how the eu works. a community of law the treaties … establishing the european coal and steel...
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HOW THE EU WORKS
A community of lawThe Treaties … establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC),
1951 in Paris; into force 23 July 1952 and expired 23 July 2002. … establishing the European Economic Community (EEC), 1957 in
Rome; into force 1 January 1958. + The Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), which was signed in Rome along with the EEC Treaty.
…. on European Union (TEU), Maastricht, 1992; into force 1 November 1993.
and Single European Act (SEA), 1986; into force on 1 July 1987. Treaty of Amsterdam, 1997; into force 1 May 1999. Treaty of Nice, 2001, into force 1 February 2003. Constitution, Rome, 2005…., signed but not ratified
The pillars of the EU’s house
2nd pillar = Inter Gov1st pillar = EC 3rd pillar – Inter Gov
Customs UnionCAPStructural policyTrade policy(Education & Culture)Consumer protectionPublic healthEnvironmentResearchSocial policyAsylum policyImmigration policyEMUetc.
The European Union
Cooperation between judicial authorities
Police cooperation
Fight v. drugs Arms trade Xenophobia Terrorism Human
trafficking
Foreign policy Peacekeeping Human rights Disarmament Financial aspects of
defence Long-term security
Institutions
European Investment
Bank
European Parliament
Court of Auditors
European Court of Justice
European Commission
Council of Ministers
Economic and Social Committee
Committee of the Regions
European Central Bank (ECB)
Directive
Regulation
European Commission
1. propose legislation to Parliament and Council;
2. manage & implement EU policies and the budget;
3. enforce European law (jointly with the Court of Justice);
4. represent the European Union on the international stage, for example by negotiating agreements between the EU and other countries.
European Commission
Cabinets
Directorates General and Services
27 Members of the College
European Commission
General Directorates and Services
General Services:
European Anti-Fraud OfficeEurostatPress and CommunicationPublications OfficeSecretariat GeneralInternal Services:BudgetFinancial ControlGroup of Policy AdvisorsInternal Audit ServiceJoint Interpreting and Conference ServiceLegal ServicePersonnel and AdministrationTranslation Service
Policies:
AgricultureCompetitionEconomic and Financial AffairsEducation and CultureEmployment and Social AffairsEnergy and TransportEnterpriseEnvironmentFisheriesHealth and Consumer ProtectionInformation SocietyInternal MarketJoint Research CentreJustice and Home AffairsRegional PolicyTaxation and Customs Union
External relations:
DevelopmentEnlargementEuropeAidExternal relationsECHOTrade
The Council
European CouncilHeads of State and Government
Council of MinistersRepresentatives from Member State Governments.
Council General secretary also High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy
“Coreper”Representatives from Member States permanent
EU representations
Presidency of the Council rotates amongst Member States every 6 months
Votes in the Council of Ministers 29 - Germany, France, Italy, UK
27 - Spain, Poland
14 - Romania
13 - Netherlands
12 - Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Portugal
10 - Sweden, Austria, Bulgaria
7 - Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Lithuania, Slovakia
4 – Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Slovenia Luxembourg
3 - Malta
Total = 345
European Parliament
1. Passing European laws — jointly with the Council in many policy areas. The fact that the EP is directly elected by the citizens helps guarantee the democratic legitimacy of European law.
2. Parliament exercises democratic supervision over the other EU institutions, and in particular the Commission. It has the power to approve or reject the nomination of commissioners, and it has the right to censure the Commission as a whole.
3. The power of the purse. Parliament shares with the Council authority over the EU budget and can therefore influence EU spending. At the end of the procedure, it adopts or rejects the budget in its entirety.
European Parliament – 785 seatsD 99UK, I, F 78 each ES, PL 54 eachRO 35NL, BE, CZ, EL, HU, PT 24 eachSE 19AT, BG 18 eachDK, SK, FI 14IE, LT 13LV 9SL 7EE, CY, LU 6MT 5
Political Groups Conservatives 277Socialists 217Liberals 106Europe of Nations 44Greens 42United left 39Independence & Democracy 23Identity, Others 34
Decision-making
Commission proposes, parliament & Council pass laws.
3 ways, depending on the legal basis for the decision:
1. Co-decision : introduced by Maastricht Treaty. requires 2 readings by Parliament & Council, and conciliation if necessary.
2. Assent : introduced by the Single European Act. Council must obtain the parliament's assent before certain important decisions are taken. Parliament can accept or reject a proposal, but can not amend.
3. Consultation: opinion of the Parliament is sought and integrated in Commission's proposal. If the Council decides to reject the proposal it can then only be done by unanimity.
EU AgenciesCedefop: European Centre for Development of Vocational Training (Thessalonica)Eurofond: European Foundation for Improvements of Living and Working Conditions (Dublin)EEA: European Environmental Agency (Copenhagen)EFT: European Training Foundation (Turin)EMCDDA: European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (Lisbon)EMEA: European Agency for the Evaluation of Medical Products (London)OHIM: Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Alicante)EU-OSHA: European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (Bilbao)CPVO: Community Plant Variety Office (Angers)CdT: Translation Centre (Luxembourg)EUMC: European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (Vienna)EAR: European Agency for Reconstruction (Thessalonica)EFSA: European Food Safety Authority (Brussels – temporarily)
Cedefop
Eurofound EEA
ETF
EMEA
OHIM
EU-OSHA
CdTCPVO
EUMC
EAR
EFSA
EU Budget Expenditures
45%
8%
4%
35%
5%
3%
AgricultureExternal policiesR&DStructural FundsAdministrationOther
Total budget: €99 billion = 1,1% of GDP
Staff in European Institutions
European Commission
Council of Ministers
European Parliament
Court of Justice
Court of Auditors
Total
20 765
2 590
28 169
457
814
3 543
