Upload
gili
View
62
Download
0
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
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 - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Citation preview
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?