Title: European Union Institutions and decisionmaking
1European Union Institutions and decision-making
2Further links
- The official website of the European Parliament
- http//europarl.europa.eu
- The official website of the European Commission
- http//ec.europa.eu
- The official website of the Council of the
European Union - http//consilium.europa.eu
- The official website of the European Court of
Justice - http//curia.europa.eu
- The official website of the German Presidency
- http//www.eu2007.de/en/
3References, sources of information
- Relevant parts of theTreaty (TEC)
- Article 7 - 10
- Article 105 115
- Article 189 -267
- Rules of Procedure of the respective
- Institutions and bodies
- European Parliament OJ L 28/08/2002
- Council OJ L 176 04/07/1991
- Commission OJ L 308 08/012/2000
- European Court of Justice OJ L 176 04/07/1991
- Rules of Procedure
- http//eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smar
tapi!celexplus!prod!CELEXnumdocnumdoc32000Q3614
lgen - http//eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/200
4/l_106/l_10620040415en00220045.pdf - http//www.europarl.europa.eu/omk/sipade3?PROGRUL
ES-EPLENREFTOC - http//curia.europa.eu/en/instit/txtdocfr/txtsenvi
gueur/txt5.pdf
4Institutions and other bodies
- Article 7
- The tasks entrusted to the Community shall be
carried out by the following institutions - EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,
- COUNCIL,
- COMMISSION,
- COURT OF JUSTICE,
- COURT OF AUDITORS.
- The Council and the Commission shall be assisted
by - Economic and Social Committee
- Committee of the Regions acting in an advisory
capacity.
5European Parliament TEC Article189-201
- Composition
- 785 Members, for a term of five years elected by
direct universal suffrage - MEPs sit in political groups
- President Hans-Gert Pöttering (EPP-ED)
- Works in
- Strasbourg - seat / plenary
- Brussels - Committees, group, additional plenary
- Luxembourg - administrative offices
- Directly elected since 1979
6Political Groups in the EP
- Formation of political groups
- MEPs elected in at least one-fifth of the MSs.
- minimum number of MEPs required 20
- PPE-DE Group of the European Peoples Party and
European Democrats Martens - PSE Socialist group Schulz
- ALDE Group of the Alliance of Liberals and
Democrats for Europe Watson - Verts / ALE Group of the Greens /European Free
Alliance Co-presidency (!) DanielCohn-Bendit
Monica Frassoni - GUE/NGL Confederal Group of the European United
Left Wurtz - IND / DEM Independence / Democracy
- UEN Union for Europe of the Nations group
- Identity, Tradition and Sovereignty Group
- NI Non-attached
- Note numbers state of play February 2007 there
are always outgoing and incoming MEPs
7Functions of the EP
- Legislative power
- Democratic control
- Budgetary powers
8Decision making / main procedures
- Codecision (Article 251)
- Rights of the Institutions in first and second
reading - Deadlines
- Composition of Conciliation Committee (50)
- Consultation
- Assent
- Information
- Budgetary
- Cooperation (Article 252)
9Areas covered by codecision
- customs co-operation, the internal market
- non-discrimination on the basis of nationality
- the right to move and reside the free movement of
workers , social security for migrant workers,
the right of establishment, EU citizenship - employment, the fight against social exclusion,
equal opportunities and equal treatment - transport, trans-European networks
- implementing decisions regarding the European
Social Fund and the European Regional Development
Fund - the environment
- culture, education and vocational training
- health, consumer protection
- research
- transparency, preventing and combating fraud
- statistics, setting up a data protection advisory
body
10Areas covered by consultation
- Police and judicial cooperation in criminal
matters - Revision of the Treaties
- Discrimination on grounds of sex, race or ethnic
origin, religion or political conviction,
disability, age or sexual orientation - Agriculture
- Visas, asylum, immigration and other policies
associated with the free movement of persons - Transport - to have a significant impact on
certain regions - Competition rules
- Tax arrangements
- Economic policy
- Enhanced co-operation
11Areas covered by assent
- serious breaches of Human Rights
- the uniform electoral procedure for the European
Parliament - certain international agreements having serious
budgetary implications - the accession of new Member States
- specific tasks of the European Central Bank
- amending the statutes of the European System of
Central Banks/ European Central Bank
12Democratic control
- Parliamentary approval of the nomination of the
President of Commission and the Members of the
Commission as a body - COM is politically
answerable to the EP - Exercising control over COM written and oral
questions, reports - Motion of censure (Article 201 TEC, Article 100
of Rules of Procedure) - Setting up temporary committees of inquiry
13The Council Article 202-210
- One single Institution
- 9 different configurations (reform of 2002 RoP
Annex I) - General Affairs and External Relations (including
European Security and Defence Policy and
Developmnet Co-operation - Economic and Financial Affairs (including budget)
- Agriculture and Fisheries
- Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer
affairs - Competitiveness (!) comprising
- Internal Market
- Industry
- Research
- Tourism
- Justice and Home affairs (including civil
protection) - Environment
- Transport, Telecommunications and Energy
- Education, Youth and Culture (including
audiovisual matters)
14How does the Council work?
