24 - EU Institutions

Question 1

What are the main institutions of the European Institutions?

Answer 1

European Parliament

European Council

Council of the European Union

European Commission

The Court of Justice of the European Union

European Central Bank

Court of Auditors

European Court of Human Rights

Question 2

European Parliament

What is the European Parliament?

Answer 2

The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union

Question 3

European Parliament

Together with…

Answer 3

Together with theCouncil of the European Union(the Council) and theEuropean Commission, the European Parliament exercises the legislative function of the EU.

Question 4

European Parliament

The Parliament is composed of…

Answer 4

The Parliament is composed of 751 (previously 766)members, who represent the second largest democratic electorate in the world (after theParliament of India) and the largest trans-national democratic electorate in the world (375million eligiblevotersin 2009).

Question 5

European Parliament

It has been directly elected…

Answer 5

It has been directly elected every five years byuniversal suffrage since 1979.

Question 6

European Parliament

However,voter turnoutatEuropean Parliament elections…

Answer 6

However,voter turnoutatEuropean Parliament electionshas fallen consecutively at each election since that date, and has been under 50% since 1999. Voter turnout in 2014 stood at 42.54% of all European voters.

Question 7

European Parliament

Although the European Parliament has legislative power…

Answer 7

Although the European Parliament has legislative power that the Council and Commission do not possess, it does not formally possesslegislative initiative, as mostnational parliamentsof European Union member states do.

Question 8

European Parliament

The Parliament is the “first institution” of the EU…

Answer 8

The Parliament is the “first institution” of the EU (mentioned first in thetreaties, having ceremonial precedence over all authority at European level),and shares equal legislative and budgetary powers with the Council (except in a few areas where thespecial legislative procedures apply). It likewise has equal control over theEU budget.

Question 9

European Parliament

TheEuropean Commission, the executive body of the EU…

Answer 9

TheEuropean Commission, the executive body of the EU, is accountable to Parliament. In particular, Parliament elects the President of the Commission, and approves (or rejects) the appointment of the Commission as a whole. It can subsequently force the Commission as a body to resign by adopting a motion of censure.

Question 10

European Parliament

ThePresident of the European Parliament…

Answer 10

ThePresident of the European Parliament(Parliament’sspeaker) isAntonio Tajani (EPP), elected in January 2017. He presides over a multi-party chamber, the two largest groups being theGroup of the European People’s Party(EPP) and theProgressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats(S&D). The last union-wide elections were the2014 elections.

Question 11

European Parliament

The European Parliament has three places of work…

Answer 11

The European Parliament has three places of work–Brussels (Belgium),the city of Luxembourg (Luxembourg) andStrasbourg (France).

Luxembourg is home to the administrative offices (the ‘General Secretariat’).

Meetings of the whole Parliament (‘plenary sessions’) take place in Strasbourg and in Brussels. Committee meetings are held in Brussels.

Question 12

Council of the European Union

What is the Council of the European Union often called?

Answer 12

The Council of the European Union is often called just the Council or the Council of Ministers.

Question 13

Council of the European Union

What is the Council of the European Union?

Answer 13

It is the central legislative and decision-making body in the EU.

Question 14

Council of the European Union

The Council comprises…

Answer 14

The Council comprises one representative at ministerial level from each Member State with the authority to commit their government.

The Council’s composition of government representatives varies depending on the subject on the agenda.

Question 15

Council of the European Union

Where is the Council of the European Union based?

Answer 15

It is based in theJustus Lipsius building inBrussels,Belgium.

Question 16

European Council

What is the European Council comprised of?

Answer 16

The European Council comprises the Heads of State or Government of the EU Member States and the President of the Commission. TheHigh Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policyalso takes part in its meetings. These are assisted by the foreign ministers of the Member States and another Member of the Commission.

Question 17

European Council

When was the European Council established?

Answer 17

Established as an informal summit in 1975, the European Council was formalised as an institution in 2009 upon the entry into force of theTreaty of Lisbon.

Question 18

European Council

What is the purpose of the European Council?

Answer 18

The European Council is charged with defining the EU’s overall political direction and priorities

Question 19

European Council

How often do the European Council meet?

Answer 19

Since 2002 the European Council has met at least twice during each Presidency, i.e. four times a year. Extraordinary meetings are also held.

Question 20

European Council

Who is the current president of the European Council?

