European Politics

4. Legislative Politics
The Council of the EU and European Parliament

Tuesday, December 2nd,2014

Dr. Huang Dong (黄栋)
h2323h@163.com
1
Outline

Evolution
The Council of
Ministers

Structure

European How they work

Parliament
The Council of the European Union
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/homepage?lang=en

• More usually known as the Council of

Ministers, or simply “the Council”

• The forum in which national government

ministers meet to make decisions on EU
law and policy

• Comprised of ministers of 28 Member

States, representing Member State’s point
of view

The Council in session

• Different compositions depending on
subject matter: FAC, Environmental etc

• Council presidency rotates among

Member States every six months (except
Foreign Affairs Council)
The Council of the European Union

• The Council has a mix of legislative and executive functions

• EU’s main decision-making body:

– Jointly with the Parliament, passes EU laws;
– Jointly with the Parliament, approves the annual EU budget;
– Coordinates the broad economic policies of EU member countries;
– Signs agreements between the EU and other countries;
– Decide on foreign and defense policy issues;
– Coordinates cooperation between courts and police forces of member
countries.
 Evolution

The Special Council of Ministers of

The Council of Ministers of the EEC in
the ECSC in 1952
1958

The Council of Ministers of the EC

In 1967

Its name was formally changed to Council of the EU in 1993 following

the passage of the Maastricht Treaty
 National interests VS European Interests

• The power and influence od the Council grew because member states were
declined to give up powers to the Commission
 The council increasingly adopted its own nonbinding agreements and
recommendations, which the Commission has found difficult to ignore
 As the interests and reach of the EU have spread, both the Commission and the
Council became involved in new policy areas not covered by the original treaties
 The presidency of the Council of the EU became an increasingly important part
of the EU decision-making system and the source of many key initiatives on
issues such as economic and monetary union, and foreign policy

• However, both the European Council and the European Parliament have
made inroads into the power of the Council
 The European Council has more power in deciding the broad goals of the EU
 the EP has demanded and won an equal say with the Council of the EU in
decision making (with the Council as the co-legislature of the EU)
 Structure

The Council of the EU

1 The councils of Ministers

2 The Committee of Permanent Representatives

3 The presidency

Justus lipsius building 4 The General Secretariat

In Brussels
 The Councils

• Ten Councils at present

 Agriculture and Fisheries
 Competitiveness
 Economic and Financial Affairs (Ecofin)
 Education, Youth and Culture
 Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs
 Environment
 Foreign Affairs
 Dealing with external relations, trade and development issues
 General Affairs
 Preparing and ensuring follow-up meetings of the European Council
 Justice and Home Affairs
 Transport, Telecommunications and Energy
 The Meetings of the Councils

• In a perfect world, each of the councils would consist of the relevant and
equivalent minister from each member state, but this does not always happen
 Member states sometimes send deputy ministers or senior diplomats instead of their
ministers, because the relevant minister
 may have more urgent problems to deal with at home
 may want to avoid political embarrassment on some issue, or may not think the meeting is
important enough to attend
 Not every member state has an identical set of ministers, and each divides policy
portfolios differently

• The result is that Council meetings are often attended by a mixed set of ministers
with different responsibilities

• The Commission and the European Central Bank are invited to send
representatives to relevant meetings, but the Council may decide to meet
without either institution being present
 Permanent Representatives
• The heart and soul of the Council is the powerful and secretive Committee of
Permanent Representatives (Coreper)
 Consisting of Representatives from the Member States with the rank of Member States’
ambassadors to the European Union and is chaired by the Member State which holds
the Council Presidency
 Undertaking the detailed work of the Council, attempting between meetings of the
ministers to reach agreement on as many proposals as possible

• Coreper occupies a pivotal position in the Community decision-making system

 A forum for dialogue among the Permanent Representatives and between them and
their respective national capitals
 A means of political control to guide and supervise the work of the expert groups
 A key role in organizing Council meetings by preparing agendas
 deciding which proposals go to which council
 deciding which of the proposals are most likely to be approved by the Council with (B items)
or without (A items) discussion.
 Thanks to Coreper, as much as 90 percent of the work of the Council is resolved before the
ministers even meet.
 Permanent Representatives
• Coreper works in two configurations:
• Coreper I, consisting of the deputy permanent representatives, deals with technical
matters
• Coreper II, consisting of the ambassadors, deals with political, commercial, economic
or institutional matters

