Hi there, could you please help me out with answering/writing the problem question below please?

Please read the following facts and draft a memorandum in response to the questions set out below.

You are a trainee solicitor with Ashtons LLP. Ashtons acts for InterEuropa Coaches plc ('IEC'), an Irish company which operates international coach services between

several Member States of the European Union. Your supervising solicitor, Susan Beaujolais, has received the following e-mail from Aruna Patel of IEC's public relations

department:

"'Mail Message

From: Aruna Patel (IEC)

To: Susan Beaujolais (Ashtons LLP)

Subject: Proposed European Regulations

Date: [date of Workshop1]

Hi Susan,

As I mentioned on the phone, my directors are worried about a couple of new

regulations that are being proposed by the European Commission in Brussels. They

think that they will add extra red tape to our business activities, and have asked me to

lobby the people responsible for passing the laws. The details are:

(i) The first regulation will impose a 5% sales tax on the price of tickets for journeys

between Member States. In the current economic climate, this is a tax we cannot

afford to pass on to our passengers nor to absorb ourselves. I know that a lot of

MEPs are worried about it, because they think it will discourage people on low

incomes from exercising their rights of free movement. However, most Member

States support it; indeed the only government that opposes it is the Estonian

government, but I doubt if it can do anything on its own. Anyway, the Irish

government supports it, so it's probably not worth looking to it to block the first

regulation.

(ii) The second regulation will stop coach operators imposing fuel surcharges on

passengers who have purchased tickets in advance for journeys between

Member States. Due to rising oil prices, we currently reserve the right to impose

fuel surcharges of up to 10% of the original ticket price in the event of an

increase in the oil price.

The Estonian government opposes the second regulation, but this time MEPs

are enthusiastically in favour!

I'm hoping that because the MEPs are likely to oppose the first regulation and the

Estonian government the second, they won't become law. Unfortunately I rather

suspect that if the Commission wants them to go through, no one can do anything

about them.

Please let me know whether there's anything we can do to stop these regulations, and in particular whether we should be lobbying the Commission or anyone else.

Regards Aruna"

Your supervising solicitor tells you that she has done some preliminary research, and has found out that the first regulation is being adopted under Article 113 TFEU, and the second regulation under Article 114(1) TFEU. She asks you to answer the following

questions to enable her to brief Aruna Patel. (Note that Article 17(2) TEU provides that as a general rule Union legislative acts may only be adopted on the basis of a Commission proposal.)

Questions

(a) Is it correct, as Aruna suspects, that if the Commission supports the two

regulations, no one can do anything about them?

(b) If not whether

(i) the opposition of the MEPs to the first regulation is sufficient to

block it, or whether IEC needs to lobby other participants in the

legislative process who do have the power to block it?

(ii) the opposition of the Estonian government to the second regulation

is sufficient to block it, or whether IEC needs to lobby other

participants in the legislative process who do have the power to

block it?

Please ensure your memo covers the roles of the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament in the relevant procedures. In particular, it must cover the following points:

The first regulation

Which legislative procedure does Article 113 TFEU prescribe?

Can MEPs block the first regulation?

If not, who can block it?

The second regulation

Which legislative procedure does Article 114(1) TFEU prescribe?

Can the Estonian government block the second regulation?

If not, who can block it?

Could the second regulation be adopted in an amended form?