Bournemouth Liberal Democrats
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Key EU Institutions
The Council of the European Union
The primary purpose of the Council is to represent the interests of the Member States.
'The Council of the European Union' - not to be confused with 'The European Council' or 'The Council of Europe' - is comprised of one political representative of ministerial level from each Member State.
It jointly carries out legislative and budgetary functions with the European Parliament. The Council effectively has a veto over all Commission legislative initiatives before they become law and concludes agreements on behalf of the EU with foreign states or international organizations.[1]
The Council of the European Union Website: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/homepage?lang=en
The European Parliament
The primary purpose of the European Parliament is to represent the interests of the people of the European Union. The Parliament elects its own President together with 14 Vice-Presidents for two and a half year terms. The Parliament has twenty standing committees on matters ranging from international trade and industry to consumer protection transport and tourism. It holds an equal legislative position with the Council under the Ordinary Legislative Procedure and has a veto power over delegated legislation.[2]
MEPs are elected for 5 year terms in EU-wide elections. The number of MEPs per country ranges from ninety nine for Germany to five for Malta. All EU citizens resident in any Member State have the right to vote and stand as candidates in EP elections.[3]
European Parliament Website: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/portal/en
The European Commission
The primary purpose of the Commission is to "promote the general interest of the Union"[4] - it represents the EU as a whole and promotes the Union's interests as opposed to Member States' national interests. It ensures the application of EU Treaties and EU law; it executes the EU budget, and represents the EU aboard (with the exception of foreign and security policy). [5]
The European Commission consists of one commissioner from each Member State (pre 2014) including the President and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs. They are appointed from a MS government's list of suggestions by the European Council, subject to approval by the European Parliament.[6]
The President of the Commission is selected as a candidate by the European Council and then must be elected by a majority of the European Parliament - if the candidate is not elected the European Council must select another candidate and the process is repeated.[7]
European Commission Website: http://ec.europa.eu/index_en.htm
EU Ordinary Legislative Procedure
For More Information on the Institutions of the EU Visit: http://europa.eu/about-eu/institutions-bodies/index_en.htm