EU European Union:Issues and Policies - Essay Example

Keeping this objective in view, it can be now seen that the primary goal has been achieved since there is now no conceivable reason for any kind of conflict between the member countries of the European Union which includes France and Germany (Thody, 1). For the proper execution of ECSC operations, various administrative bodies were formed like “a council of ministers, a common assembly, and a court of justice.” These bodies although had limited power nevertheless formed the foundation for future unification of the major European countries (“Introduction to the European Union”).

The European Union (EU) was founded in the year 1958 with six countries like Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The overall aim of the EU is to “promote peace, the values of human rights, democracy, equality, the rule of law, and the well-being of its peoples.” (“Why was the EU founded?”) The establishment of the EU initiated the formation of Europe and formed a future of close ties between all the European nations and their people. The euro was formally launched in the year 1999 as a single currency of Europe with 11 member states of EU who formed the euro zone (“The history of the European Union”). . For this reason, the EU cannot be considered as a state or international institution as it “combines supranational as well as intergovernmental characteristics.

” (Mungersdorff, 3) The act of decision making of the EU is a long and complicated process that constitutes the roles of many major and minor institutions which is demonstrated in the table below :- (“Participation of the Republic of Bulgaria in the Decision Making Process in the European Union”) The European council has the core authority to make decisions and they are influenced by the representatives of the member states. Although the common interest of the EU is the principal point of focus for this body, the individual matters of member states are also considered during internal negotiations within the framework of a common position.

The European commission is the main administrative body of the EU and also has major political powers. This institute is divided into several divisions and work is designated to Directorates-General for various policy sectors like the DG TREN which means Directorate-General for Transport and Energy. The European Parliament is made of 736 members representing the member states as they are directly elected by the common people of the states. Its main function is to supervise the other two bodies, and any decision before implementing needs the approval of the Parliament (Mungersdorff, 3-4).

Budget procedure In December 2010, a new budget procedure was put into practice in the EU laid down by the Treaty of Lisbon. It requires that all expenses of the EU need to be approved by the Parliamentary body and this includes expenses for CAP (common agricultural