Complete samenvatting van de verplichte literatuur van het vak Introduction International and European Union Law (European Law) voor het eerste bachelorjaar Criminologie op de Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam.
PROBLEM 2:
1. How is the European Parliament composed and how are its members elected?
2. How is the Council of the EU composed?
3. How is the European Commission composed and how are its members selected, appointed or
elected?
4. What are the main functions and powers of those three EU institutions?
1. How is the European Parliament composed and how are its members elected?
- The Union’s institutions and their core tasks are defined in Title II of the TEU Article 13 TEU.
- Article 10(2) TEU: ‘Citizens are directly represented at Union level in the European Parliament.’
Parliament is directly elected by the European Citizens = DEMOCRATIC.
European Parliament, articles 223 – 234 TFEU
- The Parliament constitutes, with the Council, a chamber of the Union legislature.
- The Parliament is directly elected by the European citizens. It constitutes not only the most
democratic institution, it is also the most supranational institution of the European Union.
Formation: Electing Parliament
- European parliamentarians were delegated national parliamentarians the European Parliament
ceased to be composed of ‘representatives of the people of the States’.
- Article 14(2) TEU: maximum size of 751 members, including the President.
- Representation of citizens shall be degressively proportional, with a minimum threshold of six
members per Member State and a maximum of 96 seats.
Smaller states get less seats than bigger ones. It is a compromise between the democratic
principle and the federal principle: the democratic principle demands that each citizen in the Union
has equal voting power, but the federal principle insists on the political existence of States.
- The European council shall adopt by unanimity, on the initiative of the European Parliament and
with its consent, a decision establishing the composition of the European Parliament, respecting the
principles.
Rules of election
1. The individual members of the European Parliament shall be elected for a term of five years by
direct universal suffrage in a free and secret ballot art. 14(3) TEU.
2. More precise rules are set out in the 1976 Election Act. Article 1 of the Act commands that the
elections must be conducted ‘on the basis of proportional representation’.
3. The Treaties insist on one common constitutional rule: ‘every citizen of the Union residing in a
Member State of which he is not a national shall have the right to vote and to stand as a candidate in
elections to the European Parliament in the Member State in which he resides, under the same
conditions as nationals of that State’ art. 22(2) TFEU.
- Article 231 TFEU: majority voting.
2. How is the Council (of ministers) of the EU composed?
European Council, articles 235 – 43 Council of Ministers
- The European Council is not identical with the Council. The European Council constitutes a separate
Union institution composed of the heads of state or government of the Member States Art. 15(2)
TEU.
- Task to ensure the exercise of legislative and executive functions.
Composition and configurations
1
,- Art. 16(2) TEU: each national minister represents the interests of ‘his’ or ‘her Member State. These
interests may vary depending on the subject matter decided in the Council and there are different
Council configurations depending on the subject matter at issue. For each configuration a different
national minister will be representing his State.
- Art. 16(6) TEU: each national minister represents the interests of his Member State.
- The Treaties only define the tasks of two Council configurations:
1. General Affairs: charged to ensure consistency in the work of the different Council configurations
(art. 16(6) TEU). Within states itself.
2. Foreign Affairs Council = required to elaborate the Union’s external action on the basis of strategy
guidelines laid down by the European Council and ensure that the Union’s action is consistent (art.
16(6) TEU). External.
Internal Structure and Organs
- Committee composed of representatives of the Member States supports Council.
- The Permanent Representatives’/Coreper is the ambassador of a Member State at the EU. It has
two parts:
1. Coreper II represents the meetings of the ambassadors. It prepares the first four Council
configurations, the more important political decisions.
2. Coreper I represents the meetings of their deputies (plaatsvervangers). Prepares the more technical
remainer.
- Function of the Coreper (art. 16(7) TEU & art. 240(1) TFEU) = responsible for preparing the work of
the Council. All items on the agenda for a Council meeting shall be examined in advance by Coreper
unless the latter decides otherwise. Coreper shall endeavour to reach agreement at its level to be
submitted to the Council for adoption (art. 19(2) Council Rules of Procedure).
