How the European Union works - LU · EU institutions and bodies; •the European Data Protection Supervisorsafeguards the privacy of people’s personal data. In addition, specialised

How the European Union worksYour guide to the EU institutions

European Union

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You can find this booklet and other short, clear explanations about the EU online ateuropa.eu.int/comm/publications

European CommissionDirectorate-General for Press and CommunicationPublicationsB-1049 Brussels

Manuscript completed in June 2005

Cover illustration: European Parliament

Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication

Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2005

ISBN 92-894-9524-3

© European Communities, 2005Reproduction is authorised.

Printed in Belgium

PRINTED ON WHITE CHLORINE-FREE PAPER


Contents

Introducing the European Union

The treaties

How the EU takes decisions

The European Parliament: voice of the people

The Council of the European Union: voice of the member states

The European Commission: promoting the common interest

The Court of Justice: upholding the law

The European Court of Auditors: getting value for your money

The European Economic and Social Committee:voice of civil society

The Committee of the Regions: voice of local government

The European Investment Bank: financing EU projects

The European Central Bank: managing the euro

The European Ombudsman: investigating your complaints

The European Data Protection Supervisor: safeguarding yourprivacy

Agencies

Looking to the future

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14

20

25

28

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32

34

36

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41

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Introducing the European Union

he European Union (EU) is a family of democratic European countries workingtogether to improve life for their citizens and to build a better world.

Family squabbles and occasional crises are what make the news headlines, but awayfrom the cameras the EU is actually a remarkable success story. In just over half acentury it has delivered peace and prosperity in Europe, a single European currency(the euro) and a frontier-free ‘single market’ where goods, people, services and cap-ital move around freely. It has become a major trading power, and a world leader infields such as environmental protection and development aid. No wonder it hasgrown from six to 25 members and more countries are queuing up to join.

The European Union’s success owes a lot to the unusual way in which it works.Unusual because the EU is not a federation like the United States. Nor is it simply anorganisation for cooperation between governments, like the United Nations. It is, infact, unique. The countries that make up the EU (its ‘member states’) remain independent sovereign nations but they pool their sovereignty in order to gain astrength and world influence none of them could have on their own.

Pooling sovereignty means, in practice, that the member states delegate some oftheir decision-making powers to shared institutions they have created, so that decisions on specific mattersof joint interest can be madedemocratically at Europeanlevel.

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Challenges such as preventing climate change and protecting

the environment can only be tackled by international

cooperation. The EU is at theforefront of those efforts. ©

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How the European Union works

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The three main decision-making institutions are:

• the European Parliament (EP), which represents the EU’s citizens and is directlyelected by them;

• the Council of the European Union, which represents the individual memberstates;

• The European Commission, which seeks to uphold the interests of the Union as awhole.

This ‘institutional triangle’ produces the policies and laws that apply throughout theEU. In principle, it is the Commission that proposes new laws, but it is the Parliamentand Council that enact them.

The Court of Justice upholds the rule of European law, and the Court of Auditorschecks the financing of the Union’s activities.

A number of other bodies also have key roles in making the EU work:

• the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) represents civil society,employers and employees;

• the Committee of the Regions (CoR) represents regional and local authorities;

• the European Investment Bank finances EU investment projects, and helps smallbusinesses via the European Investment Fund;

• the European Central Bank is responsible for European monetary policy;

• the European Ombudsman investigates complaints about maladministration byEU institutions and bodies;

• the European Data Protection Supervisor safeguards the privacy of people’s personal data.

In addition, specialised agencies have been set up to handle certain technical, scientific or management tasks.

The powers and responsibilities of the EU institutions, and the rules and proceduresthey must follow, are laid down in the treaties on which the EU is founded. Thetreaties are agreed by the presidents and prime ministers of all the EU countries andratified by their parliaments.

The following chapters describe the treaties and the European institutions, explain-ing what each institution does and how they interact. The final chapter gives a briefoverview of the agencies and other bodies that are involved. The aim is to give youa clear picture of how the European Union works.

The first three of these treaties created thethree ‘European Communities’, i.e. the systemof joint decision-making on coal, steel, nuclearpower and other major sectors of the memberstates’ economies. The community institutions– set up to manage this system – were mergedin 1967, resulting in a single Commission anda single Council.

The EEC, in addition to itseconomic role, graduallytook on a wide range ofresponsibilities includingsocial, environmental andregional policies. Since itwas no longer a purelyeconomic community, thefourth treaty (Maastricht)renamed it simply ‘theEuropean Community’(EC).

At Maastricht, the mem-ber state governmentsalso agreed to worktogether on foreign andsecurity policy and in thearea of ‘justice and homeaffairs’. By adding this

inter-governmental co-operation to the existing Community system, the MaastrichtTreaty created a new structure with three ‘pillars’ which is political as well as economic.This is the European Union (EU).

The EU is founded on four treaties:

• The Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), which was signedon 18 April 1951 in Paris, came into force on 23 July 1952 and expired on 23 July 2002.

• The Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (EEC), which was signed on25 March 1957 in Rome and came into force on 1 January 1958. It is often referred to as‘the Treaty of Rome’.

• The Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), which wassigned in Rome along with the EEC Treaty.

• The Treaty on European Union (EU), which was signed in Maastricht on 7 February 1992,and came into force on 1 November 1993.

The treaties

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The European Union is founded on its treaties. Its three ‘pillars’ represent different policy areas

with different decision-making systems.

THE EUROPEAN UNION

Community

domain

(most of

the common

policy areas)

Common

foreign and

security policy

Police

and judicial

cooperation in

criminal matters

THE TREATIES


The treaties are the basis for everything theEU does. They have been amended each timenew member states have joined. From timeto time the treaties have also been amendedto reform the European Union’s institutionsand to give it new areas of responsibility. Thisis always done by a special conference of theEU’s national governments (an ‘intergovern-mental conference’ or IGC) and it has hap-pened three times in the last 20 years:

• The Single European Act (SEA) was signedin February 1986 and came into force on 1July 1987. It amended the EEC Treaty andpaved the way for completing the singlemarket.

• The Treaty of Amsterdam was signed on 2October 1997 and came into force on 1May 1999. It amended the EU and ECtreaties, giving numbers (instead of letters)to the EU Treaty articles.

• The Treaty of Nice, signed on 26 February2001, came into force on 1 February 2003.It further amended the other treaties,

streamlining the EU’s decision-making sys-tem so it could continue to work effective-ly after a new wave of member statesjoined in 2004.

Having so many treaties makes the EuropeanUnion complicated and difficult to under-stand. That is why the EU’s presidents andprime ministers decided in June 2004 toreplace all the existing treaties with a singleConstitution, setting out clearly what theUnion is, how it takes decisions and who isresponsible for doing what.

However, it cannot come into force until ithas been ratified by all 25 national parlia-ments. In some countries, it must beapproved by referendum.

If you want to learn more aboutthe Constitution, go to europa.eu.int/constitution/

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It was on 9 May 1950 that French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman first publicly put forward the ideas thatled to the European Union. So 9 May is celebrated as the EU’s birthday.

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Three ‘councils’: which is which?

It’s easy to become confused about which European body is which — especially when very different bodies have very similar names, such as these three ‘councils’.

The European CouncilThis means the heads of state or government (i.e. presidents and/or prime ministers) of all theEU countries, plus the President of the European Commission. The European Council meets, inprinciple, four times a year to agree overall EU policy and to review progress. It is the highest-level policy-making body in the European Union, which is why its meetings are often called‘summits’.

The Council of the European UnionFormerly known as the Council of Ministers, this institution consists of government ministersfrom all the EU countries. The Council meets regularly to take detailed decisions and to passEuropean laws. A fuller description of its work is given later in this booklet.

The Council of EuropeThis is not an EU institution at all. It is an intergovernmental organisation which aims(amongst other things) to protect human rights, to promote Europe’s cultural diversity and tocombat social problems such as racial prejudice and intolerance. It was set up in 1949 and oneof its early achievements was to draw up the European Convention on Human Rights. Toenable citizens to exercise their rights under that Convention it set up the European Court ofHuman Rights. The Council of Europe now has 46 member countries, including the 25 EuropeanUnion countries, and its headquarters is the Palais de l’Europe in Strasbourg (France).

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Decision-making at European Union levelinvolves various European institutions, inparticular

• the European Commission,

• the European Parliament (EP),

• the Council of the European Union.

In general, it is the European Commissionthat proposes new legislation, but it is theCouncil and Parliament that pass the laws.Other institutions also have roles to play.

The rules and procedures for EU decision-making are laid down in the treaties. Every

proposal for a new European law must bebased on a specific treaty article, referred toas the ‘legal basis’ of the proposal. Thisdetermines which legislative procedure mustbe followed. The three main procedures are‘consultation’, ‘assent’ and ‘co-decision’.

1. Consultation

Under the consultation procedure, theCouncil consults Parliament as well as theEuropean Economic and Social Committee(EESC) and the Committee of the Regions(CoR).

How the EU takes decisions

Parliament can

• approve the Commission proposal,

• reject it,

• or ask for amendments.

If Parliament asks for amendments, theCommission will consider all the changesParliament suggests. If it accepts any ofthese suggestions it will send the Council anamended proposal.

The Council examines the amended proposaland either adopts it or amends it further. Inthis procedure, as in all others, if the Councilamends a Commission proposal it must do sounanimously.

2. Assent

The assent procedure means that the Councilhas to obtain the European Parliament’sassent before certain very important deci-sions are taken.

The procedure is the same as in the case ofconsultation, except that Parliament cannot

amend a proposal: it must either accept orreject it. Acceptance (‘assent’) requires anabsolute majority of the vote cast.

3. Co-decision

This is the procedure now used for most EUlaw-making. In the co-decision procedure,Parliament does not merely give its opinion:it shares legislative power equally with theCouncil.

If Council and Parliament cannot agree on apiece of proposed legislation, it is put beforea conciliation committee, composed ofequal numbers of Council and Parliamentrepresentatives. Once this committee hasreached an agreement, the agreed text issent once again to Parliament and theCouncil so that they can finally adopt it aslaw.

The diagram on page nine shows the procedure in greater detail. For furtherinformation, go to europa.eu.int/comm/codecision/index_en.html

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Who works for the EU institutions?

