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The Institutions Of The European Union
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The Institutions Of The
European Union
Originaldokument enthält an dieser Stelle eine Grafik!
Original document contains a graphic at this position!
Kat.Nr.:
12
Jahrgang:
5AK
Name:
Sonja Schmatz
Schuljahr:
96/97
Introduction
The European Union consists of eight institutions
employing only 24 500 people.
The Union has come a long way since the European Coal and
Steel Community was founded in 1952 to lay the basis for lasting peace
and prosperity. Membership has more than doubled to embrace 15 European
States. The probable arrival of many more new members in the years ahead is
foreseeable. One of the most important questions will be whether and how the
institutions need to be altered to give effective service to a much larger
Union.
In the last 20 years, the Parliament has become
directly-elected and acquired new powers, the European Court of Auditors has
arrived on the scene, the European Investment Bank has emerged as a major source
of finance for economic development, the Economic and Social Committee has
testified to the value of debate and cooperation between the social partners
and, most recently, the Committee of the Regions has been set op to advance
regional interests and diversity.
European Parliament
Members: 626 elected every 5
years
Germany 99, France, Italy, the United
Kingdom 87 each, Spain 64, the Netherlands 31, Belgium, Greece and Portugal 25
each, Sweden 22, Austria 21, Denmark and Finland 16 each, Ireland 15, Luxembourg
6. Next election due 1999
Meeting places: Strasbourg for
monthly plenary sessions. Brussels for committee meetings and additional
sessions. The General Secretariat is based in Luxembourg.
The European Parliament is the directly-elected
democratic expression of the political will of the peoples of the European
Union, the largest multinational parliament in the world.
Representing the 370 million citizens of the Union, its primary
objectives are like those of any parliament - to pass good laws and to
control the use of executive power. Now more than before, it is in a much
better position to do both because its responsibilities have been gradually
widened and its powers strengthened first by the Single Act of 1987 and then by
the Treaty on European Union 1993.
Naturally, the Parliament sees itself as the guardian of
the European interest and the defender of the citizens´ rights.
Individually, or as a group, European citizens have the right to petition the
Parliament and can seek redress of their grievances on matters that fall
within the European Union’s sphere of responsibility. The Parliament has
also appointed an ombudsman, Mr Jacob Magnus Söderman, to
investigate allegations of maladministration brought by citizens.
The European Parliament attaches a high priority to
maintaining links with national parliaments through regular meetings
between speakers and chairmen and between parliamentary committees. These
contacts are further enlivened by discussion of Union policies in major
conclaves known as “parliamentary assizes”.
Powers of the Parliament
The most important powers of the European Parliament fall
into three categories:
- legislative
power
- power over the
budget
- supervision of the
executive
Legislative Power
Originally, the Treaty of Rome (1957) gave the Parliament
only a consultative role, allowing the Commission to propose and the Council of
Ministers to decide legislation. Subsequent Treaties have extended
Parliament’s influence to amending and even adopting legislation so that
the Parliament and Council now share the power of decision in a large
number of areas.
- The consultation procedure requires an opinion from
the Parliament before a legislative proposal from the Commission can be adopted
by the Council. This applies, for example, to agricultural price
review.
- The cooperation procedure allows Parliament to improve
proposed legislation by amendment. It involves two readings in Parliament,
giving members ample opportunity to review and amend the Commission’s
proposal and the Council’s position.
This procedure applies to a large number of
areas including the European Regional Development Fund, research, the
environment and overseas cooperation and development.
- The co-decision procedure shares decision-making power
equally between the Parliament and the Council. A conciliation committee - made
up of equal numbers of Members of Parliament and of the Council, with the
Commission present - seeks a compromise on a text that the Council and
Parliament can both subsequently endorse.
Co-decision procedure applies to a wide
range of issues such as the free movement of workers, consumer protection,
education, culture, health and trans-European networks.
- Parliament’s agreement is required for important
international agreements such as the accession of new Member States, association
agreements with third countries, the organization and objectives of the
Structural and [1]Cohesion
Funds and the Tasks and powers of the European Central
Bank.
Budgetary Powers
The European Parliament approves the Union’s
budget each year. The budgetary procedure allows Parliament to propose
modifications and amendments to the Commission’s initial proposals and to
the position taken by the Council. On agricultural spending and costs arising
from international agreements the Council has the last word, but on other
expenditure - for example, education, social programmes, regional funds,
environmental and cultural projects - Parliament decides in close cooperation
with the Council.
