Institutions in the EU

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Institutions in the EU

• Seminar Interest Groups in Europe 27.10.08
• Lecturer Sebastian Haunss
• Presenter Micha Bächle, Jan Marcus, Cornelia
  Wiethaler

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Overview The EU institutions

1.Commission 2. Council(s) 3. Parliament 4.
Legislative
procedures 5.
European Court of Justice
European Council
Council of Ministers
Commission
Steering
Decisions
Europ.Court of Justice
Parliament
Europ.Court of Auditors
Consulting
Committee of the Regions
Economic Social Committee
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The Commission of the European Union

• The core executive the college of Commissioners
• Supranational organ
• 27 members President and 26 Commissioners,
  their cabinets
• 37 Directorates General (DGs) and services

1.Commission 2. Council(s) 3. Parliament 4.
Legislative
procedures 5.
European Court of Justice
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The Right of Initiative

• Right of initiative in legislative procedures
• agenda-setting power
• Formal Power
• dependent on voting rules and decision rules
  majority or unanimity voting
• Informal Power
• dependent on informational advantage of the
  Commission versus the density of information
  within the Council
• - Capability to offer proposals that can find
  consensus in the Council

1.Commission 2. Council(s) 3. Parliament 4.
Legislative
procedures 5.
European Court of Justice
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Tasks of the Commission
1.Commission 2. Council(s) 3. Parliament 4.
Legislative
procedures 5.
European Court of Justice

• - Guardian of the treaties
• Motor of integration
• Initiate legislation, arbitrate in legislative
  process
• Managing the EU-budget
• Foreign representation
• Monitoring the coordination of economic policy
• Scrutinizing implementation

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Power of the Commission within the three Pillars
1.Commission 2. Council(s) 3. Parliament 4.
Legislative
procedures 5.
European Court of Justice
EU
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Comitology

• 248 Committees 2004
• 1. Advisory
• 2. Management
• 3. Regulatory 
• 1702 Expert groups
• Formal power Conditional agenda-setting. For the
  Council it is easier to adopt a proposal of the
  Commission than to reject it because of qualified
  majority voting in the first and unanimity voting
  in the second case.
• Informal power Open method of coordination

1.Commission 2. Council(s) 3. Parliament 4.
Legislative
procedures 5.
European Court of Justice
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Council of the European Union

• Other names Council of Ministers, Council
• Consists of 27 members (one for each state)
• ? Intergovernmental institution
• Different compositions depending on the topic
  (e.g. ECOFIN)
• Presidential role rotates between the member
  states every 6 months ("Presidency")
• the more powerful of the two legislative chambers
  of the EU

1.Commission 2. Council(s) 3. Parliament 4.
Legislative
procedures 5.
European Court of Justice
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Voting procedure

• Unanimity
• for sensitive issues
• Qualified Majority Voting (QMV)
• Majority of
• countries (50, sometimes 67) AND
• votes (74) AND
• population (62)
• required to pass a vote

1.Commission 2. Council(s) 3. Parliament 4.
Legislative
procedures 5.
European Court of Justice
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COREPER

• Committee of Permanent Representatives (Comité
  des représentants permanents )
• Consists of the head (or deputy head) of mission
  from the EU member states in Brussels
• COREPER I (deputies)
• COREPER II (heads)
• Prepares the meetings of the Council of Ministers

1.Commission 2. Council(s) 3. Parliament 4.
Legislative
procedures 5.
European Court of Justice
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European Council

• Other name European Summit
• Assembly of EU heads of state or government
  President of the Commission (non-voting)
• The highest political body of the EU, although no
  EU institution in a legal sense (no formal
  executive or legislative powers)
• Functions
• Settles issues outstanding from lower levels
• Leads foreign policy
• Formal ratification
• Defines EU policy agenda (motor of integration)
• Chair is the same as president in Council of
  Ministers

1.Commission 2. Council(s) 3. Parliament 4.
Legislative
procedures 5.
European Court of Justice
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European Parliament
1.Commission 2. Council(s) 3. Parliament 4.
Legislative
procedures 5.
European Court of Justice

• 785 MEPs represent 492 million citizens
• 7 political groups
• 5 to 99 MEPs per state

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The EU legislative procedures
1.Commission 2. Council(s) 3. Parliament 4.
Legislative
procedures 5.
European Court of Justice
1. consultation
2. cooperation
3. co-decision
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1. Consultation
1.Commission 2. Council(s) 3. Parliament 4.
Legislative
procedures 5.
European Court of Justice
Council
adopt (QMV)
amend (unanimity)
LAW
LAW
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2. Cooperation
Council
1.Commission 2. Council(s) 3. Parliament 4.
Legislative
procedures 5.
European Court of Justice
common position (CP)
Parliament
adopt
amend / reject
Commission
Commission
issues opinion or withdraws legislation
issues opinion
Council
Council
overturn EP rejection or EP amendments
accepted by Commission (unanimity)
adopt EP amend- ments accepted by
Commission (QMV)
adopt (QMV)
LAW
LAW
LAW
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3. Co-decision

Council
1.Commission 2. Council(s) 3. Parliament 4.
Legislative
procedures 5.
European Court of Justice
adopt all EP amendments
adopt CP
adopt (if no
amendments from
EP and Council)
LAW
Parliament
LAW
amend CP
adopt CP
reject CP
failed
LAW
Commission
issues opinion
Council
accept EP amendments (unanimity)
adopt those amend- ments accepted by the
Commission (QMV)
Conciliation Committee
fail to accept
LAW
LAW
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The European Court of Justice

• Luxembourg
• 27 judges and 8 advocates-general
• guardian of the European Law
• actions for failure to fulfill obligations
• judicial review
• references for preliminary rulings

1.Commission 2. Council(s) 3. Parliament 4.
Legislative
procedures 5.
European Court of Justice
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• Questions?