Institutions of the European Union
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The institutions of the European Union are the seven principal decision-making bodies of the European Union and the Euratom. They are, as listed in Article 13 of the Treaty on European Union:
- the European Parliament,
- the European Council (of heads of state or government),
- the Council of the European Union (of state ministers, a council for each area of responsibility),
- the European Commission,
- the Court of Justice of the European Union,
- the European Central Bank and
- the European Court of Auditors.[1]
Institutions are distinct from both advisory bodies to the European Union and agencies of the European Union.
History
Most EU institutions were created with the establishment of the
Under the Treaty of Paris
The first institutions were created at the start of the 1950s with the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), based on the
During the negotiations, two supervisory institutions were put forward to counterbalance the power of the High Authority. The "Common Assembly" proposed by Jean Monnet to act as a monitor, counterweight and to add democratic legitimacy was composed of 78 national parliamentarians.[7] The second was the Council of Ministers, pushed by the smaller states also to add an intergovernmental element and harmonise national policies with those of the authority.[8]
Establishment and changes
In 1957 the
The three communities were later merged in 1967, by the Merger Treaty, into the European Communities. The institutions were carried over from the European Economic Community (making the Commission of that community the direct ancestor of the current Commission).[9] Under the Treaties of Rome, the Common Assembly (which renamed itself the Parliamentary Assembly, and then the European Parliament) was supposed to become elected. However, this was delayed by the council until 1979. Since then it gained more powers via successive treaties.[2][7] The Maastricht Treaty also gave further powers to the council by giving it a key role in the two new pillars of the EU which were based on intergovernmental principles.[8]
The 2009
Overview
European Council | Council of the European Union | European Parliament |
---|---|---|
Provides impetus and direction | Legislative | Legislative |
Based in Brussels, Belgium. | Based in Brussels, Belgium. Meets in Luxembourg, Luxembourg for the months of April, June and October. | Meets in Strasbourg, France and Brussels, Belgium. Secretariat based in Luxembourg, Luxembourg. |
|
|
|
European Commission | Court of Justice of the European Union | European Central Bank |
---|---|---|
Executive | Judicial | Central bank |
Based in Brussels, Belgium. Various departments and services hosted in Luxembourg, Luxembourg. | Based in Luxembourg, Luxembourg. | Based in Frankfurt, Germany. |
|
|
|
European Court of Auditors |
---|
Auditory |
Based in Luxembourg, Luxembourg. |
|
Organisational chart
List
There are three political institutions which hold the executive and legislative power of the Union. The Council of the European Union represents governments, the Parliament represents citizens and the Commission represents the European interest.[14] Essentially, the Council of the European Union, Parliament or another party place a request for legislation to the Commission. The Commission then drafts this and presents it to the Parliament and the Council of the European Union, where in most cases both must give their assent. Although the exact nature of this depends upon the legislative procedure in use, once it is approved and signed by both bodies it becomes law.[15] The Commission's duty is to ensure it is implemented by dealing with the day-to-day running of the Union and taking others to Court if they fail to comply.[14]
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) shares the
The Parliament's President (its speaker) is Roberta Metsola (European People's Party), who was elected from the Parliament's members in 2022.
European Council
The European Council is the group of
The current president is Charles Michel (since 1 December 2019).
Council of the European Union
The Council of the European Union (informally known as the Council of Ministers or just the Council) is a body holding legislative and some limited executive powers and is thus the main decision-making body of the Union.[
The council is composed of twenty-seven national ministers (one per state). However the Council meets in various forms depending upon the topic. For example, if agriculture is being discussed, the council will be composed of each national minister for agriculture. They represent their governments and are accountable to their national political systems. Votes are taken either by majority or unanimity with votes allocated according to population. In these various forms they share the legislative and budgetary power of the Parliament, and also lead the Common Foreign and Security Policy.[20]
The presidency has been held by Belgium since January 2024.[21]
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive arm of the Union. It is a body composed of one appointee from each state, currently twenty-seven, but is designed to be independent of national interests. The body is responsible for drafting all
The commission is led by a
Court of Justice of the European Union
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) (French: Cour de justice de l'Union européenne or "CJUE"; Latin: Curia[25]) is the judicial branch of the European Union (EU) and is responsible for interpreting EU law and treaties.