The civil servants who work for the EU institutions come from all member countries ofthe EU — and beyond. They cover a wide range of activities and skills, from policy-makers and managers to economists, lawyers, linguists, secretaries and technical supportstaff. They must be able and willing to work in a multicultural and multilingual environ-ment, usually at quite a distance from their home country.

To become an EU civil servant you have to pass a tough competitive examination. SinceJanuary 2003, these exams are centrally organised by the European Personnel SelectionOffice (EPSO).

Further information at europa.eu.int/epso

19. Council approves amended common position

1.a EESC opinion,CoR opinion

1. Proposal from the Commission

2. First reading by the EP – opinion

4. First reading by the Council

3. Amended proposal from the Commission

5. Council approves all theEP's amendments

7. EP has approvedthe proposal without

amendments

9. Common positionof the Council

10. Communication from the Commission on common position

11. Second reading by the EP

12. EP approvescommon position ormakes no comments

14. EP rejectscommon position

16. EP proposesamendments to

common position

17. Commissionopinion on EP'samendments

6. Council can adopt theact as amended

8. Council canadopt the act

18. Second reading by the Council

21. Council does not approve theamendments to the common position

22. Conciliation Committee is convened20. Act adopted as amended

23. Conciliation procedure

24. Conciliation Committee agrees on a joint text 29. Conciliation Committee does notagree on a joint text

25. Parliament and Council adopt theact concerned in accordance with the

joint text

27. Parliament andCouncil do not approve

the joint text

26. Act is adopted 28. Act is not adopted

30. Act is not adopted

15. Act is deemed not tobe adopted

13. Act is deemed tobe adopted

(i) by a qualified majority if the Commission has delivereda positive opinion

(ii) unanimously if theCommission has delivereda negative opinion

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The co-decision procedure


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The European Parliament: voice of the people

The European Parliament (EP) is elected by the citizens of the European Union to representtheir interests. Its origins go back to the 1950s and the founding treaties, and since 1979 itsmembers have been directly elected by the people they represent.

Elections are held every five years, and every EU citizen who is registered as a voter is entitledto vote. Parliament thus expresses the democratic will of the Union’s citizens (more than 455million people), and it represents their interests in discussions with the other EU institutions.The present parliament, elected in June 2004, has 732 members from all 25 EU countries.Nearly one third of them are women.

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) do not sit in national blocks, but in seven Europe-wide political groups. Between them, they represent all views on European integration, fromthe strongly pro-federalist to the openly Eurosceptic.

Key facts

Role: Directly elected legislative arm of the EUNext election: June 2009Meetings: Monthly plenary sessions in Strasbourg,

committee meetings and additional sessions in Brussels

Address: Plateau du Kirchberg, BP 1601, L-2929 Luxembourg

Tel. (352) 43 00-1Internet: www.europarl.eu.int

The directly elected representativesof the EU’s citizens meet inStrasbourg to debate and vote onEurope-wide legislation that affectseveryone.

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Socialist Group (PES) 201

European United Left/Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) 41

Greens/EuropeanFree Alliance (Greens/EFA) 42

Independence/Democracy (IND/DEM) 36

European People's Party(Christian Democrats)and European Democrats(EPP-ED) 268

Non-attached (NI) 29

Union forEurope of the Nations(UEN) 27

Alliance of Liberals and Democratsfor Europe (ALDE) 88

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Where is Parliament based?

The European Parliament has three places ofwork: Brussels (Belgium), Luxembourg andStrasbourg (France).

Luxembourg is home to the administrativeoffices (the ‘General Secretariat’). Meetingsof the whole Parliament, known as ‘plenarysessions’, take place in Strasbourg and some-times in Brussels. Committee meetings arealso held in Brussels.

What does Parliament do?

Parliament has three main roles.

1. Passing European laws — jointly with theCouncil in many policy areas. The fact thatthe EP is directly elected by the citizenshelps guarantee the democratic legitima-cy of European law.

2. Parliament exercises democratic supervi-sion over the other EU institutions, and inparticular the Commission. It has thepower to approve or reject the nomina-tion of commissioners, and it has the rightto censure the Commission as a whole.

Belgium 24Czech Republic 24Denmark 14Germany 99Estonia 6Greece 24Spain 54France 78Ireland 13Italy 78Cyprus 6Latvia 9Lithuania 13Luxembourg 6Hungary 24Malta 5Netherlands 27Austria 18Poland 54Portugal 24Slovenia 7Slovakia 14Finland 14Sweden 19United Kingdom 78Total 732

Number of seats per country(in alphabetical order according to the country’s name in its own language)

Number of seats per political group, as at 2 June 2005

3. The power of the purse. Parliament shareswith the Council authority over the EUbudget and can therefore influence EUspending. At the end of the procedure, itadopts or rejects the budget in its entirety.

These three roles are described in greaterdetail below.

1. Passing European laws

The most common procedure for adopting(i.e. passing) EU legislation is ‘co-decision’(see above: ‘How the EU takes decisions’).This procedure places the EuropeanParliament and the Council on an equalfooting and it applies to legislation in a widerange of fields.

In some fields (for example agriculture, eco-nomic policy, visas and immigration), theCouncil alone legislates, but it has to consultParliament. In addition, Parliament’s assent isrequired for certain important decisions,such as allowing new countries to join theEU.

Parliament also provides impetus for newlegislation by examining the Commission’sannual work programme, considering whatnew laws would be appropriate and askingthe Commission to put forward proposals.

2. Democratic supervision

Parliament exercises democratic supervisionover the other European institutions. It doesso in several ways.

When a new Commission takes office, itsmembers are nominated by the EU memberstate governments but they cannot beappointed without Parliament’s approval.Parliament interviews each of them individ-ually, including the prospective CommissionPresident, and then votes on whether toapprove the Commission as a whole.

Throughout its term of office, theCommission remains politically accountableto Parliament, which can pass a ‘motion ofcensure’ calling for the Commission’s massresignation.

More generally, Parliament exercises controlby regularly examining reports sent to it bythe Commission (the annual general report,reports on the implementation of the bud-get, etc.). Moreover, MEPs regularly ask theCommission questions which the commis-sioners are legally required to answer.

Parliament also monitors the work of theCouncil: MEPs regularly ask the Councilquestions, and the President of the Councilattends the EP’s plenary sessions and takespart in important debates.

Parliament can exercise further democraticcontrol by examining petitions from citizensand setting up committees of inquiry.

Finally, Parliament provides input to every EUsummit (the European Council meetings). Atthe opening of each summit, the President ofParliament is invited to express Parliament’sviews and concerns about topical issues andthe items on the European Council’s agenda.

3. The power of the purse

The EU’s annual budget is decided jointly byParliament and the Council. Parliamentdebates it in two successive readings, andthe budget does not come into force until ithas been signed by the President ofParliament.

Parliament’s Committee on BudgetaryControl (COCOBU) monitors how the budgetis spent, and each year Parliament decideswhether to approve the Commission’s han-dling of the budget for the previous financialyear. This approval process is technicallyknown as ‘granting a discharge’.

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How is the Parliament’s workorganised?

Parliament’s work is divided into two mainstages.

• Preparing for the plenary session. This isdone by the MEPs in the various parlia-mentary committees that specialise in par-ticular areas of EU activity. The issues fordebate are also discussed by the politicalgroups.

• The plenary session itself. Plenary sessionsare normally held in Strasbourg (one weekper month) and sometimes in Brussels (twodays only). At these sessions, Parliamentexamines proposed legislation and voteson amendments before coming to a deci-sion on the text as a whole.

Other items on the agenda may includeCouncil or Commission ‘communications’ orquestions about what is going on in theEuropean Union or the wider world.

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Josep Borrell Fontelles was elected President of the European

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The Council of the European Union:voice of the member states

The Council is the EU’s main decision-makingbody. Like the European Parliament, theCouncil was set up by the founding treatiesin the 1950s. It represents the memberstates, and its meetings are attended by oneminister from each of the EU’s national gov-ernments.

Which ministers attend which meetingdepends on what subjects are on the agenda.If, for example, the Council is to discussenvironmental issues, the meeting will beattended by the environment minister fromeach EU country and it will be known as the‘Environment Council’.

The EU’s relations with the rest of the worldare dealt with by the ‘General Affairs andExternal Relations Council’. But this Councilconfiguration also has wider responsibilityfor general policy issues, so its meetings areattended by whichever minister or state secretary each government chooses.

Altogether there are nine different Councilconfigurations.

• General Affairs and External Relations

• Economic and Financial Affairs (Ecofin)

• Justice and Home Affairs (JHA)

• Employment, Social Policy, Health andConsumer Affairs

• Competitiveness• Transport, Telecommunications and

Energy• Agriculture and Fisheries• Environment• Education, Youth and Culture

Each minister in the Council is empowered tocommit his or her government. In otherwords, the minister’s signature is the signa-ture of the whole government. Moreover,each minister in the Council is answerable tohis or her national parliament and to the cit-izens that parliament represents. This ensuresthe democratic legitimacy of the Council’sdecisions.

Up to four times a year the presidents and/orprime ministers of the member states,together with the President of the EuropeanCommission, meet as the European Council.These ‘summit’ meetings set overall EU poli-cy and resolve issues that could not be set-tled at a lower level (i.e. by the ministers atnormal Council meetings). Given the impor-tance of European Council discussions, theyoften continue late into the night andattract a lot of media attention.

Key facts

Role: Legislative (in some fields executive) arm of the EU; represents the member states

Members: One minister from each EU countryPresidency: Rotates every six monthsMeetings: In Brussels (Belgium), except in April, June and

October when meetings are in LuxembourgAddress: Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 175, B-1048 BrusselsTel. (32-2) 285 61 11Internet: ue.eu.int

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What does the Council do?

The Council has six key responsibilities.

1. To pass European laws — jointly with theEuropean Parliament in many policy areas.

2. To coordinate the broad economic andsocial policies of the member states.

3. To conclude international agreementsbetween the EU and other countries orinternational organisations.

4. To approve the EU’s budget, jointly withthe European Parliament.

5. To develop the EU’s common foreign andsecurity policy (CFSP: for further detailssee below), based on guidelines set by theEuropean Council.

6. To coordinate cooperation between thenational courts and police forces in crimi-nal matters (see the ‘Freedom, security andjustice’ section below).

Most of these responsibilities relate to the‘Community’ domain — i.e. areas of actionwhere the member states have decided topool their sovereignty and delegate deci-

sion-making powers to the EU institutions.This domain is the ‘first pillar’ of theEuropean Union.

