The Application of EU Law in the New Member States: Brave New World

ISBN-13: 9789067042741 / Angielski / Twarda / 2010 / 616 str.

Adam Lazowski

Opis

INTRODUCTION Five years after the ? fth enlargement and more than two years after the sixth - pansion of the European Union (EU), an attempt is being made to give those two 1 groundbreaking events a reality check. Arguably, the time has come to subject the triumphant political discourse, praising the unprecedented endeavor of expanding the European Union from ? fteen to twenty-seven Member States against the test of effectiveness. The crucial question is: has the patient survived the operation and is it 2 still alive and breathing normally? On the one hand, we may hear that the European Union is in crisis and the fundamental questions of ? nalite remain unanswered. We also hear of the constitutional drama and post-enlargement blues undermining the effectiveness of the integration enterprise. On the other hand, some argue that the two recent waves of enlargement have been the EU s most successful foreign policy projects, which proved their purpose and justi? ed the political and economic sac- ? ces. To evaluate all pertinent factors underpinning the ? fth and sixth enlargements of the European Union would go beyond the scope of one book. That would require a multi-volume, interdisciplinary study of enormous proportions. The focus of this study is on the application of EU law in the twelve new Member States of the European Union."

Spis treści

West Meets East.- It Works! The European Union in the Wake of 2004 and 2007 Enlargements.- La Nouvelle Vague: The Introduction of a More Significant OST-Politik in the EU’s Security Policies.- East Meets West.- Constitutional Changes and Challenges in the New Member States.- Intertemporal Legal Issues in the European Union Case Law Relating to the 2004 and 2007 Accessions.- The New European Judges and the Limits of the Possible.- From Estonia to Bulgaria ... the Application of EU Law.- “Community, Identity, Stability”: Ideals and Practice in Building a Bridge Between the Legal Systems of the European Union and One of the Smallest of the “Brave New World”.- Lithuania’s Membership in the European Union and Application of EU Law at National Level.- The Application of EU Law in Latvia.- Poland: Constitutional Drama and Business as Usual.- What about That “Incoming Tide”? the Application of EU Law in the Czech Republic.- Europe Yet to Come: The Application of EU Law in Slovakia.- The Application of EU Law in Hungary: Challenges and Emerging Practices.- The Application of Eu Law in Slovenia: Teething Troubles of the Blue-Eyed Boy.- Malta and European Union Law.- “Back to Reality”: The Implications of EU Membership in the Constitutional Legal Order of Cyprus.- The Application of EU Law in Romania.- Learning the Hard Way: Bulgaria and EU Law.- Conclusions.- Conclusions.

Blurb

The Application of EU Law in the New Member States - Brave New World is a unique volume, providing readers with an in-depth analysis of EU-related legal developments in the twelve new Member States of the European Union.

As anticipated, the new Member States have experienced considerable challenges in the transposition and application of EU law. The first five years have also brought a series of controversial decisions of constitutional and supreme courts on the principle of the supremacy of EC law and the position of third pillar legislation in national legal systems. There is also a growing body of highly interesting decisions of lower courts, proving that EU law is slowly making its way and its effectiveness should not be at risk in the long term. Having passed the phase of shyness, domestic courts in at least a few of those countries have already started to send references for the preliminary rulings to the European Court of Justice. Despite some early disappointments, the new references are, in most cases, admissible and very interesting from the substantive point of view.

A purely technocratic approach may immediately lead to a conclusion that all these efforts are not sufficient and that the newcomers are underperforming. However, if one takes into account the breadth of the reforms and changes those countries have undergone in the past two decades the conclusion may be different. The emerging picture is quite impressive when economic, political and social factors are taken into account. The countries of Central and Eastern Europe, which had managed to escape the brain draining ruthless Soviet empire, have spent the last twenty years in a deep, multidimensional transformation. Membership of the European Union is yet another challenge they are faced with. One should not think of those countries as children of a lesser God, but rather a Brave New World negotiating its way in the contemporary Europe.

This book is important reading for academics, practitioners and civil servants in the EU Member States and candidate countries.

Dr Adam Lazowski is Reader in Law at the School of Law, University of Westminster, London, UK.