European Institutions

European Council

A forum where heads of state meet four times a year to define priorities and set political direction for the EU. The European Council, charged with defining the EU's overall political direction and priorities, is the institution of the European Union (EU) that comprises the heads of state or government of the member states, along with the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission. The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy also takes part in its meetings. Established as an informal summit in 1975, the European Council was formalised as an institution in 2009 upon the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon. Its current President is Donald Tusk. While the European Council has no formal legislative power, it is a strategic (and crisis-solving) body that provides the union with general political directions and priorities, and acts as a collective presidency. The European Commission remains the sole initiator of legislation, but the European Council is able to provide an impetus to guide legislative policy. The meetings of the European Council, still commonly referred to as EU summits, are chaired by its president and take place at least twice every six months; usually in the Europa building in Brussels. Decisions of the European Council are taken by consensus, except where the Treaties provide otherwise. The European Council brings together EU leaders to set the EU's political agenda. It represents the highest level of political cooperation between EU countries. One of the EU's 7 official institutions, the Council takes the form of (usually quarterly) summit meetings between EU leaders, chaired by a permanent president. What does the European Council do? -Decides on the EU's overall direction and political priorities - but does not pass laws. -Deals with complex or sensitive issues that cannot be resolved at lower levels of intergovernmental cooperation -Sets the EU's common foreign & security policy, taking into account EU strategic interests and defence implications -Nominates and appoints candidates to certain high profile EU level roles, such as the ECB and the Commission On each issue, the European Council can: -ask the European Commission to make a proposal to address it. -pass it on to the Council of the EU to deal with

European Court of Human Rights

An international court that oversees the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of 1950. The court is based in Strasbourg, France, and was set up in 1959. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR) is a supra-national or international court established by the European Convention on Human Rights. It hears applications alleging that a contracting state has breached one or more of the human rights provisions concerning civil and political rights set out in the Convention and its protocols. An application can be lodged by an individual, a group of individuals or one or more of the other contracting states, and, besides judgments, the Court can also issue advisory opinions. The Convention was adopted within the context of the Council of Europe, and all of its 47 member states are contracting parties to the Convention.

Council of Europe

An international organisation whose stated aim is to uphold human rights, democracy, rule of law in Europe and promote European culture. Founded in 1949, it has 47 member states, covers approximately 820 million people and operates with an annual budget of approximately half a billion euros. The organisation is distinct from the 28-nation European Union (EU), although it is sometimes confused with it, partly because the EU has adopted the original European Flag which was created by the Council of Europe in 1955, as well as the European Anthem. No country has ever joined the EU without first belonging to the Council of Europe. The Council of Europe is an official United Nations Observer. Unlike the EU, the Council of Europe cannot make binding laws, but it does have the power to enforce select international agreements reached by European states on various topics. The best known body of the Council of Europe is the European Court of Human Rights, which enforces the European Convention on Human Rights. The Council's two statutory bodies are the Committee of Ministers, comprising the foreign ministers of each member state, and the Parliamentary Assembly, composed of members of the national parliaments of each member state. The Commissioner for Human Rights is an independent institution within the Council of Europe, mandated to promote awareness of and respect for human rights in the member states. The Secretary General heads the secretariat of the organisation. Other major CoE bodies include the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines. The headquarters of the Council of Europe are in Strasbourg, France. English and French are its two official languages. The Committee of Ministers, the Parliamentary Assembly and the Congress also use German, Italian, Russian, and Turkish for some of their work.

European Court of Justice

The Court of Justice is the judicial body of the EU that makes decisions on issues of EU law and enforces European decisions either in respect to actions taken by the European Commission against a member state or actions taken by individuals to enforce their rights under EU law. The court is the judicial body of the EU that makes decisions on issues of EU law and enforces European decisions. Based in Luxembourg, the Court was set up in 1951, and was originally named the Court of Justice of the European Communities. The court is frequently confused with the ECHR, which oversees human rights laws across Europe, including in many non-EU countries, and is not linked to the EU institutions. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) interprets EU law to make sure it is applied in the same way in all EU countries, and settles legal disputes between national governments and EU institutions. It can also, in certain circumstances, be used by individuals, companies or organisations to take action against an EU institution, if they feel it has somehow infringed their rights. What does the CJEU do? The CJEU gives rulings on cases brought before it. The most common types of case are: interpreting the law (preliminary rulings) - national courts of EU countries are required to ensure EU law is properly applied, but courts in different countries might interpret it differently. If a national court is in doubt about the interpretation or validity of an EU law, it can ask the Court for clarification. The same mechanism can be used to determine whether a national law or practice is compatible with EU law. enforcing the law (infringement proceedings) - this type of case is taken against a national government for failing to comply with EU law. Can be started by the European Commission or another EU country. If the country is found to be at fault, it must put things right at once, or risk a second case being brought, which may result in a fine. annulling EU legal acts (actions for annulment) - if an EU act is believed to violate EU treaties or fundamental rights, the Court can be asked to annul it - by an EU government, the Council of the EU, the European Commission or (in some cases) the European Parliament. Private individuals can also ask the Court to annul an EU act that directly concerns them. ensuring the EU takes action (actions for failure to act) - the Parliament, Council and Commission must make certain decisions under certain circumstances. If they don't, EU governments, other EU institutions or (under certain conditions) individuals or companies can complain to the Court. sanctioning EU institutions (actions for damages) - any person or company who has had their interests harmed as a result of the action or inaction of the EU or its staff can take action against them through the Court. Composition The CJEU is divided into 2 courts: Court of Justice - deals with requests for preliminary rulings from national courts, certain actions for annulment and appeals. General Court - rules on actions for annulment brought by individuals, companies and, in some cases, EU governments. In practice, this means that this court deals mainly with competition law, State aid, trade, agriculture, trade marks. Each judge and advocate general is appointed for a renewable 6-year term, jointly by national governments. In each Court, the judges select a President who serves a renewable term of 3 years. How does the CJEU work? In the Court of Justice, each case is assigned 1 judge (the "judge-rapporteur") and 1 advocate general. Cases are processed in 2 stages: Written stage The parties give written statements to the Court - and observations can also be submitted by national authorities, EU institutions and sometimes private individuals. All of this is summarised by the judge-rapporteur and then discussed at the Court's general meeting, which decides: How many judges will deal with the case: 3, 5 or 15 judges (the whole Court), depending on the importance and complexity of the case. Most cases are dealt with by 5 judges, and it is very rare for the whole Court to hear the case. Whether a hearing (oral stage) needs to be held and whether an official opinion from the advocate general is necessary. Oral stage - a public hearing Lawyers from both sides can put their case to the judges and advocate general, who can question them. If the Court has decided an Opinion of the advocate general is necessary, this is given some weeks after the hearing. The judges then deliberate and give their verdict. General Court procedure is similar, except that most cases are heard by 3 judges and there are no advocates general.

