1. 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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. Organization (3) Not as large as people think (28,000 approx.)
2014: European Election = new EP = new Commission
Irish Commissioner: Maire Geoghegan-Quinn
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6. 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”

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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
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)

12. 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?

13. 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’?

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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
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21. 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
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22. 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

23. 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?