- Working groups
- Coreper (Committee of the Permanent
representatives off the MSs) responsible for
preparing the work of the Council - Coreper II (assisted by Antici group)
- Coreper I (assisted by Mertens group)
- Council of Ministers (9 configuration)
- Seat in Brussels but holds meetings in
Luxembourg as well (during April, June and
October Rules of Procedure Article 1)
15Responsibilities of the Council
- Legislation
- Co-ordination of the broad economic policies
- Conclusion of international agreements
- Approval of the EUs budget (together with EP)
- Development of the EUs Common Foreign and
Security Policy - Co-ordination between the national courts and
police forces in criminal matters
16Voting procedure
- Simple majority
- only in procedural cases
- Qualified majority voting (QMV)
- QMV goes in most cases hand in hand with the
co-decision (Exeptionseg Article 42 TEC
coordination of social security) - minimum votes required (255/345 73.9)
- majority of Member States
- a MS may ask for confirmation that the votes in
favour represent at least 62 of the total
population of the Union - Unanimity
- ie. CFSP, taxation, asylum, immigration policy
- Special procedure excessive deficit procedure
(Art 104) - a majority of two thirds of the votes cast
- excluding the votes of the representative of the
Member State concerned.
17Number of votes per MS
- Votes of MSs
- according to population
- but not strictly proporotional, adjusted to the
less populous coountries - Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom 29
- Spain and Poland 27
- Romania 14
- Netherlands 13
- Belgium, Czech Rep., Greece, Hungary and Portugal
12 - Austria, Sweden, Buglaria 10
- Denmark, Ireland, Lithuania, Slovakia and Finland
7 - Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Luxembourg and Slovenia
4 - Malta 3
- TOTAL 321
18Roles of the Council Presidency
- Chairs all meetings at all levels
- Sets the Council agenda in technical and policy
terms ie. Presidency priorities - Current presidency (2nd half of 2006) Finland
- Incoming presidencies
- Germany 2007 I.
- Portugal 2007 II.
- Slovenia 2008 I.
- Previous presidencies
- Austria 2006 I.
- UK 2005 II.
- Luxembourg 2005 I.
- Netherlands 2004 II.
- Ireland 2004 I.
- Italy 2003 II.
- Greece 2003 I.
19European Council (The Summit)Article 4 TEU
- neither an EU institution nor a legislator but
the main EU decision making body (Constitution!) - introduced by the Single European Act (SEA)
- has an official status since the Maastrichti
Treaty (TEU) - provides the Union with the necessary impetus for
its development and defines the general political
guidelines - other duties
- Employment conclusions (Art 128.)
- Broad economic policy conclusions (Art.99)
- Composition Heads of State or Government of the
Member States and the President of the
Commission. - meet at least twice a year
- submit to the European Parliament a report after
each of its meetings and a yearly written report
on the progress achieved by the Union. - Meet in Brussels (! as from Nice onwards)
20European CommissionArticle 211-219
- Representing the interests of the Community
- The term COM is used in two senses
- the Commissioners - the College(27)
- special composition between May-October 2004
- profound knowledge of their portfolio
- principle of collective responsibility - acting
by simple majority - the Institution itself and staff
- 37 Directorates General and Services
- Led by the Director General
- Code of good administrative behaviour (Rules of
Procedure) - dealing with inquiries - reply must
be sent within 15 working days - Seat Brussels
- but has offices in Luxembourg
- and representations in MSs / delegations in 3rd
countries
21Roles of the Commission
- Exclusive right of initiative - power to propose
legislation - White Paper, Green Paper
- Obligation to consult the two advisory bodies
(EESC, CoR) - (!) Article 192 the EP can request the COM to
propose - To manage and implement EU policies and budget
- To enforce Community Law
- infringement procedure
- Representing the EU on the international stage
22European Courts Article 220-246
- Court of Justice of the European Communities
- Was set up under the Treaty of Paris 1952 (ECSC)
- Composition - 1 judge per each Member State
- Can sit in Full court (27 judges) or Grand
Chamber (13 judges) or chambers of 5 or 3 judges - Appointed for a term of 6 years by joint
agreement of the MSs - President for 3 years
- 8 advocates general
- role presenting reasoned opinions to Court
- Seat - Luxembourg
- President Vassilios Skouris
23European Courts
- Court of First Instance
- 1 judge per each Member State
- was created in 1989
- powers are extended by the Nice Treaty
- no advocates general
- areas of responsibility
- President Bo Vesterdorf
24European Union Civil Service Tribunal
- European Union and not of European Communities
powers are not related to the 3-pillar
structure - 7 judges in all
- was created in 2005
- powers limited to EU staff cases
- no advocates general
- Can sit in full chamber or chambers of 5 or 3
judges - President P. Mahoney
25European Economic and Social Committee Article
57-263
- EU body with an advisory status
- founded under the Treaty of Rome in 1957
- function as channel in the interests of the
organised civil society - Employers, trade unions etc.
- Lobbying?