However, the last two responsibilities relatelargely to areas in which the member stateshave not delegated their powers but are sim-ply working together. This is called ‘inter-governmental cooperation’ and it covers thesecond and third ‘pillars’ of the EuropeanUnion.

The Council’s work is described in greaterdetail below.

1. Legislation

Much EU legislation is adopted jointly by theCouncil and Parliament (see above: ‘How theEU takes decisions’).

As a rule, the Council only acts on a pro-posal from the Commission, and theCommission normally has responsibility forensuring that EU legislation, once adopted, iscorrectly applied.

Ministers from every EU country meet in the Council

to take joint decisions on EU policies and legislation.

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2. Coordinating the policies of memberstates

The EU countries have decided that theywant an overall economic policy based onclose coordination between their nationaleconomic policies. This coordination is car-ried out by the economics and finance min-isters, who collectively form the Economicand Financial Affairs (Ecofin) Council.

They also want to create more jobs and toimprove their education, health and socialprotection systems. Although each EU coun-try is responsible for its own policy in theseareas, they can agree on common goals andlearn from each other’s experience of whatworks best. This process is called the ‘openmethod of coordination’, and it takes placewithin the Council.

3. Concluding international agreements

Each year the Council ‘concludes’ (i.e. offi-cially signs) a number of agreementsbetween the European Union and non-EUcountries, as well as with internationalorganisations. These agreements may coverbroad areas such as trade, cooperation anddevelopment or they may deal with specificsubjects such as textiles, fisheries, scienceand technology, transport, etc.

In addition, the Council may conclude con-ventions between the EU member states infields such as taxation, company law or con-sular protection. Conventions can also dealwith cooperation on issues of freedom, secu-rity and justice (see below).

4. Approving the EU budget

The EU’s annual budget is decided jointly bythe Council and the European Parliament.

5. Common foreign and security policy

The member states of the EU are working todevelop a common foreign and security pol-icy (CFSP). But foreign policy, security anddefence are matters over which the individ-ual national governments retain indepen-dent control. They have not pooled theirnational sovereignty in these areas, soParliament and the European Commissionplay only a limited role here. However, theEU countries have much to gain by workingtogether on these issues, and the Council isthe main forum in which this ‘intergovern-mental cooperation’ takes place.

To enable it to respond more effectively tointernational crises, the European Union hascreated a ‘rapid reaction force’. This is not aEuropean army: the personnel remain mem-bers of their national armed forces andunder national command, and their role islimited to carrying out humanitarian, rescue,peacekeeping and other crisis managementtasks. In 2003, for example, the EU conduct-ed a military operation (code name Artemis)in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, andin 2004 it began a peacekeeping operation(code name Althea) in Bosnia andHerzegovina.

The Council is assisted in such operations by:

• the Political and Security Committee (PSC),

• the European Union Military Committee(EUMC) and

• the European Union Military Staff (EUMS),composed of military experts seconded tothe Council Secretariat by the memberstates.

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6. Freedom, security and justice

EU citizens are free to live and work inwhichever EU country they choose, so theyshould have equal access to civil justiceeverywhere in the European Union. Nationalcourts therefore need to work together toensure, for example, that a court judgmentdelivered in one EU country in a divorce orchild custody case is recognised in all otherEU countries.

Freedom of movement within the EU is ofgreat benefit to law-abiding citizens, but it isalso exploited by international criminals andterrorists. To tackle cross-border crimerequires cross-border cooperation betweenthe national courts, police forces, customsofficers and immigration services of all EUcountries.

They have to ensure, for example:

• that the EU’s external borders are effec-tively policed;

• that customs officers and police exchangeinformation on the movements of suspect-ed drugs traffickers or people smugglers;

• that asylum seekers are assessed and treat-ed in the same way throughout the EU, soas to prevent ‘asylum shopping’.

Issues such as these are dealt with by theJustice and Home Affairs Council — i.e. theministers for justice and the interior. Theaim is to create a single ‘area of freedom,security and justice’ within the EU’s borders.

How is the Council’s work organised?

Coreper

In Brussels, each EU member state has a per-manent team (‘representation’) that repre-sents it and defends its national interest atEU level. The head of each representation is,in effect, his or her country’s ambassador tothe EU.

Child custody disputes shouldn’t tear families apart. The EU makes sure that court rulings given in one member country are respected in all other member countries.

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Javier Solana (front left), as the EU’s foreign policy chief, acts for Europe on the world stage.

These ambassadors (known as ‘permanentrepresentatives’) meet weekly within thePermanent Representatives Committee(Coreper). The role of this committee is toprepare the work of the Council, with theexception of most agricultural issues, whichare handled by the Special Committee onAgriculture. Coreper is assisted by a numberof working groups, made up of officials fromthe national administrations.

The Council Presidency

The Presidency of the Council rotates everysix months. In other words, each EU countryin turn takes charge of the Council agendaand chairs all the meetings for a six-monthperiod, promoting legislative and politicaldecisions and brokering compromisesbetween the member states.

If, for example, the Environment Council isscheduled to meet during the second half of2006 it will be chaired by the Finnish minister for the environment, since Finlandholds the Council Presidency at that time.

The General Secretariat

The Presidency is assisted by the GeneralSecretariat, which prepares and ensures thesmooth functioning of the Council’s work atall levels.

In 2004, Mr Javier Solana was reappointedSecretary-General of the Council. He is alsoHigh Representative for the common for-eign and security policy (CFSP), and in thiscapacity he helps coordinate the EU’saction on the world stage. Under the newConstitutional Treaty, the High Represent-

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ative would be replaced by an EU ForeignAffairs Minister.

The Secretary-General is assisted by a DeputySecretary-General in charge of managingthe General Secretariat.

How many votes per country?

Decisions in the Council are taken by vote.The bigger the country’s population, themore votes it has, but the numbers areweighted in favour of the less populouscountries:

Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom 29

Spain and Poland 27

Netherlands 13

Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary and Portugal 12

Austria and Sweden 10Denmark, Ireland, Lithuania, Slovakia and Finland 7Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Luxembourg and Slovenia 4Malta 3Total 321

Qualified majority voting

In some particularly sensitive areas such ascommon foreign and security policy, taxa-tion, asylum and immigration policy, Councildecisions have to be unanimous. In otherwords, each member state has the power ofveto in these areas.

On most issues, however, the Council takesdecisions by ‘qualified majority voting’(QMV).

A qualified majority is reached

• if a majority of member states (in somecases a two-thirds majority) approve and

• if a minimum of 232 votes is cast in favour— which is 72.3 % of the total.

In addition, a member state may ask for con-firmation that the votes in favour representat least 62 % of the total population of theUnion. If this is found not to be the case, thedecision will not be adopted.

The Commission is independent of nationalgovernments. Its job is to represent anduphold the interests of the EU as a whole. Itdrafts proposals for new European laws,which it presents to the European Parliamentand the Council.

It is also the EU’s executive arm — in otherwords, it is responsible for implementing thedecisions of Parliament and the Council. Thatmeans managing the day-to-day business ofthe European Union: implementing its poli-cies, running its programmes and spendingits funds.

Like the Parliament and Council, theEuropean Commission was set up in the1950s under the EU’s founding treaties.

What is the Commission?

The term ‘Commission’ is used in two senses.First, it refers to the team of men andwomen — one from each EU country —appointed to run the institution and take itsdecisions. Secondly, the term ‘Commission’refers to the institution itself and to its staff.

Informally, the appointed Members of theCommission are known as ‘commissioners’.They have all held political positions in theircountries of origin and many have been gov-ernment ministers, but as Members of theCommission they are committed to acting inthe interests of the Union as a whole and nottaking instructions from national govern-ments.

A new Commission is appointed every fiveyears, within six months of the elections tothe European Parliament. The procedure is asfollows.

• The member state governments agreetogether on who to designate as the newCommission President.

• The Commission President-designate isthen approved by Parliament.

• The Commission President-designate, indiscussion with the member state govern-ments, chooses the other Members of theCommission.

• The new Parliament then interviews eachMember and gives its opinion on the wholeteam. Once it is approved, the newCommission can officially start work.

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The European Commission:promoting the common interest

Key facts

Role: Executive arm of the EU and initiator of legislative proposals

Members: 25: one from each of the member statesTerm of office: Five years (2004-09)Address: Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 200,

B-1049 BrusselsTel. (32-2) 299 11 11Internet: europa.eu.int/comm

There is one member of the European Commission from each EU country, but they work independently of national governments. They meet every Wednesday to discuss EU policies and to propose new European legislation.

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The present Commission’s term of office runsuntil 31 October 2009. Its President is JoséManuel Barroso, from Portugal.

The Commission remains politically account-able to Parliament, which has the power todismiss the whole Commission by adopting amotion of censure. Individual members ofthe Commission must resign if asked to do soby the President, provided the other com-missioners approve.

The Commission attends all the sessions ofParliament, where it must clarify and justifyits policies. It also replies regularly to writtenand oral questions posed by MEPs.

The day-to-day running of the Commissionis done by its administrative officials,experts, translators, interpreters and secre-tarial staff. There are approximately 25 000of these European civil servants. That maysound a lot, but in fact it is fewer than the

number of staff employed by a typical medium-sized city council in Europe.

Where is the Commission based?

The ‘seat’ of the Commission is in Brussels(Belgium), but it also has offices inLuxembourg, representations in all EU coun-tries and delegations in many capital citiesaround the world.

What does the Commission do?

The European Commission has four mainroles:

1. to propose legislation to Parliament andthe Council;

2. to manage and implement EU policies andthe budget;

3. to enforce European law (jointly with theCourt of Justice);

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4. to represent the European Union on theinternational stage, for example by nego-tiating agreements between the EU andother countries.

1. Proposing new legislation

The Commission has the ‘right of initiative’.In other words, the Commission alone isresponsible for drawing up proposals for newEuropean legislation, which it presents toParliament and the Council. These proposalsmust aim to defend the interests of theUnion and its citizens, not those of specificcountries or industries.

Before making any proposals, theCommission must be aware of new situationsand problems developing in Europe and itmust consider whether EU legislation is thebest way to deal with them. That is why theCommission is in constant touch with a widerange of interest groups and with two advisory bodies — the European Economicand Social Committee and the Committee ofthe Regions. It also seeks the opinions ofnational parliaments and governments.

