Amending the treaty on European Union and the treaty

ESTABLISHING THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY

 

ARTICLE 6

1. The Union recognises the rights, freedoms and principles set out in the Charter of

Fundamental Rights of the European Union of 7 December 2000, as adopted at Strasbourg, on 12 December 2007, which shall have the same legal value as the Treaties. The provisions of the Charter shall not extend in any way the competences of the Union as defined in the Treaties.

The rights, freedoms and principles in the Charter shall be interpreted in accordance with the general provisions in Title VII of the Charter governing its interpretation and application and with due regard to the explanations referred to in the Charter, that set out the sources of those provisions.

2. The Union shall accede to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Such accession shall not affect the Union's competences as defined in the Treaties.

3. Fundamental rights, as guaranteed by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and as they result from the constitutional traditions common to the Member States, shall constitute general principles of the Union's law."

9) Article 7 shall be amended as follows:

(a) throughout the Article, the word "assent" shall be replaced by "consent", the reference to breach "of principles mentioned in Article 6(1)" shall be replaced by a reference to breach "of the values referred to in Article 1a", the words "of this Treaty" shall be replaced by "of the Treaties" and the word "Commission" shall be replaced by "European Commission";

(b) at the end of the first sentence of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1, the words "and address appropriate recommendations to that State" shall be deleted; at the end of the last sentence, the words "and, acting in accordance with the same procedure, may call on independent persons to submit within a reasonable time limit a report on the situation in the Member State in question" shall be replaced by "and may address

recommendations to it, acting in accordance with the same procedure.";

(c) in paragraph 2, the words "The Council, meeting in the composition of the Heads of State or Government and acting by unanimity" shall be replaced by "The European

Council, acting by unanimity" and the words "the government of the Member State in

question" shall be replaced by "the Member State in question";

"TITLE III

PROVISIONS ON THE INSTITUTIONS".

14) Article 9 shall be replaced by the following:

"ARTICLE 9

1. The Union shall have an institutional framework which shall aim to promote its values, advance its objectives, serve its interests, those of its citizens and those of the Member States, and ensure the consistency, effectiveness and continuity of its policies and actions.

The Union's institutions shall be:

- the European Parliament,

- the European Council,

- the Council,

- the European Commission (hereinafter referred to as "the Commission"),

- the Court of Justice of the European Union,

TL/en 21

- the European Central Bank,

- the Court of Auditors.

2. Each institution shall act within the limits of the powers conferred on it in the Treaties, and in conformity with the procedures, conditions and objectives set out in them. The institutions shall practice mutual sincere cooperation.

3. The provisions relating to the European Central Bank and the Court of Auditors and detailed provisions on the other institutions are set out in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

4. The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission shall be assisted by an

Economic and Social Committee and a Committee of the Regions acting in an advisory capacity.".

15) An Article 9 A shall be inserted:

"ARTICLE 9 A

1. The European Parliament shall, jointly with the Council, exercise legislative and

budgetary functions. It shall exercise functions of political control and consultation as laid down in the Treaties. It shall elect the President of the Commission.

2. The European Parliament shall be composed of representatives of the Union's citizens. They shall not exceed seven hundred and fifty in number, plus the President. Representation of citizens shall be degressively proportional, with a minimum threshold of six members per Member State. No Member State shall be allocated more than ninety-six seats. The European Council shall adopt by unanimity, on the initiative of the European Parliament and with its consent, a decision establishing the composition of the European Parliament, respecting the principles referred to in the first subparagraph.

3. The members of the European Parliament shall be elected for a term of five years by direct universal suffrage in a free and secret ballot.

4. The European Parliament shall elect its President and its officers from among its

members.".

16) An Article 9 B shall be inserted:

"ARTICLE 9 B

1. The European Council shall provide the Union with the necessary impetus for its

development and shall define the general political directions and priorities thereof. It shall not exercise legislative functions.

2. The European Council shall consist of the Heads of State or Government of the Member States, together with its President and the President of the Commission. The

High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy shall take part in its work.

3. The European Council shall meet twice every six months, convened by its President. When the agenda so requires, the members of the European Council may decide each to be assisted by a minister and, in the case of the President of the Commission, by a member of the Commission. When the situation so requires, the President shall convene a special meeting of the European Council.

4. Except where the Treaties provide otherwise, decisions of the European Council shall be taken by consensus.

5. The European Council shall elect its President, by a qualified majority, for a term of two and a half years, renewable once. In the event of an impediment or serious misconduct, the European Council can end the President's term of office in accordance with the same procedure.

6. The President of the European Council:

(a) shall chair it and drive forward its work;

(b) shall ensure the preparation and continuity of the work of the European Council in

cooperation with the President of the Commission, and on the basis of the work of the

General Affairs Council;

(c) shall endeavour to facilitate cohesion and consensus within the European Council;

(d) shall present a report to the European Parliament after each of the meetings of the

European Council.

The President of the European Council shall, at his level and in that capacity, ensure the external representation of the Union on issues concerning its common foreign and security policy, without prejudice to the powers of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

The President of the European Council shall not hold a national office.".

