Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Your guide
to the EU institutions
European Union
European Commission
Directorate-General for Communication
Publications
B-1049 Brussels
ISBN 92-79-03653-X
Printed in Belgium
PRINTED ON WHITE CHLORINE-FREE PAPER
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a family of demo- The three main decision-making institutions
© EC
gates complaints about maladministration
by EU institutions and bodies; agreed by the presidents and prime ministers
of all the EU countries and then ratified by
Æ European Data Protection Supervisor, their parliaments.
which safeguards the privacy of your per-
The following chapters describe the Treaties,
INTRODUCING THE EUROPEAN UNION
sonal data.
the EU institutions and the other bodies and
In addition, specialised agencies handle agencies, explaining what each entity does
certain technical, scientific or management and how they interact.
tasks.
4
HOW THE EUROPEAN UNION WORKS
© Reporters
THE TREATIES
Æ The Treaty establishing the European
security policy, and in the area of ‘justice and
Economic Community (EEC), which was
home affairs’. By adding this intergovernmen-
signed on 25 March 1957 in Rome and
tal cooperation to the existing Community
came into force on 1 January 1958. It is
system, the Maastricht Treaty created a new
often referred to as ‘the Treaty of Rome’. 5
structure with three ‘pillars’, which is political
Æ The Treaty establishing the European
© EC
in: decision-making system so it could con-
Æ The Single European Act (SEA), which was tinue to work effectively even after further
signed in February 1986 and came into enlargements;
force on 1 July 1987. It amended the EEC Æ The draft Constitutional Treaty, which was
Treaty and paved the way for completing agreed and signed in October 2004, but
the single market; has not come into force, because it was
Æ The Treaty of Amsterdam, which was not ratified by all EU countries.
signed on 2 October 1997 and came into Æ The Reform Treaty, which was agreed in
force on 1 May 1999. It extended the principle in 2007, but will not come into
pooled sovereignty to more areas involving force until it has been ratified by all mem-
THE TREATIES
6
HOW THE EUROPEAN UNION WORKS
© Picture-alliance/dpa/Zucchi
A clean environment is just one area of many where EU member states have agreed
that pooling sovereignty makes sense.
10. Communication
HOW THE EU TAKES DECISIONS
amendments
13. Act is deemed to 15. Act is deemed not to
be adopted be adopted
19. Council approves amended common position 21. Council does not approve the
(i) by a qualified majority if (ii) unanimously if the amendments to the common position
the Commission has delivered Commission has delivered
a positive opinion a negative opinion
24. Conciliation Committee agrees on a joint text 29. Conciliation Committee does not
agree on a joint text
25. Parliament and Council adopt the 27. Parliament and 30. Act is not adopted
act concerned in accordance with the Council do not approve
joint text the joint text
© EC
The EU’s interpreters play a vital role in its work.
10
HOW THE EUROPEAN UNION WORKS
3. Assent
Who works for the EU institutions?
The assent procedure means that the Council
has to obtain the European Parliament’s as- The civil servants who work for the EU
sent before certain very important decisions institutions come from all EU member
are taken. The procedure is the same as in the countries. They cover a wide range of
case of consultation, except that Parliament activities and skills, from policymakers
cannot amend a proposal: it must either ac- and managers to economists, engineers,
cept or reject it. Acceptance (‘assent’) requires lawyers, linguists, secretaries and tech-
an absolute majority of the votes cast. nical support staff. They must be able
The assent procedure is mostly used for and willing to work in a multicultural and
agreements with other countries, including multilingual environment, usually at quite
the agreements allowing new countries to a distance from their home country.
join the EU. To become an EU civil servant you have
to pass a tough competitive examination.
These exams are centrally organised by
the European Personnel Selection Office
(EPSO).
