On admission to the examination room, you should acquaint yourself with the instructions below. You must listen carefully to all instructions given by the invigilators. You may read the question paper, but must not write anything until the invigilator informs you that you may start the examination. You will be given five minutes at the end of the examination to complete the front of any answer books used. May/June 2016 LW3FEU 2015/16 A 001 Case List (unannotated) EU Statute Book and Dictionaries Permitted UNIVERSITY OF READING EU LAW (LW2EUL) FOUNDATIONS OF EU LAW (LW3FEU) Three hours Answer THREE questions.
Page 2 1. Since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty the scope of EU competence is clear, and effective monitoring mechanisms ensure that the EU institutions exercise their competence in compliance with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. Discuss. 2. Critically assess the extent to which the principle of supremacy is established in the EU s legal order. Take account of the approach taken by the CJEU and by national courts. Focus on one Member State of your choice. 3. The EU legal order is about economic integration and not about human rights. Discuss. 4. The (fictitious) Vocational Training Directive states: all employees who are made redundant shall be entitled to a financial grant covering the cost of following a vocational training course for a period of at least 6 months. The Directive was adopted in 2014 and the time limit for its implementation is 1 January 2016. The UK has already implemented the Directive by adopting the (fictitious) Aid for Redundant Employees Regulations 2015. The Regulations state: all employers shall provide appropriate support in assisting redundant employees to find alternative employment. Annette was recently made redundant. Her employer was the Water Quality Agency. The Agency is a private company operating a government contract to inspect water quality. Originally, the Agency was government-owned, but five years ago it was privatised. Although it is a private company, the terms of its contract allow the government to set its annual work programme and the government has a representative on its managing board.
Page 3 Annette would like to retrain as a food safety inspector, but the 3- month course will cost 1,500. She asked her former employer for a grant, but it refused to provide one. Instead, it offers her professional assistance in writing her CV and job interview techniques. She has heard about the Directive and seeks your advice. (a) Advise Annette whether EU law can be of assistance to her; AND (b) Would your answer differ if the time limit for implementation of the Directive had been 1 January 2017? 5. Finland is contemplating the possible introduction of the following measures: (a) A law prohibiting the importation of smokeless tobacco products. (b) A law requiring that vodka sold in its territory must have a minimum alcohol content of 42%. (c) A law prohibiting the advertising of pornographic materials. Advise Finland whether these measures can amount to a violation of EU law. (When answering this question, assume that there has not been EU harmonisation with regards to any of these matters). 6. Amália is a Portuguese national who has been living in London for the last 20 years and works as a fado singer at a Portuguese restaurant. While on holiday in Brazil in 2012, she met João (a Brazilian national) and since then, they have been in a committed TURN OVER
Page 4 relationship. Although they live in different countries, they visit each other often and spend all their holidays together. They now wish to live together in London, and João who has entered the UK on a tourist visa, has applied for a long-term residence permit as a family member of a migrant worker. The UK authorities refuse to issue the residence permit, on the ground that João and Amália are not married. Moreover, the UK authorities have pointed out that Amália only met João after she had exercised her free movement rights, and, thus, even if João could be considered Amália s family member, family reunification rights cannot be derived from EU law. Bronislovas moved from Lithuania to Munich three months ago, in search of a job as a plumber. He has been applying to various companies which specialise in providing handyman services, but so far he has been unsuccessful. He is concerned that within the next month or so, the savings he has brought with him will be spent and, therefore, he is wondering whether he will be able to claim a jobseeker s allowance. Catherine is Irish and moved to the UK last September to study Mathematics at the University of Reading. Although the UK government granted her a (low interest) Tuition Fee Loan, it has refused to grant her a (low interest) loan which would cover her maintenance expenses, on the ground that she was not resident in the UK during the three years preceding the initiation of her studies. Catherine thinks that this is a violation of EU law. Advise the parties concerned as to whether EU law can be of any assistance to them. 7. [T]he introduction of [Union] citizenship has bolstered the existing rights of EU nationals and created some new rights both under the Treaty and in secondary legislation. However, it would be an exaggeration to say that citizenship has entirely subsumed the previous legal status categories and become the primary and fundamental status of EU nationals as the language of the Court
Page 5 at times suggests. (P. Craig and G. de Búrca, EU Law: Text, Cases and Materials (OUP, 2015), p. 887). Discuss, in the light of the relevant provisions of the Treaties and of secondary legislation as well as the CJEU s case law. (End of Question Paper) TURN OVER