EUROPEAN UNION LAW AND THE‘ACQUIS COMMUNAUTAIRE’

Abstract

The article reveals the origin and genealogy of the concept of ‘acquis communautaire’ and the content of the ‘legal heritage of the European Union’, shows the dynamic nature of its scope and content depending on the objectives of EU policy, notes the phenomenon of ‘acquis communautaire’ as an instrument of EU internal and external policy. The author proposes to consider this phenomenon from the very beginnings of European integration, from the birth and transformation of the concept of ‘standards of civilization’ to its modern content. The concept of ‘acquis communautaire’ symbolizes all the legal and political achievements of Europe in the entire history of its existence. The legal and political standards embodied by the ‘acquis communautaire’ largely replaced the older and visceral formulation of ‘standards of civilization’. Nevertheless, in science and practice of the law of the European Union there has not yet been formed a unified approach to understanding the scope and content of the ‘acquis communautaire’. The author comes to the conclusion that the ‘acquis communautaire’ is not so much a legal category as a complex and interdisciplinary concept, including the EU primary and secondary law, ‘soft’ law, as well as ‘non-normative’ sources. ‘Acquis communautaire’ reflects the dynamic nature of the legal order of the European Union; it is a constantly evolving concept that affects the legal, political, social and historical sphere. At the same time, the universal nature of the ‘acquis communautaire’ makes it necessary to clarify the content of each of its elements in each specific case of application of this concept. Thus, in the domestic field of application of the ‘acquis communautaire’ by the institutions of the European Union, the main goal is to develop the EU based on its political, legal, economic and cultural heritage. In the external field of application, the goal is to ‘promote’ the values and principles of the European Union beyond its limits, to maximize the preparation of candidate countries to join the EU and to adapt advanced achievements of economic, political and legal cooperation by third countries. The author is of the opinion that the ‘acquis communautaire’ changes the scope of its activities in accordance with the objectives of its application.