For further information, go to
europa.eu/epso
11
Independence/
Democracy Alliance of Liberals
(IND/DEM) 24 and Democrats for
Europe (ALDE) 104
Greens/European Free European People's Party
Alliance (Greens/EFA) 42 (Christian Democrats)
and European Democrats
(EPP-ED) 278
Socialist Group
(PES) 216
Austria 18 Latvia 9
Belgium 24 Lithuania 13
Bulgaria 18 Luxembourg 6
Cyprus 6 Malta 5
Czech Republic 24 Netherlands 27
Denmark 14 Poland 54
Estonia 6 Portugal 24
Finland 14 Romania 35
France 78 Slovakia 14
Germany 99 Slovenia 7
Greece 24 Spain 54
Hungary 24 Sweden 19
Ireland 13 United Kingdom 78
Italy 78 Total 785
© European Communities
summit (the European Council meetings). At
the opening of each summit, the President of
Parliament is invited to express Parliament’s
views and concerns about topical issues and
the items on the European Council’s agenda.
ROLE // Legislative (in some fields executive) arm of the EU; represents
the member states.
MEMBERS // One minister from each EU country
PRESIDENCY // Rotates every six months
MEETINGS // In Brussels (Belgium), except in April, June and October
(Luxembourg).
ADDRESS // Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 175, B-1048 Brussels
TEL. // (32-2) 285 61 11
INTERNET // consilium.europa.eu
15
citizens that parliament represents. Together However, the last two responsibilities relate
with the European Parliament’s involvement largely to areas in which the EU countries have
in decision-making, this ensures the demo- not delegated their powers but are simply
cratic legitimacy of the Council’s decisions. working together. This is called intergovern-
Up to four times a year the presidents and/or mental cooperation and it covers the second
prime ministers of the EU countries, together and third pillars of the European Union.
with the President of the European Commis- The Council’s work is described in greater
sion, meet as the European Council. These detail below.
‘summit’ meetings set overall EU policy and
resolve issues that could not be settled at a 1. Legislation
lower level (i.e. by the ministers at normal
The bulk of the Council’s work is in passing
Council meetings). Given the importance of
legislation in areas where the EU has pooled
European Council discussions, they often go
its sovereignty. The most common procedure
on late into the night and attract a lot of media
for this is ‘codecision’, where EU legislation is
attention.
adopted jointly by the Council and Parliament on
the basis of a proposal from the Commission. In
What does the Council do?
some areas, the Council has the final word but
The Council has six key responsibilities: only on the basis of a Commission proposal and
16 1. to pass EU laws – jointly with the European only after having taken into account the views
Parliament in many policy areas. of the Commission and the Parliament (see
HOW THE EUROPEAN UNION WORKS
6. to coordinate cooperation between the na- They also want to create more jobs and to
tional courts and police forces in criminal improve their education, health and social
matters. protection systems. Although each EU country
is responsible for its own policy in these areas,
Most of these responsibilities relate to the
they can agree on common goals and learn from
Community domain — i.e. areas of action
each other’s experience of what works best.
where the member states have decided to pool
This process is called the ‘open method of coor-
their sovereignty and delegate decision-making
dination’, and it takes place within the Council.
powers to the EU institutions. This domain is
the ‘first pillar’ of the European Union.
6. Freedom, security and justice • that asylum seekers are assessed and treat-
EU citizens are free to live and work in which- ed in the same way throughout the EU, so
ever EU country they choose, so they should as to prevent ‘asylum shopping’.
have equal access to civil justice everywhere Issues such as these are dealt with by the
in the European Union. National courts there- Justice and Home Affairs Council — i.e. the
fore need to work together to ensure, for ex- ministers for justice and of the interior. The
ample, that a court judgment delivered in one aim is to create a single ‘area of freedom, se-
EU country in a divorce or child custody case curity and justice’ within the EU’s borders.
is recognised in all other EU countries.
Freedom of movement within the EU is of How is the Council’s work
great benefit to law-abiding citizens, but it organised?
is also exploited by international criminals
and terrorists. To tackle cross-border crime The Council presidency
requires cross-border cooperation between The presidency of the Council rotates every
the national courts, police forces, customs six months. In other words, each EU country
officers and immigration services of all EU in turn takes charge of the Council agenda
countries. and chairs all the meetings for a six-month
They have to ensure, for example: period, promoting legislative and political de-
18 cisions and brokering compromises between
• that the EU’s external borders are effectively
the member states.
HOW THE EUROPEAN UNION WORKS
policed;
• that customs officers and police exchange
information on the movements of suspected
drugs traffickers or people smugglers;
© Reuters
Free movement of people and goods within the EU have made customs checks like these
a thing of the past when travelling in Europe.
