EU coursework 14th January 2013

‘The courts direct effect decisions transformed the whole nature of the European Union from International organization to something like a federal union.’ (Shapiro) Discuss…
The Phrase international organisation can be commonly defined as entities established by formal political agreements between their members that have the status of international treaties; their existence is recognised by law in their member countries; they are not treated as resident institutional units of the countries in which they are located. This definition is what the vast majority of people would class the European union as; an international organisation. ‘International organisations’, those that include the UN (united nations), tend to leave their decision making processes to the executives and those who are higher up in the organisation, which can leave the public, the legislation the organisation is designed to protect, feeling disillusioned from the organisation and not feel as if they get a say. This is something that the EU attempted to prevent and made some progress with the Lisbon treaty, ‘representing the culmination of decades of Treaty reform, to create a closer relationship between the institutions and public’.
In contrast, a federal union is a political entity that is characterised by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central government. An example of a federal union is the United states of America. As it has so many states within its country each state has its own governer therefore each state has different responsibilities within the federal union. The more advanced subjective knowledge allows for a more competent and accomplished job to be done. There are certain aspects of a federal union within the EU, with the main institutions that are in charge of different aspects of the relevant EU law they