European Commission

The executive body of the European Union. Its main function is to implement the EU's decisions and policies, along with other functions. It is also responsible for making adequacy determinations with regard to data transfers to third-party countries. The European Commission is the EU's politically independent executive arm. It is alone responsible for drawing up proposals for new European legislation, and it implements the decisions of the European Parliament and the Council of the EU. What does the Commission do? Proposes new laws The Commission is the sole EU institution tabling laws for adoption by the Parliament and the Council that: protect the interests of the EU and its citizens on issues that can't be dealt with effectively at national level; get technical details right by consulting experts and the public. Manages EU policies & allocates EU funding Sets EU spending priorities, together with the Council and Parliament. Draws up annual budgets for approval by the Parliament and Council. Supervises how the money is spent, under scrutiny by the Court of Auditors. Enforces EU law Together with the Court of Justice, ensures that EU law is properly applied in all the member countries. Represents the EU internationally Speaks on behalf of all EU countries in international bodies, in particular in areas of trade policy and humanitarian aid. Negotiates international agreements for the EU.

Council of the European Union (Council of Ministers)

The main decision-making body of the EU, it has a central role in both political and legislative decisions. The council was established by the treaties of the 1950s, which laid the foundations for the EU. In the Council, government ministers from each EU country meet to discuss, amend and adopt laws, and coordinate policies. The ministers have the authority to commit their governments to the actions agreed on in the meetings. Together with the European Parliament, the Council is the main decision-making body of the EU. -Negotiates and adopts EU laws, together with the European Parliament, based on proposals from the European Commission -Coordinates EU countries' policies -Develops the EU's foreign & security policy, based on European Council guidelines -Concludes agreements between the EU and other countries or international organisations -Adopts the annual EU budget - jointly with the European Parliament.

European Parliament

The only EU institution whose members are directly elected by member states, Parliament has four responsibilities—legislative development, supervisory oversight of other institutions, democratic representation and budget development. The European Parliament is the EU's law-making body. It is directly elected by EU voters every 5 years. The last elections were in May 2014. What does the Parliament do? The Parliament has 3 main roles: Legislative -Passing EU laws, together with the Council of the EU, based on European Commission proposals -Deciding on international agreements -Deciding on enlargements -Reviewing the Commission's work programme and asking it to propose legislation Supervisory -Democratic scrutiny of all EU institutions -Electing the Commission President and approving the Commission as a body. Possibility of voting a motion of censure, obliging the Commission to resign -Granting discharge, i.e. approving the way EU budgets have been spent -Examining citizens' petitions and setting up inquiries -Discussing monetary policy with the European Central Bank -Questioning Commission and Council -Election observations Budgetary -Establishing the EU budget, together with the Council -Approving the EU's long-term budget, the "Multiannual Financial Framework" Composition The number of MEPs for each country is roughly proportionate to its population, but this is by degressive proportionality: no country can have fewer than 6 or more than 96 MEPs and the total number cannot exceed 751 (750 plus the President). MEPs are grouped by political affiliation, not by nationality. The President represents Parliament to other EU institutions and the outside world and gives the final go-ahead to the EU budget. How does the Parliament work? Parliament's work comprises two main stages: Committees - to prepare legislation. The Parliament numbers 20 committees and two subcommittees, each handling a particular policy area. The committees examine proposals for legislation, and MEPs and political groups can put forward amendments or propose to reject a bill. These issues are also debated within the political groups. Plenary sessions - to pass legislation. This is when all the MEPs gather in the chamber to give a final vote on the proposed legislation and the proposed amendments. Normally held in Strasbourg for four days a month, but sometimes there are additional sessions in Brussels.