Lecture 2. European Institutions
Question: who has the presidency of the European Union? Council, it’s Estonia
How would you characterize the EU? Single market; Supranational / intergovernmental (treaties)
Federal? no official constitution, it was tried, but rejected more a confederation than a federation
Multi-level governance: The division of labour between the institutions cannot be readily compare
to those of national political systems. The EU does not have a presidential or a parliamentary system
because legislative and executive powers do not emanate solely from the people. Instead, it can be
better characterized as 'mixed government'. Not seeing the EU as a new level of government that
stands at the pinnacle of a hierarchy, but ‘interconnected arenas’, in which local, regional, national
and supranational levels of government depend upon each other. In such a constellation policy-
making does not follow classic command and control patterns where a higher level of government
simply prescribes what lower levels should do. Instead policy-making is characterized by negotiation
and deliberation between these different levels of government.
Institutions and Trias politica
(EUROgroup: informal meeting
of the financial ministers of the
Member States with euro,
decisions only become official
when it is brought in the
financial council)
Primary purpose of the EU's institutional set-up: make sure that all relevant interests (Member
States, citizens and the EU) are represented in key phases in decision making; ensures that decisions
are made in a consensual manner and can rely upon the support of all interested parties
common model for organizing democratic systems, disperse power and constrain the use of it
- Example, EU Personification President of the European Council, Donald Tusk (Poland) from a 'new'
Member Sate deliberate appointment to counterbalance the dominance of candidates from the
old member states in key positions; Van Rompuy strived for unanimous choice instead of majority
Competences of the EU
Division in (almost) exclusively EU (external trade, agriculture, euro), strong EU involvement
(environment, health, safety), weak EU involvement (social policy, defence, foreign policy) and
(almost) exclusively member states (housing, culture)
EU budget: annual budget compared to MS public expenditure
Areas financed by the EU budget: 40% agriculture/fisheries, 34% economic, social and territorial
cohesion; only 6% administration (but EU makes use of the civil servants by the Member States, so
actual costs at national level). Finance: taxes & import, annual contribution by Member States
Questions
- Representation of interests of the institutions + allocation of executive, legislative & judicial powers
- Tasks of the EU institutions
- Evaluation of framework regarding capacity to represent interests and to act effectively
,Representation of interests
The representation of interests is a major characteristic of democratic political systems
National political systems: citizens affect the composition of the parliament, and in the case of
presidential systems the head of government as well; EU:
- Citizens are represented by the European Parliament, members are chosen via direct popular
elections in each of the member states
- Member States are represented in the European Council and the Council of Ministers
- The interests of the EU as a whole are represented by all other institutions: Commission, Court of
Justice, Court of Auditors and European Central Bank
Intergovernmental: EU institutions that represent the member states: European Council and Council
Supranational: all those EU institutions that represent the general interest of the EU (Commission,
Court of Justice, European Central Bank and Court of Auditors) and the EP (based on ideology)
Allocation of powers
Executive tasks: giving political direction, implementing policies and externally representing
- European Council: political direction + representation; - Council: implementation
- Commission: all three; - European Central Bank: implementation of monetary policy
Legislative tasks: examining, modifying and adopting legislative measures (basis for policies)
Shared by the - Parliament and - Council
This resembles bicameral legislature: legislature consisting of two houses or chambers. In
federal systems one house represents the national population, whilst the other house
represents regional populations by province, state or canton. But difference with national
systems: they have not the formal right to initiate proposals (monopoly of the Commission)
Judicial tasks: interpretation of EU law and adjudication of conflicts - Court of Justice
Additional supportive tasks: Court of Auditors, examines the EU's revenues and expenses
> The organizational structure of the EU's executive and legislative institutions in characterized by a
horizontal and vertical division of labour. The Council, Commission and EP have organized themselves
according to different policy sectors. In addition, each of these institutions prepares and discusses
policies at lower levels (in committees), allowing the top level to rubber-stamp most of the decisions
and concentrate on unresolved issues
EU institutions
European Council
Heads of states / governments plus the President of the European Council, the High Representative
of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and President of the Commission
Powers: from political status and the leverage of the members over their governments
Tasks: - providing political direction (long term agenda of internal policies and CFSP),
- problem solver & ultimate arbiter (e.g. financial crisis), - treaty revisions (ordinary revision
procedure Interngovernmental - simple majority; simplified revision procedures - unanimous),
- appointments (own president, Commission, High Representative - confirmed by EP)
Organization: four times a year in Brussels (2 days), consensus unless stated differently in treaty
,Council
National ministers, different configurations (foreign affairs, general affairs, economics and financial
affairs ECOFIN, agriculture and fisheries, environment).