Supervision of the Executive
The Parliament exercises overall political supervision of
the way the Union’s policies are conducted. Executive power in the Union
is shared between the Commission and the Council of Ministers and their
representatives appear regularly before Parliament.
Parliament and Commission
Parliament has an important role every five years in
appointing the President and members of the Commission. It exercises
detailed scrutiny through a close examination of the many monthly and annual
reports which the Commission is obliged to submit to the Parliament. Members may
also put written and oral questions to the Commission and they regularly
interrogate Commissioners at Question Time during plenary sessions and at
meetings of parliamentary committees.
If the worse comes to the worst (which has never yet
occurred), Parliament can pass a motion of censure on the Commission and
force it to resign.
Parliament and Council
The President in office of the Council presents his or
her Programme at the beginning of a presidency and gives an account of it
to Parliament at the end of that period. He or she also reports on the
results of each European Council and on progress in the development of foreign
and security policy.
Ministers attend plenary sessions and take part in Question
Time and in important debates. They must also respond to written questions.
At the beginning of each meeting of the European Council,
the President of Parliament presents the institution’s main positions on
the topics to be discussed by the Heads of State or Government. His speech often
sets the tone for the important discussion of the day.
Organization of the Parliament
All of the EU´s major political currents are
represented in the Parliament, ranging from far left to far right, and
numbering close to 100 political parties. These are organized in a
limited number of political groups (presently eight).
Overall management of the Parliament’s
activities is the responsibility of the Bureau which consists of the
President and 14 Vice-Presidents. All of its Members are elected for
terms of two and a half years.
The chairmen of the political groups participate with the
President of Parliament in the Conference of Presidents which is
responsible for organizing the Parliament’s work and drawing up the agenda
for plenary sessions.
Much of the effective work of Parliament is conducted in its
20 committees covering all areas of the Union’s activities, ranging
from Agriculture to Common Foreign and Security Policy, from Legal Affairs and
Citizens´ Rights to Overseas Cooperation and Development.
Council of the European Union (Council of Ministers)
Members: ministers of the 15 Member
States
Presidency: from 1 July 1995
rotates every six months in the following sequence: Spain, Italy, Ireland, the
Netherlands, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, Austria, Germany, Finland,
Portugal, France, Sweden, Belgium, Spain, Denmark, Greece
Meeting place:
Brussels
The Council of the European Union, usually known as the
Council of Ministers, has no equivalent anywhere in the world. Here, the
Member States legislate for the Union, set its political objectives, coordinate
their national policies and resolve differences between themselves and with
other institutions.
It is a body with the characteristics of both a
supranational and intergovernmental organization, deciding some matters
by qualified majority voting, and others by unanimity.
Its democratic credentials should not be in doubt. Each
meeting of the Council brings together Member States´ representatives,
usually ministers, who are responsible to their national parliaments and
public opinions. Nowadays, there are regular meetings of more than 25
different types of Council meeting: General Affairs (Foreign Affairs
ministers), Economy and Finance, and Agriculture meet monthly, others such as
Transport, Environment and Industry meet two to four times a
year.
In 1994, the Council held around 100 formal ministerial
sessions during which it adopted about 300 regulations, 50
directives and 160 decisions.
The council of Ministers is making strong efforts to make
more of its work accessible to the citizen. Votes on legislative matters, as
well as the explanations of these votes, are now automatically made
public.
The Presidency
The Presidency of the council rotates between the
Member States every six months: January until June, July until
December.
The Presidency´s role has become increasingly important
as the responsibilities of the Union have broadened and deepened. It
must:
- arrange and preside over
all meetings;
- elaborate acceptabel
compromises and find pragmatic solutions to problems submitted to the
Council;
- seek to secure
consistency and continuity in
decision-taking.
Decision-making
The Treaty on European Union based the Union´s
activities on three “pillars” and established that mainly
decisions should be taken either by qualified majority voting or by
unanimity.
Pillar One covers a wide range of Community policies
(such as agriculture, transport, environment, energy, research and development)
designed and implemented according to a well-proven decision-making process
which begins with a Commission proposal. Following a detailed examination
by experts and at the political level, the Council can either
adopt the Commissional proposal, amend it or ignore it.