- currently 344 Members (Romania 15, Bulgaria 12)
- In EU15 222 Members
- Members are delegated by the MSs
- term of 4 years
- seat - Brussels
- meets in plenary 10 times annually 6
subcommittes - President in office Dimitris Dimitriadis
26Committee of the RegionsArticle 263-265
- EU body with an advisory status
- set up under the Treaty of Maastricht in 1994
- Function ensures that the interests of local
and regional governments are taken into account - currently 344 Members
- In EU15 222 Members
- Members are delegated by the MSs
- term of 4 years
- seat - Brussels
- meets in plenary 5 times a year 6 Commissions
- President in office Michel Delebarre
27European Court of AuditorsArticle 247-248
- established in 1977
- one Member per each MS for 6 years
- president for 3 years - Hubert WEBER
- seat Luxembourg
- functions
- examines all revenue and expenditure of the
Community - Carries out on-the-spot checks
- help the budgetary authorities in sendign a
statement of assurance - Gives an opinion before adoption of EUs
financial regulations - Annual Report
28European Investment Bank (EIB)Article 266-267
- set up by the Treaty of Rome in 1958
- has a legal personality, members / shareholders
are the MSs - MSs subscribe its capital jointly reflecting
their economic weights - seat Luxembourg
- function invest in projects that promote the
objectives of the EU (ie. TEN, SMEs,
competitiveness) - Chairman Philippe Maystadt
29European Central BankArticle 105-112 cikk
- set up in 1998
- seat Frankfurt
- role
- maintain price stability
- controlling the money supply
- Monitoring price trends
- Institutional framework
- Executive Board comprising the President of ECB
(J.C.Trichet), the Vice-President and 4 other
members appointed by the prime ministers of the
eurozone MSs - Governing Council governors of the 12 central
banks of the eurozone - General Council ECB president, vice-president
and the governors of all 27 EU MSs - ESCB European system of Central Banks
30European OmbudsmanArticle 195
- Created by the Maastricht Treaty
- Elected by the EP (Nikiforos Diamandouros) for 5
years - Duties
- Investigate maladminsitration by the European
Institutions (except the European Courts) - following by a complaint or on own initiative
- Powers of the Ombudsman
- Information (the Institiution concerned has 3
months to give a detailed opinion on the matter) - conciliation
- recommendation
- report to the EP
31European Data Protection Supervisorbased on
Article 286 - Regulation EC 45/2001
- Independent authority
- Duties ensuring that a persons right to privacy
is respected while processing personal data on an
identifiable individual - created in 2001 - operational as from 2004
- Term of office five years
- Mr Peter Hustinx
32European Community Agencies
- a body set up by the EU to carry out a very
specific technical, scientific or management task
within first pillar - set up by a secondary legislation specifiying its
task - currently 23 bodies that match the definition of
a Community Agency under the name - centre
- institute
- foundation
- office
- authority etc.
- seats can be a question
33European Community agencies 1/2
- European Centre for the Development of Vocational
Training (Cedefop) - Thessaloniki - European Foundation for the Improvement of Living
and Working Conditions (EUROFOUND) - Dublin - European Environment Agency (EEA) - Copenhagen
- European Training Foundation (ETF) - Turin
- European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug
Addiction (EMCDDA) - Lisbon - European Medicines Agency (EMEA) - London
- Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market
(Trade Marks and Designs) (OHIM) - Alicante - European Agency for Safety and Health at Work
(EU-OSHA) - Bilbao - Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) - Angers
- Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European
Union (CdT) - Luxembourg - European Monitoring Centre on Racism and
Xenophobia (EUMC) - Vienna - soon will become European Fundamental Rights
Agency - European Agency for Reconstruction (EAR) -
Thessaloniki - European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) - Parma
- European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) - Lisbon
- European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) - Cologne
- European Network and Information Security Agency
(ENISA) - Heraklion - European Centre for Disease Prevention and
Control (ECDC) - Stockholm - European Global Navigation Satellite System
Supervisory Authority
34European Community agencies 2/2
- European Railway Agency (ERA) -
Valenciennes/Lille - European Agency for the Management of Operational
Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member
States of the European Union (FRONTEX, also
AMOCEB) - Warsaw - European Defence Agency (EDA) - Brussels
- European Institute for Security Studies (ISS) -
Paris - European Union Satellite Centre (EUSC) - Torrejón
de Ardoz in Spain - Intelligent Energy Executive Agency (IEEA)
Brussels - These agencies are not aways considered among
the above grouping - European Police College (CEPOL) - Bramshill,
United Kingdom - Europol (European Police Office) - The Hague
- Eurojust (European body for the enhancement of
judicial co-operation) - The Hague - Community Fisheries Control Agency - Vigo, Spain,
currently in Brussels - European Chemicals Agency Helsinki, Finland ,
under preparation - Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive
Agency - Brussels - Executive Agency for the Public Health Programme
Luxembourg
35One example
- Which of the following is not an institution
under the EC Treaty? - a) European Parliament
- b) Court of Auditors
- c) Committee of Regions
- d) Court of Justice