Institutions Flashcards
What is the proportion of women and men in the EP?
1979-1984: 15.2% women
+++
2019-2024: 39.3% women
How many MEPs does the European Parliament count today? And as of 2024?
2023: 705 MEPs
2024-2029: 720
Amsterdam Treaty (1997/1999): 700
Nice Treaty (2001/2003): 732
until end of Jan 2020: 751 MEPs
What is the working language of the Court of Justice of the European Union?
French
First universal election EP?
1979, 410 MEPs directly elected.
introduction of uniform electoral procedure in 1976
First president: the woman Simone Veil
right of investiture
Parliament’s vote of approval of the full College of Commissioners
Court of Auditors
Created by budgetary treaty of 1975. Around 950 staff, based in LUX.
European Ombudsman: which treaty? Who?
Created by Maastricht Treaty to increase democratic guarantees of the EU. The Ombudsman is elected by the EP for 5 years. Current one: Emily O’Reilly
Which Treaty established the EIB?
The EIB was created by Articles 129 and 130 of the Treaty estab-
lishing the European Economic Community (EEC).
Which treaty established the court of auditors?
set up by Treaty of Brussels in 1975, a body responsible
for scrutinising the Community’s accounts and
financial management
How was the European Monetary system established?
Bremen & Brussels Council of 1978, first on a voluntary Basis
‘first merger treaty’=
1957 Convention on Certain Institutions Common to the European Communities:
combined the ECSC Joint Assembly, the EEC Assembly and the Euratom Assembly into the EP
roles of members of the EP
1 president
14 vice presidents
5 Quaestors (Members of the European Parliament entrusted with administrative and financial tasks)
all of them = bureau elected for 2.5 years
Conference of Presidents (EP)
consists of the President of the Parliament and the chairmen of the political groups.
It is responsible for the organisation of the Parliament’s work, and relations with the other EU institutions and with non-Union institutions.
Political groups of the European Parliament
currently 7 political groups in the European Parliament.
23 Members are needed to form a political group, and at least one-quarter of the Member States must be represented within the group. Members may not belong to more than one political group.
motion of censure (EP)
by a two-thirds majority EP can pass a motion of censure and thereby compel the Commission to resign as a body (Article 234 TFEU) -> never achieved the required majority
supervisory powers of EP
EP is empowered to set up special committees of inquiry to look specifically at alleged cases of infringement of Union law or maladministration, e.g. 2016 panama papers
any natural or legal person has the right of to address petitions to the Parliament, which are then dealt with by a standing Committee on Petitions.
seat of EP and its secretariat-general
seat in Strasbourg,
SG: luxembourg (Since 1992)
how often does the European Council meet?
at least twice every half year in Brussels
members of European Council?
- Heads of State or Government of the Member States
- President of the European Council
- President of the European Commission
- High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
president of the European Council
- his/ her office was created by treaty of lisbon
- 2.5 years mandate, re-election possible once
- selected by qualified-majority voting of the Members of the European Council
general policy guidelines for EU action, established by European Council
- ‘conclusions’,
- adopted by consensus
- contain basic policy decisions or instructions and guidelines to the Council or the European Commission.
treaty articles for institutions
Art 14 TEU = EP
Art 15 TEU = European Council
Art 16 TEU = Council
Art 17 TEU = European Commission
Art 18 TEU = high representative
Art 19 TEU = CoJEU
Art 129 +130 TFEU = ECB
Art 285/286 TFEU= ECA
Council presidencies since 2021-2024
2021: PT, SI
2022: FR, CZ
2023: SE, ES
2024: BE, HU
preparatory bodies in the Council
In total more than 150
1) Committees set up by the treaties (in total 7, including COREPER), intergovernmental decisions or by Council act - they are mostly permanent and often have an appointed or elected chairperson
2) Committees and working parties set up by Coreper - these deal with very specific subjects and are chaired by the delegate of the country holding the rotating 6-month presidency of the Council.
COREPER I and II
- both meets as a general rule at least once a week
Coreper I is composed of deputy permanent representatives and prepares 6 Council configurations:
- agriculture and fisheries (only financial issues or technical measures on veterinary, phytosanitary or food legislation)
- competitiveness
- education, youth, culture and sport
- employment, social policy, health and consumer affairs
- environment
- transport, telecommunications and energy
Coreper II is composed of permanent representatives and prepares the work of 4 Council configurations:
- economic and financial affairs
- foreign affairs
- general affairs
- justice and home affairs
in which languages do documents have to be, to be discussed in the Council?