The Commission will propose action at EUlevel only if it considers that a problem can-not be solved more efficiently by national,regional or local action. This principle ofdealing with things at the lowest possiblelevel is called the ‘subsidiarity principle’.

If, however, the Commission concludes thatEU legislation is needed, then it drafts a pro-posal that it believes will deal with the prob-lem effectively and satisfy the widest possi-ble range of interests. To get the technicaldetails right the Commission consultsexperts, via its various committees andgroups.

2. Implementing EU policies and the budget

As the European Union’s executive body, theCommission is responsible for managing and

implementing the EU budget. Most of theactual spending is done by national and localauthorities, but the Commission is responsi-ble for supervising it — under the watchfuleye of the Court of Auditors. Both institu-tions aim to ensure good financial manage-ment. Only if it is satisfied with the Court ofAuditors’ annual report does the EuropeanParliament grant the Commission dischargefor implementing the budget.

The Commission also has to manage the poli-cies adopted by Parliament and the Council,such as the common agricultural policy.Another example is competition policy,where the Commission has the power toauthorise or prohibit mergers between com-panies. The Commission also has to makesure that EU countries do not subsidise theirindustries in such a way as to distort competition.

Examples of EU programmes managed by theCommission range from the ‘Interreg’ and‘URBAN’ programmes (creating cross-borderpartnerships between regions and helpingregenerate declining urban areas) to the‘Erasmus’ programme of Europe-wide stu-dent exchanges.

3. Enforcing European law

The Commission acts as ‘guardian of thetreaties’. This means that the Commission,together with the Court of Justice, is respon-sible for making sure EU law is properlyapplied in all the member states.

If it finds that an EU country is not applyingan EU law, and therefore not meeting itslegal obligations, the Commission takes stepsto put the situation right.

First it launches a process called the‘infringement procedure’. This involves send-ing the government an official letter, sayingwhy the Commission considers this countryis infringing EU law and setting it a deadlinefor sending the Commission a detailed reply.

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José Manuel Barroso was appointed President of the European Commission in 2004.

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If this procedure fails to put things right, theCommission must then refer the matter tothe Court of Justice, which has the power toimpose penalties. The Court’s judgments arebinding on the member states and the EUinstitutions.

4. Representing the EU on the inter-national stage

The European Commission is an importantmouthpiece for the European Union on theinternational stage. It enables the memberstates to speak ‘with one voice’ in interna-tional forums such as the World TradeOrganisation.

The Commission also has the responsibility ofnegotiating international agreements onbehalf of the EU. One example is theCotonou Agreement, which sets out theterms of an important aid and trade partner-ship between the EU and developing coun-tries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.

How is the Commission’s workorganised?

It is up to the Commission President todecide which commissioner will be responsi-ble for which policy area, and to reshufflethese responsibilities (if necessary) duringthe Commission’s term of office.

The Commission meets once a week, usuallyon Wednesdays in Brussels. Each item on theagenda is presented by the commissionerresponsible for that policy area, and thewhole team then takes a collective decisionon it.

The Commission’s staff is organised indepartments, known as ‘Directorates-General’ (DGs) and ‘services’ (such as theLegal Service). Each DG is responsible for aparticular policy area and is headed by aDirector-General who is answerable to oneof the commissioners. Overall coordination isprovided by the Secretariat-General, which

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also manages the weekly Commission meet-ings. It is headed by the Secretary-General,who is answerable directly to the President.

It is the DGs that actually devise and draftlegislative proposals, but these proposalsbecome official only when ‘adopted’ by theCommission at its weekly meeting. The pro-cedure is roughly as follows.

Suppose, for example, that the Commissionsees a need for EU legislation to prevent pol-lution of Europe’s rivers. The Directorate-General for the Environment will draw up aproposal, based on extensive consultationswith European industry and farmers, withenvironment ministries in the member statesand with environmental organisations. The

draft will also be discussed with otherCommission departments and checked bythe Legal Service and the Secretariat-General.

Once the proposal is fully ready, it will be puton the agenda of the next Commissionmeeting. If at least 13 of the 25 commis-sioners approve the proposal, theCommission will ‘adopt’ it and it will havethe whole team’s unconditional support. Thedocument will then be sent to Council andthe European Parliament for their consideration.

Limiting the size of the Commission

A Commission with too many members willnot work properly. There is at present onecommissioner from each EU country. WhenBulgaria and Romania join the EuropeanUnion it will have 27 member states. At thatpoint, the Council — by a unanimous deci-sion — will fix the maximum number of com-missioners. There must be fewer than 27 ofthem, and their nationality will be deter-mined by a system of rotation that isabsolutely fair to all countries.

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ECHO, the EU’s humanitarian aid office, provides emergency assistance to disaster victims around the world. It is run by the EuropeanCommission.

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The Court of Justice of the EuropeanCommunities (often referred to simply as‘the Court’) was set up under the ECSC Treatyin 1952. It is based in Luxembourg.

Its job is to make sure that EU legislation isinterpreted and applied in the same way inall EU countries, so that the law is equal foreveryone. It ensures, for example, thatnational courts do not give different rulingson the same issue.

The Court also makes sure that EU memberstates and institutions do what the lawrequires. The Court has the power to settlelegal disputes between EU member states, EUinstitutions, businesses and individuals.

The Court is composed of one judge permember state, so that all 25 of the EU’snational legal systems are represented. Forthe sake of efficiency, however, the Courtrarely sits as the full court. It usually sits as a‘Grand Chamber’ of just 13 judges or inchambers of five or three judges.

The Court is assisted by eight ‘advocates-general’. Their role is to present reasonedopinions on the cases brought before theCourt. They must do so publicly and impartially.

The judges and advocates-general are peoplewhose impartiality is beyond doubt. Theyhave the qualifications or competence need-ed for appointment to the highest judicialpositions in their home countries. They areappointed to the Court of Justice by jointagreement between the governments of theEU member states. Each is appointed for aterm of six years, which may be renewed.

To help the Court of Justice cope with thelarge number of cases brought before it, andto offer citizens better legal protection, aCourt of First Instance was created in 1989.This Court (which is attached to the Court ofJustice) is responsible for giving rulings oncertain kinds of case, particularly actionsbrought by private individuals, companiesand some organisations, and cases relatingto competition law.

The Court of Justice: upholding the law

Key facts

Role: To give legal judgments on cases broughtbefore it

Court of Justice: One judge from each EU country;eight advocates-general

Court of First Instance: At least one judge from each EU countryTerm of office: Members of both courts are appointed for

renewable terms of six yearsAddress: Boulevard Konrad Adenauer,

L-2925 LuxembourgTel. (352) 43 03-1Internet: curia.eu.int

The Court of Justice and the Court of FirstInstance each have a President, chosen bytheir fellow judges to serve for a renewableterm of three years. Vassilios Skouris, fromGreece, was elected President of the Court ofJustice in 2003. Bo Vesterdorf, fromDenmark, is President of the Court of FirstInstance.

A new judicial body, the European CivilService Tribunal, has been set up to adjudi-cate in disputes between the EuropeanUnion and its civil service. This tribunal iscomposed of seven judges and is attached tothe Court of First Instance.

What does the Court do?

The Court gives rulings on cases broughtbefore it. The four most common types ofcase are:

1. references for a preliminary ruling;

2. actions for failure to fulfil an obligation;

3. actions for annulment;

4. actions for failure to act.

They are each described in greater detailbelow.

1. The preliminary ruling procedure

The national courts in each EU country areresponsible for ensuring that EU law is prop-erly applied in that country. But there is arisk that courts in different countries mightinterpret EU law in different ways.

To prevent this happening, there is a ‘prelim-inary ruling procedure’. This means that if anational court is in any doubt about theinterpretation or validity of an EU law it may,and sometimes must, ask the Court of Justicefor advice. This advice is given in the form ofa ‘preliminary ruling’.

2. Actions for failure to fulfil an obligation

The Commission can start these proceedingsif it has reason to believe that a memberstate is failing to fulfil its obligations underEU law. These proceedings may also be start-ed by another EU country.

In either case, the Court investigates theallegations and gives its judgment. Theaccused member state, if it is indeed foundto be at fault, must set things right at once.

If the Court finds that the member state hasnot complied with its judgment, it mayimpose a fine on that country.

3. Actions for annulment

If any of the member states, the Council, theCommission or (under certain conditions)Parliament believes that a particular EU lawis illegal they may ask the Court to annul it.These ‘actions for annulment’ can also beused by private individuals who want theCourt to cancel a particular law because itdirectly and adversely affects them as individuals.

If the Court finds that the law in questionwas not correctly adopted or is not correctlybased on the treaties, it may declare the lawnull and void.

4. Actions for failure to act

The Treaty requires the European Parliament,the Council and the Commission to makecertain decisions under certain circum-stances. If they fail to do so, the memberstates, the other Community institutions and(under certain conditions) individuals orcompanies can lodge a complaint with theCourt so as to have this failure to act offi-cially recorded.

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How is the Court’s work organised?

Cases are submitted to the registry and aspecific judge and advocate-general areassigned to each case.

The procedure that follows is in two stages:first a written and then an oral phase.

At the first stage, all the parties involvedsubmit written statements and the judgeassigned to the case draws up a report sum-marising these statements and the legalbackground to the case.

Then comes the second stage — the publichearing. Depending on the importance andcomplexity of the case, this hearing can takeplace before a chamber of three, five or 13judges, or before the full Court. At the hear-ing, the parties’ lawyers put their case beforethe judges and the advocate-general, whocan question them. The advocate-generalthen gives his or her opinion, after which thejudges deliberate and deliver their judgment.

Since 2003, advocates-general are requiredto give an opinion on a case only if the Courtconsiders that this particular case raises anew point of law. Nor does the Court neces-sarily follow the advocate-general’s opinion.

Judgments of the Court are decided by amajority and pronounced at a public hear-ing. Dissenting opinions are not expressed.Decisions are published on the day of delivery.

The Court of Justice ensuresthat everyone is treatedequally under EU law – forexample, that women andmen get equal pay for equalwork. There is one judgefrom each EU country.

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The Court of Auditors was set up in 1975. Itis based in Luxembourg. The Court’s job is tocheck that EU funds, which come from thetaxpayers, are properly collected and thatthey are spent legally, economically and forthe intended purpose. It has the right toaudit any person or organisation handlingEU funds.

