Anastasia Karatzia

Bio: Anastasia Karatzia is an academic researcher from University of Essex. The author has contributed to research in topics: European Citizens' Initiative & Common law. The author has an hindex of 3, co-authored 7 publications receiving 22 citations. Previous affiliations of Anastasia Karatzia include Erasmus University Rotterdam & University of Surrey.

The European Citizens' Initiative and the EU institutional balance: On realism and the possibilities of affecting EU lawmaking

Abstract: The European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) has been promoted as a way to strengthen citizens' participation in EU lawmaking. Taking stock of the ECI's first few years of operation, this article aims to identify the influence of the ECI on EU lawmaking and its position in the EU institutional triangle (Commission - European Parliament - Council). In particular, the article examines whether the ECI has shifted the EU institutional status quo vis-a-vis the Commission's power of legislative initiative. It focuses on the first few ECIs that have managed to collect the necessary number of signatures to be formally considered by the Commission, and evaluates the Commission's discretion to respond to these ECIs. It argues that there is currently a mismatch between, on one hand, the expectations of EU citizens from the ECI and, on the other hand, the ECI's capacity to lead to legislative output. The article addresses the challenges that arise from this mismatch.

What role for the Commission and the ECB in the European Stability Mechanism

Abstract: This article examines the transformation of the role of the European Commission and the European Central Bank (ECB) in the context of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), from institutions acting within the EU institutional framework, to actors taking on new tasks in the realm of international law as part of the structure of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). It expounds the legal framework applying to the two institutions in the ESM by analysing the currently applicable legislation as well as recent case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) (Ledra and Mallis). It argues that the applicable legal framework remains underdeveloped and unclear, especially with regard to the obligations incumbent on the ECB in the ESM, which have not yet been examined by the EU courts. Exploring the main challenges resulting from the ambiguity of the tasks and obligations conferred on the two EU institutions in the ESM, the article argues that all EU law applies in principle to the activities of the EU institutions in the ESM. It then shifts the focus to political and legal accountability, the emphasis being on direct and indirect actions before the CJEU, including the vexed issue of liability of the EU institutions for damages caused by their actions in the ESM. The article concludes with a forward-looking assessment in light of the Five Presidents’ Report on Completing the EMU, which stipulates that the governance of the ESM should be integrated within the framework of EU law. The article questions whether a future incorporation of the ESM’s governance in EU law could address any of the challenges resulting from the current uncertainty about the role and potential liability of the Commission and the ECB for their actions in the ESM, and makes a number of recommendations as to how the ESM should be incorporated into EU law.

Some preliminary thoughts on the Cyprus bail-in litigation: A commentary on Mallis and Ledra

Abstract: In 2013, Cyprus received financial assistance from the European Stability Mechanism after a restructuring and downsizing of the country’s troubled banking sector which included the contribution of uninsured bank depositors of the two biggest Cypriot banks through a bail-in. This article discusses the first two judgments of the European Court of Justice in cases brought by Cypriot depositors challenging the legality of the haircut of deposits and claiming damages from EU institutions. The article examines the judgments with regard to what are arguably the most important issues raised: effective judicial protection and the right to compensation. It draws lessons from the cases both in the context of the Cyprus bail-in and, more generally, with regard to the interplay between EU Courts and national courts concerning the justiciability of crisis-management or austerity measures.

The European Citizens' Initiative in practice: Legal Admissibility Concerns

Abstract: The European Citizens' Initiative (ECI), introduced as an instrument for citizens' democratic participation in the EU, will soon have been in existence for three years. Apart from an express reference in the TFEU, which defines it as a proposal for a legal act aiming to implement the Treaties, the ECI has a detailed legal framework. This includes a legal admissibility test under Regulation 211/2011 which sets out the criteria that an ECI must fulfil in order to start collecting signatures. The focus of this contribution is on the application of art.4(2)(b) of Regulation 211/2011, an aspect of the legal admissibility test that has generated controversy in its practical application. According to art.4(2)(b), a proposed ECI will not be registered if it "manifestly falls outside the framework of the Commission's powers to submit a proposal for a legal act of the Union for the purpose of implementing the Treaties". This contribution analyses the Commission's interpretation and application of that particular aspect of the legal admissibility test. It discusses the legal confines imposed on the ECI as a result of the application of art.4(2)(b) and thus the extent to which EU citizens can use an ECI as a way to propose legislation at EU level. To this effect, it also examines the currently pending ECI cases and the opportunity they present to the CJEU to alleviate certain concerns regarding the ECI legal admissibility test. This contribution aims to provide a coherent legal analysis of art.4(2)(b) of Regulation 211/2011, a feature of the ECI which, although technical at first glance, should be of interest to anyone concerned with the ECI's functioning as a participatory democracy instrument.

