reasons for the rejection of the constitution in 2005. Critics were afraid that this change to the Treaty could influence the European Competition Commission (Olson, 2007). Jerome Chauvin from lobby group Business Europe says that this change “is an important aspect of the internal market and we are concerned that it is removed” (Ritson, 2007).
Since its very conception, the Constitution of the United States has while holding great reverence, been a great topic of debate amongst the political scholars left to analyze it in all its ambiguity. Two such scholars, John Roche and Charles Beard, in their analyses of the Constitution aim to tackle a layer of the uncertainty: how democratic the Framers truly intended the Constitution to be. John Roche speaks in unquestionably high regard of the Framers in advocating that they so evidently compromised their own values in order to create a democratic document that would strengthen the US as a whole. Charles Beard conversely insists that as the economic elite of their time, the Framers were influenced primarily by their private interests to
The difference in the lengths of the two constitutions is apparent. The former is merely 7,000 words long, while t...
Story, J. (1987). Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States. Durham, N.C.: Carolina Academic Press.
To answer this question I will firstly explain how EU law became incorporated within the member states I will then explain the various types of EU legislation's in circulation. This is important to define as the various types of methods will involve different enforcement procedures. Finally I will explain how EU law is enforced and the ways EU law will effect the member state and individual businesses. I will summarise my findings at the end of the essay, this will give details of all the key ideas I have ut across.
The Constitution of the United States is one of the most iconic and important documents of all time. However, when it was first generated, its writing and ratification caused some major concerns. The purpose of the Constitution was to address the great number of issues of a new nation. To be more specific, the Constitution was meant to resolve the political, economic, and social problems of the country. Nevertheless, the document spurred much discussion and concern over people’s rights, the economy, and political corruption.
Through the years many changes have taken place, and technologies have been discovered, yet our Constitution remains. Some say that the Constitution was written for people hundreds of years ago, and in turn is out of step with the times. Yet its principals and guidelines have held thus far. The framers would be pleases that their great planning and thought have been implemented up until this point. However this does not compensate for the fact, that the we the people have empowered the government more so than our fore fathers had intended. Citizens were entrusted with the duty to oversee the government, yet so many times they are disinterested and only seem to have an opinion when the government’s implications affect them. As time has changed so has the American people, we often interpret our freedoms in a self serving manner, disregarding the good of the whole and also the good for the future. Thus there are no true flaws in the Constitution, it appears that the conflict emerges in the individual and their self, and poses question when we must decide when to compromise the morals that our Constitution was founded on, or when to stick to what we know is right and honest.
The United States' Constitution is one the most heralded documents in our nation's history. It is also the most copied Constitution in the world. Many nations have taken the ideals and values from our Constitution and instilled them in their own. It is amazing to think that after 200 years, it still holds relevance to our nation's politics and procedures. However, regardless of how important this document is to our government, the operation remains time consuming and ineffective. The U.S. Constitution established an inefficient system that encourages careful deliberation between government factions representing different and sometimes competing interests.
The European Union cooperation all started with economic integration. Since the beginning of the ECSC in 1952 until now one of the major forces but also one of the major weaknesses of the EU has been their will for a common market and a monetary union. The single market was achieved in 1992 with the entrance into function of the Maastricht treaty. This treaty greatly influenced how states would have to deal with external border control and the free movement of the people because what the Maastricht treaty did was not only opening a single market, but also allowing people, goods and services to move freely across European Union member states. Economic integration has explained by Nevin has usually 5 level which goes from he lowest o he highest level of cooperation. The first level of integration is the preferential tariff which only allows st...
Britain has always had a difficult relationship with the European Union, initially refusing to become a member before reluctantly joining, there seems to be a level of distrust of the European policies. I will explore this distrust within this essay. This essay will also give an insight into the history of Britain, the EU and identify any changes in British government’s policies since becoming a member.
... document and not the will of those in powers is tremendous. Except for the 17 of the 27 amendments that make part of the United States of America constitution, the constitution has remained largely the same. What has changed, and continues to change, is the interpretation of some parts that have expanded to include contexts that were not envisioned by our founding fathers. It is truly remarkable that the Constitution has sustained many powerful historical events over time and today remains pretty much intact.
In 1787, The United States of America formally replaced the Articles of Confederation with a wholly new governing document, written by the delegates who attended the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. This document, known as the Constitution, has served as the supreme law of our land for the past 228 years. It has stood the test of time and a majority of Americans still support it today (Dougherty). The Constitution was designed in a way that allows for it to be amended, in order to address changing societal needs. Article V discusses the process by which the Constitution can be altered. This feature has enabled it to stay in effect and keep up with current times. The Constitution should not be rewritten every 19 years because it would not only weaken its importance, but it would also hurt foreign relations and continuously rewriting it would give political parties too much power.
The enlargement of the European Union (EU) in 2004 and 2007 has been termed as the largest single expansion of the EU with a total of 12 new member states – bringing the number of members to 27 – and more than 77 million citizens joining the Commission (Murphy 2006, Neueder 2003, Ross 2011). A majority of the new member states in this enlargement are from the eastern part of the continent and were countries that had just emerged from communist economies (EC 2009, Ross 2011), although overall, the enlargement also saw new member states from very different economic, social and political compared to that of the old member states (EC 2009, Ross 2011). This enlargement was also a historical significance in European history, for it saw the reunification of Europe since the Cold War in a world of increasing globalization (EC 2009, Mulle et al. 2013, Ross 2011). For that, overall, this enlargement is considered by many to have been a great success for the EU and its citizens but it is not without its problems and challenges (EC 2009, Mulle et al. 2013, Ross 2011). This essay will thus examine the impact of the 2004/2007 enlargements from two perspectives: firstly, the impact of the enlargements on the EU as a whole, and thereafter, how the enlargements have affected the new member states that were acceded during the 2004/2007 periods. Included in the essay will be the extent of their integration into the EU and how being a part of the Commission has contributed to their development as nation states. Following that, this essay will then evaluate the overall success of the enlargement process and whether the EU or the new member states have both benefited from the accessions or whether the enlargement has only proven advantageous to one th...
The story of Europe is a story that is worth telling for the simple fact that without the background of Europe, people will not understand the complexities in the creation of the Europe of yesterday and creation of the Europe today. This rich history cannot be ignored because of the close ties to the creation of the nations and the supranational institutions that have become the European Union and its trade partners. Without the background on the history of Europe the creation of this larger organization or supranational organization would be nearly impossible to understand the complexities of the current political, social and economic qualities within the EU. The history of a country, state or organization also helps us to understand the some aspects of the future of the EU.
For nearly sixty years, a seemingly irreversible momentum towards integration within the framework of the European Union has, for many, defined the future of the continent. On 23 June 2016, the electorate of the United Kingdom made a sovereign choice to leave the EU. After the British decision to leave, Europe’s trajectory, even its destiny, has again become a matter of choice. Brexit marks both a major constitutional change for the UK and a significant rupture for the EU. If only for this reason, the negotiation of the terms of Brexit must take a long-term view, beyond the possibly drawn-out negotiations that will begin in the coming months.
The Single European Market (SEM), originally called the common market, now also known as the internal market, is in theory, a market within which there is free movement between European Union (EU) members of goods, services, labour and capital (collectively known as the four freedoms). It involves all 28 members of the EU. Many observers has argued that the SEM is at the core of EU integration. This essay will first of all briefly recap the history of SEM and explain its main features. Thereafter, it will discuss whether it is a fully integrated market by analysing how to measure the extent of integration and subsequently the actual level of integration in practise.