The Treaty on European Union increased the European
Parliament’s say through a co-decision procedure (chapter 2.1.1, 3.),
which means that a wide range of legislation (such as internal market, consumer
affairs, trans-European networks, education and health) is adopted both by the
Parliament and the Council.
In the vast majority of cases (including agriculture,
fisheries, internal market, environment and transport), the Council decides by a
qualified majority vote with Member States carrying the following
weightings:
|
Germany, France, Italy and the United
Kingdom:
|
10 votes
|
|
Spain:
|
8 votes
|
|
Belgium, Greece, the Netherlands and
Portugal:
|
5 votes
|
|
Austria and Sweden:
|
4 votes
|
|
Ireland, Denmark and Finland:
|
3 votes
|
|
Luxembourg:
|
2 votes
|
|
Total
|
87 votes
|
When a Commission proposal is involved, at least 62 votes
must be cast in favour. In other cases, the qualified majority is also 62
votes, but these must be cast by at least 10 Member States. In practice, the
Council tries to reach the widest possible consensus before taking a
decision so that, for example, only about 14 % of the legislation adopted by the
Council in 1994 was the subject of negative votes and
abstentions.
Those policy areas in Pillar One which remain
subject to unanimity include taxation, industry, culture, regional and
social funds and the framework programme for research and technology
development.
For the other two pillars created by the Treaty on European
Union - Common Foreign and Security Policy (Pillar Two) and Cooperation
in the fields of Justice and Home Affairs (Pillar Three), the Council is
the decision-maker as well as the promoter of initiatives. Unanimity is
the rule in both pillars.
The European Council ¹ Council of the EU (Ministers)
Since 1974, Heads of State or Government meet alt least
twice a year in the form of the European Council or “European
Summit”. Its membership also includes the President of the Commission.
The President of the European Parliament is invited to make a presentation at
the opening session.
The European Council has become an increasingly important
element of the Union, setting priorities, giving political direction,
providing impetus for its development and resolving contentious issues that have
proved too difficult for the Council of Ministers.
The European Council submits a report to the European
Parliament after each of its meetings and an annual written report on the
progress achieves by the Union.
Community Legislation
Community law, adopted by the Council - or by the Parliament
and Council in the framework of the co-decision procedure - may take the
following forms:
,
regulations: these are directly applied without the need for national
measures to implement them;
,
directives: bind Member States as to the objectives to be achieved while
leaving the national authorities the power to choose the form and the means to
be used;
,
recommendations and opinions: these are not binding.
Organization
Each Member State has a national delegation in Brussels
known as the Permanent Representation. These delegations are headed by
Permanent Representatives, who are normally very senior diplomats and
whose committee, called Coreper, prepares ministerial sessions.
Coreper meets weekly and its main task is to ensure that only the most difficult
and sensitive issues are dealt with at ministerial level.
Coreper is also the destination of reports from the many
Council working groups of national experts. These groups make detailed
examinations of Commission proposals and indicate, among other things, areas of
agreement and disagreement.
The Secretariat-General provides the intellectual and
practical infrastructure of the Council at all levels. It is an element of
continuity in the Council proceedings and has the custody of Council acts and
archives. Its Legal Service advises the Council and committees on legal matters.
The Secretariat-General is appointed by the Council acting
unanimously.
European Commission
Number of Members:
20
Number per country: two from
France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom
and one from each of the other Member
States
Headquarters:
Brussels
The role and responsibilities of the European Commission
place it firmly at the heart of the European Union’s policy-making
process. In some respects, it acts as the heart of Europe, from which the
other institutions derive much of their energy and
purpose.
Without the 20 men and women who are its Members and
the 15 000 staff who serve it, the Union would not work. The
Council and the European Parliament need a proposal from
the Commission before they can pass legislation. EU laws are mainly upheld by
Commission action, the integrity of the single market is preserved by Commission
policing, agricultural and regional development policies are sustained, managed
and developed by the Commission as is development cooperation with the countries
of Central and Eastern Europe, Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific. Research and
technological development programmes, vital for the future of Europe, are
orchestrated by the Commission.
Members of the Commission
It is the 20 Members of the Commission who provide its
political leadership and direction. They bring a powerful mix of experience to
their tasks, having been members of their national parliaments or of the
European Parliament and, in many cases, after having held senior
ministerial offices in their home countries.
