Summary
Summary EU Law: Institutions of the EU
Cornell Notes of the topic of Instituions of the EU Includes; - The Council of the EU - The Commission - European Parliament - The European Court of Justice
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Paper 3; EU Law; Institutions of the EUKey Cases Notes
N/A Council of the EU
The government of each member state will send a representative to the council, usually its
Foreign Minister or Head of State. The council is the principle decision-making body of the
union and the voting rights of each country are weighted roughly in proportion to its
population. Voting is by qualified majority, which is reached if 2 conditions are met:
55% of member states are in favour; and
The proposal is supported by member states representing at least 65% of the total
EU population.
This is also known as the ‘double majority’ rule.
The Commission
This body consists of 27 members who act independently of their national origin. Each
member state has one commissioner, and these commissioners are appointed for a 5-year
term. Commissioners can only be removed during this term by a vote by the European
Parliament. Each commissioner will be given responsibility for one area of union policy, such
as agriculture or the environment. Their main role is to set objectives and priorities for action,
propose legislation to the Parliament and Council, manage and implement EU policies and the
budget and enforce European law with European Court of Justice. It puts forward proposals for
new laws to be adopted by the Parliament and the Council. It is the ‘guardian’ of the treaties
and ensures that treaty provisions and other measures adopted by the EU are properly
implemented and can intervene if a member state fails to adopt or implement EU laws.
European Parliament
The Parliament’s main function is to discuss proposals put forward by the commission.
Following the Lisbon Treaty members of the European Parliament now have law making
powers and they vote on the vast majority of EU legislation. Members are elected directly by
the member states in elections which take place every 5 years. Any decisions made by the
Council in over 40 areas now have to be made in conjunction with the Parliament.
Members operate in political groups with those across Europe with a similar political
viewpoint; they do not sit in national groups. The Parliament can approve or reject an idea for
law from the commission or propose amendments.
The European Court of Justice
The court’s function is set out in Article 19 of the TEU. It states that the court must ‘ensure
that in the interpretation and application of the Treaty, the law is observed’. The court sits in
Luxemburg and has 27 judges, one from each member state. The court’s key task is to ensure
that the law is applied uniformly in all member states. It does this by hearing cases to
determine whether member states have failed to fulfil their Treaty obligations and hearing
references from national courts for preliminary ruling on points of EU law.
Key Terms and Definitions
TEU – Treaty on European Union
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