MAJOR ACTORS 5 main institutions

The European Commission The Council of Ministers of the

European Union The European Council of Heads of

State or Government The European Parliament The European Court of Justice

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION 27 Commissioners President: Jose-Manuel Barroso (Portugal) Tasks

Represents the general interests of the Union Acts as guardian of the Treaties Ensures correct application of EU legislation Negotiates international trade of cooperation

agreements Powers

Exclusive right to propose policy Takes the lead in international trade talks Ensures compliance with EU law Has a right of censure over member states

ORGANIZATION 2 separate bodies

The College of 27 Commissioners The administrative commission (the

Commission Civil Service – based in Brussels) The College of Commissioners = the

powerhouse of the Commission President

Is elected by EP Distributes portfolios (policy responsibilities)

Vice-President is the EU’s High Representative for foreign policy

Vice-President = Catherine Ashton

ORGANIZATION (2) 5-year term (similar to EP’s term): 2009 - 2014 Commission has to be approved by EP Portfolio allocation: controversial Collegiality principle Size / Lisbon Staff: each Commissioner has a staff (Cabinet) of 7

officials / advisers Must not be of the same nationality as the Commissioner 40% of staff are female

Commissioners are expected to be independent from their country of origin

Each Commissioner is responsible for one or more DGs (Directorate-Generals) relating to their portfolios

ORGANIZATION (3) Not as large as people think (28,000

approx.) 2014: European Election = new EP =

new Commission Irish Commissioner: Maire Geoghegan-

Quinn http://

ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/index_en.htm

http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/president/

http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/geoghegan-quinn/

COUNCIL OF MINISTERS Main decision-making body of EU Treaties state that: It shall consist of “a representative of

each member state at ministerial level, who may commit the government of the member state in question and cast its vote”

And that it “shall, jointly with the European Parliament, exercise legislative and budgetary function” and

“carry out policy-making and co-ordinating functions”

COUNCIL (2) The Council Represents the interests of the member states

through their national government ministers Meets in 10 different configurations (agriculture,

environment, etc.) Has a secretariat of 2,500 officials Has a complex system of voting Is assisted by the Committee of Permanent

Representatives (Coreper) Permanent Representatives have ambassadorial

status Rory Montgomery is Ireland’s Permanent

Representative – based in Brussels http://www.irelandrepbrussles.be/home/index

COUNCIL (3) Council Presidency rotates every 6 months Presidency = chair of Council meetings No special powers but Places the country in the media spotlight Can give the country added influence Time-consuming, costly, daunting Agenda dictated by events (limited scope

for action) Denmark: 1 January – 30 June 2012 Cyprus: 1 July 2012 – 31 December 2012 Ireland: 1 January – 30 June 2013

COUNCIL (4) A complex voting system Unanimity required for some policy areas Consensus preferred in other areas but Qualified Majority Voting may be necessary QMV = votes allocated to each member state

according to population size Current = triple majority

Requisite number of weighted votes needed (255 = 74%) + positive votes from a majority (51%) of member states + at least 62 % of the Union’s population

2014: double majority 55 % of member states + 65 % of EU’s population

COUNCIL (5) Member State Population (in

millions / 2010)Number of votes (until 2014)

Number of citizens per vote (in millions)

Germany 82 29 2.8France 65 29 2.2UK 62 29 2.1Italy 60 29 2.1Spain 46 27 1.7Poland 39 27 1.4Romania 21 14 1.5Netherlands 17 13 1.3Greece 11 12 0.9Portugal 11 12 0.9Belgium 11 12 0.9Czech Republic 10 12 0.8Hungary 10 12 0.8Sweden 9 10 0.9Austria 8 10 0.8Bulgaria 8 10 0.8Denmark 5 7 0.7Slovakia 5 7 0.7Finland 5 7 0.7Ireland 4 7 0.6Lithuania 3 7 0.4Latvia 2 4 0.5Slovenia 2 4 0.5Estonia 1 4 0.3Cyprus 0.8 4 0.2Luxembourg 0.5 4 0.1Malta 0.4 3 0.1Total 498.7 345

EUROPEAN COUNCIL (OF HEADS OF STATE AND / OR GOVERNMENT) From informal ‘fireside chats’ to institution

(Lisbon Treaty) Heads of State or government + Commission

President 1st President of European Council appointed

in December 2009 : Herman van Rompuy http://european-council.europa.eu/thepreside

nt

Must meet four times a year – six is norm Function: the European Council “shall provide

the Union with the necessary impetus for its development and shall define its general policy direction and priorities” (Treaties)

EUROPEAN COUNCIL (2) Major agenda-setter in the EU Nominates President of the European

Commission and board members of ECB European Council President is elected

for 2 ½ years (renewable once) Herman van Rompuy describes himself

as More of a chairman, less a president More a facilitator, less a dictator Future president to be elected by all EU

citizens?