They are obliged to be completely independent of
their national governments and to act only in the interests of the EU. Such
impartiality and commitment enables the Commission to be an
effective honest broker, mediating conflicts of interest between
Member States when needed.
The present Commission has five women members, more
than any of its predecessors. The President is chosen by the Heads of
State or Government meeting in the European Council after consulting the
European Parliament. The other members of the Commission are nominated by the
15 member governments in consultation with incoming
President.
The Commission meets once a week to conduct its
business, which may involve adopting proposals, finalizing policy
papers and discussing the evolution of its priority policies.
Commissioners are expected to give full support to all policies, even when they
are adopted by majority.
Democratic Accountability
The Commission’s democratic legitimacy is being
increasingly strengthened by more determined and thorough Parliamentary vetting
of the President and his colleagues. The full Commission has to be approved
by the European Parliament before its members can take office. They can be
required to resign en bloc by parliamentary vote of censure - a Power which has
never yet been used.
Commission Organization
With its staff of 15 000, the Commission is the largest of
the Union’s institutions. The employment total, however, is modest, given
the wide range of its responsibilities and also bearing in mind that one fifth
work in the translation and interpretation services. Their work is
essential to the Commission which must be able to reach all of the citizens o
the Union in their own languages.
The Commission is divided into 26
directorates-general (DGs) with an additional 15 or so specialized
services. Each DG is headed by a director-general, reporting to a
Commissioner who has the political an operational responsibility for the work of
the DG.
The Work of the Commission
The Commission is not an all-powerful institution. Its
proposals, actions and decisions are in various ways scrutinized, checked and
judged by all of the other institutions, with the exception of the European
Investment Bank. Nor does it take the main decisions on Union policies and
priorities - this is the prerogative of the Council and, in some cases, of the
European Parliament.
The classic description of the Commission´s role
identifies three distinct functions:
- initiating proposals for
legislation;
- guardian of the
Treaties;
- the manager and executor of
Union policies and of international trade
relationships.
Legislative Initiative
The legislative process begins with a Commission
proposal - Community law cannot be made without one. In devising its
proposals, the Commission has three constant objectives: to identify the
European interest, to consult as widely as is necessary and to respect the
principle of subsidiarity.
The European interest means that a legislative
proposal reflects the Commission’s judgement of what is best for the Union
and its citizens as a whole, rather than for sectoral interests or individual
countries.
Consultation is essential to the preparation of a
proposal. The Commission is no ivory tower. It listens to governments, industry,
trade unions, special interest groups and technical experts before completing
its final draft.
Subsidiarity is enshrined in the Treaty on European
Union and is applied by the Commission in such a way as to ensure that the Union
takes action only when it will be more effective than if left to individual
Member States.
Once the Commission has formally sent a proposal for
legislation to the Council and the Parliament, the Union’s law-making
process is very dependent on effective cooperation between the three
institutions.
The Commission does not have an exclusive right of
initiative in the two areas of intergovernmental cooperation covered by the
Treaty on European Union - Common Foreign and Security Policy and cooperation on
Justice and Home Affairs. But it can submit proposals in the same way as
national governments and it participates in discussions at all
levels.
Guardian of the Treaties
It is the Commission’s job to ensure that Union
legislation is applied correctly by the Member States. If they breach their
Treaty obligation, they will face Commission action, including legal proceedings
at the Court of Justice.
In certain circumstances, the Commission can fine
individuals, firms and organizations for infringing Treaty law, subject to
their right to appeal to the Court of Justice. Illegal price-fixing and
market-rigging cartel have been a constant object of its attention and the
subject of very large fines. The Commission also maintains a close scrutiny over
government subsidies to industry and certain kind of State aid must, by
Treaty, receive its assent.
Manager and Negotiatior
The Commission manages the Union’s annual
budget [2](ECU 86
billion in 1996) which is dominated by farm spending allocated by the European
Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund and by the Structural Funds, designed
to even out the economic disparities between the richer and poorer
areas.
Its executive responsibilities are wide: it has
delegated powers to make rules which fill in the details of Council legislation;
it can introduce preventive measures for a limited period to protect the
Community market from dumping by third countries; it enforces the Treaty´s
competition rules and regulates mergers and acquisitions above a certain
size.
