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Summary probleem 5 Introduction to International and European Union Law
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Working group results problem 5 Introduction to International and European Union Law
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Problem 5 IELLearning objecti ves
The entry into force of the Founding Treaties created a new legal order: Member States are
restricted in their sovereignty in certain areas because they transferred some of their
powers to the European Community (now Union). Thus, it became necessary to establish an
institutional framework – a legislator, an executive and a court. The Treaty of Lisbon
endowed the European Union with its own legal personality. Its single institutional
framework compromises its institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union.
‘Its institutions’ refers to the entities listed in Art. 13(1) TEU: The European Parliament, The
European Council, The Council of the European Union (the Council), The European
Commision (the Commission), The Court of Justice of the European Union, the European
Central Bank and the Court of Auditors.
Two treaties:
- Treaty on European Union (TEU)
- Treaty on functioning of the European Union (TFEU)
1. How is the European Parliament composed and how are its members elected?
The European Parliament is the only EU institution that derives its legitimacy directly from
member state nationals and, thus, from EU citizens.
The Parliament is meant to provide a direct link between the superrational level and the
populations of the member states.
The extent to which the EP may serve as a source of democratic legitimacy for the EU as a
whole thus depends on its composition and electoral procedures, the specific powers
granted to it under the Treaties and its position in relation to the other EU institutions, in
particular the Council and the Commission.
Composition and election
The European Parliament represents the peoples of the countries united in the EU.
The members of the EP are elected once every five years by direct universal suffrage in all
member states. No universal electoral system, but EU law has certain minimum standards:
The elections must be direct, universal, free and secret, and no person is allowed to vote
more than once. Every EU-citizen has the right to vote and to stand as a candidate. The
Council has formulated certain minimum requirements.
- *In every state the elections are dominated by national political parties
problematic; parties focus on national issues.
- *Member states with relatively smaller populations are over-represented.
The EP comprises 705 representatives of the Union’s citizens.
- Art. 14(2) TEU: number of members of EP may not exceed 750, plus the President.
The allocation of representatives per member state depends on the number of states.
Art. 10(1) TEU: the functioning of the Union is founded on representative democracy.
Art. 14(2) TEU) indicates that the representation of the citizens of the member states in the
EP is degressively proportional.
The TEU regulates the allocation of parliamentary seats to the member states:
No member state can be allocated more than 96 seats, and the minimum threshold per state
is 6 seats. The ‘member state factor’ plays a key role in the composition of the EP.
1
, Members of the EP may not be members of the government of a member state or another
institution, body, office or agency of the Union, since they may not be bound by any
instructions of accept a binding mandate.
Internal structure
Despite the lack of European political parties, the members of the EP are not organized by
nationality but rather arrange themselves in political groups. These groups reflect the
political affinities of their members.
The establishment of a political group requires 23 members, representing no less than one
quarter of the member states. Each political group is headed by a Chair.
The three largest political groups now:
1. The Group of the European People’s party
2. The Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the EP
3. Renew Europe
Every 2,5 years, the EP elects a President from among its members, to represent the EP
externally.
2. How is the Council of the EU composed (≠The European Council)
The Council towers above the other institutions, since no EU law can be adopted without its
consent and because it is largely responsible for determining EU policy.
Composition
The Council is the body that represents the member states of the Union at EU level.
Art. 16 TFEU: the Council consists of a representative of each member state at ministerial
level, who may commit the government of the member state in the Council.
Its legitimacy is indirect; it derives from the parliamentary elections in the member states
and the formation of national governments based on the results of those elections.
The Council does not consist of a fixed group of individuals that have been specifically
selected for this task by the member states and meet on a regular basis.
The members of the Council must occupy a ministerial-level position in government, in
accordance with the national rules of the member state concerned. The member states
determine how they are represented in the Council.
The scope of responsibilities granted to the representatives by their member states varies
depending on the constitutional system and political constellation of each member state.
The government is required to notify the House of Representatives of new European
legislative proposals, because it has a parliamentary scrutiny reservation as its disposal.
The Council meets in various configurations, given that the issues discussed during Council
meetings vary. Art. 16(6) TEU distinguishes two of these configurations:
- The General Affairs Council (GAC) brings together the foreign ministers.
- The Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) normally brings together the defence ministers.
But in reality there are 10:
- Economic and Financial Affairs (Ecofin), including issues relating to the EU budget;
- Justice and Home Affairs (JHA);
- Employment, Social POlicy, Health and Consumer Affairs (EPSCO);
2
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