The Court has one member from each EUcountry, appointed by the Council for arenewable term of six years. The memberselect one of their number as President for arenewable term of three years. HubertWeber, from Austria, was elected President inJanuary 2005.

What does the Court do?

The Court’s main role is to check that the EUbudget is correctly implemented — in otherwords, that EU income and expenditure islegal and above board and to ensure soundfinancial management. So its work helpsguarantee that the EU system operates effi-ciently and openly.

To carry out its tasks, the Court investigatesthe paperwork of any person or organisation

handling EU income or expenditure. It fre-quently carries out on-the-spot checks. Itsfindings are written up in reports whichbring any problems to the attention of theCommission and EU member state governments.

To do its job effectively, the Court ofAuditors must remain completely indepen-dent of the other institutions but at thesame time stay in constant touch with them.

One of its key functions is to help theEuropean Parliament and the Council by pre-senting them every year with an audit reporton the previous financial year. Parliamentexamines the Court’s report in detail beforedeciding whether or not to approve theCommission’s handling of the budget. If satisfied, the Court of Auditors also sendsthe Council and Parliament a statement ofassurance that European taxpayers’ moneyhas been properly used.

Finally, the Court of Auditors gives its opin-ion on proposals for EU financial legislationand for EU action to fight fraud.

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The European Court of Auditors: getting value for your money

Key facts

Role: To check that EU funds are used properlyMembers: One from each EU countryTerm of office: Members are appointed for a renewable

term of six yearsAddress: 12 rue Alcide de Gasperi,

L-1615 LuxembourgTel. (352) 43 98-1Internet: www.eca.eu.int

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One important item on the EU’s budget is support for environment-friendly farming that produces healthyfood and treats animals well. Auditors check that this money is used properly.

How is the Court’s work organised?

The Court of Auditors has approximately 800staff, including translators and administra-tors as well as auditors. The auditors aredivided into ‘audit groups’. They preparedraft reports on which the Court takes decisions.

The auditors frequently go on tours ofinspection to the other EU institutions, the

member states and any country that receivesaid from the EU. Indeed, although theCourt’s work largely concerns money forwhich the Commission is responsible, in prac-tice 90% of this income and expenditure ismanaged by the national authorities.

The Court of Auditors has no legal powers ofits own. If auditors discover fraud or irregu-larities they inform OLAF — the EuropeanAnti-Fraud Office.

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Founded in 1957 under the Treaty of Rome,the European Economic and SocialCommittee (EESC) is an advisory body repre-senting employers, trade unions, farmers,consumers and the other interest groupsthat collectively make up ‘organised civilsociety’. It presents their views and defendstheir interests in policy discussions with the

Commission, the Council and the EuropeanParliament.

So the EESC is a bridge between the Unionand its citizens, promoting a more participa-tory, more inclusive and therefore moredemocratic society in Europe.

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The European Economic and SocialCommittee: voice of civil society

Key facts

Role: Represents organised civil societyMembers: 317Term of office: Four yearsMeetings: Brussels, monthlyAddress: Rue Belliard 99, B-1040 BrusselsTel. (32-2) 546 90 11Internet: www.esc.eu.int

Employment in Europe is greatly affected by EU policies. Through the EESC, employers and trade unions bothhave a say in shaping those policies.

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The Committee is an integral part of the EU’sdecision-making process: it must be con-sulted before decisions are taken on economicand social policy. On its own initiative, or atthe request of another EU institution, it mayalso give its opinion on other matters.

The EESC has 317 members — the numberfrom each EU country roughly reflecting thesize of its population. The numbers per coun-try are as follows:

Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom 24Poland and Spain 21Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands,Austria, Portugal and Sweden 12Denmark, Ireland, Lithuania, Slovakia and Finland 9Estonia, Latvia and Slovenia 7Cyprus and Luxembourg 6Malta 5Total 317

Once Bulgaria and Romania join, theCommittee will have 344 members.

The members are nominated by the EU gov-ernments but they work in complete politicalindependence. They are appointed for fouryears, and may be reappointed.

The Committee meets in plenary assembly,and its discussions are prepared by six sub-committees known as ‘sections’, each dealingwith particular policy areas. It elects itsPresident and two Vice-Presidents for a two-year term. Anne-Marie Sigmund, fromAustria, became President of the EESC inOctober 2004.

What does the EESC do?

The European Economic and SocialCommittee has three main roles:

• to advise the Council, Commission andEuropean Parliament, either at theirrequest or on the Committee’s own initiative;

• to encourage civil society to become moreinvolved in EU policy-making;

• to bolster the role of civil society in non-EU countries and to help set up advisorystructures.

Who are the EESC’s members?

Working mostly in their countries of origin,the members of the Committee form threegroups that represent employers, workersand various economic and social interests.

The Employers’ Group has members from private and public sectors of industry, smalland medium-sized businesses, chambers ofcommerce, wholesale and retail trade, bank-ing and insurance, transport and agriculture.

The Workers’ Group represents all categoriesof employees, from manual to executive. Itsmembers come from national trade unionorganisations.

The third group represents a wide range ofinterests: NGOs, farmers’ organisations, smallbusinesses, crafts and professions, coopera-tives and non-profit associations, consumerand environmental organisations, the scientific and academic communities andassociations that represent the family,women, persons with disabilities, etc.

Set up in 1994 under the Treaty on EuropeanUnion, the Committee of the Regions (CoR)is an advisory body composed of representa-tives of Europe’s regional and local authori-ties. The CoR has to be consulted before EUdecisions are taken on matters such asregional policy, the environment, educationand transport — all of which concern localand regional government.

The Committee has 317 members. The num-ber from each member state approximatelyreflects its population size, as follows:

Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom 24Poland and Spain 21Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Sweden 12Denmark, Ireland, Lithuania, Slovakia and Finland 9Estonia, Latvia and Slovenia 7Cyprus and Luxembourg 6Malta 5Total 317

Once Bulgaria and Romania join, the CoRwill have 344 members.

The members of the Committee are electedmunicipal or regional politicians, often lead-ers of regional governments or mayors ofcities. They are nominated by the EU govern-ments but they work in complete politicalindependence. The Council of the EuropeanUnion appoints them for four years, and theymay be reappointed. They must also have amandate from the authorities they represent,or must be politically accountable to them.

The Committee of the Regions chooses aPresident from among its members, for aterm of two years. Peter Straub, fromGermany, was elected President in February2004.

What does the Committee do?

The role of the Committee of the Regions isto put forward the local and regional pointsof view on EU legislation. It does so by issu-ing opinions on Commission proposals.

The Commission and the Council must con-sult the Committee of the Regions on topicsof direct relevance to local and regionalauthorities, but they can also consult theCommittee whenever they wish. For its part,

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The Committee of the Regions: voice of local government

Key facts

Role: Represents regional and local authoritiesMembers: 317Term of office: Four yearsMeetings: Brussels, five plenaries per yearAddress: Rue Belliard 101, B-1040 BrusselsTel. (32-2) 282 22 11Internet: www.cor.eu.int

the Committee can adopt opinions on itsown initiative and present them to theCommission, Council and Parliament.

How is the Committee’s workorganised?

Each year the Committee of the Regionsholds five plenary sessions, during which itsgeneral policy is defined and opinions areadopted.

The members of the Committee are assignedto specialist ‘commissions’ whose job is toprepare the plenary sessions. There are sixcommissions:

• Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy(COTER);

• Commission for Economic and SocialPolicy (ECOS);

• Commission for Sustainable Development(DEVE);

• Commission for Culture and Education(EDUC);

• Commission for Constitutional Affairs andEuropean Governance (CONST);

• Commission for External Relations (RELEX).

Through the CoR, mayors and town councillors from all over Europe have their say in EU action

affecting the regions – such as improving telecommunications networks.

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The European Investment Bank (EIB) was setup in 1958 by the Treaty of Rome. Its job isto lend money for projects of Europeaninterest (such as rail and road links, airports,or environmental schemes), particularly inthe less well-off regions, candidate countriesand the developing world. It also providescredit for investment by small businesses.

Philippe Maystadt, from Belgium, becamePresident of the EIB on 1 January 2000.

What does the Bank do?

The EIB is non-profit-making and gets nomoney from savings or current accounts. Nordoes it use any funds from the EU budget.Instead, the EIB is financed through borrow-ing on the financial markets and by theBank’s shareholders — the member states ofthe European Union. They subscribe jointlyto its capital, each country’s contributionreflecting its economic weight within theUnion.

This backing by the member states gives theEIB the highest possible credit rating (AAA) onthe money markets, where it can therefore

raise very large amounts of capital on verycompetitive terms. This in turn enables theBank to invest in projects of public interestthat would otherwise not get the money — orwould have to borrow it more expensively.

The projects the Bank invests in are carefullyselected according to the following criteria:

• they must help achieve EU objectives suchas making European industries and smallbusinesses more competitive; creatingtrans-European networks (transport,telecommunications and energy); boostingthe information technology sector; pro-tecting the natural and urban environ-ments; improving health and educationservices;

• they must chiefly benefit the most disad-vantaged regions;

• they must help attract other sources offunding.

The EIB also supports sustainable develop-ment in the Mediterranean countries, Africa,the Caribbean and the Pacific, as well as projects in Latin America and Asia.

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The European Investment Bank: financing EU projects

Key facts

Role: Finances EU projectsMembers: The member states

Board of Directors 26, ManagementCommittee 9

Address: 100, Boulevard Konrad Adenauer, L-2950 Luxembourg

Tel. (352) 43 79-1Internet: www.eib.eu.int

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Finally, the EIB is the majority shareholder inthe European Investment Fund, with whichit forms the ‘EIB Group’. The EuropeanInvestment Fund was set up in 1994, to provide venture capital for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It does not lenddirectly to businesses or invest directly in anyfirms. Instead, it works through banks andother financial intermediaries, providingthem with guarantees to cover their loans tosmall businesses.

The Fund is active in the member states ofthe European Union and in Bulgaria,Romania, Turkey and three EFTA countries(Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway).

How is the Bank’s work organised?

The EIB is an autonomous institution. Itmakes its own borrowing and lending deci-sions purely on the merits of each projectand the opportunities offered by the finan-cial markets. Each year, it presents a reporton all its activities.

The Bank cooperates with the EU institu-tions. For example, its representatives maytake part in committees of the EuropeanParliament, and the President of the EIB mayattend Council meetings.

The Bank’s decisions are taken by the follow-ing bodies.