Decision-Making and Voting
1. Legislative activities
- Two principal forms decision-making in the Council:
1. Unanimity voting requires the consent of all national ministers and is provided in the Treaties for
sensitive political questions (art. 31 TEU, art. 113 TFEU).
2. Formal majority voting represents the constitutional norm.
A. Simple majority: where it is required to act by a simple majority, the Council shall act by a majority
of its component members (art. 238(1) TFEU). This form is rare. One more than half of the votes.
B. Qualified majority: the Council shall act by a qualified majority except where the Treaties provide
otherwise (art. 16(3) TEU). 260 out of 352 votes.
Weighted votes: Member States would not be sovereign equals in the Council, but would possess
a number of votes that correlated with the size of their population.
- Triple majority: a majority of the weighted votes had to be cast by a majority of the Member States
representing a majority of the Union population.
- New system of voting art. 16(4) TEU: in an Union of 27 States, 55% of the Council members
correspond to 15 States. The majority is qualified from two sides. The bigger Member States have
insisted on a high population majority behind the State majority. The population threshold of 65% of
the Union population would theoretically mean that any three of the four biggest States of the Union
could block Council decision.
- A blocking minority must include at least four Council members, failing which the qualified majority
shall be deemed attained.
2. Non-legislative activities
3. How is the European Commission composed and how are its members selected, appointed or
elected?
2
, Commission, articles 244 – 250 TFEU
- The Commission is firmly located in the executive branch. In guiding the European Union, it (partly)
acts like the Union’s government.
Composition and Election
- Article 17(4) TEU: The Commission consists of one national from each Member State.
- Article 17(3) TEU: Its members are chose on the ground of their general competence and European
commitment from persons whose independence is beyond doubt.
- Selected: Commission was appointed by the Council. The appointment procedure has two stages:
1. President of the Commission will be elected. He will have been nominated by the European
Council. The nominated candidate must then be ‘elected’ by the European Parliament. If not
confirmed by Parliament, a new candidate needs to be found by the European Council (art. 17(7)
TEU).
2. In accord with the President-elect, the Council will adopt a list of candidate Commissioners on the
basis of suggestions made by the Member States (art. 17(7) TEU). Once this list is agreed, the
proposed commission is then subjected as a body to vote of consent by the European parliament and
the Commission shall be appointed by the European Council (art. 17(7) TFEU, third indent).
Commission’s democratic legitimacy derives partly from the Member States and partly from the
European Parliament.
The President and ‘Her’ College
- The Members of the Commission shall carry out the duties devolved upon them by the President
under her authority (art. 248 TFEU).
- Art. 17(6) TEU: the powers of the President.
- Ministerial responsibilities: due to the requirement of one Commissioner per Member State, each
Commissioner is responsible for his or her portfolio = priority 26 portfolios. = INTERNAL
COMPOSITION OF THE COMMISSION.
- Article 250 TFEU: majority voting, same as Parliament.
4. What are the main functions and powers of those three EU institutions?
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
Parliamentary Powers
- Article 14 TEU: The European Parliament shall, jointly with the Council, exercise legislative and
budgetary functions. It shall exercise functions of political control and consultation as laid down in
the Treaties. It shall elect the President of the Commission.
- 4 Powers:
1. Legislative Powers (art. 225 TFEU)
- Primary power lies in the making of European laws.
- Parliament may informally propose new legislation, but is not entitled to formally propose bills.
- Ordinary legislative procedure & special legislative procedure.
- The Parliament’s legislative powers may also extend to the external relations sphere.
2. Budgetary Powers (art. 311 TFEU)
- Involved in the adoption of national budgets. They were seen as legitimating the raising of revenue.
- The European Parliament’s budgetary powers have not focused on the income side but on the
expenditure side.
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