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Only directly-elected multi-national

parliament in the world A instrument towards a federal Europe? A compensation for loss of national-level

parliamentary power Democratic legitimacy : represents the

Union’s citizens The “voice of the people of Europe” Image problems:

‘gravy train’, etc ‘expensive talking-shop’?

EP (2) The European Parliament Is a political and legal equal to the Council of

Ministers Elects the President of the Commission Confirms and can dismiss the Commission as

a whole Has its own President: Martin Schultz (Germ) Has 751 MEPs from over 150 national parties Is a pluralist organization Is independent of any executive Has seen its powers reinforced with each

treaty

EP (3) 4 main areas of responsibility Legislative

Co-decides nearly all legislation with Council Budgetary

Passes EU budget Scrutiny

Scrutinizes the work of the Commission and other EU institutions

Appointments Approves the appointment of the Commission Can dismiss the entire Commission in a vote of

no-confidence

EP (4) 751 MEPs elected for a term of 5 years Minimum of 6 and maximum of 96 according

to size of member state population Malta = 6 MEPs Germany = 96 MEPs sit in 7 political groups not along

national lines Leaders of each political group + EP President

= Conference of Presidents = set EP agenda Standing Committees carry out most of the

work

EP (5) – IRELAND 12 Irish MEPs (Labour, FF, FG, Socialist

Party, Independent) 4 constituencies: Dublin – East – North-West

– South Irish MEPs take their seats in the following

groups: S&D Progressive Alliance of Socialists and

Democrats in the European Union ALDE: Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for

Europe EPP: European People’s Party EUL-NGL: European United Left – Nordic Green

Left

EP (6) The Irish MEPs are

Liam Aylward – FF – ALDE Nessa Childers – Labour – S&D Brian Crowley – FF – ALDE Emer Costello – Labour – S&D Pat ‘the Cope’ Gallagher – FF – ALDE Marian Harkin – Independent – ALDE Jim Higgins – FG – EPP Sean Kelly – FG – EPP Mairead McGuiness – FG – EPP Gay Mitchell – FG – EPP Paul Murphy – Socialist Party – EUL-NGL Phil Prendergast – Lab – S&D

EP (7) The EP suffers from a number of problems: It does not initiate legislation Its budgetary powers do not extend to

taxation It is dogged by image problems It has clumsy and costly ‘housekeeping

arrangements’ with 2 Parliament buildings in Brussels (3 weeks out of 4) and Strasbourg (1 week per month)

Its debates take place in a multitude of languages - lack ‘cut and thrust’ of national debates

EP (8) The EP’s legitimacy is undermined by

the low and falling turn out for its elections

EP’s future role is tied up with largest questions of democracy and power within the EU

2009: 43% participation across all member states and below 30% in six member states

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/performsearch.html?action=1&webCountry=IE&webTermId=7&name=&politicalGroup=&bodyType=&bodyValue=&type=&filter=

EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE ECJ is based in Luxembourg 27 judges + 8 Advocates-General It ensures that, in the interpretation and

application of the Treaties, the law is observed It is the final arbiter in legal disputes between

EU institutions and between EU institutions and member states

It ensures that the EU institutions do not exceed the powers given to them

It can impose fines on member states for breaches of EU law

http://curia.europa.eu/juris/recherche.jsf?language=en

OTHER INSTITUTIONS The ECB (European Central Bank) is

based in Frankfurt It formulates the EU’s monetary policy It ensures monetary stability It sets interest rates It manages the Euro

The European Court of Auditors It scrutinizes the EU’s budget and financial

accounts It acts as the ‘financial conscience’ of the EU It has 27 members nominated by national

governments

WHY INSTITUTIONS MATTER The EU’s institutions help illustrate: The extent to which the European Union

is an experiment in motion The importance of power-sharing and

consensus The capacity of the EU’s structures to

cope with the Union’s expanding size and scope

Discussion question: What EU institution is most powerful and

why?