Institution and decision-making in the EU Flashcards
THE COMMISION: general
Independent administrative institution, key competences: proposes EU legislation, supranational institution, independent from EP (but is approved by them)
size: 27 commissioners (each state) / five year serves/nominated by nations / Do not represent member states!
Presents: general interest of the EU
President: Ursula VD. Leyen
Quota: 9 women at least
The Comission: Commisioners
- Usually high former politicans, not a rule
- Most prestigious + influential president of the college: directing the commision, the face
Portfolios of commisioners: area of responsibility, number does not match, more/less fixed -> Junker: most hiearchial college, structured (Vice presidents-project teams-groups)
Commisioners cabinets: assisting comms. in their duties, oficially should include at least 3 nationalities
Commision - Decision making + structure
Written procedure or accelerated written procedure:
- circulating among commisioners and if no objections adopted usually within a week/accelerated even more quickly, cut across the administrative divisions
President:
- “first among equals”
- decides about portfolios
Vice presidents: larger portfolios
High representative for Foreign affairs and Security Policy: one of the comissioner
Commision: executive functions
- Manages, supervises and implements EU policies
- The scope of competencies varies between policy areas
- High: competition policy, external trade policy
In order to implement: can directly adopt non-legislative acts - Controlling + supervisory competences: decisions binding for individual companies/others
Commisions multinational staffing policy (+ and -)
+: wide range of experience and knowledge; confidence of national govs. up because “copatriots” are a part in the decision-making proces; two-way flow of info, conversation between Comission and Govs.
-: Possible damaging consequences of nationals in the higher places - not best people necessarily fill all the post; possibility of strong national sense; different policy styles in commisison reflecting diff national styles (possible difficulties)
Commision as a guardian of the treaties
- oversees the appliaction of the provision of EU treaties
- Monitors wheter EU legal acts (directives) are properly transforem into national law
- Also can oversee the apllication of other treaties outside the EU primary law (if the nation decides so: like European Stability Mechanism, Fiscal Compact)
THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL: general
- Represents the interest of member states (also “EU summit”), intergovernmental institution
- “permanent national conference” of the top representative from MS (represented at highest level - heads of state/gov)
- Provides general political directions and priorities
- NOT INVOLVED IN NEGOTIATION OR ADOPTION OF EU LEGISLATION
- Represents the sovereign MS
- Comments on foreign policy + key decision in enlargement
The European council: Role, Composition and decision making
- No restrictions on what EUCO can discuss (ex.: foreign policy + security, amendments of the founding treaties, instructing comission to submit policy proposals)
- Meeting 2x/ six months
- Decision made by CONSENSUS of member states/ some in qualified majority (eg. election of the commission president)
Composition: heads of state/govs; members w/o voting rights (president EUCO+ president commission)/attendance (EU High representative for Foreign and Security policy)
European council: President
President: (Charles Michel, by qualified majority for 2,5 years, prior Lisbon rotation every 6 months)
- Chairs it, ensures preparations and continutity, seek consensus among member states (draft conclusions)
- Reports to the EP
- Represents EU to 3rd countries
- Brussels, usualy 4x a year (at least 2x)
- Every state VETO but bigger states more weight in decision-making
European Council: Activities + Functions
vary, they are very vague:
- Constitutional and Institutional matters: treaty development, institutional matters (number of seats EP), personnel decisions (President of ECB, president + comittee)
- Economic + Monetary policies: banking refrom, promotion of investment, rescue mechanisms for eurozone
- Enlargement
- External relations
- Specific Internal Policy issues
Functions: Medium and long-term EU goals; policy initiatior; political (not legislative) decision-maker; mutual understanding between MS
European Council: relation to other institutions and Institutional balance
- proposes the president of Commission; appoints the High representative of the Foreign and Security policy; Appoints the ECB President and the executive board; oficially appoints (after EP agrees) the Commission as a whole
Institutional balance:
- Decisive role especially in time of crisis (economic, fiscal, migration, Brexit)
- political direction to Commission (weakening the Comms’ monopoly on legislative initiative)
- Political decisions weakening the role of EP /EP no influence on EUCO
- EUCO defines general policy orientations and EU priorities
- Institutionalization of the ER in Lisbon treaty shift to intergovernmental model of integration
MEMBER STATES: general
- loss of national decision-making power (external trade, agriculture) and states sovereignity -> obliged to participate/apply policies
- Sharing power: physical presence in all key institutions; decisions by consensus/compromise; rotation in council presidency; procedures to guard against free riders
- Founded in 1950 by 4 states: benelux, france and Germany (Germany as a dominant player in the EU)
enlargement:
UK - mainly eco reasons
Denmark, Ireland, Mediterrian round -> Ireland -> EFTA -> 10+2 round
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION: General
- Not council of Europe (human rights) not European council (heads of MS) !!!
- Council “council of the EU”/ Council of ministers
- before 1992: Council of the European Communities
- Represents the interest of member states: intergovernmental institution
- Member states presented by ministers
Four main functions: Legislative; executive; steering;forum
Council of the EU: functions
Legislative: developing and making legislation
Executive: taking direct responsibility in some policy areas for exercising executive powers
Steering: devising the big bargains that orient the future work of the EU
Forum: arena through which the member govs attempt to develop national approaches to one/other policy challenges in fields that EU is not collectively clear on
Principal responsibility: policy/legislative decisions
Depends upon cooperation with Commission and EP
Limitations: proposals made by commision; EP important legislative power
- Prior Maastricht, council more power
- Commission still has to play attention to council wishes
Council: Policy roles + Decision making
Policy roles:
- Ability to Adopt reccs/opinions; pressuring commision to come up with proposal
- Increasing willingness of MS to find cooperation outside EU law with non-binding agreements
Annual budget: approval by Council and EP
- need to compromise (council decrease X EP increase)
Decision-making:
- QMV (Qualified-Majority); Unamity; Simple majortiy
QMV: Before Lisbon complicated “triple majority system” (weighed voting) -> now a simpler double majority system
Double majority: approval requires at least 55% approval from MS (75% if not from commission) /blocking minority: at least 4 states
- Unanimity in key policy areas: defence/taxation/budget/enlargement/foreign
