Starter What have you learnt already 1 How many stars on the EU flag?

1. 29th Sept 10The EU – A bit more detail...LO: To recap on work we have already covered in citizenship.To go into more detail on the power and institutions of the EU. Starter What have you learnt already 1 How many stars on the EU flag? 2 How many countries in the EU today? 3 How many citizens roughly in the EU – in millions? 4 What is the common currency in many EU countries? 5 How many countries use this currency at the moment?

2. Task 2 - EU questions taken from previous GCSE Exam papers: 1 Which description below matches the work of the European Union? (i) An economic and political alliance of member states. (ii) A meeting of European trade unions. (iii) An organisation that advises national parliaments across Europe. (iv) An organisation that decides on human rights law and judges complex cases. 2 Which of the following are countries which belong to the EU? • France, Uk, Switzerland & Poland • Germany, Italy, Belgium & Norway. • Spain, Russia, Portugal & Slovakia. • Czech Republic, Holland, Luxembourg & Romania. LO: To recap on work covered already in citizenship

3. Other questions you SHOULD be able to answer.... 3 What is meant by the term United Nations? (i) An international organisation of member states. (ii) A global charity. (iii) An international pressure group. (iv) An alliance of western nations led by the United States of America (USA) 4 Which term best fits the following description: “People with similar views who form an organisation to get decision-makers to change policies”? (i) Parliament. (ii) Pressure Group. (iii) The Citizens Advice Bureau. (iv) Political Party. LO; To recap on work we have already covered in citizenship.

4. Next.... 5 What is meant by the term The United Kingdom? (i) 27 European countries in an economic and political alliance. (ii) Any country without political divisions. (iii) The countries of Wales, Scotland, England and Northern Ireland. (iv) The countries of England and Wales. [1] 6 What is meant by the term cultural diversity? (i) Where there are different customs and traditions within a country. (ii) Where people come from different countries. (iii) Where people disagree about which values are important. (iv) Where people experience tensions within their family about beliefs. LO: To recap on work we have already covered in citizenship.

5. And some more you SHOULD be able to answer... 7 State one reason why people from other countries have moved (migrated) to live in the United Kingdom. (1) 8State one right a person is likely to have in a democracy but not a dictatorship. (1) 9State one way in which a pressure group might try to influence decision-making. (1) 10 State one responsibility a citizen has in a democracy. (1) /10 LO: To recap on work we have already covered in citizenship.

6. Taken from the Jan exam paper: Q Explain why the European Parliament carries out research on issues such as recycling, education andtransport. In your answer you should: •State why research is important for the European Parliament. • Explain why it is important for the European Parliament to carry out research into issues such as recycling, education and transport. (4) Could you answer this? LO: To recap on work we have already covered in citizenship. To go into more detail on the power and institutions of the EU.

7. THE EUROPEAN UNION • Promotes economic and social progress • Gives the EU a voice on the international scene • Introduces EU citizenship • Develops an area of freedom, security and justice. • Maintains and establishes EU Regulations (laws) LO: To go into more detail on the power and institutions of the EU.

8. LO: To go into more detail on the power and institutions of the EU. The EU is a higher level of Government for all Member States (MS’s)

9. The 5 EU INSTITUTIONS • Council of the EU (Meetings of Government ministers from each member state) • European Council (Heads of state) • European Commission (proposes laws) • European Parliament (Elected - MEP’s who debate and vote for laws) • European Court of Justice (ECJ) LO: To go into more detail on the power and institutions of the EU.

10. Council of the EU – Elected Ministers in EU countries • The Council of the EU is sometimes known as the Council of Ministers and it is the main decision making body of the EU. • It consists of government ministers from each member state with powers to decide policy and take decisions on how the EU is run eg the economic ministers would meet to discuss economic policy and transport ministers would meet to decide on transport policy. • The Council of ministers plays a similar role to the cabinet in the UK government LO: To go into more detail on the power and institutions of the EU.

11. LO: To go into more detail on the power and institutions of the EU. European Council (Elected Heads of state) • The European Council is the name given to regular meetings usually held in Brussels between the heads of the EU member states. • One of the purposes of these meetings is to decide on important issues that the EU need to examine eg in 2008 & 2009 the Council discussed ways to combat climate change and ways of dealing with the world’s economic crisis. • Decision making in the European Council is done by majority voting – Each country gets a number of votes to cast for each decision according to size and population eg UK, France, Italy & Germany currently have 29 votes where as Cyprus & Latvia have 4 votes. Q – What do you think is this fair or unfair?

12. European Commission – not elected The European Council is based in Brussels and is the civil service of the EU taking care of the day to day running of the organisation. About 25 000 people work for the Commission and it does several key jobs: • Drafts proposals for new laws • Checks countries are following the laws and treaties of the EU • It can take legal action against countries not following laws • Represents the EU on the International stage Q – Does it seem fair that non elected individuals can propose new laws and or represent the EU in International negotiations? LO: To go into more detail on the power and institutions of the EU.

13. European Parliament – Elected Members of the European Parliament (MEP’s) • The EP (European parliament) is the only directly elected body within the EU in that these people are elected to serve for the EU and in the EU’s interest. There are currently 785 MEP’s of which 78 are represented from the UK. • MEP’s carry out a lot of research in key areas to help them debate and pass laws. • The EP has the power to decide on many BUT NOT ALL aspects of European law and they have some control over the EU spending budget but again with restrictions. • The European Parliament has buildings in Brussels, Strasbourg and Luxembourg where MEP’s meet. Q – Does the EP have more or less power than the UK parliament? Explain LO: To go into more detail on the power and institutions of the EU.

