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The European Union’s primary law

 

SUMMARY OF:

EU primary law

WHAT IS PRIMARY LAW?

KEY POINTS

Primary law, also known as primary sources, is derived from the EU’s:

  • 1.

    founding treaties;

  • 2.

    amending treaties;

  • 3.

    accession treaties;

  • 4.

    protocols annexed to those treaties;

  • 5.

    supplementary agreements amending specific sections of the founding treaties;

  • 6.

Scope of primary law

BACKGROUND

In addition to primary law, EU law is based on secondary and supplementary sources.

International agreements with non-EU countries or with international organisations are also an integral part of EU law. These agreements are separate from primary law and secondary legislation and form a sui generis category (that is, a unique category of their own). According to the CJEU judgment in the Demirel v Stadt Schwäbisch Gmünd case, international agreements can have direct effect and their legal force is superior to secondary legislation, which must therefore comply with them. An international agreement is directly applicable if it contains a clear and precise obligation that is not subject to the adoption of any subsequent measure.

MAIN DOCUMENT

Consolidated versions of the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union – Consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union – Consolidated version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union – Protocols – Annexes to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union – Declarations annexed to the Final Act of the Intergovernmental Conference which adopted the Treaty of Lisbon, signed on 13 December 2007 – Tables of equivalences (OJ C 202, 7.6.2016, pp. 1–388).

last update 12.10.2022



(1) The United Kingdom withdrew from the European Union and became a third country (non-EU country) as of 1 February 2020.

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