Glossary
C
Charter of Fundamental Rights
The European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights sets out in a single text, for the first time in the European Union's history, the whole range of civil, political, economic and social rights of European citizens and all persons resident in the EU. These rights are divided into six sections: dignity, freedoms, equality, solidarity, citizens' rights, and justice.
The Charter was agreed in 2000 but with the agreement of the Lisbon Treaty in 2009 the Charter became legally binding on all Member States and has the same status as the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is an international human rights instrument of the United Nations intended to protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities. Parties to the Convention are required to promote, protect, and ensure the full enjoyment of human rights by persons with disabilities and ensure that they enjoy full equality under the law. The text was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 13 December 2006, and opened for signature on 30 March 2007. Following ratification by the 20th party, it came into force on 3 May 2008.
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe, based in Strasbourg (France), was founded on 5 May 1949. It is an international organisation seeking to seeks to develop throughout Europe common and democratic principles based on the European Convention on Human Rights and other reference texts on the protection of individuals. Today, it covers 47 member countries.
Council of the European Union
The Council of the European Union is one of the institutions of the European Union. Together with the European Parliament, the Council is the main decision-making body of the EU. In the Council, government ministers from each EU country meet to discuss, amend and adopt laws, and coordinate policies. (Not to be confused with: European Council - quarterly summits, where EU leaders meet to set the broad direction of EU policy making; Council of Europe - not an EU body at all).
Court of Justice of the European Union
The Court of Justice, which is the highest court in the European Union in matters of European Union law, was set up in 1952 under the ECSC Treaty and is based in Luxembourg. It consists of one judge per EU country and eight advocates-general, who publicly and impartially present reasoned opinions on the cases. It has the power to settle legal disputes between EU Member States, EU institutions, businesses and individuals. The cases may be heard in plenary sessions or chambers of three or five judges.
D
Directive
A Directive is a legal instrument adopted by the European Union according to a specific procedure. It is binding, as to the result to be achieved, on each Member State to which it is addressed, but leaves to the national authorities the choice of form and methods (Article 288 TFEU). The Race Directive 2000/43/EC and the Framework Directive 2000/78/EC are examples.
E
European Commission
Established by the Treaty of Rome in 1957, the European Commission has consisted of 27 Commissioners since the accession of Bulgaria and Romania on 1 January 2007.
Its main function is to propose EU legislation subsequently adopted by the Council and the Parliament. It acts in the general interest of the Union with complete independence from national governments.
European Convention on Human Rights
The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe.
Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953. All Council of Europe member states are party to the Convention and new members are expected to ratify the convention at the earliest opportunity. The Convention also established the European Court of Human Rights. The European Union is in the process of preparing to accede to the ECHR.
European Council
The European Council is an EU institution consisting of the Heads of State or Government of the Member States, together with its President and the President of the Commission. It defines the general political direction and priorities of the European Union.
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or other contracting states, and the Court can also issue advisory opinions. The Convention was adopted by the Council of Europe and all of its 47 member states are parties to the Convention.
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the only directly-elected body of the European Union and with its 754 Members one of the largest democratic assemblies in the world. It was founded in 1952 as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community, then renamed the European Parliamentary Assembly in 1958 until it became the European Parliament in 1962. Its main functions are debating and passing European laws together with the Council of the European Union, scrutinising other EU institutions and adopting the European Union's budget.
L
Lisbon Treaty
The Lisbon Treaty was an international agreement between all the Member States of the European Union that amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the EU. The Lisbon Treaty was signed by the EU Member States on 13 December 2007, and entered into force on 1 December 2009. It amends the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC). In this process, the TEC was renamed to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
P
Preliminary ruling
Under Article 267 TFEU, the Court of Justice of the European Union has jurisdiction to give preliminary rulings concerning the interpretation of the Treaties and the validity and interpretation of acts of the institutions, bodies, offices or agencies of the Union. Where such a question is raised before any court or tribunal of a Member State, that court or tribunal may (shall in cases pending before a court or tribunal of a Member State against whose decisions there is no judicial remedy under national law), request the Court to give a ruling thereon.
T
Treaty on European Union
The Treaty on European Union (TEU) is an international treaty between European Union (EU) Member States which sets out the EU’s constitutional basis. It establishes the various EU institutions together with their remit, procedures and objectives. The TEU has been repeated amended over sixty years and the current version is known as the Consolidated version.
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union
The Treaty on the functioning of the European Union (TFEU) is the second main treaty of the EU along with the TEU. It goes into deeper detail on the role, policies and operation of the EU and is split into seven parts. It includes the powers relating to anti-discrimination legislation. The TFEU has also been amended repeatedly and the current version is known as the Consolidated version.
U
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an international organisation whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace. The UN was founded in 1945 after World War II to replace the League of Nations, to stop wars between countries, and to provide a platform for dialogue. It contains multiple subsidiary organizations to carry out its missions. There are 193 Member States.