The CJUE consists of two separate courts: the Court of Justice and the General Court.
From 2005 to 2016 it also consisted of the Civil Service Tribunal.
The CJEU is located in Luxembourg.
European Central Bank
The European Central Bank (ECB) is the only among the 7 institutions, which also is an international entity with treaty capability in its own right. It is at the centre of the European System of Central Banks which comprises all EU national banks. The bank is governed by a board of national bank governors and a President.[11][26] It is also the central bank for the eurozone (the states which have adopted the euro) and thus controls monetary policy in that area with an agenda to maintain price stability.
The ECB is located in Frankfurt.
The current president is Christine Lagarde.
European Court of Auditors
The European Court of Auditors (ECA), despite its name, has no judicial powers. It ensures that
The Court of Auditors was set up in 1975. It was created as an independent institution due to the sensitivity of the issue of fraud in the Union (the anti-fraud agency,
Acts and procedures
There are a number of types of legislation which can be passed. The strongest is a
The
There are other special procedures used in sensitive areas which reduce the power of Parliament.Comparisons
This section possibly contains original research. (January 2024) |
While the EU's system of governance is largely unique, elements can be compared to other models. One general observation on the nature of the distribution of powers would be that the EU resembles the federalism of Germany. There, powers are predominantly shared (states can exercise federal powers where the federation has not already exercised them) between the levels of government, and the states participate strongly with decision-making at the federal level. This is in contrast with other federations, for example the United States, where powers are more clearly divided between the levels of government, and the states have little say in federal decision-making.[30]
The EU's institutional set up is also somewhat similar to the
Furthermore,
The nature of the European Parliament is better compared with the
The composition of the council can only be compared with the quite unique and unusual composition of the German upper house, the
Locations
The institutions are not concentrated in a single
Brussels' hosting of institutions has made it a major centre for the EU. Together with NATO it has attracted more journalists and ambassadors than Washington, D.C.[39] However the three-city agreement has been criticised, notably concerning the Parliament, due to the large number of people that move between the cities. The European Green Party estimated that the arrangement costs 200 million euro and 20,268 tonnes of carbon dioxide.[40] Brussels is preferred by some due to the presence of other institutions and other groups whereas Strasbourg is supported due to its historical importance to European unity.[41]
See also
- Bodies of the European Union
- Brussels and the European Union
- European Investment Bank
- European External Action Service
- European Civil Service
- Glossary of European Union concepts, acronyms, & jargon
- List of the names of bodies of the European Union in its official languages
- List of presidents of European Union institutions
- European sovereign-debt crisis: List of acronyms
References
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- ^ ISBN 978-0-7190-5666-6.
- ^ Topan, Angelina (30 September 2002). "The resignation of the Santer-Commission: the impact of 'trust' and 'reputation'" (PDF). European Integration Online Papers. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 March 2004. Retrieved 12 June 2007.
- ^ Tobais, Troll (2 November 2004). "We have to democratise procedures". Café Babel. Archived from the original on 29 November 2005. Retrieved 12 June 2007.
- ISBN 0-14-102317-1.
- ^ "Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, ECSC Treaty". Europa (web portal). Archived from the original on 13 December 2007. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
- ^ a b "European Parliament". CVCE. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
- ^ a b c "Council of the European Union". CVCE. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
- ^ a b "Merging of the executives". CVCE. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
- ^ "European Commission". CVCE. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
- ^ a b c "Draft treaty modifying the treaty on the European Union and the treaty establishing the European community" (PDF). Open Europe. 24 July 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 August 2007. Retrieved 28 July 2007.
- ^ a b "The Institutions of the Union". Europa (web portal). Retrieved 18 September 2007.
