Major Actors 5 main institutions The European Commission The Council of Ministers of the European Union The European Council of Heads of State or Government The European Parliament The European Court of Justice

The European Commission 27 Commissioners President: Jose-Manuel Barroso (Portugal) Tasks Represents the general interests of the Union Acts as guardian of the Treaties Ensures correct application of EU legislation Negotiates international trade of cooperation agreements Powers Exclusive right to propose policy Takes the lead in international trade talks Ensures compliance with EU law Has a right of censure over member states

Organization 2 separate bodies The College of 27 Commissioners The administrative commission (the Commission Civil Service – based in Brussels) The College of Commissioners = the powerhouse of the Commission President Is elected by EP Distributes portfolios (policy responsibilities) Vice-President is the EU’s High Representative for foreign policy Vice-President = Catherine Ashton

Organization (2) 5-year term (similar to EP’s term): 2009 - 2014 Commission has to be approved by EP Portfolio allocation: controversial Collegiality principle Size / Lisbon Staff: each Commissioner has a staff (Cabinet) of 7 officials / advisers Must not be of the same nationality as the Commissioner 40% of staff are female Commissioners are expected to be independent from their country of origin Each Commissioner is responsible for one or more DGs (Directorate-Generals) relating to their portfolios

Organization (3) Not as large as people think (28,000 approx.) 2014: European Election = new EP = new Commission Irish Commissioner: Maire Geoghegan-Quinn http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010- 2014/index_en.htm http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010- 2014/president/ http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010- 2014/geoghegan-quinn/

Council of ministers Main decision-making body of EU Treaties state that: It shall consist of “a representative of each member state at ministerial level, who may commit the government of the member state in question and cast its vote” And that it “shall, jointly with the European Parliament, exercise legislative and budgetary function” and “carry out policy-making and co-ordinating functions”

Council (2) The Council Represents the interests of the member states through their national government ministers Meets in 10 different configurations (agriculture, environment, etc.) Has a secretariat of 2,500 officials Has a complex system of voting Is assisted by the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) Permanent Representatives have ambassadorial status Rory Montgomery is Ireland’s Permanent Representative – based in Brussels http://www.irelandrepbrussles.be/home/index

Council (3) Council Presidency rotates every 6 months Presidency = chair of Council meetings No special powers but Places the country in the media spotlight Can give the country added influence Time-consuming, costly, daunting Agenda dictated by events (limited scope for action) Denmark: 1 January – 30 June 2012 Cyprus: 1 July 2012 – 31 December 2012 Ireland: 1 January – 30 June 2013

Council (4) A complex voting system Unanimity required for some policy areas Consensus preferred in other areas but Qualified Majority Voting may be necessary QMV = votes allocated to each member state according to population size Current = triple majority Requisite number of weighted votes needed (255 = 74%) + positive votes from a majority (51%) of member states + at least 62 % of the Union’s population 2014: double majority 55 % of member states + 65 % of EU’s population

Council (5) Member State Population (in millions / 2010) Number of votes (until 2014) Number of citizens per vote (in millions) Germany 82 29 2.8 France 65 2.2 UK 62 2.1 Italy 60 Spain 46 27 1.7 Poland 39 1.4 Romania 21 14 1.5 Netherlands 17 13 1.3 Greece 11 12 0.9 Portugal Belgium Czech Republic 10 0.8 Hungary Sweden 9 Austria 8 Bulgaria Denmark 5 7 0.7 Slovakia Finland Ireland 4 0.6 Lithuania 3 0.4 Latvia 2 0.5 Slovenia Estonia 1 0.3 Cyprus 0.2 Luxembourg 0.1 Malta Total 498.7 345  

European Council (of Heads of State and / or government) From informal ‘fireside chats’ to institution (Lisbon Treaty) Heads of State or government + Commission President 1st President of European Council appointed in December 2009 : Herman van Rompuy http://european- council.europa.eu/thepresident Must meet four times a year – six is norm Function: the European Council “shall provide the Union with the necessary impetus for its development and shall define its general policy direction and priorities” (Treaties)

European Council (2) Major agenda-setter in the EU Nominates President of the European Commission and board members of ECB European Council President is elected for 2 ½ years (renewable once) Herman van Rompuy describes himself as More of a chairman, less a president More a facilitator, less a dictator Future president to be elected by all EU citizens?