14. European Court of Justice (ECJ)Unelected Judges • The ECJ makes sure Member States follow the law. • It is located in Luxembourg and is the highest court in the EU thus over ruling all national courts. • The court is made up of judges from all member states and appointed for a period of 6 years. • Recent cases brought before the court include: air quality standards in the UK, undersize fish being sold in France, the rights of workers to carry on working past 65 in the UK. LO: To go into more detail on the power and institutions of the EU.

15. Task – From Jan exam paper:In SilenceCopy out question before you answer it please: Q Explain why the European Parliament carries out research on issues such as recycling, education andtransport. In your answer you should: •State why research is important for the European Parliament. • Explain why it is important for the European Parliament to carry out research into issues such as recycling, education and transport. (4 marks) LO: To recap on work we have already covered in citizenship. To go into more detail on the power and institutions of the EU.

16. The EU – The Big Idea Peace and economic prosperity bound by political treaties THUS a political and economic club of EU countries. A Common single market where goods, services, people and money(capital) can move around freely between member states. Thus they MUST follow common laws – Regulations, Directives & Decisions which are all binding in different ways... LO: To go into more detail on the power and institutions of the EU.

17. The Nitty Gritty.... European law is created in 3 ways: • By Treaties(the building blocs of the EU) which all member states (MS’s) sign: eg The Treaty of Rome 1957 (freedom of movement),The Treaty of Maastricht 1993 (Common Citizenship, The Euro) • Laws (Regulations, Directives and Decisions) • ECJ (European Court of Justice) Rulings – rulings made by the European Court which is higher (takes precedence) than the Supreme Court in the UK! LO: To go into more detail on the power and institutions of the EU.

18. Regulations These law are binding (must be followed ) on all member states (MS’s) and do NOT require MS’s to pass their own laws. Regulations are created by the European Commission and must be based on a specific article in a Treaty eg The treaty of Rome allows people to move freely for work between each member state thus there is an EU Regulation (law) that states that each MS must allow visiting EU workers the same rights to education & housing as their own citizens. LO: To go into more detail on the power and institutions of the EU.

19. Directives Directives are like regulations BUT with Directives member states (MS’s) are allowed to decide for themselves exactly how that will be done. For example : In 2006 the EU passed the Data Retention Directive requiring MS’s to keep details of all mobile phone and landline calls for between 6 months and 2 years – a measure designed to help investigate & detect serious crime. The EU Directive became UK law in 2007 which requires all call details to be logged and stored for 1 year. LO: To go into more detail on the power and institutions of the EU.

20. LO: To go into more detail on the power and institutions of the EU. Decisions Decisions are judgements made by the Council of Ministers or European Commission which MUST be put into practice. It is rather like a Regulation in that NO national laws are required to put decisions into practice. For example in 2008 the European Commission (EC) gave Member states 3 months to put into practice a Decisionrequiring ALL toys containing small magnets to carry a warning about the risks posed if swallowed or inhaled.

21. THE ECJ – European Court of Justice The ECJ is the head of the EU legal system. Two of it’s most important jobs are: • To consider claims that member sates are not keeping to the terms of the Treaties • To clarify or interpret points of EU law (a bit like the Supreme Court in the UK) For example: In 2007, the ECJ decided that a German law preventing the Volkswagen car company from being taken over was against the EU law and must be changed. LO: To go into more detail on the power and institutions of the EU.

22. LO: To go into more detail on the power and institutions of the EU. A case Study: Often in the UK the tabloid newspapers like to complain about EU/ Brussels bureaucracy probably because it is a VERY bureaucratic institution. (pounds /oz Versus Kilos/grams) In 2008 some UK newspapers complained about EU regulations that were preventing bus drivers from driving more than 31 miles (50km) without a rest resulting they argued in longer waiting times or cuts to bus routes. HOWEVER – many pointed out it was a very sensible measure that would improve safety and pre4vent drivers from falling asleep at the wheel. A time span of 3 years was offered to bus companies to make the necessary changes. What do you think?

23. TASKStretching your understanding 1 The EU today is an important source of UK law. What are some of the strengths and weaknesses of this? 2 To achieve it’s aims EU law today covers things like employment, business, transport, farming, fisheries, the environment, energy and security matters. Can you think of two areas of UK law that are unlikely to be affected by EU Law. LO: To go into more detail on the power and institutions of the EU.

24. Homework – for next week 6th OctUsing Frog Using Frog click on today’s lesson (29th SeptEU2) via Classroom /subjects/ Citizenship/ 10ci1 /lessons) and read through it all then complete the tasks below. 1A criticism made of the EU is that it is not democratic enough. Go through each of the 5 main Institutions of the EU and give each one a ‘democratic score’ – A zero = very undemocratic and 5 = a very democratic institution – then work out the total score out of 25 (eg 5 institutions worth up to 5 marks each). 2 What does your total score say about the EU – Explain. 3 Now give the following UK Government Institutions a democratic score (/5) : The Cabinet, House of Commons, House of Lords, The Judiciary (The Legal/Court System) & Local government. 4 Work out your total score /25 – what does your score show about UK government? Explain

25. Plenary Quick Quiz Have you met your LO? LO: To recap on work we have already covered in citizenship.To go into more detail on the power and institutions of the EU.