European Union Structure and Legal Supremacy

European Union: Internal Organization

There are four institutions that stand out within its organization:

Key EU Institutions

• The European Parliament is a representative body of the peoples of the Member States, who elect its members by direct and secret universal suffrage since 1979. The European Parliament does not currently exercise the full legislative function. Its traditional missions include deliberation, political control over the Commission, and approving the Community's budget.
• The Council is composed of representatives from the governments of the Member States. It is the intergovernmental body with ultimate decision-making power, including legislative functions. This body provides political impetus for the European Union, resolving major discrepancies that may arise between Member States.
• The Commission acts as the Community's "executive," ensuring compliance with the Treaties. It may also adopt decisions assigned to the Council, including legislation by delegation.
• The Court of Justice guarantees respect for the Treaties by all bodies and Member States, and unifies the interpretation of the system as a whole.

The Principle of Primacy of EU Law

This principle means that in a conflict between national law and EU law, legal operators must always apply EU standards preferentially. The basic idea can be summarized as follows: once Member States have transferred the exercise of their powers to the European Community, its performance, which must necessarily be uniform across all Member States, cannot be conditioned or limited by a national rule or decision.

Major challenges concerning the principle of primacy arise from potential contradictions between EU rules and domestic constitutional norms. This is particularly true for provisions related to fundamental rights and other basic principles of a social and democratic state governed by the rule of law, notably the democratic principle that governs its organization and operation.

The Court of Justice of the European Union has consistently held that the rules of EU law must prevail over any national standard. Otherwise, the necessary uniformity in the application of EU law throughout the Union could not be secured.