Understanding the impact of legislation on ‘reduction of disease risk’ claims on food and drinks: the REDICLAIM project

Abstract: The Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation (EC No. 1924/2006) has established a common framework for the regulation of nutrition and health claims used on foods across the European Union. This regulation aims to provide the European food industry opportunities for product innovation whilst protecting consumer interests with respect to controlling misleading advertising and promoting public health. However, in order to satisfy the approval of new health claims procedure particularly for new ‘reduction of disease risk’ claims [Article 14(1)(a) claims] , significant research activity is required by industry to scientifically substantiate the claims they wish to make. There is a need to establish whether the implementation of this legislation is in fact driving product innovation and the development of healthy foods or whether it forms a barrier to such developments. The EU-funded REDICLAIM project is currently considering these issues. This article describes the project’s preliminary results and outlines the further programme of work.

Recommendations for successful substantiation of new health claims in the European Union

Abstract: Background: While functional foods offer promise for public health and innovation in the food industry, the efficiency of such foods should be assured to protect consumers from misleading claims. Globally, many countries regulate the communication of the health effects of such foods to final consumers. Scope and approach: In the European Union (EU), the use of health claims was harmonized in 2006. All claims need to be scientifically assessed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and pre-approved. Implementing the regulation has involved a steep learning curve for stakeholders, resulting in many health claims being rejected. The EU-funded REDICLAIM project used existing guidance documents, analyses of Scientific Opinions on new health claim applications, and a series of interviews with experts involved in such applications to identify key points in the process of authorizing new health claims. Key findings and conclusions: Recommendations for the successful substantiation of new health claims in the EU were prepared. The substantiation of health claims is primarily based on human efficacy studies, and greater resources are required to authorize more innovative claims. The reported recommendations should be seen as a starting point for researchers in the area of nutrition and food technology, and for those dealing with functional foods, including the food industry.

The European Citizens’ Initiative: bringing the EU closer to its citizens?

Abstract: In defiance of accounts which see the European Union (EU) as structurally incompatible with democracy, the Lisbon Treaty set out the general right and specific means for citizens to participate in EU decision-making. Whilst the Treaty codified long-established practices of representative democracy and of dialogue with civil society organizations, it also notably introduced a new measure, the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), commencing in 2012. The ECI has limited formal powers, with no ability to mandate political institutions. It is promoted by the European Commission as an agenda-setting and participatory democracy measure, rather than one of direct democracy. Nonetheless, it has an elevated status within one of the current European Commission’s ten strategic priorities and is remarkable in a number of ways. First, it differs from the European Commission’s established partnerships and dialogue with organized interests by focusing on direct forms of wider citizen participation. Second, it is the world’s first transnational citizens’ initiative, with aspirations to help build an EU-wide public sphere. These aspirations were assessed in a 2017 review of the measure, proposing the introduction of a number of reforms aimed at tackling limited impact to date. This article evaluates the impact of the ECI in its first 5 years and then discusses the proposed reforms in terms of their potential to increase public deliberation. It develops and appraises evaluative criteria that help to assess whether institutionalizing contention, even in ways highly critical of EU institutions, might enhance public deliberation and bring the EU closer to its citizens.