The Union’s effectiveness in the world is enhanced by
the Commission’s role as negotiator of trade and cooperation agreements
with other countries, or groups of countries.
The Court of Justice of the European Communities
Court of Justice: 15 judges and 9
advocates general
Court of First Instance: 15
judges
Members of both Courts are appointed by
the Member States for renewable terms of six years
Address:
Luxembourg
The Union, like the European Communities on which it is
founded, is governed by the rule of law.
The role of the Court is to provide the judicial safeguards
necessary to ensure that the law is observed in the interpretation and
application of the Treaties and, generally in all of the activities of the
Community.
The success of Community law in embedding itself so
thoroughly in the legal life of the Member States is due to its having been
perceived, interpreted and applied by the citizens, the administrative
authorities and the courts of the Member States as a uniform body of rules upon
which individuals may rely in their national courts. The decisions of the
Court have made Community law a reality for the citizens of Europe and often
have important constitutional and economic
consequences.
The court may be called upon to decide cases brought by the
Member States, by the Community institutions and by
individuals and companies. It ensures uniform interpretation of
Community law throughout the Community by close cooperation with national courts
and tribunals through the preliminary ruling procedure.
The Court of Justice worked alone until 1.9.1989 when
the Council attached to it a Court of First Instance on order to improve
the judicial protection of individual interests and to enable the Court
of Justice to concentrate its activities on its fundamental task of ensuring
uniform interpretation of Community law.
The Court of First Instance now has jurisdiction to
deal with all actions brought by individuals and companies
against decisions of the Community institutions and agencies. Its
judgments may be subject to an appeal brought before the Court of Justice but
only on a point of law.
The Court of Justice is composed of 15 judges
and 9 advocates general appointed by common accord of the Member States
for a renewable term of six years. Their independence must be beyond
doubt and they must be qualified for the highest judicial offices in their
respective countries or be jurists of recognized competence. The judges elect
the President of the Court from among their number for a term of three
years. The President directs the work of the Court and presides at hearings
and deliberations. The Court is assisted by the advocates general
whose task is to deliver independent and impartial opinions on cases brought
before it.
The Court of First Instance has 15 judges appointed
by the Member States for the same renewable term of office. This Court also
elects its President, however there are no advocates general.
The Court of Justice may sit in plenary
session or in chambers of three or five judges. It sits in plenary
session when it so decides or if a Member State or an EU institution which is a
party to the proceedings so requests.
For its part the Court of First Instance sits in
chambers of three or five judges. It may sit in plenary session for certain
important cases.
Broadly speaking two types of cases may be brought
before the Court of Justice:
- either direct
actions may be brought directly before the Court by the Commission, by other
Community institutions or a Member State. Cases brought by
individuals or companies challenging the legality of a Community act are brought
directly before the Court of First Instance. If an appeal is lodged against a
decision of the Court of First Instance it is dealt with by the Court of Justice
according to a procedure similar to that of other direct actions;
- or preliminary
rulings may be requested by courts or tribunals in the Member States when
they need a decision on a question of Community law in order to be able to give
a judgment. The Court of Justice is not a court of appeal from the decisions of
national courts and can only rule on matters of Community law. Having given its
decision the national court is bound to apply the principles of Community law as
laid down by the Court in deciding the case before
it.
Written exchanges are an important part of the Court’s
procedures, both for pleadings and for submission of
observations.
The judges consider the case in closed deliberation
and then deliver judgment in open court. The text of the judgment
includes the reasoning upon which it is based and copies of the text are
available in all 11 official languages. Since 1954 over 9 000 cases have been
brought before the Court of Justice which has delivered some 4 000
judgments.
European Court of Auditors
Members: 15, one per Member
State
Headquarters:
Luxembourg
The European Court of Auditors is the taxpayer
representative, responsible for checking that the European Union spends its
money according to its budgetary rules and regulations and for the
purposes for which it is intended.
It is a guarantor that certain moral, administrative
and accounting principles will be respected. The Court’s
reports are a rich source of information on the management of the Union’s
finances, and a source of pressure on the institutions and others with
administrative responsibility to manage them soundly.
The Courts´s function, performed with complete
independence, is a vital contribution to transparency in the Union.
Objective scrutiny reassures the taxpayer that the Union’s money is being
managed responsibly.
