EVENTS from Other Institutions
A Practical Guide on EU Law for Local Governments
Responding to EU Legal, Institutional and Jurisdictional Challenges
November 16, 2023 - November 17, 2023
Venue: Barc
Organizer(s): European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA)
Language: English
Contact: Programme Organiser
Ms Blanka Opletalova
Tel: +352 426 230 305
b.opletalova@eipa.eu
Info link: https://www.eipa.eu/courses/eu-law-local-governments/
Are you an official working for a municipality, region or federated entity of an EU Member State or a candidate country?
Would you like to learn about the position of sub-state authorities and administrations in the EU legal system and their responsibilities in the application of EU law? Would you like to obtain an insight into the various forums and mechanisms permitting the intervention of these authorities in the shaping of EU policies?
By attending this highly practical course, you will acquire the practical skills required to voice and represent the interest of your local government in the process of adopting EU legal acts.
The course will also equip you with the know-how necessary to ensure their correct legal absorption and administrative application once the acts are approved, and avoid breaches of EU law which could end up to judicial prosecution.
Moreover, the course will instil in you the necessary strategies and skills to defend the interests of your local government against the EU institutions before the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Finally, the course will provide you with necessary know-how to apply for EU funding.
What will you learn
EU law and EU law requirements produce an enormous weight on sub-state entities (federated units in federal states, regions, provinces and municipalities). All these entities are responsible for the material application of EU law, having to ensure their administrative application and judicial enforcement. Moreover, depending on territorial repartition of state power among constituent units, some of these sub-state entities could have been awarded rule-making capacities to a different degree. Hence, and in these cases, these entities would also be responsible for the legal application of EU law requirements, resulting in the necessity of having to adopt transposition norms, regulatory provisions, and legal acts of a different nature (from legislative acts to administrative acts).
In addition, all these sub-state entities have legal standing before the Court of Justice of the EU, to contest EU acts which are of their individual and direct concern. Also, they can ask for their participation as intervening parties in other ongoing procedures. Consequently, and in both cases, they can act as litigants against the action of EU institutions they presume illegal and resort to the procedures established by the court.
Moreover, many of these entities pursue an active policy of advocacy of their interest vis-à-vis the EU institutions and at different European forums through different formulas (representation offices in Brussels, lobby strategies, etc.). All of them can also intervene in the decision-making process of the legal instruments they will have to adopt later on. Although the type of participation and their degree of influence in these processes is regulated by national law provisions, there are some EU instances or procedures where they can participate (European Committee of the Regions, working parties of Council, lobbying in the European Parliament, etc.).
In addition, many of these entities are beneficiaries of EU grants and manage or will manage projects, financed by the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) and the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), which must be in line with the principles of effectiveness, efficiency and economy, and observe the applicable public procurement legislation, eligibility rules, audit trail, publicity rules, transparency, equal treatment, and avoidance of conflict of interests and double funding.
By the end of the course, you will have acquired:
an up-to-date knowledge of the different sources of EU law and an understanding of the obligations of sub-state entities resulting from them, so you can ensure their correct material and legal application;
a clear understanding of the criteria for the distribution of competences between the EU, state and sub-state authorities, so you can determine the roles of your entity in the implementation of European policies and hence devise a coherent normative and policy plan in connection with the policy actions of the other two levels (EU and state);
an insight into the different EU mechanisms (formal and informal) and forums where sub-state interests can be presented and advocated, and a grasp of the most useful strategies to influence EU policy outcomes;
a clear comprehension of the principles (primacy, direct effect, etc.) that govern the relations between the legal order of the EU and that of the Member States, and their implications on the work of civil servants of sub-state administrations when applying EU norms (duties of consistent interpretation, of disapplying the state/sub-state provision contradictory to EU law, etc.);
an understanding of the situations and cases in which sub-state entities can initiate a legal procedure before the Court of Justice of the EU and the practical know-how to properly operate in the different phases of the procedure (how to draft a complaint, how to respond to the written allegations of the defendant EU institution, how to plead before the court before and during the hearings);
up-to-date knowledge of the different opportunities for financing of sub-state authorities and administrations projects by the EU programmes and facilities;
a clear understanding of the legal framework and requirements in relation to the management and implementation of the EU-funded projects;
a practical knowledge of the significant risks in the implementation of the EU-funded projects, common errors, financial corrections and audit findings.
