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EU Institutions

EU Institutions. “To Understand Europe You Have to Be a Genius or French.” --Madeleine Albright, US Secretary of State, 1998. The Official Flag. A Symbol of Unity How they explain it: “12 hours on the clock face” “12 months in the year” 12 is a symbol of perfection, unity, completeness.

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EU Institutions

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  1. EU Institutions “To Understand Europe You Have to Be a Genius or French.” --Madeleine Albright, US Secretary of State, 1998

  2. The Official Flag • A Symbol of Unity • How they explain it: • “12 hours on the clock face” • “12 months in the year” • 12 is a symbol of perfection, unity, completeness

  3. 27 Counties, 23 Official Languages • Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian Lithuanian, Maltest, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish

  4. EU Institutions: 3 + 2 • The “Institutional Triangle”: The Commission, The Council of Ministers, The Parliament • The Other Two: The Court of Justice, The Central Bank

  5. The EU Commission • Somewhat like an executive branch • A lot like a huge bureaucracy • A little like a legislature: proposes legislation

  6. EU Commission • “The Commission” means both the 27 Commissioners and the vast bureaucracy that makes them coffee • The Commission is supposed to represent the interests of the EU, not the member states. Thus they aren’t supposed to receive “instructions” from their home country

  7. EU Commission • Commission headed by a President and a Vice-President • Internal working languages are English French and German • Responsible for day to day operation of the EU; thus, some would change its name to reflect its executive function • Does no directly control taxation, policy or armed forces

  8. EU Commission • Acts as “Guardian of the Treaties” • Consists of 27 Commissioners, one for each member state of the EU • Commissioners supported by 26,000 bureaucrats, divided into departments called Directorates-General

  9. EU Commission • Commissioners are proposed by nat’l governments and approved by the EU Parliament • Exercises both exec. And legis. Power • Occasional problems with corruption: The EU parliament can force the entire Commission to resign through a vote of “no confidence.” Almost did in 1999 with Santer Commission, which, instead, resigned en masse.

  10. Council of Ministers • Located in Brussels • Sort of like an executive branch, specifically a senate

  11. Council of Ministers • Also called the Council of the European Union, or simply as, The Council • Represents the interests of the member states • Not the same as the “European Council” which meets 4x a year at the “European Summit” and is made up of the heads of states of the member countries. But related

  12. Council of Ministers • Definitely not the same as the Council of Europe which is a European organization located in Strasbourg, It was founded in 1949 to protect human rights and foster democracy. Made up of 36 nations • Mild competition between the Council of Europe and the EU as there is overlap in their functions • To confuse students they share the same flag and the same anthem as the EU

  13. Council of Ministers • Arguably the most powerful and the least known institution of the EU • Meetings held in secret, little media coverage • Little academic study on C of M compared with, e.g. Parliament or Commission

  14. Council of Ministers • COREPER: Committee of Permanent Representatives • Powerful but often overlooked in understanding EU • Acts as links between Brussels and member states • Sets agenda for much of Council’s business

  15. Council of Ministers • Presidency of Council of Ministers rotates every six months to a different head of state • President sets agenda, represents EU internationally, represents (sometimes with President of Commission) EU at internationally meetings

  16. Council of Ministers • Although the Council shares functions with the Commission, it has a special interest in economic coordination, foreign and defense policy (such as it is), terrorism and economic policy

  17. The European Parliament • The only directly-elected body of the EU • 785 members (soon will drop to 736; was elevated after accession of Rom. And Bulg) • an electorate of almost 1/2 billion people. • Elected once every five years; form of election defined by members states as long as . . . 1) voting age 18 2) secret ballot 3) equality of sexes • Directly elected since 1979 (contrast Council of Europe) • Turnout for elections usually very low

  18. EU Parliament, Strasbourg

  19. EU Parliament • Elected for renewable five-year terms • Location is in Brussels (committees), Strasbourg (chamber), Luxembourg (administrative) • Receive same salary as parliamentarians in respective countries; this will change in 2009 when salaries will be “equalized.”

  20. EU Parliament • About 1/3 MEPs are women • Seats are, for the most part, shared proportionally according to size of member state • These produce distortions: Germany has 99 seats, Malta has 5, but . . . • This means: Germany has 1 MEP per 800,000; Malta one MEP per 80,000

  21. EU Parliament • Weakest of the three “triangular institutions”; a “junior” member but power has grown • Oddity is that EU parliament cannot introduce laws nor raise revenue • One president, 14 vice-presidents

  22. EU Parliament: Political Parties • MEPs in the Parliament are currently organized into 8 different political groups • There are currently 15 non-aligned members, known as “non-inscrits.” • These groups are not by definition European political parties. For example, the EPP-ED is composed of the European People’s Party and the European Democrats

  23. EU Political Parties • European Parliament: Political Parties • These European parties are themselves composed primarily of national parties • For example, a member of the British Conservative (Tory) Party would be a member of the European Democrats) and include parties not currently elected or even currently outside the EU • Hence, European Union parties are more fluid, with national or European parties easily able to switch between groups which often occurs after elections or an enlargement

  24. EU Political Parties • EPP-ED (European People’s Party and European Democrats / 277 / Germany, Britain, Italy, Spain / Right of Center / www.epp.ed-eu • PES (Part of European Socialists / 218 / France, Spain, Germany / a few ex-communists, mainly social democrats, so, on the left / www.pes.org

  25. EU Political Parties • ALDE / Allicance of Democrats and Liberals for Europe / 105 / moderate / Britain, Italy, Germany / www.alde.eu • Greens-EFA (Greens - European Free Alliance) 42 variety of social justice issues, environment; on the left, but not too far / www.greens-efa.org EUL/NGL / European United left / Nordic Green Left / 41 / farthest to the left / Germans, Italians, Greeks, and Czech leftists / www.guengl.org

  26. EU Political Parties • UEN (Union for Europe of the Nations) / 44 / born out of French Gaullism, more recently driven by opposition to Maastricht Treaty and federalism • IND/DEM (Independence / Democracy Group in the EU / 24 / advocate withdrawal / most from UK, then scattered; e.g. Fr. 3, Neth. 2, Poland, 3, Sweden, 2.

  27. The Court of Justice (and the Court of First Instance) • Located in Luxembourg • Its work is not well understood by the public • Determines if EU laws are consistent with EU Treaties • Determines if national laws are consistent with EU laws • EU law takes precedence but only in areas of EU “competence,” that is, where the countries have given power to the EU

  28. Court of Justice • Court hears and rules on 500-600 cases each year (cf. to U.S. Supreme Court) • Cases fall into two categories 1) direct action and 2) preliminary rules • Compare with SCOTUS which cannot issue “preliminary rulings;” only a “case” or “controversy” • 27 judges, appointed to 6 yr terms

  29. Court of Justice • Power of Court seems to be growing; this reflected in tension between Court and member states • On the other hand, Court of Justice has strengthened courts in member nations by giving it new jurisdiction • Under new constitution, ECJ power would grow significantly

  30. Court of First Instance • Screens issues before they come to Court of Justice • Cf. to SCOTUS and Georgia Judiciary

  31. ECJ rules on: • Claims by the EU Commission that a member state has not implemented a legal requirement • Claims by a member states that the EU Commission has exceeded its authority • Responds to inquiries from national courts about the meaning or validity of a particular piece of EU law.

  32. European Central Bank (ECB) • Located in Frankfurt • Newest of the EU institutions • Setting in Germany reflective of legendary strength of German • economy • Job is bigger with introduction of the euro in 2002 • Most concerned about inflation

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