• The Council is also supported by more than 150 highly specialised working parties
and committees, known as the “Council preparatory bodies”. These bodies
examine legislative proposals, and carry out studies and other preparatory work
which prepares the ground for Council decisions.
 Standing committees such as The Political and Security Committee and ad hoc
committees such as the Cultural Affair Committee
 These committees are made up of representatives of the Member States plus one
member of the Commission, but occasionally including representatives from
interest groups
 The working parties (some of them are set up on a temporary basis) are organized
along policy lines and bring together policy specialists, national experts, members of
the Permanent Representations, and staff from the Commission.
 The Presidency

• Each such presidency continues to be held not by a person but by a

country, with every EU member state taking a turn for a term of six
months, beginning in January and July each year

 The only exception to this, Foreign Affairs Council is chaired by the

High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security
Policy

 All other Council meetings are chaired by the relevant minister of the
country holding the rotating EU presidency.

 For example, any environment Council meeting in the period when

Estonia holds the presidency will be chaired by the Estonian
environment minister
 The Responsibilities of the Presidency

• It prepares and coordinates the work of the Council of the EU, and sets
the agendas for about two thousand meetings, the most important of
which are those of the ministerial councils.

• It arranges and chairs meetings of the Council of the EU and Coreper

and represents the Council in relations with other EU institutions. An
active presidency will lean heavily on Coreper to push its favorite
proposals and to ensure that agreement is reached.

• It mediates and bargains and is responsible for promoting cooperation

among member states and for ensuring that policy development has
consistency and continuity.
 The Presidency
• The rotation among member states was once alphabetical, but now is a mix
of of big and small countries

• Lisbon formalized a troika system in which ministers from the incumbent

presidency work closely with their predecessors and their successors. Each
troika should reflect the diversity and geographical balance of member states
within the Union

• The main advantage of holding the presidency is that

 It allows a member state to convene meetings and launch strategic
initiatives on issues of particular national interest, to try to bring those
issues and initiatives to the top of the EU agenda, and to earn prestige
and credibility (assuming the president does a good job)
 It also allows the leaders of smaller states to negotiate directly with
other world leaders, which they might otherwise rarely be able to do
 The Presidency

• The main disadvantage of the job is the sheer volume of work

involved, especially a burden on member states with limited
resources and small bureaucracies

• Different states have different approaches to the presidency,

depending upon a combination of their national administrative and
political cultures, their attitudes toward the EU, and their policy
priorities.
 The General Secretariat

• This is the bureaucracy of the Council, consisting of about three

thousand staff members based in Brussels, most of whom are
translators and service staff

• The office is headed by a secretary general appointed for a five-year

term

• The General Secretariat

 prepares Council meetings
 advises the presidency
 provides legal advice for the Council and Coreper
 briefs every Council meeting on the status of each of the agenda items
 keeps records, manages the Council budget
 generally gives the work of the Council some continuity
 How the Council Works

• The primary responsibility of the Council is to decide—together

with Parliament—which proposals for new European laws will be
adopted and which will not

• The Council has exploited loopholes in the treaties to expand this

power over the years, and the struggle between the Council and
the Commission for power and influence has become one of the
most important internal dynamics of EU decision-making
•
• What happens to a Commission proposal when it reaches the
Council depends on its complexity and urgency, and on the extent
to which problems have already been ironed out in discussions
between Council and Commission staff.
The more complex proposals usually go first to one or more of the
Coreper working parties, which look over the proposal in detail
and identify points of agreement and disagreement.

The proposal then goes to Coreper itself, which considers the

political implications and tries to clear up as many of the
remaining problems as it can, ensuring that meetings of ministers
are as quick and as painless as possible.

