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

The European Union

Other EU institutions about 10,000 employed

• Permanent civil servants

• Selected by open competitions

• Come from all EU countries

• Salaries decided by law

• EU administration costs €15 per EU citizen per year