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

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

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 Commission

• 28 Commissioners, each responsible for specific policy areas representing the common European perspective

• Proposes new legislation and enforces laws

• Manages Europe’s multilateral development cooperation

European Commission President

José Manuel Barroso

The European Union

The European Commission promoting the common interest

28 independent members, one from each EU country

• Manages and implements EU policies and budget

• Guardian of the treaties

• Negotiates trade agreements

• Represents the EU on the international stage

The European Union

Council of the European Union

• EU’s main decision-making body, comprised of ministers of 28 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

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

Council of the European Unionnumber of votes per country

352Total:

3Malta

4Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Luxembourg and Slovenia

7Croatia, Denmark, Ireland, Lithuania, Slovakia and Finland

10Austria, Bulgaria and Sweden

12Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary and Portugal

13Netherlands

14Romania

27Spain and Poland

29Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom

“Qualified majority” needed for many decisions:260 votes and a majority of member states

From 2014: 55% of the Member States with 65% of the population

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

The European Parliament voice of the people

Decides EU laws and budget together with Council of Ministers

Democratic supervision of all the EU’s work

Number of members elected in each country (July 2013)

United Kingdom12

22

74

73

13

Italy

Ireland

22Hungary

Greece

99Germany

France

Finland

6Estonia

13Denmark

22Czech Republic

6Cyprus

12Croatia

19Austria

22Belgium

Total 766

72

20Sweden

54Spain

8Slovenia

13Slovakia

33Romania

22Portugal

51Poland

26Netherlands

6Malta

6Luxembourg

12Lithuania

9Latvia

Bulgaria 18

The European Union

The European Political Parties

Greens/European Free Alliance58

European Conservatives and Reformists 55

Alliance of Liberals andDemocrats for Europe

85European People’s Party (Christian Democrats)275

Non-attached members 28

Total : 766

Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats

196

European UnitedLeft - Nordic Green Left

34

Europe of Freedom and Democracy35

Number of seats in the European Parliament per political group

(July 2013)

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

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

28 independent judges, one from each EU country

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

Summit of the European Councilheads 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

• Ensures price stability

• Controls money supply and decides interest rates

• Works independently from governments

The European Central Bankmanaging the euro

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

28 Independent members

The European Union

Civil servants working for the EUThe Commission employs about 23,000 permanent civil servants and 11,000 temporary or contract workers

Other EU institutions: about 10,000 employed

EU administration costs €15 per EU citizen per year