Flexibility in choosing delegate, e.g. send Permanent representatives: member states' ambassadors
to the EU who reside in Brussels and prepare much of the work of the European Council and Council
Tasks: - (co)legislator (together with EP), concludes international agreements (trade, development)
- executive role EU’s external relations (CFSP: Commission Foreign Security Policy)
Organization: different configurations (General Affairs most important); the presidency of the EU is a
period of six months - opportunity to set the agenda; but limited room because of workload by
Commission, external events and facilitation more successful than dominance. After deliberation in
working parties, proposals find their way to the Committee of Permanent Representatives
(Coreper): highest preparatory body for meetings of the Council and European Council
How? Qualified majority (55% of MS, 65% of EU population), usually they try for consensus
Commission
Executive of the EU, College of 28 Commissioners, President of Commission has to be approved by EP
(Treaty of Lisbon) , this election: EP decided that the party with the most votes brings forward a
candidate, Christian party won, Juncker, EP said to Council: take Juncker, and they did
Tasks: - preparing and initiating legislation (in all areas except CFSP monopoly of Commission),
- implementing policies (administering EU's budget, managing programmes, executive decisions),
- external representation (in trade negotiations), - guardian of the treaties (enforcement by sending
warnings, imposing fines or bringing case before the CoJ, example: Poland is it democratic enough?)
Organization: hierarchical, College of Commissions chaired by a president (allocation of portfolios),
commissioner with support staff (cabinet: relations with fellow commissioners, administration), DGs,
commission officials are selected via a highly competitive procedure (the concours)
European Parliament
751 Members: democratically elected for a period of five years in nationally administered elections,
number of seats per MS related to the population. Elections dominated by national issues
Political parties: organized along ideological lines, seven groups including Christian Democrats, Social
Democrats and Liberals
Tasks: - budgetary powers (only division, not total amount; approve & discharging the Commission)
- legislative powers (co-decision, amendments, ordinary legislative procedure)
- scrutiny of the executive (submit questions to EC, Council and EC; temporary commissions of
inquiry - EP feeling it has been insufficiently informed; submit cases to the Court of Justice)
- appointment and dismissal of the Commission (right to approve the President of the Commission;
approve full Commission; ability to dismiss the full Commission)
Two differences between EP and national parliament, EP has only power on the EU competences and
no right to initiate legislation or to revise treaties; and the EU executive is not fully accountable to
the EP as the Council and European Council have an independent existence
Organization: division of labour and specialization via specialized parliamentary committees:
subdivision of Parliament dealing with specific policy areas. Prepares and debates proposals before
sending them to the full, plenary Parliament for final decision-making. Twenty standing committees,
political composition reflection of plenary parliament.
Rapporteur: Member of Parliament responsible for summarizing a committee's opinion and its
, modification proposals on a specific piece of legislation
EP has multiple seats, official in Strasbourg (plenary session), work mostly in Brussels (additional
plenary sessions, committees and political groups)
Court of Justice
EU's judicial branch, independence, each country sends one judge, reviewed by panel of judges and
legal experts, appointed by European Council for 6 years
Tasks: Reviewing the legality of acts by actions of annulment (about EU institutions): case brought
before the Court of Justice in which an interested party asks the Court to declare a decision by any of
the EU's institutions to be void
- Establishing infringements by an infringement procedure (against a MS): legal procedure set in
motion against a MS if it does not comply with EU legislation
- Giving preliminary rulings: binding interpretation on a matter of EU law delivered by the Court of
Justice at the request of a member state court; preliminary referring court makes a final judgement
Organization: Court of Justice (highest court), General Court (annulment), Civil Service Tribunal
European Central Bank
President and five members elected by European Council
Eurozone: all member states that have adopted the Euro as their currency. The ministers of finance
of the Eurozone countries form the Eurogroup, whilst the ECB and the national banks of the
countries that have adopted the Euro are called the Eurosystem
Tasks: conducting the EU's monetary policy, maintaining the financial stability of the Eurozone
system, conducting foreign exchange operations and maintaining the Eurozone's foreign reserves
Organization: Governing Council, selected by the European Council, secrecy of decision-making
Others: EESC represents civil society groups nominated by states; CoR local and regional
governments nominated by states; European Ombudsman; European Citizens' Initiative - 1 million
from at least 7 MS; Court of Auditors: nominated by states (appointed by Council), control on the EC
Political parties and the European Parliament
Political party: a group of like-minded people who organize in order to influence politics through
winning political office.
Three types: domestic political parties, political groups in the
EP and European political parties.
Among these three types, domestic political parties play the
central role because they create and manage the other two
- Political groups: Politics in the EP is structured predominantly along a right/left dimensions, with an
additional dimension that revolves around support for and opposition for further European
integration. Political cleavage: a stable conflict dimension between political groups that is rooted in
social differences between groups in society
Christians, Socialists & Democrats, Conservatives & Reformists, Liberals (NL: conservatives are SGP
and Christenunie, Liberals: progressive (D66) and conservative liberals (VVD)). Political groups have
formed around shared ideologies rather than nationality
Ideology: a more or less systematic and comprehensive set of ideas and beliefs about politics that
guide the positions of politicians, political parties and/or citizens on specific political issues
