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JUSTICE

Nowadays the European Union plays a remarkable role in our life, as we have social, political and economic rights. Everything we do is connected to the laws that the EU has made. Some cases that the EU takes care of are for instance education, travelling, the environment and serious crimes.

The laws that the EU creates can be divided into two categories: Directives and Regulations. Every day we are constantly surrounded by these, but we hardly know how life would be without them. We should be very glad to have these laws. Because how would life be without the Schengen Agreement or the Privacy laws? For example, not everyone has the privilege and the right of going to school, learn about the world and build their future. Thanks to the EU, everyone can and has to attend school.

This gives us the possibility of travelling around the European countries, because of these laws on free movement. As a matter of fact, if you live in Italy and want to go on vacation or need to move to The Netherlands for work, it’s not necessary to show your passport to the authorities (click here for the link).

Let’s take a look at the environment now: nowadays we all know that technology is not developed enough to dispose of the amount of plastic waste we produce. This is a problem that needs the cooperation of the EU countries.

So what are the current laws that the EU applies concerning plastic usage? The European Parliament has decided that single-use plastics, like cotton buds and cutlery, should be banned by 2021. They have already sealed this new law but it takes time to completely prohibit all the single-use plastics. This law also states that a company has to warn about the impact their product has on nature, by showing it on the package, and suggest how to recycle their product as well.

Cooperation is also needed when it comes down to crime and terrorism. So how does it work? The main organisation against crime in the EU is the Europol. Europol was created in 1998, its previous names were European Police Office and Europol Drugs Unit. They also have a specific team for terrorism called ECTC that works together with the member states. Together they stopped 16 jihadist terroristic acts and arrested 1056 terrorists in 2018.

Because some terrorists take advantage of the open borders to escape, the European Union developed a counter terrorism strategy: they try to prevent people from turning to terrorism, through counter propaganda; then they protect the citizens by reducing vulnerable spots, for example, extra security in case of major events. After that they pursue and investigate terrorists. The last thing they do is cutting off their access to funding and materials in order to manage and minimise the consequences of terrorist attacks.

However, EU does more than just fighting against terrorism, they also fight against criminality. The EU mainly concentrates on working against organised crime. There are many EU Agencies that work together with member states, for example Europol, Frontex, CEPOL, Eurojust and others. (Click here for the link)

In conclusion, the EU does a lot for its citizens. Even though we take it for granted, we should be more aware of what the EU does for us. And we are part of it because our countries laws guarantee our social, political or economic rights…

Sources

https://thestudentlawyer.com/2013/07/31/how-does-the-eu-affect-our-everyday-life/

https://what-europe-does-for-me.eu/en/portal/2/B59