Broad and Detailed Scrutiny
In 1995, the Union’s budgetary operations reached ECU
100 billion, including borrowing and lending activities. Every institution and
body that has access to Union funds is subject to scrutiny and must provide the
Court of Auditors with the information and documents it requires. Not only the
European institutions fall within its scope; national, regional and local
administrations which manage Community funds must satisfy the Court that all is
in order, as will as recipients of Community aid, inside and outside the
Union.
The task of the Court and its auditors is to check that
revenue and expenditure observe the legal regulations and are in line with the
Community´s budgetary and accounting principles. At the same time, the
Court is also concerned to make cure that the Community is getting value for its
money by checking whether and to what extent financial management objectives
have been achieved and at what price.
Reports, Opinions and Statement of Assurance
The Court´s observations on the management of Community
finances are published in its Annual report - together with the replies
from the institutions concerned. The Annual report highlights those areas in
which improvements are possible and desirable. Adopted every year in
November, the report is examined by the European Parliament on a recommendation
of the Council when it is considering whether or not to give a discharge to the
Commission for its management of the budget.
The Court is not limited, however, to just this occasion if
it wants to make its views felt. It can, at any time, issue special
reports on specific areas of budget management. For their part, if the
institutions feel they need guidance on some aspects of their
management of funds they can ask the Court for an opinion and must do
so before adopting documents relating to financial regulations and own
resources (EU budget revenues).
European Investment Bank
Members: the 15 Member
States
Address:
Luxembourg
The European Investment Bank (EIB), the European
Union´s financing institution, provides long-term loans for
capital investment promoting the Union´s balanced economic
development and integration. The EIB is a flexible and
cost-effective source of finance whose ECU 20 billion volume of annual
lending makes it the largest of the international financing institutions in the
world.
In the European Union, EIB loans go to projects which fulfil
one or mire of the following objectives:
- strengthening economic
progress in the less favoured regions;
- improving trans-European
networks in transport, telecommunications and energy
transfer;
- enhancing
industry´s international competitiveness and its integration at a
European level and supporting small and medium- sized enterprises;
- protecting the
environment and quality of life, promoting urban
development and safeguarding the EU´s architectural
heritage;
- achieving secure
energy supplies.
The Bank carries out a rigorous appraisal of each investment
project, not only assessing its consistency with EU policies but also vetting
its economic and environmental justification as well as its financial and
technical viability.
Lending outside the Union:
While the EU is the main focus of its activities, the EIB
also helps to execute the financial aspects of the Union’s cooperation
policies with non-Member States. Currently, the Bank is operating in more than
100 of these countries.
Sources of Funds:
Projects supported by EIB loans carry the lightest possible
interest rate burden. The Bank obtains the bulk of its resources on the capital
markets where its top (AAA) credit rating enables it to borrow on the best terms
available and to pass on the benefit to project promoters.
As a major presence on the capital markets - raising over
ECU 12.4 billion in 16 currencies in 1995.
Economic and Social Committee
Members: 222;
France, Germany , Italy and the United
Kingdom 24 each, Spain 21, Belgium, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden
and Austria 12 each, Denmark, Ireland and Finland 9 each and Luxembourg
6
Term of office: four
years
Meeting places: Brussels,
monthly
The role of the Economic and Social Committee is purely
consultative; it issues opinions which reflect the views of a membership
which is drawn from a broad cross-section of the Union´s social and
economic life.
Members of the Committee are drawn from a very broad range
of activities in civil society. Some represent the employers and workers (the
“social partners”), while the activities of others range from
farming to commerce, transport to crafts, the profession to consumer protection
and cooperatives and mutuals sector, and from small and medium-sized enterprises
to environmental protection. The Committee’s members are divided into
three groups of roughly equal numbers: employers (Group I),
workers (Group II) and various interests (Group
III).
Opinions
The Treaty obliges the Commission and the
Council to ask the Committee for its opinion on certain
legislative items and leaves them free to choose whether or not to do so on
others. However, since 1972, the Committee has had the right to issue
opinions on any matter of Community interest.
Not a single European law of any significance has been
passed without the Committee´s voice being heard. Since its beginning, the
Committee has adopted more than 3 000 opinions.
The work of discussing and drafting an opinion is performed
within a structure of nine sections, resembling parliamentary committees,
with a rapporteur and study group appointed for each issue.
Opinions are adopted by a simple majority during the monthly plenary
sessions.
