European Law

Course goals

1. Knowledge, understanding, insight
After this course: 
- the student has knowledge and understanding of European substantive law and is able to apply the relevant legislation and case law to complex economic- or societal issues and legal questions arising in this context in the Member States;
- the student understands the core objectives and rules connected to European social regulation and is able to evaluate the desirability of European action on social matters;
- the student understands the core objectives and rules connected to European economic regulation and is able to assess the lawfulness of the concerned EU institutions and Member States in their economic and societal context;
- the student understands the core objectives and rules connected to the EU aim to achieve an Area of Freedom, Security and Justice for everyone and is able to evaluate the actions of the European institutions in this context;
- the student understands how the individuals’ fundamental rights are protected in the European Union and is able to apply these rights in the context of internal market.


2. Contextual positioning
After this course:
- the student is able to place European substantive law in a social context;
- the student can identify the challenges for the European Union from a legal perspective;
- the student can put forward a clear view on European law-related issues.

3. General academic and legal skills
After this course:
- the student is able to systematically analyze case law, decisions and regulations in English, including finding new cases that connect to the subject matter;
- the student has learned to apply the EU internal market rules to cases in the Member States in relation to those while using the full array of European legal sources, including its translation in national law when necessary;
- the student is able to conduct research and present the outcome in a case note, which makes use of structured and well-informed arguments touching upon multiple viewpoints on the issue concerned;
- the student has gained experience in writing and discussing in English.

Content

The present course seeks to instruct students on some of the core areas of EU substantive law. The course thereby takes into account and builds upon the topics that have already been part of the course  Inleiding Europees recht and is structured along four main topics:

• Introduction & Re-cap Inleiding Europees Recht

• EU Citizenship & Migration in the EU

• EU Internal Market & Freedom of Movement

• EU Competition Law

Students begin the course by being re-acquainted with some core concepts they learned during Inleiding Europees Recht such as direct effect, supremacy, and harmonisation. After this introduction, the substantive part of the course is initiated by exploring the fundamental status of EU citizenship held by nationals of EU Member States and the rights it grants them. EU citizenship furthermore connects to nationality and has effects on the cross-border mobility of families and non-economically active persons. Students discover the extent of residence rights held by EU citizens and their family members, whether they are economically active or not. The status of EU citizen has indeed been instrumental in ensuring that economically inactive persons, such as students and pensioners, enjoy certain rights of free movement under EU law.

Whereas EU citizenship primarily concerns nationals of EU Member States, a considerable part of EU law is also dedicated to persons from outside the EU. Opening up the borders for EU-citizens to move around the territory of 27 Member States has also required action on the part of the EU to secure protection of its external borders and measures regarding the entry and treatment of third country nationals into EU-territory. EU measures on migration and asylum have therefore been adopted as part of the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (AFSJ). In this course, students study select directives such as the Long-term Residents Directive and Qualification Directive governing the access and residence of non-EU citizens in the EU. In doing so, they learn about the much more fragmented nature of the legal framework for non-EU citizens in comparison to EU citizens.

The topics of EU citizenship and migration clearly touch upon the rights of individuals in the EU. However, the EU started as an economic project. In the next part of the course, students therefore learn about the core principles and functioning of the Internal Market and freedom of movement in the EU. The fundamental freedoms are essential to enable individuals to travel to other Member States to, for example, temporarily perform or receive services. They may also decide to move permanently to another EU Member State, to work there either as a self-employed person (establishment) or to work for a company or public or private institution (worker). As such, they enjoy many different rights, based not only on the principle of equal treatment and non-discrimination (on the basis of nationality) but also on the basis of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU and many EU Regulations and Directives.
 
The rules on the EU internal market and freedom of movement are geared primarily towards states/public authorities. This to ensure that their laws, regulations and other actions will not obstruct the free movement, unless there is an objective justification for this based on the protection of some public interest. Nevertheless, EU law not only touches individuals and Member States, it also establishes provisions for powerful companies – the topic of the last part of the course. The competition law rules as contained in articles 101 and 102 TFEU are to be seen as a complement to the rules on the freedom of movement by stipulating specific obligations for companies to refrain from any behaviour that may obstruct the internal market. While within this framework economic interests are balanced very often with consumer protection interests, important questions remain regarding the room to balance economic interests with other public interests such as environmental protection and sustainability.

Academic context
The course European Law is a mandatory course for the bachelor program Rechtsgeleerdheid. Previous knowledge of the functioning of the EU is therefore required, as this course immediately jumps to the substantive application of European law without focusing on the institutional structure of the EU as such. This knowledge can be gained through the course ‘Inleiding Europees Recht’.