 

 

 

ACTIVE VOCABULARY

political stability	політична стабільність
member state	держава-член
to be united in	бути об’єднаним у…
diverse	різноманітний
frontier-free market	ринок без кордонів
single market	єдиний ринок
commercial power	комерційна потужність
fractured continent	зруйнований континент
membership	членство
founding member	держава-засновниця
economic integration	економічна інтеграція
to apply for	клопотатися про…
historical ties	історичні зв’язки
ethnic diversity	етнічне різноманіття
European Court of Justice	Суд Європейського Союзу
landmark case	справа, що є значимою в історії
legal order	правовий порядок
sovereign right	суверенне право
distinction	відмінність

Unit 5. OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE IN GREAT BRITAIN AND THE USA

MAKE-UP OF A BUSINESS LETTER

 

Lead-in

 

Nowadays it is impossible to imagine the world without business correspondence. Official letters are considered to be important means of communication for many organisations and enterprises. Making-up of a business letter requires certain rules including subject field terms, set phrases, stable structures and grammatical peculiarities. Mastering business correspondence is a great success for business activity in the future.

 

Lesson 1

A neatly arranged letter will certainly make a better impression on the reader.

The layout of business letters is more or less common in all countries.

There are eight parts in a letter:

1. the letterhead;

2. the return address;

3. the date;

4. the inside address (i.e., the recipient's name and address);

5. the opening salutation;

6. the body of the letter;

7. the closing salutation;

8. the signature.

layout of a letter

	Letterhead
		Sender’s address
Date
Inside address
Opening salutation
	Body of the letter
		Closing salutation
		Signature
Enclosure

 

American office workers prefer to arrange the elements of a letter in the so called FULL BLOCK STYLE. Here is an example:

Sender's address:
[Company Name] [ Street Address ] [ City, State/Province Zip/Postal Code ]
Date: August 26,2005
Inside address: [ Recipient Name ] [ Address ] [ City, State/Province Zip/Postal Code ]
Opening salutation:
Dear [ Recipient ]:
Body of the letter: [ Type the body of your letter here ] Closing salutation:
Sincerely,	Signature: [ Your name ] [ Your position ]
Typist's initials ] Enclosure: [ Number ]
cc: [ Name ]

 

Letterhead

 

Letterhead refers both to the high-grade paper used for business letters and to the company insignia, trade name or product name printed at the top of each sheet. The printed information also includes the company name, address and the telephone number. More detailed letterheads may list the name mid title of an executive officer, the name of a department, or the company's cable address.

 

Sender's (return) address

When business letters are written on plain paper, the writer's address must be typed in place of the printed letterhead. The return address includes the writer's street address, city, state, and ZIP code. This information is typed immediately above the date of the letter in block style, single space:

 

371 Woodbine Boulevard

Spokane, Washington 99212

 

October 10, 2010

 

Date

 

The date is placed under the heading of the sender's address, usually one of two spaces.

In Great Britain and in many countries the date at the head of the letter may be written in the following way:

 

12th March, 2010

or or

March 12th, 2010 12 March, 2010

 

In the USA the date is written so:

 

March 12, 2010

 

This style of writing the date is becoming adopted in Great Britain and other countries.

Inside address

The complete name and address of the intended recipient is called the INSIDE ADDRESS. It is typed at the left margin.

A complete inside address written to individuals includes either of the following:

 

name of individual title or department name of company street address city, state, ZIP code

Mr. James C. Garven Vice President Fairchild Business Products 82303 Kensington Road Tacoma, WA 98412

 

An appropriate title, such as Dr., Miss, Mr., Mrs. or Ms. should precede the names of individuals. Ms. should be used when the marital status of a woman is not known or when she indicates that she prefers it, as by signing a letter Ms. Jane Thomas. Mr. should be used when the addressee's name could be that of a man.

A complete inside address for letters written to companies includes either of the following:

 

name of company department name street address city, state, ZIP code

International Biscuits Corp. Advertising Department 201 North Main Street Baton Rouge, LA 70807

 

A full recipient's address on the letter and envelope should consist of not more than six lines.

 

5. Opening salutation

 

The salutation, or greeting, is typed at the left margin a double space below the inside address or attention line. Usually, a colon follows the salutation (if written in the USA).

 

Mrs. Janet K. LaCroix

1427 North Broadway

Lincoln, NE 68529

Dear Mrs. LaCroix:

 

The following salutations meet the majority of letter writing needs:

 

Gentlemen Sirs	To a company or group of people
Dear Madam Dear Sir	To an individual: impersonal business form
Dear Miss... Dear Mr.... Dear Mrs.... Dear Ms....	To an individual: preferred business form
Dear Mr. and Mrs. …	To a husband and wife
Dear Chadwick Dear Virginia	To an individual: informal business and social form
Dear Mr. Jackson and Mr. Ruiz or: Dear Messrs. Jackson and Ruiz	To two men with different names
Dear Messrs. Freeman	To two or more men with the same surname
Dear. Professor Clark and Professor Casey	To two persons with different names

 

The salutation GENTLEMEN is used when a letter is addressed company with an attention line to an individual or department. If GENTLEMEN seems awkward or inappropriate because the letter is addressed to the attention of a woman, it is best to eliminate the attention line and address the letter to the woman, rather than the company.

 

Closing salutation

 

The complimentary, or formal, closing of a letter is typed: double space below the last line of the body. Depending on a style it may be typed either at the left margin or beginning at the center of the page.

The following closings are customarily used in business correspondence:

 

Cordially Cordially yours Respectfully Respectfully yours Sincerely Sincerely yours Very sincerely yours

Yours sincerely Faithfully Faithfully yours Truly yours Yours truly Very truly yours

 

Signature

 

Sufficient space should be left after the complimentary closing or typed company name to allow for the writer's signature. Three or four blank lines is usually ample space, but more space can be left if the writer has a large handwriting.