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The Principle of Conferral and the Principle of Sincere Cooperation In The principle of conferral and the principle of sincere cooperation in the light of recent case-law of the CJEU ARE THE MEMBER STATES (POST-LISBON) ‘MASTERS OF THE TREATIES’ IN THE EXTERNAL RELATIONS OF THE EU? Paulien Van de Velde-Van Rumst Student number: 01305177 Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Inge Govaere Commissioner: Dr. Merijn Chamon A dissertation submitted to Ghent University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Laws in Laws Academic year: 2017 – 2018 “ever since the creation of the EEC, external action has been a big legal battlefield, due to the reluctance, resistance and inhibitions of the Member States to cede sovereignty to the EU” Piet Eeckhout DANKWOORD Mijn nog steeds sterk toenemende interesse voor Europees recht in het algemeen en voor de externe betrekkingen van de Europese Unie in het bijzonder resulteerde in deze masterproef. De kiem hiervoor werd gelegd toen ik vijf jaar terug mijn studies rechten aan de Universiteit Gent begon. Aangewakkerd door de genoten lessenreeksen droeg ik het Europese project een steeds warmer hart toe en ging ik het belang ervan ook steeds hoger inschatten. Deze masterproef is geen eindpunt. Ik kijk uit naar mijn verblijf aan het Europacollege te Brugge waar ik me allicht verder zal kunnen verdiepen in het Europees recht en hiervan niet los te koppelen politieke dynamieken. Dit dankwoord komt heel wat mensen toe. Vooreerst bijzonder veel dank aan mijn promotor, professor Govaere, die me met haar inspirerende passie voor Europees recht wist te enthousiasmeren. Het vertrouwen dat ze me schonk, was voor mij een bron van energie. Bij dit eindwerk wou ik werkelijk het beste uit mezelf halen. Mijn commissaris, Dr. Merijn Chamon, dank ik voor zijn bijzonder waardevolle en zeer gewaardeerde raad. Het liet me toe mijn thesis naar een hoger niveau te tillen. Femke en Joyce, Magali en Leonie, bedankt om ervoor te zorgen dat ik me altijd welkom voelde bij het GELI. Mama en papa, dank voor al de kansen die ik de voorbije jaren kreeg. Mijn vijf universiteitsjaren ervaarde ik stuk voor stuk als zeer waardevol. ‘Kleine’ zus Margot en lieve vriend Arno, dank voor de onvoorwaardelijke steun en het geduld dat jullie bij momenten voor mij opbrachten. Moot court vriendjes, jullie hebben ervoor gezorgd dat mijn laatste jaar aan de universiteit zowel op academisch als op sociaal vlak een absoluut topjaar was. Na deze geweldige tijd samen, zijn jullie zonder twijfel vrienden voor het leven. Rudy, Kato, Louise en Sophie, dank om mijn masterproef na te lezen en om mij te doen geloven in wat ik geschreven heb. Tot slot, Yasmina, Claire, Barbara, Christine, Heleen en al mijn lieve chirovriendinnen, bij jullie kon ik altijd terecht. Dank voor de vele duwtjes in de rug! Lokeren, 25 mei 2018, Paulien Van de Velde-Van Rumst 1 2 NEDERLANDS ABSTRACT Deze masterproef bespreekt en onderzoekt de vraag of de lidstaten (post-Lissabon) ‘Meesters der Verdragen’ zijn in de externe betrekkingen van de Europese Unie en dit in het licht van de recente rechtspraak van het Europees Hof van Justitie. Zijn de lidstaten van de Europese Unie in staat de controle over de externe bevoegdheden van de Europese Unie te behouden op basis van het principe van toegekende bevoegdheden dat bepaalt dat het de lidstaten zijn die de Europese Unie haar bevoegdheden toekennen? Welke rol speelt het principe van loyale samenwerking in deze kwestie? Het eerste deel van de masterproef beschrijft het algemene kader van het onderzoek. Wat houden de principes van toegekende bevoegdheden en loyale samenwerking in, zowel in het algemeen als, meer specifiek, in de externe betrekkingen van de Europese Unie? Hoe geeft het Hof deze principes mee vorm? Het tweede deel van de masterproef gaat in op de concrete manieren waarop de lidstaten die de autoriteit hebben om de Europese Unie haar bevoegdheden toe te kennen, hun rol als ‘Meesters der Verdragen’ afdwingen. Zowel op procedureel vlak als op materieel vlak kunnen dergelijke pogingen waargenomen worden via de rechtspraak van het Hof. Daarnaast zijn er ook een aantal individuele lidstaten die via het inroepen van hun ‘opt-out’ proberen ontsnappen aan verplichtingen tegenover derde landen die hen opgelegd worden via de Europese Unie. Het derde deel van de masterproef focust op de reactie van het Hof op de pogingen van de lidstaten om hun positie als ‘Meesters der Verdragen’ te beschermen. Eerst en vooral wordt ingegaan op de manier waarop het Hof haar eigen bevoegdheid in deze materie ziet. Vervolgens wordt de over het algemeen brede interpretatie van de bevoegdheden van de Europese Unie door het Hof bekeken. Tot slot beschrijft dit deel van de masterproef wat de invloed