Paper Summary:

The paper outlines the functions of the European Parliament (EP) and the Court of Justice of the European Communities (ECJ), the highest court in the European Union. The paper discusses how the EP has taken an interest in expanding its power, and that interest sometimes conflicts with the ECJ's role. The paper focuses on three cases that directly address EP's jurisdiction and demonstrate the ECJ's role in extending or limiting that jurisdiction. The paper also addresses the Maastricht treaty that set up the pillar system and concludes that fears that the ECJ has unduly increased the EP's power seem largely unfounded.

Outline:
Introduction
Extending the Borders of Parliament's Jurisdiction
The Maastricht Treaty and the Reinforcement Powers of the European Parliament
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"The European Parliament (EP) and the Council of the European Union are the legislative branches of the European Union. The EP is the directly-elected parliamentary institution of the European Union (EU), and, as such, is the largest trans-national directly-elected institution in the world. As a result, it is one of the most powerful representative legislative bodies in the world, despite the fact that its powers are limited because each member state is sovereign. Moreover, the Treaty of Maastricht divided the European Union into three distinct pillars, a community (EC) pillar, a common foreign and security policy (CFSP) pillar, and a police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters (PJCC) pillar. The EP's involvement is practically limited to the EC, though it does have some limited power and influence in the CFSP and PJCC pillars. Because the EP's influence is the strongest in the EC, it has a significant amount of control over the EU's economic security. For example, the European Parliament legislates in the following areas: customs, economic markets, agricultural policy, social policy, fisheries policy, economic competition, education, culture, citizenship, immigration, political asylum, consumer protection, healthcare, research, and environmental law. Despite its virtual limitations to one pillar, the EP has significant power. For example, it has control over the EU's budget and can veto appointments to the European Commission."

Sample of Sources Used:

• "Article 230." Treaty of Nice. 2000. University College Cork. 25 Aug. 2009 <http://www.ucc.ie/acad/appsoc/tmp_store/EUofficial/treaties/Nice%20draft%20treaty_approved%20by%20the%20con%20of%20the%20repr%20of%20governme.pdf>.
• Case 70/88, European Parliament v. Council of Ministers, Judgment of the ECJ of 22 March 1990, European Court Reports 1990, p. I-2041.
• Case 302/87, Parliament v. Council of the European Communities, Judgment of the ECJ of 27 September 1988. European Court Reports 1988, 5615.
• Case 294/83, Parti Ecologiste 'Les Verts' v. European Parliament, Judgment of the ECJ of 23 April 1986, European Court Reports 1986, p.1339.
• Ocana, Juan Carlos. "The Treaty of Maastrich." The History of the European Union. 2003.

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