The European Union The Political System

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The European UnionThe Political System
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Lecture Plan

• The political system
• Institutions
• Policy-making

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The Pillar Structure
EU
1st Pillar EC
2nd Pillar CFSP
3rd Pillar JHA
supranational
intergovernmental
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Institutions

• The European Commission
• The Council of the European Union
• The European Parliament
• The European Council
• The European Court of Justice and Court of First
  Instance
• Other institutions, agencies and bodies
• And the Presidency
• Dont get confused (!)
• Council of the EU, European Council, Council of
  Europe

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The Commission

• 2 aspects of the Commission
• The political executive - the College of
  Commissioners
• The bureaucracy - the Commission Services
• The College of Commissioners
• The President
• The 19 other Commissioners
• The Services
• The Directorates-General
• Other services
• Size

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The Council of Ministers

• Powerful and central institution
• represents interests of member states
• primary decision-making body, though increasingly
  sharing this with EP
• consists of a representative of each member state
  at ministerial level
• Many different councils, depending on policy area
  (eg GAC Ecofin Agriculture)
• Voting increasingly by QMV
• Coreper and Secretariat

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The European Parliament

• The only directly elected EU institution (1979)
• Voice of the people, or expensive talking shop?
• Weak compared to member state parliaments
• But with each treaty its powers have increased
• 625 MEPs sit in party groups - ideologies divided
  along left/right and pro/anti-integration axes
• Situated in Brussels and Strasbourg, with
  secretariat in Luxembourg

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The European Council

• Summit meetings of heads of state and government
• 3 or 4 times a year - major media events
• normally hosted by country holding the Presidency
• top of decision-making hierarchy, and an
  important agenda-setter
• Major treaty reforms agreed here after IGCs
• Problems resolved here that cannot be resolved in
  Council of Ministers

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The Courts of Justice

• ECJ has pushed the integration process forward,
  especially in early 1960s
• direct effect (1963) and supremacy of EC law
  (1964)
• Two courts - ECJ and Court of 1st Instance
• 15 judges in both
• Cumulative decisions of ECJ along with the
  treaties have created a Constitution for Europe?
• (Not to be confused with ECHR)

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Other bodies

• European Central Bank
• The Court of Auditors
• The EU Ombudsman
• The Committee of the Regions (CoR)
• The Economic and Social Committee
• Various European agencies

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Policy-Making

• General overview of political process
• How the EU policy-making process fits into this
  scheme
• Decision-making in the EU
• What outputs there are

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Eastons input-output model
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The policy-making process
initiation
formulation
decision-making
implementation
review
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How do the EU institutions work together?
Commission policy proposal
Decision-making
Council
European Parliament
Member states implementation
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Policy-making in the EU

• The Community Method
• Commission formulates and proposes policy
• Complex decision-making process between Council
  and EP (with opinions from other bodies)
• Final decision by Council of Ministers
• Commission oversees implementation by Member
  States
• The Court of Justice adjudicates on conflicts
• Other policy-making styles developing

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Decision-making in the EU

• 4 different procedures
• Consultation (Council dominant EP only gives
  opinion)
• Eg some agricultural issues, immigration
• Co-operation (Parliament more involved, but
  virtually abolished since Treaty of Amsterdam)
• Eg Single market legislation pre-TEU
• Co-decision (greater equality between Council and
  EP)
• Most 1st pillar legislation
• Assent (EP can veto Commission proposal)
• Eg changes to electoral system for EP

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Policy Areas

• Common Agricultural Policy
• Cohesion and Structural Funds (inc. Regional
  Policy)
• Single Market
• Economic and Monetary Union
• Competition
• Trade
• Budget

• Common Fisheries Policy
• Social Policy
• Education, Training and Youth
• Environmental Policy
• Biotechnology Policy
• External relations
• And others see Europa
• Common Foreign and Security Policy
• Justice and Home Affairs

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Outputs

• Primary laws the treaties
• Secondary laws
• Regulations (direct effect)
• Directives (transposed into member state law)
• Plus, at present, many other different types
  simplified in Draft Constitutional Treaty
• General Principles elaborated from ECJ case law

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Resumé of both lectures

• Why integration?
• Historical development
• Future
• Nature of the EU
• Institutional structure
• Complex and evolving political system
• Policy-making, decision-making outputs