European Union Institutions and decisionmaking European Parliament European Court of Auditors Europe

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European Union Institutions and decision-making
European ParliamentEuropean Court of
AuditorsEuropean OmbudsmanEuropaen Data
Protection SupervisorEuropean Central
BankEuropean Investment BankEuropean Economic
and Social CommitteeCommittee of the
RegionsAgencies
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Links

• European Parliament
• www.europarl.europa.eu
• European Court of Auditors
• www.eca.europa.eu
• European Ombudsman
• www.ombudsman.europa.eu
• Europaen Data Protection Supervisor
• www.edps.europa.eu
• European Central Bank
• www.ecb.eu
• European Investment Bank
• www.eib.org
• European Economic and Social Committee
• www.eesc.europa.eu
• Committee of the Regions
• www.cor.europa.eu
• Agencies
• www.europa.eu/agencies

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Institutions and other bodies

• Article 7
• The tasks entrusted to the Community shall be
  carried out by the following institutions
• EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,
• COUNCIL,
• COMMISSION,
• COURT OF JUSTICE,
• COURT OF AUDITORS.
• The Council and the Commission shall be assisted
  by
• Economic and Social Committee
• Committee of the Regions acting in an advisory
  capacity.

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European Parliament TEC Article189-201

• Composition
• 785 Members in political groups, for a term of
  five years
• elected by direct universal suffrage (Lisbon
  750President)
• Rules of Procedure
• http//www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getLastRules.
  do?languageENreferenceTOC
• President Hans-Gert Pöttering (EPP-ED)
• Works in
• Strasbourg - seat / plenary
• Brussels - Committees, group, mini plenary,
  administration
• Luxembourg - administration
• Directly elected since 1979
• Bureau President14 Vice Presidentsquaestors
• Conference of Presidents PresidentChairmen of
  pol.groups
• Quaestors (6) Financial/administrative issues

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Distribution of seats in EP now/after Lisbon
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Political Groups in the EP

• Formation of political groups
• MEPs elected in at least one-fifth of the MSs
  new rule since 1.1.2007
• minimum number of MEPs required 20
• EPP-ED Group of the European Peoples Party and
  European Democrats (288) DAUL, Joseph
• PES Socialist group (215) SCHULZ, Martin
• ALDE Group of the Alliance of Liberals and
  Democrats for Europe (101) WATSON, Graham
• UEN Union for Europe of the Nations Group (44)
  Co-presidency (!) CROWLEY, Brian / MUSCARDINI,
  Cristiana
• Greens/EFA Group of the Greens /European Free
  Alliance (42) Co-presidency (!) COHN-BENDIT,
  Daniel FRASSONI, Monica
• GUE/NGL Confederal Group of the European United
  Left - Nordic Green Left (41), WURTZ, Francis
• IND / DEM Independence / Democracy (24),
  Co-presidency (!) BONDE, Jens-Peter FARAGE,
  Nigel
• NI Non-attached (30)
• Note numbers state of play March 2008 there
  are always outgoing and incoming MEPs 

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Functions of the EP

• Legislative power
• Democratic control
• Budgetary powers

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Decision making / main procedures

• Codecision (TEC 251)
• Rights of the Institutions in first and second
  reading
• Deadlines
• Composition of Conciliation Committee (54 2727)
• Consultation
• Assent
• Budgetary/Discharge
• Cooperation
• Own initiative reports
• Written declarations
• Resolutions etc.

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Areas covered by codecision

• customs co-operation, the internal market
• non-discrimination on the basis of nationality
• the right to move and reside the free movement of
  workers, social security for migrant workers, the
  right of establishment, EU citizenship
• employment, the fight against social exclusion,
  equal opportunities and equal treatment
• transport, trans-European networks
• implementing decisions regarding the European
  Social Fund and the European Regional Development
  Fund
• the environment
• culture, education and vocational training
• health, consumer protection
• research
• transparency, preventing and combating fraud
• statistics, setting up a data protection advisory
  body

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Areas covered by consultation

• Police and judicial cooperation in criminal
  matters
• Revision of the Treaties
• Discrimination on grounds of sex, race or ethnic
  origin, religion or political conviction,
  disability, age or sexual orientation 
• Agriculture
• Visas, asylum, immigration and other policies
  associated with the free movement of persons
• Transport - to have a significant impact on
  certain regions
• Competition rules
• Tax arrangements
• Economic policy
• Enhanced co-operation 

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Areas covered by assent

• serious breaches of Human Rights
• the uniform electoral procedure for the European
  Parliament
• certain international agreements having serious
  budgetary implications
• the accession of new Member States
• specific tasks of the European Central Bank
• amending the statutes of the European System of
  Central Banks/ European Central Bank

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Codecision in practice

• Oeil The legislative observatory
• http//www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/
• Postal services creating a single market,
  further opening of the market to competition
  (amend. Dir. 97/67/EC) (adopted in 2 readings)
• http//www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/file.jsp?id5
  401032
• Railway transport international rail passengers'
  rights and obligations. 3rd package (adopted in 3
  readings)
• http//www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/file.jsp?id24
  1522

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Assent in practice

• Republic of Romania application for accession to
  the European Union
• http//www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/file.jsp?id52
  30082
• EP 1.  Gives its assent to the application by
  Romania to become a member of the European Union
• EC/Serbia agreement Stabilisation and
  Association Agreement
• http//www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/file.jsp?id55
  64232