Would you like to learn about the position of sub-state authorities and administrations in the EU legal system and their responsibilities in the application of EU law? Would you like to obtain an insight into the various forums and mechanisms permitting the intervention of these authorities in the shaping of EU policies?
By attending this highly practical course, you will acquire the practical skills required to voice and represent the interest of your local government in the process of adopting EU legal acts.
The course will also equip you with the know-how necessary to ensure their correct legal absorption and administrative application once the acts are approved, and avoid breaches of EU law which could end up to judicial prosecution.
Moreover, the course will instil in you the necessary strategies and skills to defend the interests of your local government against the EU institutions before the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Finally, the course will provide you with necessary know-how to apply for EU funding.
What will you learn
EU law and EU law requirements produce an enormous weight on sub-state entities (federated units in federal states, regions, provinces and municipalities). All these entities are responsible for the material application of EU law, having to ensure their administrative application and judicial enforcement. Moreover, depending on territorial repartition of state power among constituent units, some of these sub-state entities could have been awarded rule-making capacities to a different degree. Hence, and in these cases, these entities would also be responsible for the legal application of EU law requirements, resulting in the necessity of having to adopt transposition norms, regulatory provisions, and legal acts of a different nature (from legislative acts to administrative acts).
In addition, all these sub-state entities have legal standing before the Court of Justice of the EU, to contest EU acts which are of their individual and direct concern. Also, they can ask for their participation as intervening parties in other ongoing procedures. Consequently, and in both cases, they can act as litigants against the action of EU institutions they presume illegal and resort to the procedures established by the court.
Moreover, many of these entities pursue an active policy of advocacy of their interest vis-à-vis the EU institutions and at different European forums through different formulas (representation offices in Brussels, lobby strategies, etc.). All of them can also intervene in the decision-making process of the legal instruments they will have to adopt later on. Although the type of participation and their degree of influence in these processes is regulated by national law provisions, there are some EU instances or procedures where they can participate (European Committee of the Regions, working parties of Council, lobbying in the European Parliament, etc.).
In addition, many of these entities are beneficiaries of EU grants and manage or will manage projects, financed by the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) and the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), which must be in line with the principles of effectiveness, efficiency and economy, and observe the applicable public procurement legislation, eligibility rules, audit trail, publicity rules, transparency, equal treatment, and avoidance of conflict of interests and double funding.
By the end of the course, you will have acquired:
an up-to-date knowledge of the different sources of EU law and an understanding of the obligations of sub-state entities resulting from them, so you can ensure their correct material and legal application;
a clear understanding of the criteria for the distribution of competences between the EU, state and sub-state authorities, so you can determine the roles of your entity in the implementation of European policies and hence devise a coherent normative and policy plan in connection with the policy actions of the other two levels (EU and state);
an insight into the different EU mechanisms (formal and informal) and forums where sub-state interests can be presented and advocated, and a grasp of the most useful strategies to influence EU policy outcomes;
a clear comprehension of the principles (primacy, direct effect, etc.) that govern the relations between the legal order of the EU and that of the Member States, and their implications on the work of civil servants of sub-state administrations when applying EU norms (duties of consistent interpretation, of disapplying the state/sub-state provision contradictory to EU law, etc.);
an understanding of the situations and cases in which sub-state entities can initiate a legal procedure before the Court of Justice of the EU and the practical know-how to properly operate in the different phases of the procedure (how to draft a complaint, how to respond to the written allegations of the defendant EU institution, how to plead before the court before and during the hearings);
up-to-date knowledge of the different opportunities for financing of sub-state authorities and administrations projects by the EU programmes and facilities;
a clear understanding of the legal framework and requirements in relation to the management and implementation of the EU-funded projects;
a practical knowledge of the significant risks in the implementation of the EU-funded projects, common errors, financial corrections and audit findings.
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