Answer 20

The current President is Donald Tusk

Question 21

European Commission

What is the European Commission?

Answer 21

The European Commission is the executive body of the EU responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union’s treaties and day-to-day running of the EU.

Question 22

European Commission

Commissioners swear an oath…

Answer 22

Commissioners swear an oath at theEuropean Court of Justicein Luxembourg, pledging to respect the treaties and to be completely independent in carrying out their duties during their mandate.

Question 23

European Commission

How is the European Commission made up?

Answer 23

The Commission operates as acabinet government, with 28members of the Commission.

There is one member permember state, but members are bound by their oath of office to represent the general interest of the EU as a whole rather than their home state.

One of the 28 is theCommission President (currentlyJean-Claude Juncker) proposed by theEuropean Council and elected by theEuropean Parliament.

TheCouncil of the European Unionthen nominates the other 27 members of the Commission in agreement with the nominated President, and the 28 members as a single body are then subject to a vote of approval by theEuropean Parliament.

The current Commission is theJuncker Commission, which took office in late 2014.

Question 24

European Commission

The term commission…

Answer 24

The termCommissionis used either in the narrow sense of the 28-memberCollege of Commissioners(orCollege) or to also include the administrative body of about 23,000European civil servantswho are split into departments calleddirectorates-generaland services.

Question 25

European Commission

The procedural languages of the Commission are…

Answer 25

The procedural languages of the Commission are English, French and German.

The Members of the Commission and their “cabinets” (immediate teams) are based in theBerlaymont buildinginBrussels.

Question 26

Court of Justice of the European Union

What is the Court of Justice of the European Union?

Answer 26

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) is the institution of the EU that encompasses the whole judiciary.

The Court constitutes the judicial authority of the European Union and, in cooperation with the courts and tribunals of the Member States, it ensures the uniform application and interpretation of European Union law.

Question 27

Court of Justice of the European Union

How is the Court of Justice of the European Union comprised?

Answer 27

It consists of two separate courts: theCourt of Justice and the General Court.

From 2005 to 2016 it also consisted of the Civil Service Tribunal. It has asui generiscourt system, meaning “of its own kind”, and asupranational institution.

Question 28

Court of Justice of the European Union

Where is the Court of Justice of the European Union based?

Answer 28

Luxembourg

Question 29

Court of Justice of the European Union

What is the purpose of the Court of Justice of the European Union?

Answer 29

The Court reviews the legality of the acts of the institutions of the European Union; ensures that the Member States comply with obligations under the Treaties; and interprets European Union law at the request of the national courts and tribunals.

It also resolves legal disputes between national governments and EU institutions, and may take action against EU institutions on behalf of individuals, companies or organisations whose rights have been infringed.

Question 30

European Central Bank

What is the European Central Bank?

Answer 30

The European Central Bank is the central bank for the euro and administers monetary policy of the eurozone

The capital stock of the bank is owned by the central banks of all 28 EU member states.

Question 31

European Central Bank

When was the European Central Bank established?

Answer 31

The Treaty of Amsterdam established the bank in 1998, and it is headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany

Question 32

European Central Bank

What are the objectives of the European Central Bank?

Answer 32

The primary objective of the European Central Bank is to maintain price stability within the Eurozone.

Question 33

European Central Bank

What are the tasks of the European Central Bank?

Answer 33

Its basic tasks are to set and implement the monetary policy for the Eurozone

To conduct foreign exchange operations

To take care of the foreign reserves of the European System of Central Banks and operation of the financial market infrastructure under the TARGET2 payments system and the technical platform (currently being developed) for settlement of securities in Europe (TARGET2 Securities).

Question 34

European Central Bank

The European Central Bank has the exclusive right to…

Answer 34

The European Central Bank has the exclusive right to authorise the issuance of euro banknotes. Member states can issue euro coins, but the amount must be authorised by the European Central Bank beforehand.

Question 35

European Central Bank

How is the European Central Bank set up?

Answer 35

The European Central Bank is governed by European law directly, but its set-up resembles that of a corporation in the sense that the European Central Bank has shareholders and stock capital. Its capital is €11 billion held by the national central banks of the member states as shareholders.

The initial capital allocation key was determined in 1998 on the basis of the states’ population and GDP, but the capital key has been adjusted. Shares in the European Central Bank are not transferable and cannot be used as collateral.