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Consultation in practice

• Common organisation of the market CMO in wine
  (repeal. Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 and amend.
  Regulations (EC) Nos 1290/2005, 2702/1999,
  2826/2000 and 1782/2003)
• http//www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/file.jsp?id55
  08642
• Full application of the provisions of the
  Schengen acquis in the Czech Republic, Estonia,
  Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland,
  Slovenia and Slovakia
• http//www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/FindByStage.do
  ?startIndex21

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Budgetary procedure

• TEC 272!
• Commission forwards preliminary draft budget to
  the Council not later than 1 September
• Council adopts draft budget by QM, forwards to
  the EP not later than 5 October
• If, within 45 days EP approves or no amendment ?
  adopted.
• If EP ams ? Council can modify by QM any EP am
  within 15 days. If not ? adopted.
• If Council ams ? EP can amend or reject them by
  3/5 within 15 days
• When procedure completed, EP President declares
  budget finally adopted
• At this stage, if there are important reasons, EP
  by 2/3 can reject the draft budget and ask for a
  new draft.
• (TEC 273) If, there is no budget on 1 January, a
  sum equivalent to not more than one twelfth of
  the budget appropriations for the preceding
  financial year may be spent each month
• In practice 2008 budget section III, Commission
• http//www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/file.jsp?id54
  37452

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Democratic control

• Parliamentary approval of the nomination of the
  President of Commission and the Members of the
  Commission as a body - COM is politically
  answerable to the EP
• Exercising control over COM written and oral
  questions, reports
• Motion of censure (Article 201 TEC, Article 100
  of Rules of Procedure)
• Own initiativ reports, resolutions
• Setting up temporary committees of inquiry

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Lisbon and EP

• Corbett Mendez de Vigo report, 20 February 2008
• Lisbon substantially enhances the role of the
  EP 
• general application of codecision (new fields,
  e.g.  services of general economic interest,
  common agricultural policy, liberalisation of
  services in specific sectors, visas, border
  checks, free movement of nationals of non-member
  countries, Immigration and combating trafficking
  in persons, judicial and police cooperation,
  public health, Cohesion Fund, space policy,
  energy, tourism, etc.)
• in the field of international agreements EPs
  approval will also be general rule
• right of initiative for revision of the Treaties 
• EPs budgetary powers extend to all EU
  expenditure 
• election of the President of the Commission
• CFSP EPs general right to be informed and
  consulted
• the number of MEPs limited to 751, 'degressively
  proportional representation, with a minimum of
  six and a maximum of 96 seats per MS.

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European Economic and Social Committee TEC 257-263

• EU body with an advisory status
• founded under the Treaty of Rome in 1957
• function as channel in the interests of the
  organised civil society
• Employers, employees, various interests
• currently 344 Members
• Members are nominated by the MSs
• term of 4 years
• seat - Brussels
• meets in plenary 9 times annually 6
  subcommittes
• President in office Dimitris Dimitriadis
• www.eesc.europa.eu

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Committee of the RegionsTEC 263-265

• EU body with an advisory status
• set up under the Treaty of Maastricht in 1994
• Function ensures that the interests of local
  and regional governments are taken into account
• currently 344 Members
• Members are nominated by the MSs
• term of 4 years
• seat - Brussels
• meets in plenary 5 times a year 6 Commissions
• President in office Luc Van den Brande
• www.cor.europa.eu

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European Court of AuditorsTEC 247-248

• established in 1977
• one Member per each MS for 6 years
• president for 3 years - Vítor Manuel da Silva
  Caldeira
• seat Luxembourg
• functions
• examines all revenue and expenditure of the
  Community
• Carries out on-the-spot checks
• help the budgetary authorities in sending a
  statement of assurance
• Gives an opinion before adoption of EUs
  financial regulations
• Annual Report
• www.eca.europa.eu

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European Investment Bank (EIB)TEC 266-267

• set up by the Treaty of Rome in 1958
• has a legal personality, members / shareholders
  are the MSs
• MSs subscribe its capital jointly reflecting
  their economic weights
• seat Luxembourg
• function invest in projects that promote the
  objectives of the EU (ie. TEN, SMEs,
  competitiveness)
• Chairman Philippe Maystadt
• www.eib.org

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European Central BankTEC 105-112

• set up in 1998
• seat Frankfurt
• role
• maintain price stability
• controlling the money supply
• monitoring price trends
• Institutional framework
• Executive Board comprising the President of ECB
  (Jean-Claude Trichet), the Vice-President and 4
  other members appointed by the prime ministers of
  the eurozone MSs
• Governing Council governors of the 15 central
  banks of the eurozone
• General Council ECB president, vice-president
  and the governors of all 27 EU MSs
• ESCB European system of Central Banks 27 MSs
  ECB
• www.ecb.eu

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European OmbudsmanTEC 195

• Created by the Maastricht Treaty
• Elected by the EP (Nikiforos Diamandouros) for 5
  years
• Duties
• Investigate maladminsitration by the European
  Institutions (except the European Courts)
• following by a complaint or on own initiative
• Powers of the Ombudsman
• Information (the institiution concerned has 3
  months to give a detailed opinion on the matter)
• conciliation
• recommendation
• report to the EP
• www.ombudsman.europa.eu

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European Data Protection Supervisorbased on TEC
286 - Regulation EC 45/2001

• Independent authority
• Duties ensuring that a persons right to privacy
  is respected while processing personal data on an
  identifiable individual, ensure that the EU
  institutions and bodies process personal data of
  EU staff and others lawfully
• advising on policies and legislation that affect
  privacy
• created in 2001 - operational as from 2004
• Term of office five years
• Peter Hustinx
• www.edps.europa.eu

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One example

• Which of the following is not an institution
  under the EC Treaty?
• a) European Parliament
• b) Court of Auditors
• c) Committee of Regions
• d) Court of Justice