• The Board of Governors consists of minis-ters (normally the finance ministers) fromall the member states. It defines the Bank’sgeneral lending policy, approves the bal-ance sheet and annual report, authorisesthe Bank to fund projects outside the EUand decides on capital increases.

• The Board of Directors, approves lendingand borrowing operations and it makessure that the EIB is properly managed. Itconsists of 26 directors — one nominatedby each EU member state and one by theEuropean Commission.

• The Management Committee is the Bank’sfull-time executive. It handles the EIB’sday-to-day business and it has nine members.

The EIB finances a wide range of projects, including new road and rail links to improve Europe’s transportnetwork.

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The European Central Bank (ECB) was setup in 1998, under the Treaty on EuropeanUnion, and it is based in Frankfurt(Germany). Its job is to manage the euro —the EU’s single currency. The ECB is alsoresponsible for framing and implementingthe EU’s economic and monetary policy.

To carry out its role, the ECB works withthe ‘European System of Central Banks’(ESCB), which covers all 25 EU countries.However, only 12 of these countries haveso far adopted the euro. The 12 collective-ly make up the ‘euro area’ and their centralbanks, together with the European CentralBank, make up what is called the‘Eurosystem’.

The ECB works in complete independence.Neither the ECB, the national central banksof the Eurosystem, nor any member of theirdecision-making bodies can ask for oraccept instructions from any other body.The EU institutions and member state gov-ernments must respect this principle andmust not seek to influence the ECB or thenational central banks.

The ECB, working closely with the nationalcentral banks, prepares and implements thedecisions taken by the Eurosystem’s deci-

sion-making bodies — the GoverningCouncil, the Executive Board and the GeneralCouncil.

Jean-Claude Trichet, from France, becamePresident of the ECB in November 2003.

What does the Bank do?

One of the ECB’s main tasks is to maintainprice stability in the euro area, so that theeuro’s purchasing power is not eroded byinflation. The ECB aims to ensure that theyear-on-year increase in consumer prices isless than 2%.

It does this in two ways.

• First, by controlling the money supply. Ifthe money supply is excessive compared tothe supply of goods and services, inflationwill result.

• Second, by monitoring price trends andassessing the risk they pose to price stabil-ity in the euro area.

Controlling the money supply involves,amongst other things, setting interest ratesthroughout the euro area. This is perhaps theBank’s best-known activity.

The European Central Bank: managing the euro

Key facts

Role: To manage the euro and EU monetary policy

Members: Governing Council 18, General Council 27,Executive Board 6

Address: Kaiserstrasse 29, D-60311 Frankfurt am Main

Tel. (49) 691 34 40Internet: www.ecb.int

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How is the Bank’s work organised?

The European Central Bank’s work is organ-ised via the following decision-making bodies.

The Executive Board

This comprises the President of the ECB, theVice-President and four other members, allappointed by common agreement of thepresidents or prime ministers of the euroarea countries. The Executive Board membersare appointed for a non-renewable term ofeight years.

The Executive Board is responsible for imple-menting monetary policy, as defined by theGoverning Council (see below), and for giv-ing instructions to the national centralbanks. It also prepares the Governing Councilmeetings and is responsible for the day-to-day management of the ECB.

The Governing Council

The Governing Council is the EuropeanCentral Bank’s highest decision-makingbody. It comprises the six members of theExecutive Board and the governors of the 12central banks of the euro area. It is chairedby the President of the ECB. Its primary mis-sion is to define the monetary policy of theeuro area, and, in particular, to fix the inter-est rates at which the commercial banks canobtain money from the Central Bank.

The General Council

The General Council is the ECB’s third decision-making body. It comprises the ECB’sPresident and the Vice-President and thegovernors of the national central banks of all25 EU member states. The General Councilcontributes to the ECB’s advisory and coordi-nation work and helps prepare for the futureenlargement of the euro area.

The euro makes it easy to travel and shop around in Europe. The ECB

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The position of European Ombudsman wascreated by the Treaty on European Union(Maastricht, 1992). The Ombudsman acts asan intermediary between the citizen and theEU authorities. He is entitled to receive andinvestigate complaints from EU citizens,businesses and organisations, and from any-one residing or having their registered officein an EU country.

The Ombudsman is elected by the EuropeanParliament for a renewable term of fiveyears, which corresponds to Parliament’s leg-islative term. Nikiforos Diamandouros, theformer national ombudsman of Greece, tookup the post of European Ombudsman in April2003 and was re-elected in January 2005 fora five-year term.

What does the Ombudsman do?

He helps to uncover ‘maladministration’ inthe European Union institutions and bodies.‘Maladministration’ means poor or failedadministration — in other words, when aninstitution fails to act in accordance with thelaw, or fails to respect the principles of goodadministration, or violates human rights.Some examples are:

• unfairness,

• discrimination,

• abuse of power,

• lack or refusal of information,

• unnecessary delay,

• incorrect procedures.

The Ombudsman carries out investigationsfollowing a complaint or on his own initia-tive. He operates completely independentlyand impartially. He does not request oraccept instructions from any government ororganisation.

How do I complain to theOmbudsman?

If you want to complain about maladminis-tration by an EU institution or body, the firstthing to do is contact that institution orbody through the usual administrative chan-nels and try to get them to put the situationright.

If that approach fails, you can complain tothe European Ombudsman.

You must make your complaint to theOmbudsman within two years of the date onwhich you became aware of the act of mal-administration. You must clearly state whoyou are, which institution or body you arecomplaining about and what problem you

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The European Ombudsman: investigating your complaints

Key facts

Role: To uncover cases of maladministration and propose solutions

Term of office: Five years, renewableAddress: 1, Avenue du Président Robert Schuman,

BP 403, F-67001 StrasbourgTel. (33) 3 88 17 23 13Internet: www.euro-ombudsman.eu.int

39

are complaining about, though you may askfor the complaint to remain confidential.

For practical guidance on making your com-plaint, go to the Ombudsman’s website:www.euro-ombudsman.eu.int

What result can I expect?

If the Ombudsman cannot deal with yourcomplaint — for example, if it has alreadybeen the subject of a court case — he will dohis best to advise you which other body maybe able to help. However, if he can deal withyour complaint he will.

To resolve your problem, the Ombudsmanmay simply need to inform the institution orbody concerned. If the problem is notcleared up during his enquiries, theOmbudsman will try to find a friendly solu-tion which puts the matter right and satis-fies you.

If this fails, the Ombusman can make recom-mendations to resolve the issue. If the insti-tution concerned does not accept his recom-mendations, he can make a special report tothe European Parliament so that it can takewhatever political action is necessary.

Every year, the Ombudsman presents theEuropean Parliament with a report on all hiswork.

Mr P. Nikiforos Diamandouros took up the post of Ombudsman in April 2003 and was re-elected in January 2005.

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The position of European Data ProtectionSupervisor (EDPS) was created in 2001. Theresponsibility of the EDPS is to make surethat all EU institutions and bodies respectpeople’s right to privacy when processingtheir personal data.

What does the EDPS do?

When EU institutions or bodies process personal data about an identifiable person,they must respect that person’s right to privacy. The EDPS makes sure they do so, andadvises them on all aspects of personal dataprocessing.

‘Processing’ covers activities such as collect-ing information, recording and storing it,retrieving it for consultation, sending it ormaking it available to other people, and alsoblocking, erasing or destroying data.

There are strict privacy rules governingthese activities. For example, EU institutionsand bodies are not allowed to process per-sonal data that reveal your racial or ethnicorigin, political opinions, religious or philo-sophical beliefs or trade-union membership.Nor may they process data on your health orsex life, unless the data are needed forhealthcare purposes. Even then, the datamust be processed by a health professional

or other person who is sworn to profession-al secrecy.

The EDPS works with the data protectionofficers in each EU institution or body toensure that the date privacy rules areapplied.

In 2004, Mr Peter Johan Hustinx wasappointed as European Data ProtectionSupervisor and Mr Joaquin Bayo Delgado asthe Assistant Supervisor.

How can the EDPS help you?

If you have reason to believe that your rightto privacy has been infringed by an EU insti-tution or body misusing your personal data,you should complain to the European DataProtection Supervisor. He will investigateyour complaint and let you know as soon aspossible whether he agrees with it and, if so,how the situation is being put right. Forexample, he can order the institution or bodyconcerned to correct, block, erase or destroyany of your personal data that has beenunlawfully processed.

If you disagree with his decision, you maytake the matter to the Court of Justice.

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The European Data ProtectionSupervisor: safeguarding your privacy

Key facts

Role: To protect your data privacyTerm of office: Five years, renewableAddress: Rue Wiertz 60,

B-1047 BrusselsTel. (32-2) 283 19 00Internet: www.edps.eu.int

41

Community Plant VarietyOffice

The Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO)is located in Angers, France. It was estab-lished in 1994.

Its task is to administer a system of plantvariety rights — a form of industrial propertyrights relating to plants.

The CPVO works rather like the Office forHarmonisation in the Internal Market: itgrants industrial property protection rightsfor new plant varieties. These rights are validfor a period of either 25 or 30 years.

Further information at www.cpvo.eu.int

Eurojust

Eurojust was set up in 2002 and is based inThe Hague, The Netherlands. Its job is tohelp prosecuting authorities across the EUto work together in the fight against seri-ous cross-border crime, including com-puter crime, fraud and corruption cases,money laundering and environmentalcrime.

It helps by, for example, making it easierfor the national authorities to exchangeinformation, to provide mutual legal assis-tance and to extradite individuals wantedfor questioning.

Eurojust is composed of one prosecutor,judge or police officer from each EU coun-try. They form the ‘College’ (i.e. managingboard) of the organisation, and they electone of their number as President for athree-year term. The College is assisted by

Agencies

An agency is not an EU institution: it is a body set up by a specific piece of EU legislation tocarry out a very specific task. Not all EU agencies have the word ‘agency’ in their official title:they may, instead, be called a Centre, Foundation, Institute, Observatory, Office, etc.

Three of them — the EDA, EUISS and EUSC — carry out tasks for the common foreign and security policy (the ‘second pillar’ of the European Union). Four others — AMOCEB, CEPOL,Europol and Eurojust — help coordinate police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters (the‘third pillar’ of the European Union), including management of the EU’s external borders.

All the other agencies carry out tasks under the EU’s ‘first pillar’— the so-called ‘Communitydomain’.