The proposal moves on to If agreement has not been

the relevant Council; if
agreement has been
reached by working parties
or by Coreper, the proposal
is listed as an “A point,” and
the Council will usually
approve it without debate.
reached, or if the item was
left over from a previous
meeting, it is listed as a “B
point.” The Council must
discuss B points and try to
reach a decision.
 How does the Council vote?

• Depending on the issue under discussion, the Council of the EU takes

its decisions by:
 Simple majority
 Qualified majority (Double majority from 1 November 2014), or
 Unanimous vote

• A simple majority is reached if at least 15 Council members vote in

favor.
 The Council takes decisions by simple majority: in procedural matters,
such as the adoption of its own rules of procedure and organisation of its
Secretariat General, the adoption of the rules governing the committees
foreseen in the treaties, etc. to request the Commission to undertake
studies or submit proposals
• Qualified majority voting

 Each member state representative has a certain number of votes (total 352).

 The qualified majority is reached if the following two conditions are met:
 a majority of member states (15 member states) vote in favor
 a minimum of 260 votes out of the total 352 votes are cast in favor
 a member state may ask for confirmation that the votes in favor represent at least 62% of
the total EU population. If this is found not to be the case, the decision will not be
adopted.

 An abstention under qualified majority voting counts as a vote against. Abstention is

not the same as not participating in the vote. Any member can abstain at any time.

 The Council takes decisions by a qualified majority vote in the ordinary legislative
procedure, also known as co-decision. About 80% of all EU legislation is adopted
with this procedure.

 Special cases:
 Where the Council is not examining a Commission proposal but is deliberating on the
basis of a recommendation, initiative or draft, a majority of two thirds of the members is
needed.
 If one or more members of the Council do not participate in the vote (because they have
an “opt-out” on the matter being decided), figures are adjusted accordingly.
• Double majority

 Applying from 1 November 2014

 When the Council acts on a proposal by the Commission or the High Representative of
the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy a decision is deemed adopted if:
 55% of the member states vote in favor and
 they represent at least 65% of the total EU population
 The blocking minority must include at least 4 Council members representing at
least 35% of the EU population
 When not all Council members participate in the vote as foreseen in the treaties, a
decision is adopted if 55% of the participating Council members, representing at
least 65% of the population of the participating member states, vote in favor

 When the Council does not act on a proposal from the Commission or the
High Representative a decision is adopted if:
 at least 72% of Council members vote in favor
 they represent at least 65% of the EU population
• Unanimity
 The Council has to vote unanimously on a number of matters which the member states
consider to be sensitive. For example:
 common foreign and security policy (with the exception of certain clearly defined
cases which require qualified majority, e.g. appointment of a special
representative)
 citizenship (the granting of new rights to EU citizens)
 EU membership
 harmonization of national legislation on indirect taxation
 EU finances (own resources, the multiannual financial framework)
 certain provisions in the field of justice and home affairs (the European prosecutor,
family law, operational police cooperation, etc.)
 harmonization of national legislation in the field of social security and social
protection.
 In addition, the Council is required to vote unanimously to diverge from the
Commission proposal when the Commission is unable to agree to the amendments
made to its proposal. This rule does not apply to acts that need to be adopted by
the Council on a Commission recommendation, for example, acts in the area of
economic coordination.
 Under unanimous voting, abstention does not prevent a decision from being taken.
The Council of the European Union An EU institution representing the member
The Council of Ministers states‘ governments. Ministers from each EU country
The EU Council meet to adopt laws and coordinate policies

An EU institution, where EU leaders meet around 4 The European Council

times a year to discuss the EU’s political priorities

The Council of Europe • Not an EU body at all

• The continent‘s leading human rights organization. It includes 47
member states, 28 of which are members of the European Union.
All Council of Europe member states have signed up to the
European Convention on Human Rights, a treaty designed to
protect human rights, democracy and the rule of law
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European Parliament
European Parliament in session
European Parliament President
Martin Schultz
• Voice of European citizens – Directly
elected by EU voters every 5 years,
members of the European Parliament
(MEPs) represent the people
• Based in Strasbourg, France
• Three main roles
 Debating and passing European laws, with
the Council
 Scrutinising other EU institutions,
particularly the Commission, to make sure
they are working democratically
 Debating and adopting the EU's budget,
with the Council
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European Parliament
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/portal/en

