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Glossary of Institutions, policies and enlargement of the European Union
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Abstention, constructive (positive abstention)

Constructive abstention is the idea of allowing a Member State to abstain on a vote in Council under the common foreign and security policy (CFSP), without blocking a unanimous decision.

This option was introduced by the Treaty of Amsterdam in the new Article 23 of the Treaty on European Union (EU Treaty). If abstention is accompanied by a formal declaration, the Member State in question is not obliged to apply the decision but must accept that it commits the Union. The Member State must then refrain from any action that might conflict with Union action based on that decision.

In accordance with Article 23 of the EU Treaty, the decision cannot be adopted if the members of the Council attaching such a declaration to their abstention represent more than one third of the weighted votes.

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Accession criteria (Copenhagen criteria)

Any country seeking membership of the European Union (EU) must conform to the conditions set out by Article 49 and the principles laid down in Article 6(1) of the Treaty on European Union. Relevant criteria were established by the Copenhagen European Council in 1993 and strengthened by the Madrid European Council in 1995.

To join the EU, a new Member State must meet three criteria:

  • political: stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities;
  • economic: existence of a functioning market economy and the capacity to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union;
  • acceptance of the Community acquis: ability to take on the obligations of membership, including adherence to the aims of political, economic and monetary union.

For the European Council to decide to open negotiations, the political criterion must be satisfied.

Any country that wishes to join the Union must meet the accession criteria. The pre-accession strategy and accession negotiations provide the necessary framework and instruments.

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Accession negotiations

Accession negotiations are vital for monitoring and helping candidate countries to prepare for accession and for assessing how ready they are. Each country is judged on its own merits from the point of view of compliance with the accession criteria. Negotiations help candidate countries to prepare to fulfil the obligations of European Union membership. They also allow the Union to prepare itself for enlargement in terms of absorption capacity.

Negotiations relate to the adoption and implementation of the Community acquis, which is monitored by the Commission. The acquisis divided into chapters, and there are as many chapters as areas in which progress must be made. These areas are identified by screening theacquis. The Technical Assistance and Information Exchange programme (TAIEX) plays a part here. Each chapter is negotiated individually, and measurable reference criteria are defined for the opening and closing of each chapter.

Negotiations take place at bilateral intergovernmental conferences between the Member States and the candidate country. Common negotiating positions are defined for each of the chapters relating to matters of Community competence.

The results of the negotiations (with the outcome of political and economic dialogues) are incorporated into a draft accession treaty, once the negotiations on all chapters are closed. Where appropriate, the system of transitional measures allows negotiations to be concluded even if transposal of the acquis has not been completed.

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Accession of new Member States to the European Union

Accession of new Member States to the European Union is governed by Article 49 of the EU Treaty. A state that wishes to become a member of the Union must satisfy two conditions:

  • it must be a European state;
  • it must respect the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and the rule of law (Article 6(1) of the EU Treaty).

The Council must agree unanimously on accession, after consulting the Commission and receiving the assent of the European Parliament.

The conditions and date of accession, any transition periods required and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the Union is founded must be agreed in the form of an accession treaty between the candidate country and the Member States.

To give due form to the accession, this treaty is ratified by all the Member States and the candidate country in accordance with their own constitutional rules.

In practice, accession is not automatic, since it depends on the situation of the candidate country concerned. There is thus a pre-accession period of varying length, during which the candidate countries adapt their institutions, standards and infrastructure to enable them to meet their obligations as Member States at the time of accession.

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Accession partnership

Accession partnerships are a pre-accession strategy instrument which determines the candidate countries' particular needs on which pre-accession assistance should be targeted and provides a framework for:

  • the short and medium-term priorities, objectives and conditions determined for each candidate country on the basis of the accession criteria (Copenhagen criteria) in accordance with the Commission's opinion on its membership application;
  • pre-accession assistance.

An accession partnership is established for each candidate country to provide guidance and encouragement during preparations for membership. To this end, each candidate country draws up a National Programme for the Adoption of the Acquis (NPAA), which sets out a timetable for putting the partnership into effect. Each candidate country also draws up an action plan for strengthening its administrative and judicial capacities.

The accession partnership may also be revised in the light of new developments, especially any new priorities identified during the pre-accession process.

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Animal welfare

The question of animal welfare was first addressed in legislation in 1974. The requirements in this area were acknowledged specifically in an additional protocol attached to the Treaty of Amsterdam (1997). This "Protocol on protection and welfare of animals" lays down new rules for EU action in this area. It officially recognises that animals are sentient beings and obliges the European institutions to pay full regard to the welfare requirements of animals when formulating and implementing common policies.

European legislation in the field of animal welfare aims to save animals from any unnecessary suffering in three main areas: farming, transport and slaughter. It is essential to take measures in these areas not only for ethical and moral reasons, but also for health of the animals and the quality of foodstuffs. As part of a comprehensive strategy on food safety, other Community policies (agriculture, transport, internal market and research) are also required to take account of this necessity.

At the start of 2006, the Commission adopted a five-year action plan to reinforce existing standards, extend research, put in place evaluation and participation measures and promote animal welfare at international level.

In cooperation with the competent authorities of the Member States, the Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) carries out on-the-spot checks to ensure compliance with Community legislation. Its role has grown since the enlargement of the EU to 27 Member States.