20
HOW THE EUROPEAN UNION WORKS
The EU helps train and build police forces in troubled regions, stressing the importance of good community relations.
21
The Commission is represented at all sessions tiating agreements between the EU and
of Parliament, where it must clarify and justify other countries.
its policies. It also replies regularly to written
and oral questions posed by MEPs. 1. Proposing new legislation
The day-to-day running of the Commission The Commission has the ‘right of initiative’.
is in the hands of administrative officials, ex- In other words, the Commission alone is re-
perts, translators, interpreters and secretarial sponsible for drawing up proposals for new
staff. There are approximately 23 000 of these EU legislation, which it presents to Parliament
European civil servants. That may sound a and the Council. These proposals must aim
lot, but in fact it is fewer than the number of to defend the interests of the Union and its
staff employed by a typical medium-sized city citizens, not those of specific countries or
council in Europe. industries.
© EC
© EC
of interests. To get the technical details right
the Commission consults experts, via various
The EU funds upgrades to telecommunications
advisory committees and consultative groups.
infrastructure in less prosperous regions of the EU.
Frequently, it publishes ‘Green’ and ‘White’
papers, holds hearings, seeks the views of
civil society and commissions specialist ex-
pert reports, and often consults the public Parliament grant the Commission discharge
directly before it makes a proposal in order for implementing the budget.
to ensure that it has as complete a picture The Commission also has to implement
as possible. decisions taken by Parliament and the
Council, such as those relating to the common
2. Implementing EU policies and agricultural policy, fisheries, energy, regional
the budget development, the environment, or youth, and
As the European Union’s executive body, the educational training and exchange schemes,
Commission is responsible for managing and such as the Erasmus programme. It also plays
implementing the EU budget. Most of the a major role in competition policy in order to
actual spending is done by national and local ensure that businesses operate on a level
authorities, but the Commission is respon- playing field. The Commission may prohib-
sible for supervising it — under the watchful it mergers between companies if it thinks
eye of the Court of Auditors. Both institutions they will lead to unfair competition. The Com-
aim to ensure good financial management. mission also has to make sure that EU
Only if it is satisfied with the Court of countries do not distort competition through
Auditors’ annual report does the European excessive subsidies to their industries.
decide. The Court’s judgements are binding Secretariat-General, which also manages the
on the member states and the EU institutions. weekly Commission meetings. It is headed
In cases where member states continue by the Secretary General, who is answerable
failing to adhere to a judgment, the Court directly to the President.
can impose financial sanctions.
It is the DGs that actually devise and draft
legislative proposals, but these proposals
4. Representing the EU on the
become official only when ‘adopted’ by
international stage
the Commission at its weekly meeting. The
The European Commission is an important procedure is roughly as follows.
spokesperson for the European Union on the
Suppose, for example, that the Commission
international stage. It is the voice of the EU in
sees a need for EU legislation to prevent
international forums such as the World Trade
pollution of Europe’s rivers. The Directorate-
Organisation, in negotiations on the inter-
General for the Environment will draw up a
national climate change agreement, the
proposal, based on extensive consultations
Kyoto Protocol, and the EU’s important aid
with European industry, farming and envir-
and trade partnership with developing
onmental organisations, and environment
countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the
ministries in the EU countries. The draft will
Pacific, known as the Cotonou Agreement.
also be discussed with other Commission
The Commission also speaks and negotiates departments with an interest in this topic,
on behalf of the EU in areas where the mem- and checked by the Legal Service and the
ber states have pooled sovereignty. This is Secretariat-General.
done on the basis of agreements reached in
advance with the member states.
© EC
Once the proposal is fully ready, it will be put the Council and the European Parliament for
on the agenda of a Commission meeting. If them to decide on the proposal. The Commis-
at least 14 of the 27 commissioners approve sion may subsequently make amendments
the proposal, the Commission will adopt it and in the light of the comments from these two
it will have the whole team’s unconditional institutions and then send the proposal back
support. The document will then be sent to for final approval.
