Ecem Altan Elif Üye

EUROPEAN COUNCIL (SUMMIT) Donald Tusk Brussels Meets 4 time of a year Set EU's political agenda

EUROPEAN COUNCIL (SUMMIT) Decides direction and political priorities Common foreign & security policy

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Martin Schulz Strasbourg and Brussels Directly elected body Every five years 751 Members Meets twice a month

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Law making body Co-legislator ( with the Council ) Legislative Supervisory Budgetary

EUROPEAN COMMISSION Jean-Claude Juncker 28 Members 1 president- 7 vice president-20 commisioners Brussels

EUROPEAN COMMISSION Executive Organ Represents the EU on international stage Proposes new laws Manages EU policies Enforces EU laws

The Council (The Voice of the Member States) Role: Deciding on policies and adopting legislation Members: One minister from each Member State Together with the European Parliament, the Council is the main decision making body of the EU.

The Council The Presidency of the Council rotates between the Member States every six months. It is not same as the President of the European Council.

The Council Each minister in the Council is empowered to commit his or her government. Moreover, each minister in the Council is responsible to the elected national authorities. This ensures the democratic legitimacy of the Council’s decisions. In addition, which ministers attend which Council meeting depends on the subject on the agenda – this is known as “configuration” of the Council.

Configurations of the Council There are 10 different Council configurations:  Foreign Affairs  General Affairs  Economic and Financial Affairs  Justice and Home Affairs  Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer  Competitiveness  Environment  Transport, Telecommunications and Energy  Agriculture and Fisheries  Education, Youth, Culture and Sport

Responsibilities of the Council The Council has five key responsibilities: 1. To pass European laws. In most fields, it legislates jointly with the European Parliament. 2. To coordinate the Member States’ policies, for example, in the economic field. 3. To develop EU’s common foreign and security policy, based on guidelines set by the European Council. 4. To conclude international agreements between the EU and one or more states or international organizations. 5. To adopt the EU’s budget, jointly with the European Parliament.

The Council The Council has to take its decisions either by a simple majority vote, a ‘qualified majority’ vote or unanimously, depending on the subject to be decided. In most cases, qualified majority voting is used. This means that a Council decision is adopted if a specified minimum number of votes are cast in its favor. The voting rule has been modified. (The Lisbon Treaty)

The Council QMV in the Community Policies: Enhanced cooperation Combating discrimination Citizenship Asylum, refugees, immigration policy Judicial cooperation in civil matters Economic distortions Introduction of the euro Common commercial policy

COURT OF JUSTICE OF EU 28 Judges Luxembourg Judicial body Interpreting the law Enforcing the law Annuling the law Ensuring the EU takes action Sanctioning EU institutions

EUROPEAN COURT OF AUDITORS (ECA) Vitor Manuel da Silva Calderia 28 Members Luxembourg Check EU funds Help improve EU financial management

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE (ECSC) Georgios Dassis 350 Members Brussels Advisory body

COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS (CoR) Markku Markkula 350 Members Brussels Advisory body

EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK Werner Hoyer Luxembourg Provides funding

EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK Mario Draghi Frankfurt Determine economic issues Independent from government

EUROPEAN OMBUDSMAN Emily O'Reilly Strasbourg Investigates complaint

Who takes the decisions? Decision-making at EU level involves various institutions: The European Parliament The European Council The Council (Council of Ministers) The European Commission The European Council does not exercise legislative functions. Generally, the European Commission proposes new laws. The European Parliament and the Council adopt them.

What types of legislation are there? There are several types of legal acts which are applied in different ways. A regulation is a law that is applicable and binding in all Member States directly. A directive is a law that binds the Member States or a group of Member States, to achieve a particular objective. A decision can be addressed to Member States, groups of people, or even individuals. It is binding in its entirety. Recommendations and opinions have no binding force.

How is legislation passed? The treaty sets out; The decision-making process Successive readings by the Council and Parliament The opinions of the advisory bodies The great majority of the EU legislation is adopted using the Ordinary Legislative Procedure.

Ordinary Legislative Process The procedure begins with the Commission. The Council and the Parliament each read and discuss the proposal. If no agreement is reached at the second reading, the proposal is put before “conciliation committee”. Once the committee has reached an agreement, the agreed text is then sent to Parliament and the Council for a third reading, so that it can finally be adopted as law.

Special Procedure In the Consultation Procedure, the Council is required to consult Parliament on a proposal from the Commission, but is not required to accept Parliament’s advice. In the Consent Procedure, Parliament may accept or reject a proposal, but may not propose amendments.

Advisory Bodies The European Economic and Social Committee, which represents civil society groups such as employers, trades unions and social interest groups The Committee of the Regions, which ensures that the voice of local and regional government is heard.

EU INSTITUTIONS

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING THANK YOU FOR LISTENING

References eu/voting-system/qualified-majority/ eu/voting-system/qualified-majority/ bodies/council-eu/index_en.htm bodies/council-eu/index_en.htm pedagogiques/traite-lisbonne/fiche2.pdf pedagogiques/traite-lisbonne/fiche2.pdf