Council only discusses and reaches decisions on documents and drafts which are available in the 24 official languages.
If a matter is urgent, this rule may be dispensed with by unanimous agreement.
European Ombudsman
The European Ombudsman is an independent and impartial body that holds the EU’s institutions and agencies to account and promotes good administration
introduced by Treaty of Maastricht, first one elected in 1995, seat in brussels
EDPS
European Data Protection Supervisor (2004, Brussels)
The EDPS ensures that EU institutions and bodies respect people’s right to privacy when processing their personal data.
EDPB
European Data protection board, established 2018, located in Brussels
The EDPB is an independent body that ensures the consistent application of data protection rules (GDPR) throughout the EU, and promotes cooperation between national data protection authorities in the EU.
European Council
gained formal institutional status under the Lisbon Treaty
responsible for
providing the Union with the ‘impetus necessary for
its development’ and for defining its ‘general political
directions and priorities’
no legislative functions
long-term presidency
replaces the previous system of six-month rotation
President is elected by a qualified majority of the
European Council for a renewable term of 30 months
President also
represents the Union externally, without prejudice
to the duties of the High Representative of the Union
for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
EEAS
uropean External Action
Service
comprises staff from the Council, the
Commission and national diplomatic services
Council voting rules
QM = 55% of
members of the Council, comprising at least 65%
of the population, support a proposal (Article 16(4)
TEU)
When the Council is not acting on a proposal
from the Commission or the VP/HR, the necessary
majority of Member States increases to 72%
(Article 238(2) TFEU)
To block legislation, at least four
Member States have to vote against a proposal
‘Ioannina compromise’
allows 55% (75% until 1 April 2017) of the Member
States necessary for the blocking minority to ask for
reconsideration of a proposal during a ‘reasonable
time period’ (Declaration 7)
How many Council configurations are there?
10
three meet regularly - General Affairs, Ecofin, Foreign Affairs
When does the Council take decisions by simple majority
For procedural matters
Court of Auditors - term length
6 years, renewable
Parliament President & VPs
1 President (curr Roberta Metsola) & 14 Vice Presidents
single ballot, with absolute majority of votes cast
second round if necessary, if third round necessary to fill all positions - simply majority
Quaestors elected in the same way
Interinstitutional Agreement
on Better Law-Making
April 2016
European Financial Stability
Facility (EFSF)
paid directly by the Member States.
‘special-purpose vehicle’ created by
an intergovernmental agreement among the euro
area Member States
ESM
created by an intergovernmental
treaty between the members of the euro area,
which entered into force on 27 September 2012
Central Bank Appointments
The European Council, acting by a qualified
majority appoints
the President
the Vice-
President and the other four members of the
Executive Board of the European Central Bank
on a recommendation by the Council and after
consulting Parliament (Article 283(2) TFEU
High Representative for Foreign Affairs & Security Policy
appointed by European Council, acting by a qualified
majority and with the agreement of the President of the Commission,
Article 18(1) TEU)
; in his/her
capacity as a Vice-President of the Commission,
the HR is nevertheless subject to consent by
Parliament on the Commission as a whole;
Appointment of Judges
Governments of the Member States appoint
by common accord the judges and advocates-
general of the Court of Justice and the General
Court (formerly the Court of First Instance)
(Article 19(2) TEU);
Court of Auditor appointments
Council appoints the Members of the
Court of Auditors by qualified majority, on the
recommendation of each Member State and
after consulting Parliament (Article 286(2) TFEU
EP’s political bodies
Conference of Presidents ( the President and the political group chairs)
five Quaestors (responsible for Members’ administrative and financial business)
the Conference of Committee Chairs
the Conference of Delegation Chairs
The term of office of the President, the Vice-Presidents and the Quaestors, as well as of the committee and delegation chairs, is two-and-a-half years
Coreper I
Coreper I prepares the work of 6 Council configurations:
- agriculture and fisheries (only financial issues or technical measures on veterinary, phytosanitary or food legislation)
- competitiveness
- education, youth, culture and sport
- employment, social policy, health and consumer affairs
- environment
- transport, telecommunications and energy
The work of Coreper I is prepared by the ‘Mertens Group’. This informal group helps to form an initial idea of the positions that the various member state delegations will take at the Coreper meeting
Coreper II
Coreper II prepares the work of 4 Council configurations:
- economic and financial affairs
- foreign affairs
- general affairs
- justice and home affairs
How many specialised working parties does the Council have?
150 highly specialised working parties and committees, known as the ‘Council preparatory bodies
Candidate for Commission President is proposed by…
the European Council based on a qualified majority