EUInst 2017

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
KEY Reading: McCormick,J. Chapter 4

Saturday, June 11, 2022 2
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
• So what are these institutions called

What does the web-site say?

• In the EU's unique institutional set-up:
• the EU's broad priorities are set by the European Council, which
brings together national and EU-level leaders
• directly elected MEPs represent European citizens in the European
Parliament
• the interests of the EU as a whole are promoted by the European
Commission, whose members are appointed by national
governments
• governments defend their own country's national interests in the
Council of the European Union.
• www.europa.eu
Saturday 11 June 2022 4
Three key players
The European Parliament

- voice of the people
Antonio Tajani – elected January 2017
The European Council and the Council

- voice of the Member States
Donald Tusk, President of the European
Council
The European Commission

- promoting the common interest
Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European
Commission
The EU institutions
Court of Court of Economic and Social

Justice Auditors Committee Committee of the Regions
European Investment Bank Agencies European Central Bank

How EU law comes about
Citizens, interest groups, experts: discuss, consult

Also European Parliament, Council can ask the Commission to make a proposal to
address a problem; Commission must also act on the content of the Treaties
Commission: makes formal proposal
Parliament and Council of Ministers: decide jointly
National or local authorities: implement
Commission and Court of Justice: monitor implementation

28
28
Donald
Tusk
European Council meeting, Brussels, 9 March 2017

http://www.pedz.uni-mannheim.de/webpics/e07minrat.gif
Voting in the Council of the European Union
Qualified Majority Voting

A Qualified majority needs 55% of the states
representing at least 65% of the population
Unanimity
Unanimity requires everyone to agree or abstain from
voting
(28)
28
Croatia 1
751
An OLD
Slide: how
have numbers
changed?
Look at next slid
Irela
ME nd: now
Ps i
n 20 11
14
The European political ‘groupings’
Number of seats in the European Parliament

per political group (November 2014)
Alliance of Liberals and

Democrats for Europe
67 European People’s Party
Greens/European Free Alliance (Christian Democrats)
50 221
Progressive Alliance of
European Conservatives
Socialists and Democrats
and Reformists
191
70
Europe of Freedom
and Direct Democracy
European United 48
Left - Nordic Green Left Non-attached members
52 52
Total:
751
Directly elected by EU voters every 5 years, members of the European

Parliament (MEPs) represent the people. Parliament is one of the EU’s main
law-making institutions, along with the Council of the European Union ('the
Council').
•The European Parliament has 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

Now called
‘ordinary legislative
procedure’
A simple illustration of how the EU institutional Triangle works

How law is made in the EU

These are other EU Insitutions which should be familiar to you
ECA - Role: To check EU funds are collected and used correctly, and help improve EU
financial management.
ESC - Role: Advisory body representing workers' and employers' organisations and other
interest groups
CoR - Role: Advisory body representing Europe's regional and local authorities
ECB -Role: To manage the euro, keep prices stable and conduct EU economic & monetary
policy
EIB - Role: provides funding for projects that help to achieve EU aims, both within and
outside the EU
European Ombudsman - Role: Investigates complaints against EU institutions, bodies,
offices & agencies – Emily O’Reilly
https://euagencies.eu/
European Parliament - Brussels

European Parliament
Location
The European Parliament has three places

of work – Brussels (Belgium), Luxembourg
and Strasbourg (France).
Luxembourg is home to the administrative

offices (the ‘General Secretariat’).
Meetings of the whole Parliament (‘plenary

sessions’) take place in Strasbourg and in
Brussels. Committee meetings are also
held in Brussels.
The Heads of the Network of Agencies came together on 5-7

July at EFSA’s headquarters in Parma, Italy, to discuss
common strategic initiatives. In particular, they looked into more
efficient ways of working together to provide greater value for
European citizens. The meeting, also attended by
representatives from the European Commission and Parliament,
was hosted by EFSA as current Chair of the European Union
Agencies Network (EUAN) comprising 45 Agencies and Joint
Undertakings. The Agencies which are spread across Europe
work in a wide range of policy areas, from health and
environment, to migration and security, to business and
innovation
The study of institutions

• Neo-institutionalists: their view on [EU] institutions
• They insist that ………………….

behaviour is determined in fundamental
ways by the …………….. of political
institutions, how they are ………………
and how ……………………… 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
• What does this mean?
EU Institutions: what about them

• They matter: …………………… used by the Union’s
member governments to ………………….. the terms of
the ……………………….. they make with each other
• But also, they have ……………………..

…………………….. over time and this gives them
substantial ………………………

• They possess
……………………………………. authority
to make rules
• They create ………………….. knowledge in
less …………………………ways, by
defining …………………. European tasks,
creating ……………………. categories of
actors, forming new
……………………………. for actors…

• They …………………………. because they are powerful
yet mostly ………………………. by European citizens
• Citizens don’t have a sense of …………………………… of the EU
• Low EP turn-out, …………………………………………..

• ‘No’s in referenda: ………………………………………………
They seem obsessed with their own internal rules and neglectful of
their missions
• all show that the EU’s institutions have become
dysfunctional

• 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 …………….
direction
• To …………………. the Union
• To ………………….. interests

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THE EUROPEAN UNION

AND ITS INSTITUTIONS

‘Rien n’est possible sans les hommes, rien

KEY Reading: McCormick,J. Chapter 4

• There are many competing definitions

• So what are these institutions called

What does the web-site say?

Three key players

The European Parliament

The European Council and the Council

The European Commission

Court of Court of Economic and Social

European Investment Bank Agencies European Central Bank

How EU law comes about

Citizens, interest groups, experts: discuss, consult

Commission: makes formal proposal

Parliament and Council of Ministers: decide jointly

National or local authorities: implement

Commission and Court of Justice: monitor implementation

European Council meeting, Brussels, 9 March 2017

Voting in the Council of the European Union

Qualified Majority Voting

The European political ‘groupings’

Number of seats in the European Parliament

Alliance of Liberals and

Directly elected by EU voters every 5 years, members of the European

•The European Parliament has three main

scrutinising other EU institutions, particularly the Commission, to make sure

debating and adopting the EU's budget, with the Council

A simple illustration of how the EU institutional Triangle works

How law is made in the EU

These are other EU Insitutions which should be familiar to you

European Parliament - Brussels

The European Parliament has three places

Luxembourg is home to the administrative

Meetings of the whole Parliament (‘plenary

The Heads of the Network of Agencies came together on 5-7

The study of institutions

• They insist that ………………….

Why study EU institutions?

EU Institutions: what about them

• But also, they have ……………………..

EU Institutions: what about them

EU Institutions: what about them

• Low EP turn-out, …………………………………………..

EU Institutions: what about them

Their core functions

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