Study Questions. Flashcards
Which are the main EU institutions?
The European Council, the European commission, The council of the European Union (Council of ministers), The European Parliament and the Court of Justice of the communities.
Who sits in each institution and what do they represent?
The European council is made up of the heads of states and governments of each member state. They represent their country.
The European commission. The commissioners are elected by the governments, and have to be approved by the EP. They represent the EU.
The Council of the European Union is made up of the different ministers of the governments. They represent their governments.
The European Parliament is made up by people from the different member countries. They represent the party that they are elected from.
The Court of justice of the communnittees is made up by judges that are elected by the governments. They too have to be neutral.
Explain each of the 3 main decision making systems the EU uses to reach a decision.
The consultation procedure. The commission puts forward a proposal. The EP gets to approve, reject or amends the proposal. The Commission decides whether or not to accept the amendance. The Council of the Eu decides on the proposal. If they want to amend it, it has to be unanimously.
The Assent Procedure. The Commission puts forward a proposal. The EP approves with an absolute majority or reject it, which kills the proposal. If the EP accepts it, the council of the EU gets to decide. If they want to amend it, it has to be unanimously.
The Co-Decision procedure. The Commission makes a proposal. The EP makes a first reading after which they can adopt or amend it. The Council of the EU makes a first reading after which they can accept the position taken by the EP takes, or amend it. If they accept, the law is passed, if they don’t the proposal is sent back to the EP for a second reading. After the second reading in the EP, the proposal can be accepted and if so, adopted. They can reject it, and then the procedure is ended. They can also amend it again, and if so, the proposal is sent back to the Council of the EU for a second reading. The Council of the EU can accept all the amendments made by the EP, and then the proposal is adopted. They can also choose to accept some of the amendments, and if that’s the case, the proposal is sent to the Conciliation Committee. The Conciliation Committee is composed of an equal amount of MEP’s and the Council of the EU representatives. They try to reach an agreement. If they don’t the procedure is ended and the proposal is scrapped. If they do, the proposal is sent back to the council of the Eu and the EP for a third reading. They can only vote for the actual proposal. The Council of the EU has to win with a qualified majority, and the EP has a simple majority rule. If they both pass it, the law is passed, if one of them doesn’t, the procedure is ended.
Which policy area uses which decision making system?
The Consultation Method - Used on agriculture, taxation and competition.
The Assent Procedure - Used in agreements with other countries, used when deciding on a new member state.
The Co-Decision procedure - Used on most other matters.