KEY FACTS
26
HOW THE EUROPEAN UNION WORKS
The Court of Justice of the European Commu- The Court is assisted by eight ‘advocates-
nities (often referred to simply as ‘the Court’) general’. Their role is to present opinions on
dates back to the very first of the EU Trea- the cases brought before the Court. They
ties, the ECSC Treaty of 1952. It is based in must do so publicly and impartially.
Luxembourg. The judges and advocates-general are people
Its job is to make sure that EU legislation is in- whose impartiality is beyond doubt. They have
terpreted and applied in the same way in all EU the qualifications or competence needed for
countries, so that the law is equal for everyone. appointment to the highest judicial positions
It ensures, for example, that national courts do in their home countries. They are appointed
not give different rulings on the same issue. to the Court of Justice by joint agreement
The Court also makes sure that EU mem- between the governments of the EU member
ber states and institutions do what the law states. Each is appointed for a term of six
requires. The Court has the power to settle years, which may be renewed.
legal disputes between EU member states, EU To help the Court of Justice cope with the
institutions, businesses and individuals. large number of cases brought before it, and
The Court is composed of one judge per mem- to offer citizens better legal protection, a
ber state, so that all 27 of the EU’s national Court of First Instance was created in 1988.
legal systems are represented. For the sake This court (which is attached to the Court
of efficiency, however, the Court rarely sits as of Justice) is responsible for giving rulings
the full court. It usually sits as a ‘Grand Cham- on certain kinds of case, particularly actions
ber’ of just 13 judges or in chambers of five or brought by private individuals, companies
three judges. and some organisations, and cases relating
© Alamy/Imageselect
Air hostesses have benefited several times from European Court of Justice rulings on equal pay and equal rights.
3. Actions for annulment At the first stage, all the parties involved sub-
mit written statements and the judge assigned
If any of the member states, the Council, the to the case draws up a report summarising
Commission or (under certain conditions) Par- these statements and the legal background
28 liament believes that a particular EU law is to the case.
illegal, they may ask the Court to annul it.
HOW THE EUROPEAN UNION WORKS
29
Finally, the Court informs citizens of the states and any country that receives aid from
results of its work through reports on subjects the EU. Indeed, although the Court’s work
of particular interest. largely concerns money for which the Com-
mission is responsible, more than 80% of
How is the Court’s work EU expenditure is managed by the national
organised? authorities.
The Court of Auditors has approximately 800 The Court of Auditors has no legal powers of
staff, including translators and administrators its own. If auditors discover fraud or irregulari-
as well as auditors. The auditors are divided ties they inform OLAF — the European Anti-
into ‘audit groups’. They prepare draft reports Fraud Office. OLAF is a department of the
on which the court takes decisions. European Commission with a special status
which ensures total autonomy.
The auditors frequently go on tours of inspec-
tion to the other EU institutions, the member
30
HOW THE EUROPEAN UNION WORKS
Ear tags on cows help EU auditors keep track of where EU money has been spent.
31
What does the EESC do? Who are the EESC’s members?
The European Economic and Social Commit- Working mostly in their countries of origin the
tee has three main roles: members of the Committee form three groups
• to advise the European Parliament, Council that represent employers, employees, and vari-
of the European Union and the European ous other economic and social interests.
Commission, either at their request or on The Employers’ Group has members from pri-
the Committee’s own initiative; vate and public sectors of industry, small and
• to encourage civil society to become more medium-sized businesses, chambers of com-
involved in EU policymaking; merce, wholesale and retail trade, banking and
insurance, transport and agriculture.
• to bolster the role of civil society in non-
EU countries and to help set up advisory The Employees’ Group represents all cat-
structures. egories of employees, from manual to execu-
tive. Its members come from national trade
The Committee’s opinions are forwarded union organisations.
to the larger institutions — the Council, the
Commission and the European Parliament. The Various Interests Group represents non-
It must be consulted before decisions are governmental organisations (NGOs), farm-
taken on economic and social, regional and ers’ organisations, small businesses, crafts
32 environment policy. It thus has a key role to and professions, cooperatives and non-profit
play in the Union’s decision-making process. associations, consumer and environmental
HOW THE EUROPEAN UNION WORKS
The EESC is a bridge between the Union and organisations, the scientific and academic
its citizens, promoting a more participatory, communities, and associations that represent
more inclusive and therefore more democratic the family and the disabled.
society in Europe.
