Political and Economic Partnership of the European Union - Essay Example

The union has a developmental background throughout the early part of the 20th century, it did not emerge in its current incarnation until it was established by the Maastricht Treaty in 1993 (Staab).

The different branches of the European Union have distinctly different functions. The European Commission is the recognized executive body of the European Union. This body has a broad variety of functions that includes developing legislation, decision implementation, upholding EU treaties, and running the daily measures of the union (Staab). While the United States executive branch has a single president, the EU operates with twenty-seven commissioners and a Commission President. The European Commission notably is the sole branch with the power of legislative initiative.

The Council of the European Union is, along with the European Parliament, the legislative body of the European Union. As these branches of the European Union constitute the legislative branch it is necessary to consider their purposes in comparison with each other. Both of these bodies contain the ability to investigate and amend legislation (Leonard). In terms of laws, the European Commission is the only branch that contains the power to pass laws, but both legislative bodies must approve these laws from them to be enacted. In terms of legislation, the European Commission submits legislative measures to the Parliament of the European Council (Leonard).
Parliament reviews these legislative measures. If the Council approves of the Parliaments' review of the measures the bill is adopted; if Council does not approve, the bill returns to the Parliament for further consideration. Another prominent power of these legislative branches is their authority over the budget (Leonard). Both of the legislative bodies have equal power over the budget. If there is a disagreement between these powers there is a conciliation committee that arbitrates these disputes. Finally, the European Parliament has the power of supervision (Leonard). This means that they can establish a supervisory council over issues such as natural disasters or disease.

The final two branches of the European Union are the Court of Justice of the European Union, and the European Central Bank. The Court of Justice is the European Union’s judicial branch. The purpose of this branch of the EU is to ensure that treaties passed by the EU are followed and observed in the proper interpretation (Staab). This branch contains the European Court of Justice, the General Court, and the Civil Service Tribunal. The European Central Bank oversees the monetary policy of the members of the European Union (Staab). The overriding purpose of the European Central Bank is to ensure price stability by developing measures to fight against inflation. The ECB also has the notable power of issuing euro banknotes (Staab). While the European member states can issue their euro bank notes, they must first receive the permission of the ECB.

While the European Union has witnessed tremendous integration in recent decades there remain prominent barriers to integration. Within this context of an investigation, the most prominent barriers to integration relate to trade and financial matters. While seventeen member states have adopted the Euro as their predominant currency there remains objection to full-scale implementation of this currency. One considers the current European Sovereign Debt Crisis in the context of these integration challenges as significant differences have emerged, particularly in terms of Greece. In these regards, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has considered leaving the European Union or abandoning the euro as currency. Another prominent barrier to integration is trade barriers between member states. While researchers have noted an expected easement in trade barriers, there remain significant tariffs on trade between certain member states (Chen).

In conclusion, this essay has examined the purpose of the branches of the European Union. In this context of understanding, the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament, the Court of Justice of the European Union, and the European Central Bank have been examined. In addition, it’s demonstrated that significant barriers to integration remain in terms of financial and trade matters. Read More