Development of the EU Commission - Essay Example

?Development of the EU Commission, the EU Council and the European Parliament The EU Commission The European Union is an economic and political confederation of 27 member states located in Europe. It originates from the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Economic Community (EEC) formed by six countries in 1958. The EU has grown over the years by accepting new members. It has also increased in power by adding a number of new policy areas. This includes the Maastricht Treaty, which established EU under its current name in 1993, and the Treaty of Lisbon, which came into force in 2009. The EU operates through a system of supranational independence institutions and intergovernmental negotiated decisions by the member states. The main institutions of EU include the European Union Council, the European Council, the Court of Justice of the EU, the European Commission, and the European Central Bank1. It has a parliament named European Parliament, elected every five years by the EU citizens. The European Commission is the EU’s supervisory body; responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the union’s treaties, and the general daily running of the union. It operates as a cabinet government, which has 27 members of the Commission. Each member state has one member, and they are bound to represent EU’s interests as a whole, but not their home state. The 27 members elect the Commission President as proposed by the European Council and elected by the European Parliament. The Council in agreement with the nominated president appoints the 26 members of the Commission, and then the European government approves the full Commission. The EU Council The EU Council is a body comprising of the heads of state of the EU member states, President of the European Council as well as the European Commission’s President. The High Representative for Foreign Affairs also takes part in the Council’s meetings. It has no formal legislative power and its charges are under the Treaty of Lisbon, which outlines the overall political priorities and orientation of the Union. It solves crisis’ arising in the Union and acts as the collective president of the EU. The president chairs the Council’s meetings and takes place at least twice every six months at their headquarters in Brussels. It became an informal body in 1975 and an official EU institution in 2009 after the enforcement of the Treaty of Lisbon. The European Parliament The European Parliament is a parliamentary institution of the European Union elected directly. It exercises the legislative function of the EU together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission. It is one of the most powerful legislatures in the world. It has 754 members serving the world’s largest democratic electorate in the world, second only to India. It is also the world’s greatest international democratic electorate. The universal suffrage directly elects the European Parliament since 1979. The parliament has legislative power that such body does not possess it because it has no legislative initiative as most state parliaments within the Union2. It is the first institution of the EU that has ceremonial precedence in Europe. It shares equal budgetary and legislative powers with the Council, and enjoys equal control over the EU budget. The European Commission and the executive body of the EU are accountable to Parliament because it elects the Commission’s President and staffs the whole Commission. It has the mandate to censure the body thereby forcing its resignation. Powers of the EU Institutions The European Union Commission The European Union Commission holds significant powers in ensuring proper implementation of the treaties. These powers include the mandate to recognize breaches of the EC laws, which is Article 284. The powers given to the Commission are remarkable and it encounters challenges considering that it has to work through the Member States agencies that at times violate the EC laws. However, the Commission has succeeded on several occasions, particularly in the detection of the competition policy infringement.3 The commission plays a key role in the process of legislation. The most significant role of the Commission is its right of the legislative initiative exercised during policy development. It possesses this right because the general format is for the Treaties to specify the European Parliament and the Council will act on the Commission’s proposal when making legislation. The Commission also impacts the legislative process as it participates in the development of the entire year’s legislative plan.4 The Commission also has considerable administrative responsibilities to administer policies after formulating them, and implement the legislation after enactment. This is through shared administration using the national agencies. Some of the Commission’s responsibilities are executive in nature. The most important responsibilities are those related to finance and those concerned with external relations. The Commission plays a major role in the development of the Community budget. The Commission has two types of judicial powers based on the Article 211 first indent. The Commission takes action against Member States who breach the Community law under Article 226 EC. The Commission can also act as the initial judge or an investigator of Treaty violation, whether by the Member States or by private firms.5 The European Union Council The European Union Council powers are in Article 202 EC. The Council exercises a significant function in the decision-making procedure in seven ways. Firstly, before some of the Commission legislative initiatives become laws, the Council is supposed to vote for their approval. Secondly, the Council through Article 208 can request the Commission to perform any studies that the Council considers desirable for the achievement of its common goals and to submit proposals for the same. Thirdly, the Commission receives power from the Council to enable it to pass more regulations in a particular area. This ensures that the delegated legislation conforms to the wishes of the Council. Fourthly, “the increasing complexity of the Community’s decision-making process has necessitated greater inter-institutional collaboration between the Commission, the Parliament, and the Council.”6 Fifthly, together with the EP, the Council plays a significant role linked to the EU budget; most of the Council’s initiatives depend on the EU budget. Sixthly, the Council concludes agreements made between international organizations or non-Member States for the EU or the EC. Finally, other than the powers under Pillar 1 (The EC Treaty), the Council has considerable power under Pillars 2 and Three. 