van het principe van loyale samenwerking is via de rechtspraak van het Hof. Het vierde en laatste deel bevat een aantal bedenkingen naar de toekomst toe. Heel wat situaties vragen namelijk om verdere verduidelijking. De belangrijkste conclusie van het beperkte onderzoek van deze masterproef is dat de lidstaten het moeilijk hebben om hun positie als ‘Meesters der Verdragen’ te waarborgen. Het Hof beslist vaak tot een brede externe bevoegdheid voor de Europese Unie en haar instellingen. Dit heeft tot gevolg dat de bewegingsvrijheid van de lidstaten op het internationaal toneel beperkt wordt. De ruime interpretatie van het principe van loyale samenwerking door het Hof versterkt deze beperking nog. Dit principe kan er namelijk toe leiden dat een de iure gedeelde bevoegdheid van de Europese Unie en de lidstaten in de praktijk een exclusieve bevoegdheid van de Europese Unie wordt. 3 4 ABBREVIATIONS CCP Common Commercial Policy CFSP Common Foreign and Security Policy CSDP Common Security and Defence Policy ECHR European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms EEA European Economic Area High Representative High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy ITLOS International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea ISDS investor-state dispute settlement OIV International Organisation of Vine and Wine TEU Treaty on European Union TFEU Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union the Council the Council of the European Union the Court the Court of Justice TRIPs Agreement Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights-Agreement WRC-15 World Radiocommunication Conference of the International Telecommunication Union 2015 WTO World Trade Organisation 5 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS DANKWOORD ............................................................................................................................................. 1 NEDERLANDS ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... 3 ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................................................................................... 5 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 11 1. Overview .............................................................................................................................................. 12 2. Limitations ........................................................................................................................................... 13 3. Relevance.............................................................................................................................................. 15 PART 1. GENERAL FRAMEWORK: PRINCIPLES OF CONFERRAL AND SINCERE COOPERATION ......................................................................................................................................... 17 1. In general ............................................................................................................................................. 17 A. Principle of conferral ......................................................................................................................... 17 B. Principle of sincere cooperation ........................................................................................................ 18 2. In the field of the European Union’s external relations ................................................................... 18 A. Principle of conferral ......................................................................................................................... 18 a. Express external competences ....................................................................................................... 19 i. Which competences? ..................................................................................................................... 19 ii. What is their nature? .................................................................................................................... 19 b. Implied powers .............................................................................................................................. 20 i. Which competences? ..................................................................................................................... 20 ii. What is their nature? .................................................................................................................... 21 c. Mixed agreements ......................................................................................................................... 21 B. Principle of sincere cooperation .......................................................................................................
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