Read on for a brief description of each of them.

42


a secretariat and by a staff of EU officialsand seconded national experts.

Since its work involves keeping files on suspected criminals, Eurojust has a data pro-tection officer whose job is to ensure thatpersonal data in its files are properly protectedand are handled in accordance with the law.You are entitled to know what information,if any, Eurojust holds about you and to askEurojust to correct or delete it if it is incor-rect or incomplete.

Further information at www.eurojust.eu.int

European Agency for the Management ofOperational Coordination at the External Borders of the Member States of the EU

The decision to set up this agency (known for short as AMOCEB) was taken in October2004. It will be based in Warsaw.

Its job is to help EU member states imple-ment EU rules on external border controlsand on returning non-EU citizens to theircountries of origin. It is, of course, up to eachmember state to control its own borders, butthe agency will help ensure that they all doso with the same high standard of efficiency.

The agency’s main tasks include:

• helping EU countries train their borderguards;

• assessing risks;

• exploiting research into new surveillancetechnologies;

• coordinating cooperation between EUcountries on repatriating illegal immigrants.

European Agency forReconstruction

The European Agency for Reconstruction(EAR) was set up in 2000. Its headquartersare in Thessaloniki, Greece, and it has opera-tional centres in Belgrade, Pristina,Podgorica and Skopje.

Its task is to manage the main EU pro-grammes for providing reconstruction assis-tance, worth about €2 billion a year, tocountries throughout the Balkan regionaffected by wars in the 1990s.

Further information at www.ear.eu.int

European Agency for Safetyand Health at Work

Established in 1994, the European Agencyfor Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) islocated in Bilbao, Spain.

No one country can tackle the wide range ofoccupational safety and health (OSH) issuesfacing Europe today. So EU-OSHA was set upto pool Europe’s vast fund of knowledge andinformation on these issues, particularly onpreventive measures.

As well as developing a comprehensive network of safety and health websites, theagency runs an active publications pro-gramme producing everything from special-ist information reports to campaign material.

EU-OSHA is run by an Administrative Boardon which trade unions, employers’ organisa-tions, national governments and theEuropean Commission are all represented.

Further information at agency.osha.eu.int

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European Aviation SafetyAgency

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)was set up in 2002. It is located in Cologne,Germany.

Its job is to help the EU develop laws and ruleson air safety and to help the Commissioncheck whether EU rules are being properly fol-lowed. The agency will also provide technicalassistance to international organisationsresponsible for civil aviation safety and envi-ronmental protection. In addition, it will assistaeronautical authorities in non-EU countries.

The EASA has the right to take certain deci-sions, such as issuing type certificates for aero-nautical products.

Further information at easa.eu.int

European Centre for theDevelopment of VocationalTraining

Established in 1975, the European Centre forthe Development of Vocational Training(Cedefop) is located in Thessaloniki, Greece.

Its job is to analyse and provide informationon vocational education and training sys-tems, policies, research and practice. Thishelps specialists throughout the EU to develop and improve vocational educationand training in Europe.

Cedefop also runs an interactive websitecalled ‘European Training Village’, accessibleat www.trainingvillage.gr

Cedefop is run by an Administrative Boardon which trade unions, employers’ organisa-tions, national governments and theEuropean Commission are all represented.

Further information at www.cedefop.eu.int

European Centre forDisease Prevention andControl

The decision to set up the European Centrefor Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)was taken in March 2004. It will be locatedin Stockholm, Sweden, and is due to startwork in 2005.

ECDC will help the EU combat communicablediseases and other serious health threats. Itstasks will include running networks of labo-ratories and operating an early warning andresponse system. It could, for example, sendan EU team of experts to investigate an out-break of an unknown human disease in aEuropean country.

Further information:europa.eu.int/comm/health/ph_overview/strategy/ecdc/ecdc_en.htm

European Defence Agency

The EDA was set up in 2004 and will be basedin Brussels. Its job is to help the memberstates improve European defence and crisismanagement capabilities and to sustain theEuropean security and defence policy.

It will do so by helping ensure a more coordinated approach to the production andprocurement of armaments and defenceequipment, and to defence research andtechnological development.


European EnvironmentAgency

The European Environment Agency (EEA) wasestablished in 1990. It is located inCopenhagen, Denmark.

Its job is to collect and disseminate informa-tion on the state and trends of the environ-ment in Europe. It is open to non-EU coun-tries: Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norwayhave been members from the start. Theagency cooperates actively with environ-mental bodies and international organisations.

Further information at www.eea.eu.int

European Food SafetyAuthority

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)began operating in 2002. Provisionally located

in Brussels, Belgium, its permanent home willbe in Parma, Italy.

Its primary responsibility is to provide inde-pendent scientific advice on all matters con-cerning food safety. The authority assessesrisks to the food chain and carries out scien-tific assessment on any matter that mayaffect the safety of food in Europe.

The authority’s work covers the whole foodproduction process ‘from farm to fork’ — inother words from primary production(including the safety of animal feed) to thesupply of food to consumers. The EFSA gath-ers information from around the world,keeping an eye on new developments in science. It shares its findings not only withexperts and decision-makers but also withthe general public.

Further information at www.efsa.eu.int

The European Food Safety Authority helps ensure the safety of the whole food production process - ‘fromfarm to fork.’

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45

European Foundation forthe Improvement of Livingand Working Conditions

Established in 1975, the EuropeanFoundation for the Improvement of Livingand Working Conditions (Eurofound) islocated in Dublin, Ireland.

Its job is to:

• advise social policy-makers;

• assess and analyse living and working conditions;

• report on developments and trends;

• contribute to improving the quality of life.

Eurofound is run by an Administrative Boardon which trade unions, employers’ organisa-tions, national governments and theEuropean Commission are all represented.

Further information at www.eurofound.eu.int

European Global NavigationSatellite System SupervisoryAuthority

The European GNSS Supervisory Authoritywas set up in 2004. It has not yet beendecided where this agency will be based.

Its job is to ensure that essential publicinterests are properly defended and repre-sented in connection with Europe’s satellitenavigation programmes (GALILEO andEGNOS). The aim of GALILEO is to provide amodern European alternative to the estab-lished American GPS system.

The agency is responsible for managing andmonitoring the use of the programme funds.It will help the European Commission dealwith any matters relating to satellite radio-navigation.

European Maritime SafetyAgency

The European Maritime Safety agency(EMSA) was set up in 2002. Temporarilylocated in Brussels, Belgium, its permanenthome will be in Lisbon, Portugal.

EMSA’s purpose is to help improve the EU’smaritime safety system, reducing the risk ofmaritime accidents, marine pollution fromships and the loss of human lives at sea.

The agency provides technical and scientificadvice to help improve EU legislation onmaritime safety and ship pollution. It helpsthe Commission monitor what is being doneby the EU and candidate countries, and itadvises their governments.

Among its various tasks, EMSA will develop acommon EU methodology for investigatingaccidents at sea and establish an EU-widesystem of information on shipping traffic.

Further information at emsa.eu.int

European Medicines Agency

Established in 1993, the European Medicinesagency (EMEA) is located in London, UnitedKingdom. The agency helps protect and pro-mote health in Europe by evaluating medi-cines for both human and veterinary use. Itbrings together scientific expertise from allEU countries.

Some types of medicinal product derivedfrom biotechnology can be sold in theEuropean Union only after careful examina-tion by the EMEA. If the agency finds thatthe product is safe and of good quality, theEuropean Commission may authorise it forsale in all EU countries. People wishing tomarket other innovative medicines may alsoapply for this kind of authorisation.

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Most conventional medicines are autho-rised by each individual EU country. TheEMEA helps run a system of mutual recog-nition for these national authorisations.

Further information at www.emea.eu.int

European MonitoringCentre for Drugs and DrugAddiction

Established in 1993, the EuropeanMonitoring Centre for Drugs and DrugAddiction (EMCDDA) is located in Lisbon,Portugal.

The centre’s task is to collect and dissemi-nate objective, reliable and comparableinformation on drugs and drug addiction inEurope. It works in partnership with non-EU countries as well as with internationalbodies such as the United NationsInternational Drug Control Programme

(UNDCP), the World Health Organisation(WHO), the Council of Europe’s PompidouGroup, the World Customs Organisation(WCO), the International Criminal PoliceOrganisation (Interpol) and the EuropeanPolice Office (Europol).

Further information at www.emcdda.org

European MonitoringCentre on Racism andXenophobia

The European Monitoring Centre on Racismand Xenophobia (EUMC) is located inVienna, Austria. It was established in 1997.The centre’s primary task is to provide theEU and its member states with objective,reliable and comparable data on racism,xenophobia and anti-semitism in Europe,and to work out EU-wide strategies fortackling these problems.

The EUMC studies the extent and develop-ment of racism and xenophobia and analy-ses their causes, consequences and effects.It also highlights and disseminates exam-ples of good practice in integratingmigrants and ethnic and religious minorities.

The core of the EUMC’s work is theEuropean Information Network on Racismand Xenophobia (RAXEN). It consists of‘national focal points’ (one in each EUcountry) that collect, collate and dissemi-nate information about racism and xeno-phobia in their own country.

Further information at www.eumc.eu.int

The European Medicines Agency assesses whetherthe medicines we use are safe.

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European Network andInformation SecurityAgency

The European Network and InformationSecurity Agency (ENISA) was set up in2004. Temporarily located in Brussels, itspermanent home will be in Heraklion,Greece (Crete).

ENISA’s mission is to help ensure thatinformation networks and the data theycarry are made highly secure. This will ben-efit citizens, consumers, businesses andpublic sector organisations throughout theEuropean Union.

The agency’s tasks will include collectingdata, analysing risks, raising awareness andpromoting best practices for risk management.

Further information at enisa.eu.int

European Police College

The European Police College (CEPOL) is anacademy for training senior and middle-ranking EU police officials. Its mission is tohelp the EU’s national police forces in theirfight against crime, especially cross-bordercrime. It has been running training courseson European policing since 2001.

CEPOL’s main objective is to help policeofficers from different EU countries tolearn more about each other’s nationalpolice systems, and about cross-borderpolice cooperation in Europe.

The Police College may cooperate with thenational police training institutes of coun-tries outside the European Union. In partic-ular, it makes its facilities available tosenior police officers from the candidatecountries and Iceland and Norway.

CEPOL will be permanently based atBramshill, United Kingdom.

