Institutional Systemof European Union ?
The European Union is not a federation like the
United States. Nor is it simply an organization for cooperation between governments, like the United
Nations.
It is, in fact, unique.
The countries that make up the EU remain
independent sovereign nations but they delegated
some of their decision-making powers to shared
institutions they have created, so that decisions on
specific matters of joint interest can be made
democratically at European level.
Decisional Triangle of E.U.
The EU’s decision-making process in
general and the ordinary procedure in
particular involve three main institutions:
a) the European Parliament (EP), which
represents the EU’s citizens and is directly
elected by them;
b) the Council of the European Union,
which represents the member states
c) the European Commission, which seeks
to uphold the interests of the Union as a
whole.
Other institutions have a vital part to play:
the Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance (created in 1989) upholds
the rule of European law.
A new judicial body, the European Civil Service Tribunal, has been set up to
adjudicate in disputes between the European Union and its civil service.
The Court of Auditors (set up in 1975) checks if the EU funds, which come
from the taxpayers, are properly collected and that they are spent legally,
economically and for the intended purpose.
The European Council which sets the EU’s
overall political direction – but has no powers to
pass law.
The European Central Bank which is
responsible for European monetary policy.
• Provisions: art.15 TUE
• Role: art.15(1) TUE: “it is an institution of the European
Union that provides the Union with necessary impetus
for its development and define the general political
directions and priorities thereof. It does not exercise
legislative functions”
• Composition (art.15(2) TUE:
- the heads of states or governments of member
states
- the President of the Council of EU
- the President of the European Commission
-the High Rrepresentative for Foreign Affaires and
Security Policy
Presidency of European Council
• Nomination :
- the President is elected by the other members with
qualified majority for 2,5 years (present President:
Donald Tusk)
- the mandate is renewable once and the person
elected cannot have any national/international,
state/private job
-the mandate ends in case he decides or in case of
serious fault
Presidency of European Council
Attributions:
- chair and drives forward the European Council activities
- ensures the preparation and the continuation of activities in cooperation
with the president of the European Commission on the basis of decisions
taken by the General Council
- works to facilitate the cohesion and the consensus within the European
Council
- present to the European Parliament a report after each summit
- ensures the external representation of the Union in matters related to
the foreign policy and common security, without affecting the High
Representative’s attributions
European Council Summits
• Extraordinary summits
• Ordinary summits are held 2 per semester based on the convening of the
president
• During the summits the members can be assisted by one ministry. The
president of the European Commission is assisted by a commissioner
• Decisions:
- if they are taken by vote – the president and the president of the
European Commission cannot vote. Each member can receive the delegation to
vote only for one other member
- the acts voted are submitted to the control of the CJEU
Decisions are taken:
- by simple majority – for procedural issues or the
internal regulation
- by qualified majority – when the Treaty provides
and by using the same modalities as those used
within the Council of EU
- by consensus – when treaty provides. Not votting
cannot obstruct the adoption of a deliberation within
the European Council
European Council competences
1. In the matter of general policies:
It provides the Union with necessary impetus for its development and
define the orientations and general political priorities, especially
regarding:
• general orientations of economic policies of member states and of
the Union;
• situation of employment;
• strategic orientations of legislative and operational plans within the
space of freedom, security and justice
2. In the matter of foreign policy and common security:
- identifies the strategic interests of the Union
- fixes the objectives
- defines the general orientations of the foreign policy and
common security, including issues that have implications in defense
matter
- adopt the necessary decisions in this matter
3. In institutional matter:
- fixes the composition of European Parliament with its approval
- proposes the candidate for president of European Commission
- establishes the rotation system for nominating the commissioners
- appoints the High Representative for the foreign policy and common security and
the executive board of ECB
- fixes the list of the Council configurations, others than those provided by the
Treaties
- authorizes, with EP approval, the Council to enact legislative acts with QMV
instead of unanimity and to use ordinary procedure instead of a special procedure
- in order to amend treaties provisions convene the intergovernmental conference
- can modify the provisions regarding the internal policies and actions for the
functioning of the Union
• Role: (art.16(1) TEU) jointly with the EP exercises the
legislative and budgetary functions. It carries out
policy-making and coordinates functions as laid down
in the Treaties
• It represents the interest of the governments of
member states
• Its functions are varied.