This process has a special utility which may not be always
immediately apparent. By requiring its members to find common ground on each
issue and to resolve conflicts of interest between the different economic and
social groups, the Committee’s work is a useful contribution to consensus-
building within the Union’s legislative process.
Reviewing the Single Market
Given the involvement of its members in the Union’s
daily economic life, the Committee is well-qualified to contribute directly to
the growth and development of the single market. At the request of the
European Parliament, the Commission and the Presidency of the Council, it
exercises a continuous overview of the internal market and draws attention to
malfunctions. Twice a year, it organizes a “Single market
forum” which brings together a network of correspondents in the Member
States to review developments.
Maintaining Links
The Economic and Social Committee maintains good
relations with equivalent organizations at international,
national and regional levels.
Supported by the Commission, the Parliament and the Council,
the Committee has developed an important programme of contacts with social and
economic entities in the African, Caribbean and Pacific States, in the countries
of EFTA, Central and Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean basin, Latin America and
the USA.
Committee of the Regions
Members: 222
comprising:
France, Germany , Italy and the United
Kingdom 24 each, Spain 21, Belgium, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden
and Austria 12 each, Denmark, Ireland and Finland 9 each and Luxembourg
6
Term of office: four
years
Meeting places: Brussels, five
plenaries per year
The Committee of the Regions is the European Union’s
youngest institution whose birth reflects Member States´ strong
desire not only to respect regional and local identities and prerogatives but
also to involve them in the development and implementation of EU policies. For
the first time in the history of the EU, there is now a legal obligation to
consult the representatives of local and regional authorities on a
variety of matters that concern them directly.
Guardian of Subsidiarity
Created as a consultative body by the Treaty on EU, the
Committee has emerged as a strong guardian of the principle of
subsidiarity since its first session in 1994.
Subsidiarity is enshrined in the Treaty and means
that decisions should be taken by those public authorities which stand as close
to the citizen as possible. It is a principle which resists unnecessarily
remote, centralized decision-taking. As regional presidents, mayors of cities or
chairmen of city and county councils, the 222 members of the Committee are
elected officials from the levels of government closest the
citizen.
This means that they have a very direct experience of how
the Union’s policies and legislation affect the everyday life of their
citizens. With such resources, the Committee is able to bring powerful expertise
and influence to bear on the Union’s other institutions.
The Treaty requires it to be consulted on matters relating
to trans-European networks, public health, education, youth, culture and
economic and social cohesion. But the Committee can also take the initiative and
give its opinion on other policy matters that affects cities and regions, such
as agriculture and environmental protection.
The Committee’s work is based on a structure of
eight standing Commissions and four
Sub-Commissions:
- Regional Development, Economic Development, Local and
Regional Finances Sub-Commission: Local and regional
finances
- Spatial Planning (agriculture, hunting, fisheries, marine
environment and upland areas) Sub-Commission: Tourism, rural
areas
- Transport and Communications networks
Sub-Commission: Telecommunications
- Citizen´s Europe, Research, Culture, Youth and Consumers
Sub-Commission: Youth and sports
- Urban Policies
- Land-use Planning, Environment, Energy
- Education, Training
- Economic and Social Cohesion, Social Policy, Public
Health
The Committee has also established a
Special Commission on Institutional Affairs, which is responsible for
contributing to the debate on the reform of the EU institutions. The Bureau,
elected for a two-year term, organizes the work of the Committee of the
Regions.
Bibliographical Reference
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“Im Dienste Europas”
EGKS-EG-EAG, Brüssel
•
Luxemburg, 1996
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“Österreich und Europa -
heute/morgen”
Ueberreuter, Wien, 1993
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“Serving the European Union”
ECSC-EC-EAEC, Brussels
•
Luxembourg, 1996
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C. D. Grupp: “Europa 2000- Die Europäische Union
der 15”
OMNIA Verlag, Edition 1996, Europäische
Parlament
|
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Dr. K.-D. Borchardt: “Die Europäische
Einigung”
EGKS-EG-EAG, Brüssel
•
Luxemburg, 1995
4. Ausgabe
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RKPB-Unterlagen und Mitschrift
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[1] Funds for programmes designed to promote
a more balanced economic development within and between Member States.
[2] 1 ECU = 13,62 ATS (Stand
1.2.1996)
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