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Antitrust control

The term "antitrust" refers to competition rules on agreements and business practices which restrict competition and on abuse of dominant positions.

Agreements and concerted practices which may restrict competition are prohibited by the antitrust provisions of Article 81 of the Treaty establishing the European Community (EC Treaty). The prohibition applies to cartels (also referred to as "agreements") and relates to situations in which competing businesses collude to restrict competition, by fixing prices, limiting production or sharing markets. Restrictive agreements may nonetheless be permitted if they generate more positive than negative effects (agreements improving production, product distribution, contributing to technical progress, etc.).

The Community antitrust rules also forbid abuse of a dominant position within a market (Article 82 of the EC Treaty). An undertaking is in a dominant position when it has a substantial proportion of a market and can evade normal competition on it. It is then forbidden to make abusive use of its dominance, e.g. by charging excessive or unduly low prices or practising discrimination between commercial partners.

The Commission may impose large fines on undertakings engaging in illegal business practices.

Since 1 May 2004, the updated Community antitrust rules have allowed the national competition authorities to enforce the Community rules on agreements and dominance abuse in the same way as the Commission.

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Area of freedom, security and justice

It was decided to establish an area of freedom, security and justice, the aim being to ensure genuine freedom of movement for individuals on the territory of the European Union and more effective action against organised crime and fraud.

Matters relating to justice and home affairs used to be dealt with solely under the intergovernmental rules, in particular under Title VI of the EU Treaty (the "third pillar").

The Amsterdam Treaty "communitised" asylum, immigration and judicial cooperation in civil matters. It preserved the third pillar, now devoted solely to police cooperation and judicial cooperation in criminal matters. But all JHA matters are regrouped under the general heading of the area of freedom, security and justice.

The Constitution currently being ratified introduces a major innovation: it abolishes the pillars and communitises police cooperation and judicial cooperation in criminal matters. The provisions on the area of freedom, security and justice are in Part III, Title III, Chapter IV. The Constitution fully preserves the special opt-outs for the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark.

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Article 36 Committee (Title VI of the EU Treaty)

The Committee provided for by Article 36 of the Treaty on European Union, also known as CATS, is a Council working group.

The Committee is made up of senior officials and its role is to coordinate the competent working groups in the field of police and judicial cooperation (third pillar). Its mission is also to prepare the relevant work of the Permanent Representatives Committee. The counterpart for issues on asylum and immigration is the SCIFA (Strategic Committee for Immigration, Frontiers and Asylum) which, unlike the CATS, is a first-pillar working group.

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Assent procedure

The assent procedure (Article 192 of the Treaty establishing the European Community) was introduced by the European Single Act (1986). It requires the Council to obtain the European Parliament's assent before certain important decisions are taken. The assent principle is based on a single reading. Parliament may accept or reject a proposal but cannot amend it. If Parliament does not give its assent, the act in question cannot be adopted.

The assent procedure applies mainly to the accession of new Member States (Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union), association agreements and other fundamental agreements with third countries.

It is likewise required with regard to citizenship, the specific tasks of the European Central Bank (ECB), amendments to the Statutes of the European System of Central Banks and the ECB, the Structural and Cohesion Funds, and the uniform procedure for elections to the European Parliament (Article 190 of the EC Treaty).

Lastly, the European Parliament gives its assent for the application of sanctions imposed on a Member State for a serious and persistent breach of fundamental rights (Article 7 of the EU Treaty) and for closer cooperation in fields subject to the codecision procedure.

Parliament's assent is given by a majority of votes cast. However, a majority of Members is also required in two cases, namely the accession of a new Member State and the electoral procedure.

In order to simplify legislative procedures, the European Constitution, currently being ratified, includes the assent procedure, referred to as "consent", under "special legislative procedures". This procedure applies to European laws and framework laws.

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Audiovisual

The Community's audiovisual policy must respect various — sometimes contradictory — interests and priorities, such as competition rules (especially regarding State aid), the principles of public service or the enhancement of European culture. The European audiovisual market is also facing a number of problems, including:

  • the language barriers preventing free movement of programmes in Europe;
  • an unwieldy decision-making process which generally requires unanimity;
  • the need to make considerable investment to anticipate technological developments, which requires international alliances and/or mergers.

The Community's action in the audiovisual field has developed in two broad directions:

  • on the legal front, the Television without Frontiers (TWF) Directive, adopted in 1989 and amended in 1997, provided a harmonised framework to promote the free movement, production and distribution of European television programmes. Common rules on advertising, sponsorship, protection of minors and the right of reply were introduced. The Directive also introduced broadcasting quotas, thus requiring TV channels to reserve, whenever possible, more than half their transmission time for European works.

The Directive is currently being revised with a view to updating the existing rules and making them more flexible.

  • support schemes through the Community MEDIA programme (Measures to Encourage the Development of the Audiovisual Industry). Set up in 1991, this programme aims to support the European audiovisual industry by encouraging the development and distribution of European works. It also finances schemes to improve the training of professionals in the sector.

The programme currently in place is MEDIA 2007, which has been allocated a budget of almost EUR 755 million and is to cover the period 2007–2013.

The protection of minors and human dignity in audiovisual and information services constitutes another priority. In December 2006, the Council and the European Parliament thus adopted a recommendation aiming to encourage government authorities and stakeholders to intensify their actions in this field.

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