European Union Flashcards
What is the eu?
An economic and political union of 27 countries in Europe
How many institutions make up the EU
5
Name the 5 EU institutions
-European commission
-Council of the European Union
-European council
-European parliament
-Court of justice of the European union
What is a supranational body?
Organisations that exist separately from national governments where these national governments have transferred some of their sovereignty to the European institutions
What is an intergovernmental body
Organisations made up of member of different national governments
What EU institutions are supranational
European Commission, European Parliament, court of justice of the European Union
what EU institutions are intergovernmental?
Council of the European Union + European Council
what are the main roles of the European Commission?
initiating EU legislation (coming up with new ideas or alterations to EU law), drafting the EU budget and allocating funding, representing the EU in international negotiations
who are the members of the European Commission?
27 commissioners that are indirectly elected by national governments nominating them and the European Parliament confirming them
who leads the European Commission?
the EU President (currently Ursula Von Der Leyen) who is nominated by the European Council and confirmed by the EU Parliament - every 5 years
What are the powers of the EU president?
deciding what policy areas the 27 commissioners hold, chairs meetings of the EU commission, plays major role in trade discussions between EU and other nations, signs off EU laws made in EU parliament, oversees EU expenditures + collects payments from member nations, and has power to initiate draft legislation alone
what are the main roles of the Council of the European Union?
main decision-making body (with the European Parliament), coordinates policies of EU nations, approves legislation from the Commission (as does the European Parliament), approves the EU budget (as does the European Parliament), develops common foreign and security policy
who are the members of the Council of the European Union?
27 government ministers
how is voting done in the Council of the European Union?
how is voting done in the Council of the European Union?
what are the main roles of the European Council?
decides the political direction of the EU and policy priorities, nominates the President of the European Commission, reduces power of the Commission, discusses major issues, agrees to changes in treaties
who are the members of the European Council? how often do they meet?
heads of government of each member state, at least 4 times a year
what are the main roles of the European Parliament?
approving legislation from the Commission (shared with Council of EU), approving the EU budget (shared with Council of EU), provides democratic supervision of the EU institutions, can amend and veto proposed legislation, approves nomination for President of the European Commission
who are the members of the European Parliament? how often are they elected?
751 directly elected MEPs, elected every 5 years
what are the main roles of the Court of Justice of the European Union?
judiciary of the EU, interprets law + ensures it is applied in the same way across the EU, rules against EU nations that infringe the law, ensures that the EU acts appropriately and in accordance with its own laws
what are the 6 main aims of the EU?
promote peace and wellbeing of the EU’s citizens, establish a single market, combat discrimination and strive towards equality, establish an economic and monetary union, establish freedom, security and justice without frontiers
give reasons the aim of promoting peace and the wellbeing of EU citizens has been a success
members of the EU have not fought each other since the end of WW2, rising living standards and economic growth have coincided with EU’s existence, democracy and the rule of law operate in EU countries
give reasons the aim of promoting peace and the wellbeing of EU citizens has been a failure
EU faces new threats from an increasingly aggressive Russia, rise of populist anti-EU parties over the last decade shows the frustration held by citizens who feel the EU has not enriched their lives, EU has been criticised for having a democratic deficit (idea that the EU isn’t sufficiently democratic because most of its institutions aren’t directly elected)
give reasons the aim of establishing a single market has been a success
it has 500 million potential consumers to trade with free of tariffs and paperwork, it is the largest and most successful trading block in the world and has agreed some major free trade deals with the USA, Japan and China
give reasons the aim of establishing a single market has been a failure
smaller EU countries such as Greece believe the single market only really benefits the bigger EU economies which was evident after the 2007 economic crash when Germany was seen to be making all the rule and forced unfair economic austerity on smaller nations, criticised as being incomplete and over-regulated especially for small businesses
