2211+European+Union+contd+institutions

=Where is the power? Institutions of the EU=
 * Institutional structure is confusing and complex….and comparisons with national level gov’t difficult
 * Must not think of EU as a constitutionally founded organization, but as an evolved set of institutions—often in response to short term problems, needs, and compromises—that are enshrined in various treaties

That said, this year a ‘constitution’ was signed that ties all the treaties together

The key bodies are: 1. The Council of Ministers 2. The Commission 3. The Parliament

Intergovernmental Conferences—not

 * Increasingly common: 7 since 1950, but 5 of these since 1985
 * Not part of the founding treaties or formal institutional structure of the EU
 * Allow negotiations among member states on the biggest picture issues
 * 1950 à ECSC/Treaty of Paris
 * 1955 Messina à EEC, Euratom, Treaties of Rome
 * 1985 à SEA
 * 1991 two IGCs à Treaty on European Union (Maastricht)
 * 1996 à institutional reform and eastward enlargement à Treaty of Amsterdam
 * 2000 à qualified majority voting and Treaty of Nice

Council of the European Union and the European Council

 * European Council is the heads of state/government meeting together…
 * Council of the European Union is their ministers…and they issue ‘directives’ with the effect of law in Europe
 * Initially the Council of the European Union was foreign ministers
 * Now others meet regularly:
 * General Affairs Councils
 * Council of Finance Ministers
 * Agriculture Council
 * Representative of each members state at ministerial level, authorized to commit the government
 * So it’s the nation-states representatives…and is an intergovernmental, diplomatic and bargaining body
 * Law or policy, initiated by the Commission and discussed and amended by Parliament, must be approved by the Council of the European Union
 * Member government ministers make up the council; individuals change depending on what the topic is; 15 members (1 each country) expanded in 2004
 * It represents the member countries, and in this is closer to other IGO decision-making bodies
 * Voting power is weighted very roughly by population (to the square root of the population)

Organization:

 * Headed by a Presidency—held by a country and rotating every 6 mo’s
 * Presidency of Council: country
 * President of Commission (see below): person
 * Sets the agenda for Council of Ministers and European Council meetings
 * Chairs meetings
 * Mediates, bargains, promotes coordination
 * Oversees EU foreign policy
 * Hosts summits (European Council)
 * A range of technical councils meet, and together constitute the Council:
 * General Affairs Council (foreign ministers)
 * Ecofin (finance, economics ministers)
 * Agriculture Council
 * COREPOR is the Committee of Permanent Representatives—links Brussels and the member states; meets weekly; they’re civil servants
 * Secretariat General
 * Translating, service functions

How Council works:

 * Proposals come from the Commission, to the Council of Ministers and to Parliament; after Parliamentary and Council working party consideration, proposals are reviewed by COREPOR
 * Next, in the relevant Council (Ecofin, etc), where proposals are voted on:
 * By simple majority (on procedural issues)
 * By unanimity (for the most important issues, new members, treaty revisions, new policies, modifications of existing policy frameworks) but now there is ‘constructive abstention’ since Amsterdam)
 * By qualified majority (weighted votes, with Germany, Britain, France, and Italy having 10 votes and other countries having less)

The European Commission: executive-bureaucratic arm

 * It’s the permanent ‘executive’ (really a permanent bureaucracy)
 * Powers of the Commission:
 * Initiation of EU legislation, policy
 * Implementation of EU law and policy
 * Guards the treaties
 * ‘The conscience’ of the EU (promotes interests of the whole)
 * Manages EU Finances
 * Main External representative

4 elements to structure (HQ in Brussels):

 * College of Commissioners
 * 20 members, five year terms
 * acts like a cabinet
 * major countries have 2 commissioners, minor have 1
 * appointed by countries, but foreswear national interest
 * President
 * First among equals but has power of appointment, 5 year term renewable
 * Choice not formally settled, but agreed among countries
 * Personality important (Delors was active and strong)
 * Directorates-General
 * 24 in all, functional equivalent to government ministries
 * Secretariat General
 * Oversees administration, supported by staff of 350
 * Total European civil service of 17,000

The European Parliament

 * Note, it’s the only body directly elected by voters
 * 626 MEPs, now expanded to 732 members, elected for five year terms
 * Taken on greater legislative and supervisory responsibilities since mid 1980s
 * No longer chiefly budget passing body
 * Single European Act introduced cooperation procedure for decisionmaking with the Council
 * Treaty on the European Union allows the Parliament to approve the Commission, gave it powers of investigation, and powers of receiving citizen complaints
 * Treaty on the European Union and the Amsterdam Treaty also introduced new ‘co-decision’ procedures
 * Standardized elections since 2004
 * MEPs sit by political grouping not by national delegation
 * Now both extreme right and left, and greens, are represented
 * Parties are seen as key to building European polity
 * Committee system well-developed
 * Effectively the EP works like the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the European Council being the more important ‘house’

European Court of Justice

 * 15 Justices, one for each nation
 * Sits in Luxembourg
 * Based on majority votes, no dissenting opinions
 * 3 principal areas
 * power to enforce conformity to EU rules among member states
 * power of judicial review
 * power to intervene in domestic judicial disputes
 * Court of First Instance created in 1989 to deal with individual challenges to domestic or community law
 * The ECJ is thus able to emphasize bigger picture issues
 * 1991 precedent means it can punish states for failure to implement EU law
 * Able to extend EU-led norms of civil liberties and rights to domestic states, eg: overturned German ban on women military recruits carrying guns

European Central Bank

 * HQ in Frankfurt
 * Coordinates the European System of Central Banks
 * Empowered to
 * Define and implement monetary policy, including currency issuing
 * Conduct foreign exchange operations
 * Hold and manage official foreign reserves of member states
 * Price stability is the primary goal of the ESCB
 * ECB issues the currency and fixes interest rates
 * Completely independent from other institutions or from the national governments

Other bodies

 * Court of Auditors (monitors accounts and revenue of the EU)
 * Economic and Social Committee (dates to 1957, advisory, nominated by member states and appointed by the Council, Council and Commission are to consult on policy matters where they deem it appropriate; advice not binding)
 * Committee of the Regions (created by the Treaty of the European Union to represent regional and local bodies…nominated by member states and appointed by the Council)