- ^ Consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union/Title III: Provisions on the Institutions
- ^ a b c "Institutions: The European Commission". Europa (web portal). Archived from the original on 23 June 2007. Retrieved 25 June 2007.
- ^ a b c "Parliament's powers and procedures". European Parliament. Retrieved 12 June 2007.
- ^ Anonymous (16 June 2016). "European Parliament". European Union. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
- ^ "Parliament – an overview. Welcome". Europa (web portal). Retrieved 12 June 2007.
- ^ "Professor Farrell: "The EP is now one of the most powerful legislatures in the world"". Europa (web portal). 18 June 2007. Archived from the original on 18 January 2008. Retrieved 5 July 2007.
- ^ van Grinsven, Peter (September 2003). "The European Council under Construction" (PDF). Netherlands Institution for international Relations. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 16 August 2007.
- ^ a b "Institutions: The Council of the European Union". Europa (web portal). Archived from the original on 3 July 2007. Retrieved 25 June 2007.
- ^ "Presidency of the Council of the European Union". Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
- ^ The Lisbon Treaty gives the European Parliament and the member states the right to ask the Commission to submit bills, and NGOs and other organisations do so also; only 10% of all legislative proposals come only from the Commission.
- ^ "The European Commission". Europa (web portal). Archived from the original on 23 June 2007. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
- ^ "European Commission". European Commission. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
- ^ "Untitled Document". Curia.europa.eu. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ "ECB, ESCB and the Eurosystem". European Central Bank. Retrieved 2 September 2007.
- ^ a b "Institutions: Court of Auditors". Europa (web portal). Archived from the original on 22 December 2009. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
- ^ "Community legal instruments". Europa (web portal). Archived from the original on 8 July 2007. Retrieved 18 September 2007.
- ^ "Decision-making in the European Union". Europa (web portal). Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 18 September 2007.
- ^ Börzel, Tanja A.; Thomas Risse (2002). "Who is Afraid of a European Federation? How to Constitutionalise a Multi-Level Governance System:The European Union as an Emerging Federal System". Academy of European Law. Archived from the original on 10 October 2008. Retrieved 17 October 2008.
- ^ Meyer-Resende, Michael (18 June 2007). "Comment: Making the EU democratic is desirable but risky". EU Observer. Retrieved 26 October 2007.
- ^ Hix, Simon; Roland, Gérard. "Why the Franco-German Plan would institutionalise 'cohabitation' for Europe". Foreign Policy Centre. Retrieved 1 October 2007.
- ^ Kreppel, Amie (2006). "Understanding the European Parliament from a Federalist Perspective: The Legislatures of the USA and EU Compared" (PDF). Center for European Studies, University of Florida. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 August 2006. Retrieved 26 September 2008.
- ^ a b "Organisation: Bundesrat members". Bundesrat. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
- ^ "Organisation: The Presidency". Bundesrat. Retrieved 15 October 2008.
- ^ "The seats of the institutions of the European Union". CVCE. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
- ^ "Protocol (No 8) on the location of the seats of the institutions and of certain bodies and departments of the European Communities and of Europol (1997)" (PDF). Europa (web portal). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 December 2007. Retrieved 15 July 2007.
- ^ Stark, Christine. "Evolution of the European Council: The implications of a permanent seat" (PDF). Dragoman.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 July 2007. Retrieved 12 July 2007.
- ^ Parker, John (January–February 2007). "A tale of two cities". E!Sharp Magazine. Encompass Publications: 42–44.
- ^ "Greens condemn EU parliament's 'travelling circus'". 4ecotips. 26 April 2007. Archived from the original on 19 May 2007. Retrieved 5 July 2007.
- ^ Wheatley, Paul (2 October 2006). "The two-seat parliament farce must end". Café Babel. Archived from the original on 10 June 2007. Retrieved 16 July 2007.
External links
- EU institutions and other bodies, Europa (web portal)
- Official archives of the Institutions of the European Union
- Access to European Union law on EUR-Lex