1. UNIT 25: . INSTITUTIONS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
English for Lawyers IV
Snježana Husinec, PhD;

2. Institutions of the EU
Which EU institutions do you know of? What are their tasks? Study the diagram on EU institutions on p. 252 and discuss the questions in ex. I.

3. Institutions of the EU LEGISLATIVE POWER EXECUTIVE POWER
Scan the text and find which of the institutions of the EU exercise which of the three powers.
LEGISLATIVE POWER
EXECUTIVE POWER
JUDICIAL POWER

4. The Main EU institutions
I Join in groups of 5. Each student chooses one of the following EU institutions, finds its official web page and studies it in detail, and takes notes on its role and membership.
II Join back in groups and report on ¨your¨ institution to your colleagues.
Role
Membership
Who are the members? Are they elected, appointed or member states’ officials?
What is their term of office?
European Parliament
European Council
Council of the EU
European Commission
European Court of Justice

5. European Parliament 3 MAIN ROLES
THE LEGISLATURE OF THE EU - directly-elected EU’s law-making body with supervisory, and budgetary responsibilities
Comprises: 751 MEPs (Members of the European Parliament): directly elected by EU voters every 5 years; proportional representation of the Member States depending on the size and population
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; 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 observatio
BUDGETARY - Establishing the EU budget, together with the Council; Approving the EU's long-term budget, the "Multiannual Financial Framework"

6. European Council
Role: Defines the general political direction and priorities of the EU
Members: Heads of state or government of EU countries, European Commission President, High Representative for Foreign Affairs & Security Policy
Tasks in particular:
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

7. Council of the European Union
previously called the Council of Ministers – referred to simply as “the Council” ; different from the European Council
it is where national ministers from each EU country meet to adopt laws and coordinate policies
exercises legislative and budgetary functions (Article 16(1) TEU); interacts with the other institutions as part of the EU’s legislative procedure (changes after the Lisabon treaty)
consists of a representative of each Member State at ministerial level from the relevant government department; its composition depends on the subject matter under discussion (e.g. discussion on North Sea fishing stocks – agriculture ministers attend)
Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) - ambassadors of each member state in Brussels, prepare the meetings of the Council, keep the ministers informed of any political problems
the presidency of the Council rotates among the EU member states every 6 months – Three member states holding the presidency work together closely in groups of three, called 'trios‘ (the current, previous and next state presiding)

8. European Commission THE EXECUTIVE OF THE EU
Role: Promotes the general interest of the EU by proposing and enforcing legislation as well as by implementing policies and the EU budget
Members: Comprises: Commissioners, one per Member State; selected by Member States; once selected must act on the general interest of the EU rather then on the interests of their Member State)

9. European Commission SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS AND POWERS
Proposes new 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.

10. European Court of Justice
THE JUDICIAL ORGAN OF THE EU
consists of two courts:
the Court of Justice, the General Court (created in 1988)
Court of Justice comprises:
judges, one per Member State; each holds office for a renewable 6-year term;
2. assissted by 8 Advocates-General (A-G)
(legal experts who give highly persuasive advisory opinions to the Court before the judges retire to consider their judgment in some cases – judges usually follow their opinions)

11. European Court of Justice
The mission: to ensure "the law is observed" "in the interpretation and application" of the Treaties.
reviews the legality of the acts of the institutions of the European Union
ensures that the Member States abide by EU law (in cooperation with the courts and tribunals of the Member States, it ensures the uniform application and interpretation of European Union law)
interprets European Union law at the request of the national courts and tribunals

12. Court of Auditors set up in 1975, based in Luxembourg
audits EU revenue & expenditure, to check EU funds are correctly raised, spent
checks any person or organisation handling EU funds 
writes up findings and recommendations in audit reports, for the European Commission and national governments
reports suspected fraud, corruption or other illegal activity to the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)
produces an annual report for the European Parliament and Council of the EU, which the Parliament examines before deciding whether to approve the Commission's handling of the EU budget
gives its expert  opinion to EU policymakers on how EU finances could be better managed

13. Composition and function of EU institutions
Read the text carefully and do ex. IV.
Practice vocabulary by doing ex. V, VI and VII.

14. Other institutions of the EU
Other institutions of the EU . Find in the text other insitutions of the EU and match them with their Croatian translation.
Europski revizijski sud
Europski sud pravde
Odbor regija
Europski pučki pravobranitelj
Europska investicijska banka
Gospodarski i socijalni odbor

15. Other institutions of the EU
Read about the functions and members of other intitutions in ex. VIII on p. 258 and do the exercise.

16. National Courts and the Court of Justice of the EU
Remember what you have learned about the Court of Justice so far. Think about the following and fill in the table.
STRUCTURE
JUDGES
TYPES OF CASES
JURISDICTION OF THE GENERAL COURT

17. More on the jurisdiction of the General Court …
It hears and determines:
actions brought by natural or legal persons against acts of the institutions, bodies, offices or agencies of the European Union, and against regulatory acts or against a failure to act on the part of those institutions, bodies, offices or agencies (eg. a case brought by a company against a Commission decision imposing a fine on that company);
actions brought by the Member States against the Commission;
actions brought by the Member States against the Council relating to acts adopted in the field of State aid, trade protection measures and acts by which it exercises implementing powers;
actions seeking compensation for damage caused by the institutions or the bodies, offices or agencies of the European Union or their staff;

18. actions based on contracts made by the European Union which expressly give jurisdiction to the General Court;
actions relating to intellectual property brought against the European Union Intellectual Property Office and against the Community Plant Variety Office;
disputes between the institutions of the European Union and their staff concerning employment relations and the social security system.
The decisions of the General Court may, within two months, be subject to an appeal before the Court of Justice, limited to points of law

19. Court of Justice of the EU
The mission: to ensure
A) "the law is observed" "in the interpretation and application" of the Treaties;
B) that EU institutions and Member States abidy by EU laws
reviews the legality of the acts of the institutions of the European Union
ensures that the Member States comply with obligations under the Treaties (in cooperation with the courts and tribunals of the Member States, it ensures the uniform application and interpretation of European Union law)
interprets European Union law at the request of the national courts and tribunal

20. Types of cases The most common types of cases are:
REFERENCE FOR PRELIMINARY RULING (odluke u prethodnim pitanjima / prethodne odluke) – when national courts ask the Court of Justice to interpret a point of EU law
ACTIONS FOR FAILURE TO FULFILL AN OBLIGATION (tužbe zbog neispunjenja obveze) – brought against EU governments for not applying EU law
ACTIONS FOR FAILURE TO ACT (tužbe zbog propuštanja djelovanja)– against EU institutions for failing to make decisions required of them
ACTIONS FOR ANNULMENT (tužbe radi poništenje) – against EU laws thought to violate the EU treaties or fundamental rights (brought by EU institutions or individuals)
APPEALS (žalbe na presude Općeg suda EU - postupci za naknadu štete) – appeals against decisions of the General Court in cases brought by individuals, companies or organisations against EU decisions or actions

21. Reference for a preliminary ruling
Read the authentic text about the REFERENCE FOR A PRELIMINARY RULING on p. 260 – 261.
Do ex. III – VI.