7 The European Parliament The European Parliament has four powers, the legislative power, dismissal and appointment power, supervisory power, and budgetary power8. Concerning the legislative power, its function in the Second and Third Pillars is rather limited. In the Common Foreign and Security Pillar, the Presidency has to consult the Parliament on the general choices and main aspects of the policy, and to make sure the EP’s views get into consideration. The EP must know of any developments in the foreign and security policy for it to ask the Council questions and provide recommendations regularly. The European Parliament also holds a yearly budget. Concerning the dismissal and appointment power, the Commission is accountable to the Parliament. The EP has the power to reprimand the Commission and call for its resignation. The EP has supervisory powers such as monitoring other institution activities (in particular the Commission) through asking of written and oral questions. The establishment of inquiry committees is monitoring the institutions. The EP also has significant powers associated with the budget. The Council has “the last word in ‘compulsory expenditure’, while the EP is dominant in relation to ’non-compulsory expenditure’, although decisions in relation to the latter are still made in close collaboration with the Council.”9 Main Functions of the EU Institutions The EU Commission The main function of the European Commission is to promote the overall interest of the EU by engaging in decision-making particularly by presenting proposals for European law, overseeing the just implementation of European laws and Treaties, and carrying out common policies and managing funds. It does this by sponsoring new legislations to Parliament and the Council, allocating funds, managing the EU’s budget and enforcing EU law together with the court of justice, and representing the EU internationally. The EU Council The main function of the EU Council is to provide the Union with necessary thrust for its development. It defines the EU policy agenda, and is therefore considered the motor of European integration. This it does with the influence it has, without any formal powers, being composed of national leaders. It also discusses unsettled issues from a lower level and makes decisions in their respect. Furthermore, it leads in foreign policy by acting as the collective Head of State, formally ratifies important documents, and participates in negotiating treaty changes10. It gathers the executive power of the member states, thus has a great influence in high profile policy areas like foreign policy. It exercises powers of appointment because it appoints its own President, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the President of the European Central Bank, and the President of the European Commission. It also influences police and justice planning, the Commission’s composition, and matters related to the organization of the rotating Council Presidency, suspension of membership rights, and changing voting systems. The European Parliament The main function of the European Parliament is to exercise political control over the Commission particularly by approving the appointment of the College and Commission President. It has power of adopting a motion of censure against the Commission, whereby the Commission must resign as a body, and asks written and oral questions to the Commission. The European Parliament approves the Commission's implementation of the EC budget, and its accounts once a year upon recommendation by the Council, therefore, closing the accountability cycle for the year. Together with the Council, it formulates laws and scrutinizes other EU institutions to make sure that they are working properly particularly the Commission, and debates and adopts the EU’s budget together with the Council. How Could These Be Enhanced or Diminished In Order To Ensure A More Efficient and Democratic European Union In order to ensure a more efficient and Democratic European Union, the union should make laws that benefit citizens and stakeholders. There should be comprehensive mechanisms and policies to assure the establishment of a qualitative regulatory framework. There should be impact assessment whereby the Commission systematically examines the economic, social, and environment impact of its proposals, compulsory for all major policy initiatives and legislative proposals. Other proposals with potential significant impacts may also feature in the impact assessment. The Commission departments should always seek expert advice, ensuring that its methods for recruiting and using expert advice are proportionate and effective. Bibliography Europa Publications Limited. The European Union Encyclopaedia and Directory 1999 (Third edn, Europa Publications Limited 1999). Craig P. and De Burca G. EU Law: Text, cases, and materials (Oxford University Press 2008). Spence D. and Edwards G. The European Commission (John Harper 2006). Cini M. The European Commission: leadership, organisation, and culture in the EU administration. (Manchester University Press ND 1996). Read More