• The EP lacks three of the typical defining powers of a legislature, it

 Cannot Directly introduce proposals for new laws
 Cannot decide alone on the content of laws
 Cannot raise revenues

• Factors influencing the EP’s power

 Most of the EP’s handicaps stem from the unwillingness of the governments of
the member states to surrender their powers of lawmaking or to give up their grip
on decision making in the Council of Ministers
 The EP has a credibility problem: few Europeans know (or much care) what it does
 Most voters in EP elections are making their choices on the basis of domestic
rather than European issues
 Low voter turnout: few voters are interested in what it does because of its limited
powers

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 Evolution

• The Common Assembly of the ECSC was established in September 1952,

consisting of 78 members appointed by the national legislatures of the six
ECSC member states
 The Assembly had no power to make law for the ECSC nor could it
even influence the lawmaking process, which rested with the Council
of Ministers
 Its only significant power was the ability to force the High Authority of
the ECSC to resign through a vote of censure, but it never used this
power
 Only an advisory forum for the discussion of High Authority Proposals

• The Treaties of Rome did not create separate assemblies for the EEC and
Euratom, but instead transformed the ECSC Common Assembly into the
joint European Parliamentary Assembly
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 Evolution
• In 1962 the Assembly was renamed the European Parliament, but it still
consisted of members appointed by national legislatures from among
their own numbers, an arrangement that had two important effects
 Only pro-European legislators volunteered for appointment to the Parliament
 Since MEPs were also members of national legislatures, they placed national
interests above European interests, mainly because their jobs at home
depended on the support of voters

• In 1970 the Parliament was granted power over areas of the Community's
budget, which were expanded to the whole budget in 1975

• Direct election was held for the first time in June 1979
 This was a watershed: now that MEPs were directly elected and met
in open session, they could argue that as the elected representatives
of the citizens of the EU, they should be allowed to represent the
interests of the voters

• In 1980, recognizing the right of Parliament to be consulted on draft

legislation and giving Parliament standing to bring cases to the Court of
Justice 27
 Evolution
• The Single European Act and the Maastricht treaty also gave Parliament more
powers over a greater number of policy areas, and greater input into the lawmaking
process generally
 Under the SEA, for example, the consultation procedure was joined by a cooperation
procedure under which all laws relating to the single market had to be sent to the EP for
two readings
 With changes made under Maastricht and the Treaty of Amsterdam, a codecision
procedure—now renamed the “ordinary legislative procedure” by the Treaty of Lisbon—
was introduced and then widened, giving Parliament the effective right to veto new
legislation

• Reality
 The EP today is thus considerably closer to being the main legislative body of the
European Union
 Its credibility has increased in particular since the institution of direct elections,
because it can claim to be the only EU institution with a direct mandate from EU
citizens
 But still cannot introduce new legislation
 still suffers from the lack of a strong psychological link with voters that would give it the
credibility it needs to fully exploit its advantages 28
 Structure

• The EP consists of a single chamber, and its members are elected by

universal suffrage for fixed, renewable five-year terms.

• It divides its time among three cities:

 The parliamentary chamber is situated in Strasbourg, France. This is

where the EP holds its plenary sessions (meetings of the whole), but it
meets there for just three or four days each month (except in August,
when much of Europe goes on vacation)

 Parliamentary committees meet in Brussels for two weeks every

month (except August). This is where most of the real bargaining and
revising takes place

 The administrative Secretariat is in Luxembourg. This is where most of

Parliament’s 3,500 support staff work

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 Structure

The European Parliament

1 the president

2 parliamentary committees

3 the MEPs

EP building in
Strasbourg, France

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 The President
• The European Parliament is overseen by a president, who must be an MEP and is
elected by other MEPs for a renewable term of five years.

