The European Union
THE EUROPEAN UNIONLesson 5
How does the structure of government within the EU compare with the structure of
government in the United States?
The European Union
Three key players
The Council of the European Union
Voice of the Member States
The European Parliament
Voice of the people
The European CommissionPromoting the
common interest
The European Union
European Parliament
The EU Institutions
Court of Justice
Court of Auditors
Economic and Social Committee
Committee of the Regions
Council of the EUEuropean
Commission
European Investment Bank
European Central BankAgencies
European Council (Summit)
The European Union
European Commission
• 27 Commissioners, each responsible for specific policy areas, representing the common European perspective.
• Proposes legislation and enforces laws.
• Negotiates trade agreements.
• Manages Europe’s multilateral development cooperation.
European Commission President José Manuel Barroso
The European Union
Council of the European Union
• EU’s main decision-making body, comprised of ministers of 27 Member States, representing each Member State’s point of view.
• Decides on foreign policy issues.
• Council presidency rotates among Member States every six months.
The European Union
European Parliament
• Voice of European citizens.
• Members elected for five-year terms.
• With the Council, passes EU laws and adopts EU budgets.
• Approves EU Commissioners.
The European Union
• Highest EU judicial authority.
• Ensures all EU laws are interpreted and applied correctly and uniformly.
• Can act as an independent policy maker but unlike the U.S. Supreme Court, the ECJ can only deal with matters covered by the Treaties.
European Court of Justice
The European Union
How EU laws are made
Parliament and Council of Ministers: decide jointly
Commission and Court of Justice:
monitor implementation
National or local authorities: implement
Citizens, interest groups, experts: discuss, consult
Commission: makes formal proposal
The European Union
The European Parliament •Decides EU laws and budget together with Council of the European Union
•Provides democratic supervision of all the EU’s work
Number of members elected in each country (January 2010)
United Kingdom12
22
72
72
13
Italy
Ireland
22Hungary
Greece
99Germany
France
Finland
6Estonia
13Denmark
22Czech Republic
6Cyprus
17Bulgaria
22Belgium
17Austria
Total 736
72
18Sweden
50Spain
7Slovenia
13Slovakia
33Romania
22Portugal
50Poland
25Netherlands
5Malta
6Luxembourg
12Lithuania
8Latvia
The European Union
The European Political Parties
Greens/European Free Alliance55
European Conservatives and Reformists 54
Alliance of Liberals andDemocrats for Europe84
European People’s Party (Christian Democrats)265
Non-attached members 27
Total : 736
Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Socialists and Democrats Democrats184
European UnitedLeft - Nordic Green Left35
Europe of Freedom and Democracy32
Number of seats in the European Parliament per political group
(January 2010)
The European Union
Council of the European Union voice of the member states
• One minister from each EU country
• Presidency: rotates every six months
• Decides EU laws and budget together with Parliament
• Manages the common foreign and security policy
The European Union
Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom
Total:
Council of the European Union number of votes per country
345
Malta
Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Luxembourg and Slovenia
Denmark, Ireland, Lithuania, Slovakia and Finland
Austria, Bulgaria and Sweden
Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary and Portugal
Netherlands
Romania
Spain and Poland
29
“Qualified majority” needed for many decisions:255 votes and a majority of member states
From 2014: 55% of the Member States with 65% of the population
4
3
7
10
12
13
14
27
The European Union
Summit of the European CouncilSummit of heads of state and government of all EU countries
•Heldat least 4 times a year •Sets the overall guidelines for EU policies
•President: Herman Van Rompuy
The European Union
The European Commission promoting the common interest
27 independent members, one from each EU country
• Proposes new legislation • Manages and implements EU policies and budget
• Guardian of the treaties
• Represents the EU on the international stage
The European Union
The European Court of Justice
upholding the law
• Rules on how to interpret EU law
• Ensures EU countries apply EU laws in the same way
27 independent judges, one from each EU country
The European Union
The European Court of Auditors getting value for your money
• Checks that EU funds are used properly
• Can audit any person or organization dealing with EU funds
27 Independent members
The European Union
• Ensures price stability
• Controls money supply and decides interest rates
• Works independently from governments
The European Central Bankmanaging the euro
The European Union
Civil servants working for the EU
Commission employs about 23,000
permanent civil servants and 11,000
temporary or contract workers
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