The present EU institutional framework

Decision-making processes

Two processes in integration

• Widening– More members 6 → 27

• Deepening– More powers: common market in coal and steel →

internal market, common foreign policy, monetary union etc.

Member States

• 1952: 6 BeNeLux, Germany, France, Italy• 1973: 9 Denmark, Ireland, UK• 1981: 10 Greece• 1986: 12 Spain, Portugal• 1995: 15 Austria, Finland, Sweden• 2004: 25 Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland,

Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Cyprus, Malta

• 2007: 27 Bulgaria, Romania

Treaty framework• 1951 European Coal and Steel Community• 1957 European Economic Community, EURATOM• 1965 Merger Treaty• 1979 Direct elections to the European Parliament• 1986 Single European Act• 1992 Treaty on the European Union• 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam• 2000 Treaty of Nice• 2009 Treaty of Lisbon

Group work

• Form groups of 5-6 people• Introduce yourselves!• Important dates of the European Union• Write important happenings in Korea!– History– Politics– Family– Sport– Culture– …

Today

• Institutional structure• Decision-making processes

Institutions

• Institutions– European Council– European Commission– European Parliament– Council of Ministers – Court of Justice of the European Union– Court of Auditors– European Central Bank

• Advisory bodies– Economic and Social Committee– Committee of Regions

• Financial bodies– European Investment Bank

• President of the European Council– Representation of the EU

• Heads of State or Government of the Member States

• President of the Commission

• General guidelines for the European integration• Main political decisions

• Represents the interests of the Union• Each Member State appoints a Commissioner• 27 Members

– including President– First Vice-President: High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs

and Security Policy– 6 Vice-Presidents

• Commissioners act independently of Member State– Agenda-setting role: right of initiative– Legislative role: delegated legislation– Implementation– Guardian of the Treaties– Representation of the EU

• Not a government, not a secretariat

Berlaymont building, Brussels

• Represents the interests of the citizens• 751 MEPs• Elected by the citizens for 5 years• Very little power at first• Growing influence with new decision-making procedures

– Legislative power – Supervision of the budget – Supervision of the executive

• International (European) parties• Strasbourg, France; Brussels, Belgium; Luxembourg

Members of the EP

• Regressively proportional to population

• Represents the interests of the Member State Governments

• Has the decision-making power in co-decision with the Parliament

• Made up by the ministers of the Member States• COREPER I-II– Antici group (II), Mertens group (I) prepares

meetings– Permanent Representations of MS– Special committees (agriculture, Art. 207 (133),

PSC…)– ~250 working groups– Council Secretariat

• Presidency rotates between Member States

Council shall meet in different configurations…

1. General affairs2. Foreign affairs (Chaired by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security

Policy)

3. Economic and financial affairs4. Justice and home affairs5. Employment, social policy, health and consumer affairs6. Competitiveness (internal market, industry, research and space)7. Transport, telecommunications and energy8. Agriculture and fisheries9. Environment10. Education, youth, culture and sport

Voting procedures

• Qualified majority (different systems from 2014, 2017)– 255 votes out of 345– Over half of the Member States– Option: verification that the votes also represent

62% of the EU population • Simple majority – 14 votes

• Unanimous – 27 votes

• 3 Courts:– Court of Justice– General Court– Civil Service Tribunal / specialised courts

• 1 judge per Member State for CoJ, GC (27-27)• 8 advocates-general for the Court of Justice• Plus: Civil Service Tribunal (7 judges)• Responsible for enforcing European law;

interpreting and developing it– In some cases together with national courts– via preliminary rulings and direct actions

• Mandatory jurisdiction

Court of Auditors

• Controls the budget of the EU• Controls all the spendings of all institutions

and bodies• 1 auditor per Member State

European Central Bank– responsible for the stability of the euro, including

regulating the money supply, and, together with the other national central banks, defines and implements the monetary policy of the Union

– Based in Frankfurt-am-Main

Advisory bodies• Economic and Social Committee• representatives of social and economic

aspects of society– farmers, transporters, workers, businessmen and

tradesmen, the professions, consumers and the public in general

• consultative role• integral part of European decision-making:

must be consulted

Advisory bodies• Committee of Regions• representatives of regional and local

government• role is to raise awareness of local and regional

points of view with regard to European legislation

Financial bodies• European Investment Bank– long-term lending bank of the European Union– raises substantial volumes of funds on the capital markets – lends on favourable terms to projects furthering EU policy

objectives

Other bodies• European Ombudsman

– Complaints against institutions: discrimination, unnecessary delay, lack of information…

• Agencies (for example):– Community Fisheries Control Agency (CFCA)– Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO)– European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)– European Environment Agency (EEA)– European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)– European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and

Working Conditions (EUROFOUND)– European Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) – …

Decision-making

Participants

• Commission • Parliament• Council

• Committee of Regions• Economic and Social Committee

Commission…

• has the power of initiative – decide if:– it should act – on what legal basis– in which form (if not defined by the treaty)– has the right to amend or withdraw proposals

Parliament…

• optional consultation• compulsory consultation• co-operation• co-decision• Assent

• other procedures

Council…

• Was main decision-maker• Now co-decision with Parliament• Sometimes assent is required

Co-decision procedure• Ordinary legislative procedure after Lisbon Treaty• introduced by the Treaty on European Union• Council cannot disregard the opinion of Parliament• in the event of disagreement, a conciliation

committee made up of representatives of the Council and of Parliament has to arrive at a text that is acceptable to the two institutions

• two institutions on an equal footing in the legislative roles

• If no agreement is reached, the legislative process fails

Consultation procedure

• division of tasks between the Commission and the Council

• before the Council can take a decision opinion asked from– European Parliament– European Economic and Social Committee – Committee of the Regions

Assent procedure

• introduced by the Single European Act• Parliament has the possibility of expressing its

approval or disapproval of certain Council instruments

• Parliament gives its consent by an absolute majority of its members

• right of veto for Parliament

Assent procedure 2.

• introduced by the Lisbon Treaty• Council has the possibility of expressing its

approval or disapproval of certain Parliament instruments

• right of veto for Council

Separate or different procedures for…• Budget• Common Foreign and Security Policy (only Council,

European Council)• In some cases, cooperation in criminal matters

Which procedure is used?

• Depends on policy area• Settled in the Treaties