MATSEC SEC European Studies cheat sheet

EU motto: 'United in diversity', used since 2000; it is a symbolic declaration, not a treaty article.

Europe Day is 9 May, commemorating the 1950 Schuman Declaration; it is distinct from the founding treaties signed in Paris (1951) and Rome (1957).

Culture is a supporting competence under Article 6 TFEU: the EU may coordinate or supplement member-state action but cannot harmonise cultural laws.

Creative Europe (2021-2027) has a budget of about €2.44 billion and funds culture, media and cross-border cooperation; it does not run the Erasmus+ student mobility scheme.

European Capitals of Culture have been designated since 1985; Valletta held the title in 2018, and the scheme is managed by the Commission.

The European Heritage Label, established in 2013, marks sites with symbolic value for European history and integration; it is separate from UNESCO World Heritage listing.

The EU currently has 24 official languages, including Maltese (since 2004) and Irish (since 2007); all are treaty languages, while English, French and German dominate internal working practice.

The Council of Europe, not the EU, runs the Cultural Routes programme launched in 1987; certified routes include the Camino de Santiago.

Civic European identity rests on shared values in Article 2 TEU (human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, rule of law, human rights) and on EU citizenship, which is additional to national citizenship.

ECSC: Treaty of Paris signed 1951, in force 1952, among Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany; it expired in 2002.

EEC and Euratom: Treaties of Rome signed 1957, in force 1958; the EEC created a common market and customs union.

Single European Act (1986, in force 1987) set the 31 December 1992 deadline for the single market and expanded qualified majority voting.

Maastricht Treaty (1992, in force 1993) created the EU, introduced EU citizenship and the three-pillar structure, and set the EMU timetable.

Lisbon Treaty (2007, in force 2009) abolished the pillars, made the Charter of Fundamental Rights legally binding, and created the permanent European Council president and High Representative.

Schengen: the 1985 agreement began passport-free travel; implementation started in 1995; Ireland and Cyprus remain outside, while non-EU states such as Switzerland and Norway participate.

Enlargement waves: 1973 Denmark, Ireland and UK; 1981 Greece; 1986 Spain and Portugal; 1995 Austria, Finland and Sweden; 2004 ten states including Malta; 2007 Bulgaria and Romania; 2013 Croatia.

The UK left the EU on 31 January 2020; the transition period ended on 31 December 2020, so it is no longer an EU member.

The European Parliament has been directly elected since 1979; the first elections used national constituencies, and MEPs now sit in transnational political groups.

European Commission: one commissioner per member state (27); proposes most legislation, enforces EU law, manages the budget and negotiates trade; President Ursula von der Leyen for 2024-2029.

Council of the EU: ministers by policy configuration; co-legislates with Parliament; most decisions use qualified majority voting.

Qualified majority in the Council: for Commission proposals, at least 55% of member states (15 of 27) representing at least 65% of the EU population; a blocking minority needs at least four states.

European Council: heads of state or government, its own president (António Costa from December 2024) and the Commission president; it sets strategic direction and does not exercise legislative functions (Article 15 TEU).

European Parliament: 720 MEPs elected for five years; co-legislates, approves the EU budget and elects the Commission president; it can censure the Commission.

Ordinary legislative procedure: Commission proposal, Parliament and Council readings, and conciliation if no agreement; informal trilogues negotiate compromises before formal votes.

Court of Justice of the EU: Luxembourg; one judge per member state plus eleven advocates general; interprets EU law and rules on infringement and validity; the General Court has two judges per state.

Subsidiarity: the EU acts only if objectives cannot be sufficiently achieved by member states and can be better achieved at EU level; national parliaments can issue reasoned opinions and trigger yellow/orange cards.

Enhanced cooperation requires at least nine member states and Council authorisation; it lets a group integrate further when EU-wide agreement is blocked, without involving all states.

Malta joined the EU on 1 May 2004 in the fifth enlargement, together with Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Accession referendum: 8 March 2003; 53.6% voted yes on a turnout of about 91%; the result was not legally binding but enabled the government to proceed.

Malta adopted the euro on 1 January 2008, replacing the Maltese lira, after meeting the Maastricht convergence criteria.

Malta joined the Schengen area on 21 December 2007; internal border checks with other Schengen states were removed.

Maltese is an official EU language following accession in 2004; it is one of the 24 official languages and treaty texts are authentic in Maltese.

Malta held the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU from January to June 2017; the presidency chairs Council meetings and sets the agenda for its term.

Malta elects six MEPs; elections use the single transferable vote in a single national constituency, and the 2024 election was held on 8 June.

Malta has one European commissioner; in the 2024-2029 Commission, Glenn Micallef holds the Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport portfolio.

Malta is not a NATO member; its constitution declares neutrality, and EU membership is compatible with that status.

EU citizenship: every national of a member state is an EU citizen; rights include free movement, voting in European Parliament and municipal elections in the host state, consular protection, petitioning Parliament and complaining to the Ombudsman.

European Citizens' Initiative: needs one million signatures from at least seven member states; the Commission must examine it and give a reasoned response, but is not obliged to propose legislation.

Free movement: Directive 2004/38/EC allows EU citizens to stay over three months in another state as workers, self-employed, students, self-sufficient persons or family members; permanent residence after five years.

Charter of Fundamental Rights: legally binding since the Lisbon Treaty; it applies to EU institutions and to member states when implementing EU law, not to every national law.

European Green Deal (2019): EU strategy for climate neutrality by 2050; the European Climate Law sets a 2030 target of at least 55% net greenhouse-gas reduction compared with 1990.

NextGenerationEU: temporary recovery fund of about €806.9 billion in current prices; it finances grants and loans through the Recovery and Resilience Facility and other instruments.

Rule of law: Article 7 TEU allows the Council to assess serious breaches and suspend certain membership rights; expulsion is not provided for in the treaties.

EU budget 2021-2027: about €1.211 trillion in current prices, plus NextGenerationEU; it is financed by own resources including customs duties, VAT-based contributions and GNI-based contributions.

Enlargement: candidate status does not guarantee membership; accession requires unanimous Council agreement, European Parliament assent and ratification by all member states.