Question 36

Court of Auditors

When was the Court of Auditors created?

Answer 36

The Court of Auditors was created by the1975 Budgetary Treatyand was formally established on 18 October 1977, holding its first session a week later

At that time the Court was not a formal institution, it was an external body designed to audit the finances of theEuropean Communities. It replaced two separate audit bodies, one which dealt with the finances of theEuropean Economic CommunityandEuratomand one which dealt with theEuropean Coal and Steel Community.

The Court did not have a defined legal status until theTreaty of Maastricht.

By becoming an institution it gained some new powers, such as the ability to bring actions before theEuropean Court of Justice(ECJ). However its audit power related only to theEuropean Communitypillarof the EU, but under theTreaty of Amsterdamit gained the full power to audit finances of the whole of the EU.

Question 37

Court of Auditors

What is the function of the Court of Auditors?

Answer 37

The Court has no judicial functions. It is rather a professional external investigatory audit agency.

The primary role of the court is to externally check if thebudget of the European Unionhas been implemented correctly, in that EU funds have been spent legally and with sound management.

In doing so, the court checks the paperwork of all persons handling any income or expenditure of the Union and carries out spot checks.

The court is bound to report any problems in the Court’s reports for the attention of other states and institutions, these reports include its general annual report as well as specific and special reports on certain bodies and issues.

Question 38

Court of Auditors

The Court’s decision is the basis for theEuropean Commissiondecisions…

Answer 38

The Court’s decision is the basis for theEuropean Commissiondecisions, for example: when the Court found problems in the management of EU funds in theregions of England, the Commission suspended funds to those regions and prepared to fine those who did not come back up to acceptable standards.

In this role, the Court has to remain independent yet remain in touch with the other institutions, for example a key role is the presentation of the Court’s annual report to theEuropean Parliament.

It is based on this report that the Parliament makes its decision on whether or not to sign off theEuropean Commission’s handling of the budget for that year. The Parliament notably refused to do this in 1984 and 1999, the latter case forced theresignation of the Santer Commission.

The Court, if satisfied, also sends assurances to the Council and Parliament that the tax-payers money is being properly used and the Court must be consulted before the adoption of any legislation with financial implications but the opinion is never binding.

Question 39

Court of Auditors

How is the Court of Auditors composed?

Answer 39

The Court is composed of one member from each EU state who are, after a hearing in theBudgetary Control Committeeand a non-binding majority-vote in the committee as well as in the plenary of theEuropean Parliament, appointed unanimously by theCouncil of the European Unionfor a renewable term of six years.

Members are chosen from people who have served in national audit bodies, who are qualified for the office and whose independence is beyond doubt. While serving in the Court, members cannot engage in any other professional activities.As the body is independent, its members are free to decide their own organisation and rules of procedure, although these must be ratified by theCouncil of the European Union.Since the Treaty of Nice, the Court can set up “chambers” (with only a few Members each) to adopt certain types of reports or opinions.

The Court is supported by a staff of approximately 800 auditors,translators and administratorsrecruitedas part of theEuropean civil service. Auditors are divided into auditor groups which inspect and prepare draft reports for the Court to take decisions upon. Inspections take place not only of EU institutions but any state which receives EU funds given that 90% ofincomeandexpenditureis managed by national authorities rather than the EU.

Question 40

Court of Auditors

Upon finding a fault…

Answer 40

Upon finding a fault the Court has no legal powers of its own and instead informsOLAFwhich is the EU’s anti-fraud agency. The court is also assisted by theSecretary-General of the European Court of Auditors, elected by the court, who draws up draft minutes and keeps archives of decisions as well as ensures the publication of reports in theOfficial Journal of the European Unionalong with general management and assistance to the President.

Question 41

European Court of Human Rights

What is the European Court of Human Rights?

Answer 41

TheEuropean Court of Human Rights is asupra-national or international court established by theEuropean Convention on Human Rights.

Question 42

European Court of Human Rights

Where is the European Court of Human Rights based?

Answer 42

The Court is based inStrasbourg,France

Question 43

European Court of Human Rights

What is the function of the European Court of Human Rights?

Answer 43

It hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols.

Complaints can be brought by individuals or other contracting states, and the Court can also issue advisory opinions.

The Convention was adopted under the auspices of the Council of Europe and all of its 47 member states are parties to the Convention.

The court is not part of the European Union.