THE MAIN EU INSTITUTIONS

di Malik Yuliana

I The European Parliament formed of:

• 732 members (MEPs – Members of European Parliament) elected every 5 years by the people of the Members States
• They meet in Strasbourg
• It is the only European institutions to be elected by European citizens. All the other institutions aren’t elected but are appointed.

Main powers:

• legislative power: it can make laws with the Council
• supervision of the executive
• budgetary powers: it votes on the annual budget and oversees its implementation

II The European commission the Union’s executive body

• 27 independent members are for each country, including a president and 2 vice-president
• Appointed for a 5 years term, by agreement among the Member States

Main responsibility

• Responsible for implementing the European legislation budget and programmes adopted by Parliament and the Council

III The Council of the Union (Council of Ministers)

• Consists of the Ministers of the Member States responsible for the matters on the agenda: foreign affairs, farming, industry, etc.
• Each country in the Union in turn holds the chair for six months
• Decisions are prepared by the Committee of Permanent Representative of the Member States, assisted by working parties of national government officials. The Council is assisted by its General Secretariat.

IV The Court of Justice

• Composed of one judge per Member State assisted by eight ‘advocates-general’
• Appointed for six years by agreement among the Member States

Main functions

• Ensures that all rules decided in the EU are followed in practice and are understood in the same way everywhere
• Settles disputes over how the EU treaties and legislative are interpreted

V The Court of Auditors

• Composed of one member per EU country
• Appointed for six years by the Council after consulting the European Parliament
• Ensures that financial management is sound
• Audits Union revenue and expenditure to make sure it is lawful and proper