Institutions of The EU

Institutions of European Union
Presented by
Khin Kyi Nuee Han
H3PS-1
(PS-5203)
1
The European Commission
housed in Berlaymont, “European Quarter”

in Brussels, Belgium
2
The European Commission
• commonly viewed as the supranational executive body of the EU
• the implementation of EU laws, policies, and directives
• thirty-three service institutions and departments called Directorate Generals
• must approve the entire slate of the twenty-eight nominated commissioners
• a supranational body
• difficult for an individual to divorce herself from the interests of her country
• nominated by the Council of the EU
• seven commissioners serve as vice presidents
• to work in close concert with other EU institutions and national
governments
• DGs have the political, legal, and technical expertise to largely run the day-
3
• decisions are usually made by consensus
• the Commission is not a legislative body
• Commission a lot of power over national governments
• national governments surrender their sovereignty to the EU
• Commission is not all-powerful
• Commission has much de facto power to interpret matters
• is a target for opposed to deeper EU integration
• in the wake of corruption scandals in the 1990s, the power of the
European Parliament to oversee the work of the Commission was
expanded with visible effect
4
The Council of the European Union
• the most authoritative
• inter-governmental
• is not a single institution with a set membership
• more like a collection of specialist subcommittees
• is made up of representatives from the governments of each
member-state
• as governments change, the composition of the Council is altered
• leadership of the Council rotates every six months
• is not particularly efficient
5
• has been the subject of numerous disputes and changes
• a procedure of qualified-majority voting (QMV)
• a minority of the population cannot impose their will on the
majority
• double majority became the normal voting method
• Malta and Germany now have equal votes
• does not always use these voting procedures
• inter-governmentalism with supranationalism
• would take away the power of any individual member state 6

in the Espace Leopold, Brussels and
in Strasbourg, France
7
The European Parliament
• is the other legislative body within the EU
• directly elected by EU citizens
• no single European party-list or pan-European party
• MEPs receive the same salary (€262 per)
• the European Peoples’ Party (221 seats out of the 751 in the 2014
elections)
• the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and
• Democrats of European Socialists (191 seats)
• coalitions are necessary to pass proposals
• shares its legislative power with the Council of the EU 8
• cooperation procedure has largely been superseded by co-decision
• If there is no compromise, the act is not adopted
• under codecision, the EP has real legislative power
• Under assent, the EP’s approval is necessary
• it cannot offer amendments
• EP’s approval is necessary for all non-compulsory items in the EU

budget
• powers over the European Commission
• principle of the EP as a check on the power of the Commission
• the President of the Commission must be backed by the largest bloc in

the EP 9
The European Court of Justice
Housed in Luxembourg
10
The European Court of Justice
• is the highest judicial organ in the EU
• the ECJ is composed of twenty-eight judges, six-year terms
• states, corporations, or individuals, and makes rulings on a range of
issues, including provisions of the common market, rights of EU
citizens, social policy, and interpretation of EU treaties
• subsidiary Court of First Instance to handle initial rulings on less
complex cases
• is crucial for the functioning of the EU
• the EU’s decisions and policies would appear to be arbitrary and be
subject to numerous disputes
11
• Since the 1960s, has become an important supranational institution
• EU law supersedes national law
• established the principle of mutual recognition of product standards
• ECJ shows functionalism in practice
• by supporting the European Commission with expansive readings
of EU treaties
• National courts, especially in Germany, have also challenged the
ECJ
12
The European Council
• not to be confused with the Council of the EU
• the quintessential inter-governmental body
• created in 1974
• “shall provide the Union with the necessary impetus for

development and shall define the general political guidelines
thereof.”
• meets at least twice a year
• strives to reach decisions by consensus
• president of the European Council rotated every six months

13
• Under the terms of the Lisbon Treaty, appoints an
individual to serve as president of the European
Council
• meetings have become increasingly important to set

goals and new initiatives for the EU
• to elevate the importance of the European Council
• particularly in response to the global economic

crisis and the refugee crisis in Europe 14
Other bodies
• the European Environmental Agency,
• the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market, and
• the European Training Foundation
• to spread out the EU bureaucracy
• European Central Bank (ECB)
• politically independent
• to “maintain price stability”
• to “promote the smooth operation
of payment systems”
• created in 1998
15
• located in Frankfurt, Germany
• ECB’s financial holdings are determined by subscriptions from
member states (Germany, France, Great Britain, and Italy)
• by a Governing Council and an Executive Board
• The Court of Auditors was established in 1977
• to monitor the EU’s financial affairs
• The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) was
established by the Treaty of Rome
• to consult with other EU institutions
• to provide a forum for “participative democracy” and “Europe
with a human face
16
• The Committee of the Regions (COR), created by
the Maastricht Treaty
• is purely a consultative body
• for local officials to have their voice heard at the

EU
• a nod to the principle of subsidiarity
• Both the COR and the EESC are designed to put

more democratic input into EU decision-making
17
18

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Institutions of European Union

Khin Kyi Nuee Han

housed in Berlaymont, “European Quarter”

• a procedure of qualified-majority voting (QMV)

• a minority of the population cannot impose their will on the

• double majority became the normal voting method

• Malta and Germany now have equal votes

• does not always use these voting procedures

• inter-governmentalism with supranationalism

• would take away the power of any individual member state 6

• If there is no compromise, the act is not adopted

• under codecision, the EP has real legislative power

• Under assent, the EP’s approval is necessary

• it cannot offer amendments

• EP’s approval is necessary for all non-compulsory items in the EU

• powers over the European Commission

• principle of the EP as a check on the power of the Commission

• the President of the Commission must be backed by the largest bloc in

• EU law supersedes national law

• established the principle of mutual recognition of product standards

• ECJ shows functionalism in practice

• by supporting the European Commission with expansive readings

• National courts, especially in Germany, have also challenged the

• not to be confused with the Council of the EU

• the quintessential inter-governmental body

• “shall provide the Union with the necessary impetus for

• strives to reach decisions by consensus

• president of the European Council rotated every six months

• meetings have become increasingly important to set

• to elevate the importance of the European Council

• particularly in response to the global economic

• the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market, and

• the European Training Foundation

• to spread out the EU bureaucracy

• European Central Bank (ECB)

• to “maintain price stability”

• to “promote the smooth operation

• for local officials to have their voice heard at the

• Both the COR and the EESC are designed to put

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