• The role of the President

 Presiding over debates during plenary sessions
 Signing the EU budget and all legislative proposals decided by the ordinary legislative
procedure
 Passing proposals to committees
 Representing Parliament in its relations with other institutions
 Also presiding over meetings of the Conference of Presidents and the Bureau of the EP

• The president has 14 vice presidents, who are also elected, for terms of two and a
half years and can substitute for the president at meetings

• If Parliament had a majority political group, then the president would almost
inevitably come from that group, but the absence of clear majorities has meant
that presidents to date have been appointed as a result of inter-party bargaining
and for only a half a term each (i.e., two and a half years)
 the Socialists
 the conservative European People’s Party (EPP) 31
 The President

• If and when majority parties or coalitions begin to emerge in the EP, the
presidency could well be transformed: with the backing of a majority, the
president could serve longer terms in office and could become a new force in the
EP’s dealings with other EU institutions, particularly the Council of Ministers

• Organizational matters in the EP are addressed by three groups:

 Conference of Presidents. Meeting bimonthly, this brings together the president and
the heads of all of the political groups in Parliament. It decides the timetable and
agenda for plenary sessions and manages the system of committees, establishing their
size and their agendas
 Bureau of the EP. Made up of the president of the EP and the vice presidents, this
functions much like a governing council and is responsible for administrative,
organizational, and staff issues, and for the EP budget
 Conference of Committee Chairs. This meets monthly and brings together the chairs
of parliamentary committees to discuss organizational issues and help draft plenary
agendas. It keeps a close eye on the progress of proposals and brokers deals between
the political groups regarding the parliamentary agenda
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 Parliamentary Committees

• Most of the detailed work of the EP is done in a series of committees in

which MEPs gather to discuss and amend legislative proposals

• There are 22 standing (permanent) committees, and they usually meet in

Brussels, where they consider all new legislation relevant to their areas
 The titles of the committees are a clue to the priorities of European integration
 They range in size from twenty-eight to eighty-six members
 There is strong competition among MEPs to win appointment to a committee,
since some committees have a higher political status than others
 Seats are divided on the basis of a balance of party affiliations, the seniority
of MEPs, and national interests
 Once appointed, committee members select their own bureaus (a chair and
three vice chairs), who hold office for half a parliamentary term
 the chair positions are divided among political groups roughly in proportion
to the size of their representation in Parliament, and there is more turnover
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 Parliamentary Committees

• In addition to the standing committees, Parliament also has a

changing roster of temporary committees and committees of
enquiry
 The foot and mouth disease crisis (2002)
 Climate change (2007–08)
 The global economic crisis (2009)

• There is the Conciliation Committee, in which

representatives of the EP and the Council of Ministers meet
to try to reach agreement whenever the two sides have
disagreed on the wording of a legislative proposal

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 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs)

• The number of MEPs for each country is roughly proportionate to its

population
 No country can have fewer than 6 or more than 96 and the total number cannot
exceed 751 (750 plus the President)
 Seats are distributed among the member states roughly on the basis of
population, with the bigger states being underrepresented and the smaller
states being overrepresented

• MEPs are grouped by political affiliation, not by nationality

• In the past, MEPs were elected members of national parliaments who were
also appointed to the EP, holding a so-called dual mandate (but eliminated
later)

• Candidates for elections are chosen by their national parties, but once in
office they have an independent mandate and cannot always be bound by
those parties

• Typically about half of the MEPs who win election to the EP are newcomers
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 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs)

• MEPs are paid by their home governments and were paid the same
salaries as members of their respective national parliaments
 From 2009, all MEPs have been paid the same

• By socioeconomic makeup, the EP is similar to most national legislatures

in the member states; it is dominated by white, middle-aged, middle-
class professional men from urban backgrounds.
 Women are increasingly better represented
 The percentage has grown steadily from 16 percent in 1979 to 19 percent in
1989 to 35 percent today

• Many MEPs already have political experience at the national level, but
where Parliament was once seen as a haven for also-rans, the quality of
candidates has improved, and the EP is no longer an easy option for
people who have failed to win office in national elections or who have
been temporarily sidelined in (or have retired from) national politics
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 How Parliament Works