• Composition: one representative of each member
state at the governmental level that can represent it
and can commit it (exert the right to vote) – multiple
representation (configurations)
Organization
Configurations (10):
a) provided by the treaties:
1. general affaires – prepare the summits and ensure the
cohesion of the other configurations
2. external relations – has as president the High
Representative of the EU
b) non provided by the treaties
3. economic and financial affaires
4. justice and home affaires,
5. employment, social policy and consumer affaires,
6. competitiveness
7. transport, telecommunication and energy
8. agriculture and fisheries,
9. environment,
10. education, youth and culture
Presidency
without the Council of external affaires
- rotates between the groups of 3 member states for 18 months
- the groups are composed by equal rotation of member states taking into account
their diversity, and the geographic equilibrium within the Union
- each member of the group is assisted by the other members based on a common
program
• Netherlands January-June 2016/ Slovakia July-December 2016/
• Malta January-June 2017/ United Kingdom July-December 2017/
• Estonia January-June 2018/ Bulgaria July-December 2018/
• Austria January-June 2019/ Romania July-December 2019
Competences
• The Council has a decisional and coordination role
• The competences are:
- legislative power – together with the EP using ordinary or special legislative
procedure
- together with EP is the budgetary authority
- signs (concludes) under the name of EU international agreements/treaties with
foreign countries or economic organizations
- coordination of general economic politics of member states
- coordination of member states’s actions and adoption of measures within the
police cooperation in judiciary and criminal matters
- defines PESC (external policy and common security/defense) based on the general
orientations defined by the European Council
Quorum of vote
• Simple majority – for:
- adopting its internal regulation
- procedural matters
- asking the Commission to draft any relevant study in order to
achieve the common objectives
• Unanimity (consensus) – for:
- fiscal, social security, foreign policy and common defense
• Passage clause = European Council can authorize the Council to use
QMV instead of unanimity (ex. decisions on defense matters)
• Qualified majority vote (QMV) – for any field of activities/actions unless other majority is
requested by the treaties
• Rule = each member has one vote multiplied with a number:
Council of EUROPE
• created in 1948 by the Treaty of London
• role – to ensure the protection of citizens of European countries and of their human
rights against the abuses from their national authorities and states
• Possible status
a) Founding Members
b) Associate Members
c) Observers
• Within the framework of the Council of Europe it was adopted in 1949 the European
Convention of Human Rights (known as CEDO – la Convention Europeene de droit de
l’homme)- Romania has ratified it in 1951
Institutional Structure
• The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe – composed of
representatives of member states at parliamentary level (the deputies are nominated by the national
parliaments for 6 years term).
• This institution is also known as the European Parliament and thus it is confused with the
European Parliament of the European Union.
• The role is to debate the more important issues of interest for the member states
and to adopt “resolutions” (the only acts the Council of Europe adopts).
• The Resolutions shall be applied by the member states directly because they
promised to do that when they signed the Treaty of London or their accession
treaty.
• If a country does not apply them willingly, the only possible sanction is a “moral
disgrace” of all the other member states.
• The Council of Ministries of the Council of Europe – composed only of
ministries of foreign affaires of the member states.
• It has an executive role.
• As such it debates, at this level, the important issues for the member states
and applies the resolutions adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly.
• Due to its composition it is confused with the Council of European Union
although each of them has a different role to play with the organization
they belong.
• The Court of Justice of the Council of Europe or European Court of Human
Rights
• known also as The European Court of Justice (a wrong denomination which allowed it to be confused with the Court of Justice of the
European Union, also known as European Court of Justice).
• The two courts are totally different because:
• headquarters of CEDO are in Strasbourg, France, while of CJEU is in Luxembourg.
• members of CEDO are national judges specialized in human rights and their term of office is of 9 years, while the members of
CJEU are national judges specialized in commercial matters + the advocates general and their term of office is of 6 years
• the CEDO rules only on litigations brought only by citizens of member states against their countries for not respecting their
human rights – while CJEU rules on any litigations that involves EU legal rules brought by citizens of member states, states or
EU institutions.
• The decisions of CEDO shall be recognized and applied on the territories of member states (in Romania the authority
empowered to do that is the Ministry of Justice) – while the decision of CJEU become like “recommendation decision” for all
the national courts without any recognition and application procedure required, so the national judge shall apply it by office in
similar cases pendinte before him.
Comparison