Organisations representing the interests of the family are among the many groups in society whose voice is
expressed through the EESC.
33
There are four political groups: the European the environment, education, culture, voca-
People’s Party, the Party of the European So- tional training and youth, energy, transport,
cialists, the Alliance of Liberals and Demo- telecommunications, and public health.
crats for Europe, and the Union for Europe of This list is not exhaustive. The Commission,
the Nations–European Alliance. the Council and the European Parliament are
The President of the CoR is elected for a two- free to consult the CoR on other issues. For
year term from among its members. Michel its part, the Committee can adopt opinions
Delebarre was elected President in 2006. on its own initiative and present them to the
Commission, Council and Parliament.
What does the Committee do?
The role of the Committee of the Regions is How is the Committee’s work
to put forward the local and regional points organised?
of view on EU legislation. It does so by is- Each year the Committee of the Regions holds
suing reports, or ‘opinions’, on Commission five plenary sessions, during which its general
proposals. policy is defined and opinions are adopted.
The Commission and the Council must con- There are six ‘commissions’ to consider dif-
sult the CoR before EU decisions are taken ferent policy areas and prepare the opinions
on matters that concern local and regional to be debated in the plenary sessions.
34 government. This can be employment policy,
HOW THE EUROPEAN UNION WORKS
© Bilderbox
Access to vocational training and lifelong learning across Europe is a primary concern of the
Committee of the Regions.
35
Europe (including Russia) which are covered The Bank’s decisions are taken by the follow-
by the EU’s neighbourhood policy, and coun- ing bodies.
tries in Africa, the Caribbean, the Pacific, Asia Æ The Board of Governors consists of
and Latin America. Lending to these countries ministers (normally the finance ministers)
focuses on: from all the member states. It defines the
• private sector development, Bank’s general lending policy, approves
• infrastructure development, the balance sheet and annual report,
authorises the Bank to fund projects
• security of energy supplies, and outside the EU and decides on capital
• environmental sustainability. increases.
Finally, the EIB is majority shareholder in Æ The Board of Directors approves lending
the European Investment Fund, with which and borrowing operations and it makes
it forms the ‘EIB Group’. The Fund invests sure that the EIB is properly managed. It
in venture capital and provides guarantees consists of 28 directors — one nominated
for small and medium-sized enterprises. It by each EU member state and one by the
does not lend directly to businesses or invest European Commission.
directly in firms. Instead, it works through Æ The Management Committee is the
banks and other financial intermediaries, Bank’s full-time executive. It handles the
36 providing them with guarantees to cover their EIB’s day-to-day business. It has nine
loans to small businesses. members.
HOW THE EUROPEAN UNION WORKS
37
38
HOW THE EUROPEAN UNION WORKS
EU countries using the euro from January 2008: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany,
Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain.
EU countries not using the euro: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia,
Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
39
If your file is not getting the right attention, the Ombudsman is there to help.
41
philosophical beliefs or trade union mem- How can the EDPS help you?
bership.
If you have reason to believe that your right to
The EDPS works with the data protection privacy has been infringed by an EU institution
© EC
officers in each EU institution or body to or body, you should firstly address the people
ensure that the privacy rules are applied. responsible for the processing. If you are not
The EDPS gives advice on all matters that satisfied with the outcome, you should con-
concern the processing of personal data — tact the relevant data protection officer (the
both on processing done by the EU institu- names can be found on the EDPS website).
tions and bodies, and on proposals for new You can also complain to the European Data
legislation. It cooperates with national protec- Protection Supervisor, who will investigate
tion authorities in the EU countries, as well as your complaint and let you know the outcome
with other actors in this field. as soon as possible. The EDPS can, for exam-
In 2004, Peter Johan Hustinx was appointed ple, order the institution or body concerned to
as European Data Protection Supervisor. correct, block, erase or destroy personal data
that have been unlawfully processed.
If you disagree with his decision, you may take
the matter to the Court of Justice.
42
HOW THE EUROPEAN UNION WORKS
AGENCIES
European Agency for the Management
Community Fisheries Control Agency of Operational Coordination at the
(CFCA) External Borders of the Member States
Location: Vigo, Spain of the EU (Frontex) 43
(provisional headquarters: Brussels, Belgium), Location: Warsaw, Poland
AGENCIES
provides scientific advice.
