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Enlargement and the Political Institutions of the EU

Introduction. Enlargement and the Political Institutions of the EU. Institutions and the Legislative Process The Political dynamics of the past 20 years The Current Commission Appointment Problems Enlargement An EU Constitution. Christophe Crombez. Institutions.

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Enlargement and the Political Institutions of the EU

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  1. Introduction Enlargement and the Political Institutions of the EU • Institutions and the Legislative Process • The Political dynamics of the past 20 years • The Current Commission Appointment Problems • Enlargement • An EU Constitution Christophe Crombez Crombez

  2. Institutions • A Bicameral Legislature • The Council • consists of representatives of the 25 member states • national government ministers • uses unanimity or qualified majority (around 70%) rule • comparable to US Senate • The Parliament • consists of 732 directly elected MEPs • comparable to US House • An Executive The Commission • consists of 25 Commissioners, one per member state • appointed by the Council and the Parliament • responsible for the implementation of legislation • also the monopoly proposer of legislation Crombez

  3. The Legislative Process Most important legislation • is proposed by the Commission • needs the approval of the Parliament and the Council • can be amended by the Parliament and the Council Crombez

  4. Political Dynamics A move away from unanimity in the Council, toward qualified majority • in the legislative process (since 1987) • in the Commission appointment process (since 2003) Crombez

  5. Current Problems • There is a center-right majority in the Council and in the Parliament. • As a result the nominated Commission is a center-right Commission. • However, the center-right is short of a majority in the Parliament. Crombez

  6. Enlargement How does this relate to enlargement? • The EU institutions were set up for a union of 6 member states. • Successive enlargements have brought in member states with more heterogeneous preferences. • Agreeing on policies has thus become more difficult. • This has led to a move away from consensus politics, toward more majoritarian politics. Crombez

  7. A Constitution for the EU • EU institutions may still not have been well prepared for the most recent and future enlargements. • That is one of the reasons why a new treaty establishing a constitution was signed last week. • The Constitution • further expands qualified majority voting • gives more weight to the larger member states • also introduces an EU foreign minister Crombez

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