European Parliament Only directly-elected multi-national parliament in the world A instrument towards a federal Europe? A compensation for loss of national-level parliamentary power Democratic legitimacy : represents the Union’s citizens The “voice of the people of Europe” Image problems: ‘gravy train’, etc ‘expensive talking-shop’?

EP (2) The European Parliament Is a political and legal equal to the Council of Ministers Elects the President of the Commission Confirms and can dismiss the Commission as a whole Has its own President: Martin Schultz (Germ) Has 751 MEPs from over 150 national parties Is a pluralist organization Is independent of any executive Has seen its powers reinforced with each treaty

EP (3) 4 main areas of responsibility Legislative Budgetary Scrutiny Co-decides nearly all legislation with Council Budgetary Passes EU budget Scrutiny Scrutinizes the work of the Commission and other EU institutions Appointments Approves the appointment of the Commission Can dismiss the entire Commission in a vote of no-confidence

EP (4) 751 MEPs elected for a term of 5 years Minimum of 6 and maximum of 96 according to size of member state population Malta = 6 MEPs Germany = 96 MEPs sit in 7 political groups not along national lines Leaders of each political group + EP President = Conference of Presidents = set EP agenda Standing Committees carry out most of the work

EP (5) – Ireland 12 Irish MEPs (Labour, FF, FG, Socialist Party, Independent) 4 constituencies: Dublin – East – North-West – South Irish MEPs take their seats in the following groups: S&D Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Union ALDE: Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe EPP: European People’s Party EUL-NGL: European United Left – Nordic Green Left

EP (6) The Irish MEPs are Liam Aylward – FF – ALDE Nessa Childers – Labour – S&D Brian Crowley – FF – ALDE Emer Costello – Labour – S&D Pat ‘the Cope’ Gallagher – FF – ALDE Marian Harkin – Independent – ALDE Jim Higgins – FG – EPP Sean Kelly – FG – EPP Mairead McGuiness – FG – EPP Gay Mitchell – FG – EPP Paul Murphy – Socialist Party – EUL-NGL Phil Prendergast – Lab – S&D

EP (7) The EP suffers from a number of problems: It does not initiate legislation Its budgetary powers do not extend to taxation It is dogged by image problems It has clumsy and costly ‘housekeeping arrangements’ with 2 Parliament buildings in Brussels (3 weeks out of 4) and Strasbourg (1 week per month) Its debates take place in a multitude of languages - lack ‘cut and thrust’ of national debates

EP (8) http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en The EP’s legitimacy is undermined by the low and falling turn out for its elections EP’s future role is tied up with largest questions of democracy and power within the EU 2009: 43% participation across all member states and below 30% in six member states http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/performsearch.h tml?action=1&webCountry=IE&webTermId=7&name=&poli ticalGroup=&bodyType=&bodyValue=&type=&filter=

European Court of Justice ECJ is based in Luxembourg 27 judges + 8 Advocates-General It ensures that, in the interpretation and application of the Treaties, the law is observed It is the final arbiter in legal disputes between EU institutions and between EU institutions and member states It ensures that the EU institutions do not exceed the powers given to them It can impose fines on member states for breaches of EU law http://curia.europa.eu/juris/recherche.jsf?lang uage=en

Other institutions The ECB (European Central Bank) is based in Frankfurt It formulates the EU’s monetary policy It ensures monetary stability It sets interest rates It manages the Euro The European Court of Auditors It scrutinizes the EU’s budget and financial accounts It acts as the ‘financial conscience’ of the EU It has 27 members nominated by national governments

Why institutions matter The EU’s institutions help illustrate: The extent to which the European Union is an experiment in motion The importance of power-sharing and consensus The capacity of the EU’s structures to cope with the Union’s expanding size and scope Discussion question: What EU institution is most powerful and why?