European Union: primary law: Primary law

Primary law, also known as the primary or original source of law, can be seen as the supreme source of law in the European Union (EU). It is at the apex of the European legal order. It consists mainly of the founding treaties of the European Union.

The primary law concerns also:

• the major Treaties amending the EU;
• the Protocols annexed to those Treaties;
• additional Treaties making changes to specific sections of the founding Treaties;
• the Treaties of accession of new Member States to the EU.

The Treaties establishing the different European Communities

The Treaties establishing the different European Communities are:

• Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community  (Paris, 1951);
• the Treaties of Rome (Euratom Treaty and the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community) (1957);
• Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (1957);
• Treaty on European Union (Maastricht, 1992).

The amending Treaties

• the Single European Act (17 and 28 February 1986);
• het Treaty of Amsterdam (2 October 1997);
• het Treaty of Nice (26 February 2001);
• the Treaty of Lisbon (13 December 2007) entered into force on 1 December 2009.

The additional Treaties making changes to specific sections of the founding treaties are:

• the Treaty on the merger of the executive institutions (8 April 1965);
• the Treaty amending certain budgetary provisions of the Community treaties (22 April 1970);
• the Treaty of Brussels amending certain financial provisions of the Community treaties and establishing a Court of Auditors (22 July 1975);
• the "Act" on the election of members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage (20 September 1976).

Accession Treaties

• Treaty of Accession of Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom (1972);
• Treaty of Accession of Greece (1979);
• Treaty of Accession of Spain and Portugal (1985);
• Treaty of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden (1994);
• Treaty of Accession of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia (2003);
• Treaty of Accession of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania (2005);
• Treaty of Accession of Croatia (2012).

The Acts of Accession signed by Norway on 22 January 1972 and 24 June 1994 never came into force. A Treaty signed on 1 February 1985 gives Greenland a special status.¹

1. EUR-Lex