Suchergebnisse

The author discusses provisions of the German Constitution and the practice of the German Federal Constitutional Court relevant for ratification of the Maastricht treaty and German membership in the European Union. In that context, the Manfred Brunner case decided by the Federal Constitutional Court is discussed. The mentioned decision has removed constitutional obstacles and has confirmed the constitutionality of the ratification of the Maastricht Treaty. The author suggests that the Constitutional Court has strengthened its position and defined itself as a safeguard of German state sovereignty and an obstacle for creeping extension of powers of the Union at expense of its Member States. At the same time, Constitutional Amendments were adopted in order to protect the German federal structure and affirm the role of the German Federal Countries in supranational decision making processes. The author suggests that the practice of the German Federal Constitutional Court fits well into the general trend of strengthening the role of the judiciary within both the national and supranational balance of power. (SOI : PM: S. 255)

The author discusses the provisions of the German Constitution & the practice of the German Federal Constitutional Court relevant for ratification of the Maastricht treaty & German membership in the European Union. In that context, the Brunner case decided by the Federal Constitutional Court is discussed. This decision has removed constitutional obstacles & has confirmed the constitutionality of ratification of the Maastricht Treaty. The author suggests that the Constitutional Court has strengthened its position & defined itself as a safeguard of German state sovereignty & an obstacle to the creeping extension of powers of the EU at the expense of its member states. At the same time, Constitutional amendments were adopted to protect the German federal structure & affirm the role of German Lander in supranational decision-making processes. The author suggests that the practice of the German Federal Constitutional Court fits well in the general trend of strengthening the role of the judiciary with regard to both the national & supranational balance of power. Adapted from the source document.

Historically & geographically, the transitional countries of Central, Eastern, & Southeastern Europe, created by the collapse of the real-socialist system, have always been oriented toward the West European markets & eager to create close economic & political ties with the EU member countries & to be integrated into the Western economic system. The EU leaders are well aware of the economic hardships these new transitional countries are faced with, & realize that it will take them several years to adjust to the new system of values & behavior. With this in mind, they came up with a proposal to create an integration of these transitional countries under the advisory leadership, & with the active help, of the EU economic agencies. One of the positive goals of the idea of integration by means of CEFTA was to establish a relatively homogeneous economic entity & create the conditions necessary for future successful economic cooperation with the EU. The cooperation of the transitional countries & the EU so far has shown some promise, but also some shortcomings, which ought to be eliminated, or at least have their negative consequences minimized. There are two types of shortcomings -- institutional & the material -- & they depend on the degree of development of a transitional country, its legal norms, & other (political, social, & cultural) noneconomic factors. 2 Tables. Adapted from the source document.