European Training Foundation (ETF)
European Monitoring Centre for Drugs Location: Turin, Italy
and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) etf.europa.eu
45
Location: Lisbon, Portugal The ETF helps improve vocational training in
the results back to public-health stakeholders and specialised agencies of the EU.
policymakers.
46
HOW THE EUROPEAN UNION WORKS
The European Aviation Safety Agency is working to make flying ever safer and environmentally sustainable.
ISBN 92-79-03653-X
The European Union (EU) is unique. It is not a federal state like the United States of America because its member
countries remain independent sovereign nations. Nor is it a purely intergovernmental organisation like the United
Nations because the member countries do pool some of their sovereignty — and thus gain much greater collective
strength and influence than they could have acting individually.
They pool their sovereignty by taking joint decisions through shared institutions such as the European Parliament,
which is elected by the EU citizens, and the Council, which represents national governments. They decide on the
basis of proposals from the European Commission, which represents the interests of the EU as a whole. But what
does each of these institutions do? How do they work together? Who is responsible for what?
This booklet sets out the answers in clear and simple language. It also gives a brief overview of the agencies and
other bodies that are involved in the European Union’s work. The aim is to provide you with a helpful guide to EU
decision-making.
Visit us
All over Europe there are hundreds of local EU information centres. You
can find the address of the centre nearest you on this website:
europedirect.europa.eu
Call or write to us
EUROPE DIRECT is a service which answers your questions about the
European Union. You can contact this service by freephone:
00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (or by payphone from outside the EU: (32-2) 299
96 96), or by electronic mail via: europedirect.europa.eu
Representation in the United Kingdom Representation in the United States United Kingdom Office
8 Storey’s Gate 2300 M Street, NW – 3rd floor 2 Queen Anne’s Gate
London SW1P 3AT Washington DC 20037 London SW1H 9AA
Tel. (44-20) 79 73 19 92 Tel. (202) 862 95 00 Tel. (44-20) 72 27 43 00
Fax (44-20) 79 73 19 00/10 Fax (202) 429 17 66 Fax (44-20) 72 27 43 02
Internet: ec.europa.eu/uk Internet: eurunion.org Internet: www.europarl.org.uk
E-mail: eplondon@europarl.europa.eu
222 East 41st Street, 20th floor
Representation in Wales New York, NY 10017 Office in Scotland
2 Caspian Point Tel. (212) 371 38 04 The Tun
Caspian Way Fax (212) 688 10 13 4 Jackson’s Entry
Cardiff CF10 4QQ Internet: eurunion.org Holyrood Road
Tel. (44-29) 20 89 50 20 Edinburgh EH8 8PJ
Fax (44-29) 20 89 50 35 Tel. (44-131) 557 78 66
Internet: ec.europa.eu/uk Fax (44-131) 557 49 77
Internet: www.europarl.org.uk
E-mail: epedinburgh@europarl.europa.eu
Representation in Scotland
9 Alva Street
Edinburgh EH2 4PH
Tel. (44-131) 225 20 58
Fax (44-131) 226 41 05
Internet: ec.europa.eu/uk
There are European Commission and Parliament representations and offices in all the countries of the
European Union. The European Commission also has delegations in other parts of the world.
May 2007
NA-AK-06-482-EN-C
EN
The European Union (EU) is unique. It is not a federal State like the United States of
America because its member countries remain independent sovereign nations. Nor is
it a purely intergovernmental organisation like the United Nations because the member
countries do pool some of their sovereignty — and thus gain much greater collective
strength and influence than they could have acting individually.
They pool their sovereignty by taking joint decisions through shared institutions such
as the European Parliament, which is elected by EU citizens, and the Council, which
represents national governments. They decide on the basis of proposals from the
European Commission, which represents the interests of the EU as a whole. But what
does each of these institutions do? How do they work together? Who is responsible
for what?
This booklet sets out the answers in clear and simple language. It also gives a brief
overview of the agencies and other bodies that are involved in the European Union’s
work. The aim is to provide you with a helpful guide to EU decision-making.
ISBN 92-79-03653-X
9 279036 537151