Further information at www.cepol.net

European Police Office

The European Police Office (Europol) wasset up in 1992 to handle Europe-widecriminal intelligence. It is based in TheHague, The Netherlands, and its staffincludes representatives of the nationallaw enforcement agencies (police, customs,immigration services, etc.).

Europol’s aim is to help the EU memberstates cooperate more closely and effec-tively in preventing and combating organ-ised international crime, in particular:

• drug trafficking,

• immigration networks,

• vehicle trafficking,

• trafficking in human beings includingchild pornography,

• forgery of money and other means ofpayment,

• trafficking in radioactive and nuclearsubstances,

• terrorism.

One of Europol’s duties is to establish andmaintain a computerised system to allowthe input, access and analysis of data. Ajoint supervisory body, comprising twodata protection experts from each memberstate, monitors the content and use of allpersonal data held by Europol.

Europol is accountable to the Justice andHome Affairs Council, i.e. the justice andhome affairs ministers of all the EU coun-tries. The Europol Management Board com-prises one representative from each country.

Further information at www.europol.eu.int

European Railway Agency

The decision to set up the EuropeanRailway Agency (ERA) was taken in April2004. It will be located in Lille/Valenciennes, France. Its mission is to helpreinforce the safety and interoperability ofrailways in Europe, so that an ‘integratedEuropean railway area’ can gradually beestablished.

Further information at europa.eu.int/comm/transport/rail/era/index_en.htm

European TrainingFoundation

Established in 1990, the European TrainingFoundation (ETF) is located in Turin, Italy.

The ETF helps improve vocational trainingin non-EU countries, mostly in neighbour-ing regions such as North Africa, theMiddle East, the Balkans and the formerSoviet Union.

The foundation offers these countriesinsight, know-how and experience in train-ing people for new jobs and in developinglifelong learning programmes.

Further information at www.etf.eu.int

European Union Institutefor Security Studies

The EUISS was set up in 2001 and is basedin Paris, France. Its aim is to help create acommon European security culture and topromote the security interests of the EU asa whole.

The EUISS helps develop the common for-eign and security policy through:

• research and discussion on major securi-ty and defence issues;

• forward-looking analysis for the Counciland the High Representative;

• transatlantic dialogue on security issuesbetween Europe, Canada and the UnitedStates.

Further information at www.iss-eu.org

European Union SatelliteCentreThe EUSC was set up in 2002 and is basedin Torrejón de Ardoz, Spain.

It analyses data and images from earthobservation satellites and uses that infor-mation to help the European Union takedecisions within its common foreign andsecurity policy (CFSP).

The centre also conducts research anddevelopment projects and provides experttraining in digital geographic informationsystems and imagery analysis.

Further information at www.eusc.org

Office for Harmonisationin the Internal Market(Trade Marks and Designs)Established in 1994, the Office forHarmonisation in the Internal Market(OHIM) is located in Alicante, Spain.

Its task is to carry out registration proce-dures for Community trade marks anddesigns.

The ‘Community trade mark’ system simpli-fies life and cuts costs for European busi-nesses. A manufacturer wishing to protecthis trade mark in Europe no longer has toregister identical trade marks in each EUcountry. Through OHIM he can now applyfor a single ‘Community’ trade mark, whichgives him the right to prohibit other firmsfrom using identical or similar signsthroughout the EU.

Further information at oami.eu.int

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49

Translation Centre for theBodies of the EuropeanUnion

Established in 1994, the Translation Centreis located in Luxembourg.

The centre, which is self-financing, was setup to meet the translation needs of theother EU agencies. Under voluntary coop-eration agreements it also provides servicesto the EU institutions and other bodies thathave their own translation services.

Further information at www.cdt.eu.int

Other agencies are being planned and pre-pared at the time of writing. These include:

• the Community Fisheries Control Agency,

• the Education, Audiovisual and CultureExecutive Agency,

• the European Chemicals Agency,

• the European Institute for GenderEquality,

• the European Fundamental RightsAgency,

• the Executive Agency for the PublicHealth Programme,

• the Intelligent Energy Executive Agency.

Police officers from across the EU use Europol to fight international criminals who forge the euro.

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Looking to the future

The EU’s decision-making system has evolvedover half a century. But it was originallydesigned for a community of just six nations.The EU now has 25 member states, and itsmembership will increase further in the yearsahead. Its decision-making system thereforeneeds simplifying and streamlining. To avoidparalysis, most decisions will have to be takenby ‘qualified majority voting’ rather thanrequiring every single country to agree.

Wider questions about the EU’s future mustalso be addressed. For example:• what are the aims and objectives of the

enlarged Union? (In other words, what do themember states want to achieve together infuture?)

• what common policies are needed to achievethose objectives?

• what should be decided at EU level and whatshould be left to the national or regionalauthorities?

• what role should national parliaments play inEU decision-making?

In short, who should be responsible for doingwhat and how should democratic decisions bemade in a Union of 25 or more countries withhalf a billion citizens?

The proposed Constitution agreed by theEuropean Council in 2004 tackles these ques-tions head on. It spells out much more clearlythan in previous treaties what the EuropeanUnion is and where it is going. It also lays downthe new rules for more streamlined decision-making.

The Constitution is designed to make the EUmore open and democratic. For example, itobliges EU ministers to hold their law-makingdiscussions in public, and it gives citizens theright to draw up a petition asking the EuropeanCommission to propose new laws. Moreover, itgives national parliaments a greater role inmonitoring Commission proposals.

It also aims to make the European Union amore effective force on the world stage bycreating the post of EU Foreign AffairsMinister and putting that person in chargeof all aspects of the Union’s external rela-tions.

The new Constitution maintains the existingbalance between national interests and thegeneral European interest, and between theinterests of small and big countries.

The Constitution cannot come into forceuntil it has been ratified by all 25 nationalparliaments. In some countries it must beapproved by a referendum.

If you want to learn more aboutthe Constitution, see europa.eu.int/constitution/

The EU exists to serve its citizens. It is vitalthat its citizens understand it and are fullyinvolved in its decision-making system. Italso needs efficient, open and accountableinstitutions that can meet the great chal-lenges of the 21st century.

In a democratic Europe, thefuture of theEU is in thehands of itspeople – especially itsyoung people.

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The European Union (EU) is not a federal state like the United States of America. Nor is it apurely intergovernmental organisation like the United Nations. It is, in fact, unique. Its mem-ber countries remain independent sovereign nations, but they pool their sovereignty — andthus gain much greater collective strength and influence.

This means taking joint decisions through shared institutions such as the European Parliament,the Council and the European Commission. But what does each of these institutions do? Howdo they work together? Who is responsible for what?

This booklet sets out the answers in clear and simple language. It also gives a brief overviewof the agencies and other bodies that are involved in the European Union’s work. The aim isto provide you with a helpful guide to EU decision-making.

European Commission


Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities

2005 — 50 pp. — 16.2 x 22.9 cm

ISBN 92-894-9524-3

EUROPEAN COMMISSIONREPRESENTATIONS

Representation in Ireland18 Dawson StreetDublin 2Tel. (353-1) 634 11 11Fax (353-1) 634 11 12Internet: www.euireland.ieE-mail: [email protected]

Representation in the United Kingdom8 Storey’s GateLondon SW1P 3ATTel. (44-20) 79 73 19 92Fax (44-20) 79 73 19 00/10Internet: www.cec.org.uk

Representation in Wales2 Caspian Point, Caspian WayCardiff CF10 4QQTel. (44-29) 20 89 50 20Fax (44-29) 20 89 50 35Internet: www.cec.org.uk

Representation in Scotland9 Alva StreetEdinburgh EH2 4PHTel. (44-131) 225 20 58Fax (44-131) 226 41 05Internet: www.cec.org.uk

Representation in Northern IrelandWindsor House9/15 Bedford StreetBelfast BT2 7EGTel. (44-28) 90 24 07 08Fax (44-28) 90 24 82 41Internet: www.cec.org.uk

Information services in the United States2300 M Street, NW – 3rd floorWashington DC 20037Tel. (202) 862 95 00Fax (202) 429 17 66Internet: www.eurunion.org

222 East 41st Street, 20th floorNew York, NY 10017Tel. (212) 371 38 04Fax (212) 688 10 13Internet: www.eurunion.org

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT OFFICES

Office in IrelandEuropean Union House43 Molesworth StreetDublin 2Tel. (353-1) 605 79 00Fax (353-1) 605 79 99Internet: www.europarl.ieE-mail: [email protected]

United Kingdom Office2 Queen Anne’s GateLondon SW1H 9AATel. (44-20) 72 27 43 00Fax (44-20) 72 27 43 02Internet: www.europarl.org.ukE-mail: [email protected]

Office in ScotlandThe Tun, 4 Jackson’s EntryHolyrood Road, Edinburgh EH8 8PJTel. (44-131) 557 78 66Fax (44-131) 557 49 77Internet: www.europarl.org.ukE-mail: [email protected]

Other information on the European Union

Information in all the official languages of the European Union is available on the Internet. Youcan access it through the Europa server: europa.eu.int

All over Europe there are hundreds of local EU information centres. You can can find the addressof the centre nearest you at this website: europa.eu.int/comm/relays/index_en.htm

EUROPE DIRECT is a service which answers your questions about the European Union. You cancontact this service by freephone: 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11, or by payphone from outside the EU: (32-2) 29-99696, or by electronic mail via europa.eu.int/europedirect

There are European Commission and Parliament representations and offices in all the countries of the European Union. The European Commission also has delegations in other parts of the world.

TThhee EEuurrooppeeaann UUnniioonn

Member states of the European Union

Candidate countries

C1

The European Union (EU) is not a federalstate like the United States of America.Nor is it a purely intergovernmentalorganisation like the United Nations.It is, in fact, unique. Its member countriesremain independent sovereign nations,but they pool their sovereignty — andthus gain much greater collectivestrength and influence.

This means taking joint decisionsthrough shared institutions such as theEuropean Parliament, the Council andthe European Commission. But whatdoes each of these institutions do? How

do they work together? Who is responsible for what?

This booklet sets out the answers in clear and simple language. It alsogives a brief overview of the agencies and other bodies that are involvedin the European Union’s work. The aim is to provide you with a helpfulguide to EU decision-making.

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How the European Union works - LU · EU institutions and bodies; •the European Data Protection Supervisorsafeguards the privacy of people’s personal data. In addition, specialised