• EP powers broadly include three main groups

 Debating and passing European laws, with the Council
 Scrutinising other EU institutions, particularly the
Commission, to make sure they are working
democratically
 Debating and adopting the EU's budget, with the Council

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 Powers over Legislation

• Although the Commission has a monopoly on the development of

proposals for new laws, the EP has informal channels of influence
open to it at this stage
 It can send representatives to the early development meetings
held by the Commission, at which point it can encourage the
Commission to address issues it thinks are important
 It can also publish “own initiative” reports in which it draws
attention to a problem, almost daring the Commission and the
Council of Ministers to respond

• However, generally Parliament must wait until it receives a proposal

from the Commission before it can really get down to work,
together with the Council

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 Powers over Legislation

• The consultation procedure

 Under which it can either accept or reject a proposal from the Council of
Ministers or ask for amendments
 Now rarely used

• The cooperation procedure

 Introduced by the Single European Act to increase the powers of the EP
 Parliament was given the right to a second reading for certain laws adopted
by the Council of Ministers, notably those relating to regional policy, the
environment, and the European Social Fund
 This meant that Parliament was now involved more directly in the legislative
process and no longer had a purely consultative role
 Was finally repealed by the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009

39
 Powers over Legislation

• The codecision procedure

 Introduced by Maastricht Treaty to further increase the powers of the EP
 Renamed the “ordinary legislative procedure” by Lisbon, which is now
the usual approach to lawmaking
 Initially, codecision meant that Parliament was given the right to a third
reading on certain kinds of legislation, the list of which was then
expanded to include laws relating to the single market, research and
development, consumer protection, the environment, education, and
culture, and then expanded again by Lisbon to include agriculture,
fisheries, the structural funds, and transport
 This has effectively given the EP equal powers with the Council of
Ministers on decision making, making the two institutions into co-
legislatures

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 Powers over Legislation

• The consent procedure

 Under this procedure Parliament has veto powers over the Council on
the following:
 allowing new member states to join the EU and giving other countries
associate status
 the conclusion of international agreements
 penalties the Council may choose to impose on a member state for serious
and persistent violations of fundamental rights
 any efforts to introduce a uniform electoral system for European elections
 the powers and tasks of the European Central Bank

 Maastricht also extended Parliament’s powers over foreign policy issues

by obliging the presidency of the European Council to consult with the
EP on the development of the Common Foreign and Security Policy
 Power over the Budget
• Parliament has joint powers with the Council of the EU over confirming the
EU budget, so that between them the two institutions are the budgetary
authority of the EU

• Parliament meets with the Council biannually to consider a draft developed

by the Commission and to discuss possible amendments
 It can ask for changes to the budget
 it can ask for new appropriations for areas not covered (but it cannot make
decisions on how to raise money)
 Ultimately—with a two-thirds majority—it can completely reject the budget,
which it has done only three times so far (in 1979, 1982, and 1984)

• A draft budget is normally introduced by the Commission in April each year

and—following meetings between the Council and the Commission—is
adopted in July, then sent to the EP for two readings

• Only when Parliament has adopted the budget (usually in December) and it
has been signed by the president of the EP does it come into force

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 Power over other EU Institutions
• Parliament has several direct powers over other EU institutions, including
 the right to debate the annual legislative program of the Commission
 The right to take the Commission or the Council of the EU to the Court of Justice
over alleged infringements of the treaties
 Have had the power since 1994 to approve the appointment of the Commission
president and all of the commissioners
 The College of Commissioners will be directly affected by the balance of party power in
the EP
 The most potentially disruptive of Parliament’s powers over the Commission is its
ability—under certain conditions and with an absolute majority of MEPs and a two-thirds
majority of votes cast—to force the resignation of the entire College of Commissioners
through a motion of censure
 Parliament also closely monitors the work of the Council, regularly submitting oral
and written questions on matters of policy
 The president of the EP gives an address at the opening of every meeting of the
European Council, expressing the views of Parliament on the Council agenda
 Parliament has also taken the initiative through the years to win new powers for
itself over the work of EU institutions
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