EU Law and Policy Dr. Mahamat K. Dodo European Union Center Pusan National University Produced: April 4, 2013

The EU´s Main Institutional Actors The European Council: ► The European Council was formally recognized as an Institution of the Union under the Treaty of Lisbon (ToL) and it is officially recognized as the Union´s Institution that sets the strategic direction of the Community. The Council is comprised of the Heads of State and Government of the EU member countries, along with the President of the Commission and the President of the European Council and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs, currently Ms. Catherine Ashton The European Commission: ► The European Commission is the executive branch or driving force of the Union. It has many functions within the EU system, it is solely responsible for policy initiation, it drafts legislative proposals, monitors policy implementation, etc. The Commission is composed of 27 Commissioners from the EU countries and under the current Treaty of Lisbon, the number of the Commissioners is set to be reduced, and the new arrangement is that only two thirds of the EU countries will have a Commissioner at any given time April 4, 2013 Dr. Mahamat K. Dodo (EU Center PNU)

The EU´s Main Institutional Actors The Council of Ministers also known as the Council of the EU: ► This is an intergovernmental institution/comprising the Union´s member States. It is considered as the legislative body of the Union, it shares powers with the EU Parliament to amend legislation, without its consent, an EU legislation cannot be adopted, it is composed of different national government Ministers of the 27 EU member countries The European Parliament: ► The European Parliament is also a legislative body of the EU, it shares powers with the Council of Ministers to amend EU legislation, it is composed of 785 deputies and is the only elected body of the Union April 4, 2013 Dr. Mahamat K. Dodo (EU Center PNU)

The EU´s Main Institutional Actors The Court of Justice of the European Union: ► This is the Institution of the Union responsible for interpreting and applying correctly its law and making sure that it is enforced against the Member States that fail to uphold it and it acts as well as an arbiter between the Member States and the Union and between the Union Institutions themselves Under the Treaty of Lisbon, the term Court of Justice of the European Union is an umbrella term that covers all the judicial bodies set up by the Union´s treaties and they are as follows: ─ The Court of Justice also known as the European Court ─ The General Court (formerly known as the Court of First Instance) ─ The Specialized Courts (Civil Service Tribunal) April 4, 2013 Dr. Mahamat K. Dodo (EU Center PNU)

The EU´s Main Institutional Actors The European Central Bank: ► This is the central bank for the euro area countries and as an institution it sets interest rates and is responsible for the management of the monetary policy and foreign exchange policies as well The Court of Auditors: ► This is the ´Financial Conscience´ of the European Union, and its main task is to make sure the European Union spends its money as efficiently as possible and audit lawfully the management of the EU budget According to the European Union´s Court of Auditors, it states the following: “The Court examines whether financial operations have been properly recorded, legally and regularly executed and managed so as to ensure economy, efficiently and effectiveness.” April 4, 2013 Dr. Mahamat K. Dodo (EU Center PNU)

Other EU Institutional Bodies The European Investment Bank ► The European Investment Bank is the Union´s financial institution that finances public and private long-term investment projects The European Ombudsman ► The European Ombudsman is an institution that deals with complaints and maladministration against the European Institutions by the EU citizens April 4, 2013 Dr. Mahamat K. Dodo (EU Center PNU)

Other Community´s Advisory Bodies The European Economic and Social Committee (ESC, 1957) ► The Economic and Social Committee is an institutional body responsible to represent the opinions of the organized society to the Commission and the Council, it is a consultative/advisory body made up of various European interest groups; this advisory body is consulted by the Commission whenever it puts out proposals for new legislation in many policy areas, however, the opinion of the body (ESC) does not carry any binding weight, it is merely consultative The Committee of the Regions (CoR, 1994) ► The Committee of the Regions is also an institutional body that represents the opinions of the EU member states' regions and local authorities, its aim is to represent the voice of local and regional governments of the Member States to the European Union´s institutions, this body is consulted for any Community proposal that may have regional or local consequences in areas such as health, education, transport, employment and social policy April 4, 2013 Dr. Mahamat K. Dodo (EU Center PNU)

EU Inter-Institutional Bodies Anti-Fraud Office/Office de Lutte Anti-Fraude (OLAF) ► OLAF is an independent body or office whose aim is to work alongside national anti-fraud and anti-corruption agencies and fight fraud in the implementation of EU programs and policies Office for Official Publications of the European Communities ► This office is the publishing house of the institutions and other bodies of the European Union, its main task is to produce and distribute EU publications on all media and by all means European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) ► This is the main body or department that organizes and chooses personnel for all EU institutions April 4, 2013 Dr. Mahamat K. Dodo (EU Center PNU)

Other Agencies of the EU Community Agencies ► The Community agencies are institutional bodies established to perform specific, technical, scientific or managerial tasks with the aim of advancing the overall objectives and goals of the European Integration, these agencies are governed by the European public law and have their own legal personalities; however, they are distinct from the actual or main Community institutions Common Foreign and Security Policy Agencies ► The main agencies are the following: ─ European Defense Agency ─ European Institute for Security Studies ─ European Union Satellite Center April 4, 2013 Dr. Mahamat K. Dodo (EU Center PNU)

Other Agencies of the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy Agencies ► The main agencies are the following: ─ European Defense Agency ─ European Institute for Security Studies ─ European Union Satellite Center Police and Judicial Cooperation Agencies ─ European Judicial Cooperation Unit (EUROJUST) ─ European Police College (CEPOL) ─ European Police Office (EUROPOL) April 4, 2013 Dr. Mahamat K. Dodo (EU Center PNU)

Thank you for your time and attention April 4, 2013 Dr. Mahamat K. Dodo (EU Center PNU)