European Union law is a system of laws that operate within the members states of European Union. The EU is comprised of political institutions, social and economic policies. The Court of Justice denotes that the EU laws represent the new legal order of international law. Treaty on European Union and Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union are the two main legal foundations that the 28 member states agreed to work with. The Union give chances for the new members to join as long as they will operate within the rules given by the organization. Nevertheless, existing members are also allowed to leave in regards to their constitutional requirements.
The EU is run by five main institutions. There are; European Council, Council of European Union, the European Parliament, the Court of Justice, and the European Commission. Each institution has its role to play when EU laws are concerned. The laws are drafted by the Commission and then they are approved by the Council and the European Parliament. The European commission s responsible in proposing new laws after it consults with other EU institutions as well as the interested parties. The commission drafts the laws, which must then be approved that the Council. The approved draft can then be amended by the Council and the European Parliament. The National parliaments are given the opportunity to express their views on the amendment and can also challenge if they do not agree that the action should be taken at the EU level. If the challenged law is not approved by the established treaties then it cannot be enacted. However, if the law is enacted, member states are required to put it into practice.
Since the use of permethrin on crops is legalized among the EU laws it means that it was passed through the procedure of making a new law before It was implemented. However, France is in a position where she feels that the use of this chemical brings more harm than good to the people. France states that permethrin poses a great risk on the health of animals and humans who consume crops that are sprayed this chemical. As a result, France wants to place restrictions on its use whereby it seeks provisions that will limit the use of permethrin. By introducing the provisions that will limit the use of permethrin in France, France is infringing the rights of a citizen of a member state who is willing to produce a variety of products that will make use of the chemical. In this regard, France will be violating the EU laws as all member states are required to put into practice the EU laws that are enacted.
Otto, a Dutch produce of new varieties of Barley, is hoping to market his products in France. He is concerned about the new legislation as he feels that it has an impact of his production. It is possible for Otto to challenge the provisions set by France to ensure that they limit the use of permethrin chemical in the country. However, Otto is not guaranteed that the court will rule in his favor. In this regard, The Court of Justice is important in running the laws enacted by EU and it can rule over the challenges presented to it regarding EU laws. Otto can challenge France provision to limit use of permethrin in a court of justice. During Otto’s case the court can challenge the France law on the basis of the EU laws and how the law is allowed according to the treaty article in which it is based. The court will interpret what the treaty article means and explain whether it allows or not or it can argue in the basis of whether the law initiated is intended to discriminate against some citizens. If the court is convinced by the arguments the France provisions to limit the use of permethrin chemical will be declared invalid. Otto can challenge the France law in a court of justice f he thinks that it is in contrary to the country’s obligation under EU laws. If the court is convinced by the claims, it can rule that the country is incompatible with the laws of European Union. If such happens, then the member state is required to comply with the laws outlined by the EU.
Otto can challenge the France decision to impose provisions to limit use of permethrin in the country in the basis of him coming from member states of European Union. EU countries are required to provide equal treatment to all the citizens of EU in matters concerning tax. EU countries are not to conflict with the EU laws by either discriminating on the basis of nationalities or introducing restriction that are unjustified in regard to EU Treaty of Freedom. The fundamental treaty of freedom gives free movement of people, good and services to all EU citizens across the member states. Therefore, the treaty of freedom claims that unjustified restriction is the condition where a provision is imposed which cannot be justified by the public interest consideration. In this regard, Otto should use the provisions put in place that target the Barley importers. Since Otto is not from France he can argue on the basis of being denied his rights of moving goods from one country to the other as long as they are members of the European Union. If the provision is evaluated, it will be used to determine if France should continue with the new law or not. The fact is if the restriction will be justifiable by public interest considerations, France will be allowed to enact the law. If the provisions will have unjustifiable reasons, then it will be considered invalid.
Otto can also challenge France on basis of unjustifiable restrictions on the freedom of movement of capital of persons receiving dividends. EU laws do not allow EU countries to impose higher taxation on the person conducting business who is a resident in another European Union country. While trying to implement the rue of limiting the use of permethrin in France, the implementers should treat all EU citizens equally. This means that France should not impose higher tax on importers from EU countries that are willing to work in or work with France. Therefore, while challenging France decision, Otto should consider using higher taxation imposed by barley importers to ensure that the Court of justice uses that argument to either validate or invalidate the claim.
Besides, Otto can use the idea that France is not complying with the EU laws to challenge France decision of restricting the use of permethrin.EU requires member states to fulfill their obligation of EU by complying with EU laws and incorporating EU legal acts into their national laws. Otto can challenge France by pointing that France is not complying with the EU laws as it is trying to implement a law that is contrary to EU laws. For France to implement a law that is contrary to EU laws, it must ensure that it complies with the Treaties, regulations, and decisions of the European Council and the Council Parliament. Also, in its legislation, France should ensure that it incorporates all the EU directives that demonstrate how member states should implement their national laws. Therefore, Otto can use the Court of Justice to assess if France has met all the requirements before implementing the law that limit use of permethrin in France.
Otto can also use infringement cases to challenge France from implementing a law that is contrary to EU laws. The first case of infringement that Otto can use is incorrect or non-application of EU law by a member state. Since France is a member state of European Union, she is not supposed to implement a law that is in contrary with EU laws as it will fall under using the EU laws incorrectly. Additionally, any EU member state willing to transpose a directive into national legislation should notify the commission before doing that. It is likely that France has not notified European Union Commission and the intension of imposing a law that is against EU laws. In this regard, Otto can use the Court of Justice to evaluate whether France has taken that initiative of notifying the commission before coming up with provisions that affect citizens of European Union member states.
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