What do International Organisations do Articulation and aggregation of interests Norms Recruitment Socialization Rule making Rule application Rule adjudication Information Operations The European Union covers all of these functions. In order to examine exactly how it does so its institutions have to be scrutinised more closely. The European Union is built on an institutional system which is the only one of its kind in the world. The Member States delegate sovereignty for certain matters to independent institutions which represent the interests of the Union as a whole, its member countries and its citizens. The Commission traditionally upholds the interests of the Union as a whole, while each national government is represented within the Council, and the European Parliament is directly elected by citizens. Democracy and the rule of law are therefore the cornerstones of the structure. This "institutional triangle" of Commission, Council and Parliament is flanked by two more institutions - the Court of Justice and the Court of Auditors - and five other European bodies. In addition thirteen specialised agencies have been set up to handle certain essentially technical, scientific, or management tasks.

Let us remind ourselves about The Council of Europe: Intergovernmental cooperation Between 45 states Institutions (Committee of Ministers The foreign Ministers of the States, Parliamentary Assembly Delegates from national parliaments) Output: Conventions and Agreements Let us introduce ourselves to the European Union Intergovernmental cooperation Supranational cooperation Institutions Commission, European Council, Council of Ministers, European Parliament Court of Justice, court of Auditors Ombudsman Also, financial bodies, advisory bodies, Interinstitutional bodies, decentralised bodies of the European Communities Output Regulations, Directives, Decisions Recommendations, and Opinions. The first three are justiciable

The European Union and its Institutions ‘… the EU cannot be understood without intimate knowledge of its institutions…’ John Peterson & Michael Shackleton in The institutions of the European Union, 2002 ‘Rien n’est possible sans les hommes, rien n’est durable sans les institutions’ Jean Monnet, 1976

Institutions? What do we mean by institutions? –There are many competing definitions –A useful way to understand them: Arenas where power and influence are exercised, regardless of the precise legal status of the organizations or bodies that preside over them and Rules and practices that influence and constitute human behaviour

The study of institutions Neo-institutionalists: –They insist that political behaviour is determined in fundamental ways by the nature of political institutions, how they are constructed and how power is distributed between them

Why study EU institutions? EU institutions: –young, –`experimental’ –yet have changed little over time, –their institutional cultures, norms are deeply ingrained

EU Institutions: what about them They matter: vehicles used by the Union’s member governments to enforce the terms of the bargains they make with each other But also, they have powers accrued over time and this gives them substantial autonomy

EU Institutions: what about them They possess rational-legal authority to make rules They create social knowledge in less formal ways, by defining shared European tasks, creating new categories of actors, forming new interests for actors…

EU Institutions: what about them They fascinate because they are powerful yet mostly unloved by European citizens –Citizens don’t have a sense of ownership of the EU –Low EP turn-out, ‘No’s in referenda: all show that the EU’s institutions have become dysfunctional –They seem obsessed with their own internal rules and neglectful of their missions

EU Institutions: what about them They link Brussels to national EU capitals; and, they link Europe to international politics –EU: crucial member of WTO; the voice of Europe in IOs ranging from the UN to the G8 to the Korean Economic Development Organization They are increasingly more powerful actors in the ‘international community’

Their core functions To provide political direction To manage the Union To integrate interests

Pat Cox, President of the European Parliament ( 2002 – 2004)

European Parliament: Louise Weiss Building…

Le Plateau Kirchberg, Luxembourg Brussels…. Photo unavailable Strasbourg

Commission of the European Union:

No Building!!

European Council Italian Presidency June – Dec 2003

Justus Lipsius Building, Brussels

European Parliament – the future? European Council – the future? European Commission – the future?

Intergovernmental Conference to finalize the new Constitution, opened 4 October 2003