EU citizenship as a means of reinforcing the application of EU fundamental rights: challenges, developments and limits

Abstract: The EU is no longer an organisation that merely pursues economic objectives, but it also evolves towards a more political and constitutionalised Union. The thesis supports that the political integration in the field of EU fundamental rights, is primarily evolving through a ‘triangular’, inter-connected system of protection, including the constructivist transformation of EU citizenship, the institutionalised developments, such as the EU Charter, and the protection of fundamental rights as general principles of EU law. Yet major components of a flawless fundamental rights policy as a whole, are still absent and this is even more perceptible during periods of crises, such as the recent financial crisis, where a lack in citizens’ rights protection is evident, especially in effective judicial protection, due to the difficulty in challenging the consequences of the conditionality imposed. The deficient protection largely derived from the restricted scope of application of fundamental rights under the Charter, its unstable judicial interpretation, and in turn from the unwillingness of the Court to rule on complex financial cases. The financial crisis and its mechanisms, therefore, constitute a useful case-study to assess the modern ‘triangular’ protection of rights and stimulate the interest in assessing new legal paths to reinforce it, by broadening fundamental rights’ scope of application. Although EU citizenship has not played any substantial role in the financial crisis, it is believed that is not constrained to its current, ‘confined’ form, due to its evolving character, designed to encounter constant evolution and progress. The constructivist nature of EU citizenship has culminated with the judicially developed ‘substance of the rights’ doctrine, initiated with Rottmann, according to which an internal fundamental rights violation, can possibly fall within the scope of EU law, if it amounts to detaching Union citizenship rights of their substantive meaning. The doctrine has not only largely overcome the limits faced by the cross-border requirement and created an EU self-standing test towards wholly internal situations, but has importantly prompted the inclusion of new, unwritten rights in the concept of EU citizenship, such as the ability to benefit from equality in purely internal situations. This new jurisdictional test, can be effectively compared to the approach adopted in the financial crisis ruling of Associacao Sindical dos Juizes Portugueses, where through the exercise of judicial activism, the ECJ managed to overcome the legal barriers of the Charter and rely on effective judicial protection under Art. 19(1) TEU, in a wholly internal situation. Through this comparison, the thesis aims to bring the doctrine a step further and propose an alternative, more effective use of rights, by establishing a link between EU fundamental and EU citizenship rights. The proposal consists in a three-step jurisdictional test that will allow fundamental rights, beyond the ones enshrined in the citizenship rights list, to be used in specific internal situations, through a combined dynamic reading of Art. 2 TEU, the general principles of EU law and Art. 20 TFEU.

How Is Functional Food Advertising Understood? An Approximation in University Students

Abstract: In functional food advertising, messages are not always easily understandable for the target audience. Current European legislation, enforced through Regulation 1924/2006, specifies that such messages should be clear and precise so as not to mislead the consumer. The objective of this study was to observe consumers' understanding of messages in functional food advertisements. The methodology used was a self-administered survey filled out by 191 students enrolled in a Degree in Advertising and Public Relations at the University of Alicante (Spain). The results suggest that a large number of students do not know what functional food is and obtain information about these products mainly from labelling/packaging. The major means of communication through which they learn about health benefits via advertising is the internet, followed by television. Most respondents indicated that they understood related advertisements and found it helpful to be given additional information on health benefits. Worthy of note, the greater their level of understanding of the messages, the higher their level of distrust of advertising messages, which they considered to be deceptive or misleading.

Can Governments Control Mass Layoffs by Employers? Economic Freedoms vs Labour Rights in Case C-201/15 AGET Iraklis

Abstract: The AGET Iraklis case (C-201/15) revisits the Viking/Laval case law and sheds new light on the uneasy relationship between labour law and the EU’s fundamental economic freedoms. This article examines three sets of issues: the balance between the economic and the social in AGET Iraklis; the interplay between freedom to conduct a business (Article 16 of the EU Charter) and labour rights; and the Economic and Monetary Union dimension of the Court’s ruling in AGET Iraklis. The article makes three key claims. First, it is argued that the Court’s ruling marks a step towards a reconciliation between EU free movement law and labour law. Second, it is argued that Article 16 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights can be more ‘dangerous’ to labour rights when EU secondary law is interpreted in the light of that provision (such as in Alemo-Herron). In cases where both EU free movement law and Article 16 are engaged, the latter may not be equally influential. Third, it is noted that the margin of appreciation left to the domestic authorities might lead to further deregulation of the national labour law concerned, as Greece is subject to an economic adjustment programme.