1. EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS :WHAT THEY ARE & WHAT THEY
DOEnglish V (Achilleas Kostoulas)
2. Pre-Reading TaskWhat do we already know about the
EUinstitutions?
3. What does a commissioner
do?http://www.worldfishing.net/news101/damanaki-considers-banning-discards
4. What is the Council of the European Union?
http://criticalppp.com/archives/53669
5. Where is the European Parliament located?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:European-parliament-strasbourg-inside.jpg
6. Can a member state of the EU be taken to
court?http://www.bellona.org/articles/articles_2007/dutch_ecj
7. Who keeps track of how EU money is spent?
http://eca.europa.eu/portal/pls/portal/docs/1/187066.TIF
8. What does the European Central Bank do?
http://www.oilempire.us/oil-jpg/Euro_banknotes.jpg
9. Reading activitiesTask 1 (Note taking)
10. The European CommissionThe European Commission is more than
simply a civil service for theEuropean Union, it is the only body
that can propose legislation. It issometimes seen as the driving
force behind European integration butthe member states both guide
and limit its activity. The commission ismade up 27 commissioners -
the president and 26 others, each withresponsibility for a policy
area, such as agriculture or enlargement.Commissioners are
appointed by the member states, and are usuallysenior politicians.
However, their job is to act in the general Europeaninterest, not
to advance the interests of their own country. The numberof
commissioners will change in 2014 under the Lisbon Treaty. From2014
only two-thirds of member states will have a commissioner at anyone
time - so all will have a commissioner for 10 years out of every
15.
11. The Council of MinistersThe Council of Ministers is the EU
institution which represents theEU member states. It is a
many-headed creature and maybring together government ministers
from each country, headsof government, ambassadors, or merely
government officials.Many decisions are made by officials meeting
in technicalcommittees and are then merely rubber-stamped by
ministers.Unlike the Commission, the Council of Ministers is not
asupranational body but an intergovernmental one. It should notbe
confused with the European Council, which is the name givento the
regular meetings - sometimes called summits - of the EUmember
states heads of state or government.
12. The European Parliament (location)The parliament is the
only directly elected body in theEuropean Union. It holds regular
plenary sessions inStrasbourg, and has a secretariat in Luxembourg,
butmembers of the parliament do most of their work inBrussels. This
is where they examine draft legislations incommittees and consult
with the Commission and Council ofMinisters. The parliament has the
power to sack theCommission, it holds hearings on new
commissioners, andhas the last word on about half the spending in
the EUannual budget. Its powers have been steadily increasing.Most
EU legislation now needs the approval of bothparliament and the
Council of Ministers before it becomeslaw.
13. The European Parliament (powers)The parliament is the only
directly elected body in theEuropean Union. It holds regular
plenary sessions inStrasbourg, and has a secretariat in Luxembourg,
but membersof the parliament do most of their work in Brussels.
This iswhere they examine draft legislations in committees
andconsult with the Commission and Council of Ministers.
Theparliament has the power to sack the Commission, it
holdshearings on new commissioners, and has the last word on
abouthalf the spending in the EU annual budget. Its powers havebeen
steadily increasing. Most EU legislation now needs theapproval of
both parliament and the Council of Ministersbefore it becomes
law.
14. The European Court of JusticeThe court rules on disputes
over EU treaties and other EUlegislation. Its decisions are binding
on EU institutions andmember states. A member state may be taken to
court forfailing to meet its obligations under EU law. Big fines
canbe imposed for non-compliance with the courts rulings.The court
hears actions brought by individuals seekingdamages from European
institutions, or the annulment ofEU legislation which directly
concerns them. It also clarifiespoints of European law at the
request of courts in memberstates. It is made up of senior judges
from each memberstate, who hold office for a renewable term of six
years.
15. The European Court of AuditorsThe Court of Auditors is
meant to keep track of EU moneyso that citizens know where their
money goes. Its aim is toimprove the efficiency of EU financial
management. Thecourt audits the EU accounts and the implementation
of thebudget, providing the European Parliament and the Councilof
Ministers with a statement on the accounts reliability. Italso
delivers opinions, when requested to do so, on thefinancial
implications of proposed legislation. In the 1990sthe court
regularly revealed cases of fraud, paymentsmade in error and other
cases of spending that failed tomeet its objectives.
16. The European Central BankThe bank is responsible for
monetary policy within theeurozone. Its main goals are maintaining
price stability andsafeguarding the value of the euro. It does this
together withthe eurozones 12 national central banks, by setting
interestrates, conducting foreign exchange operations, and
managingnational foreign reserves. The ECB aims to ensure that
theyear-on-year increase in consumer prices is less than, but
closeto, 2% over the medium term. The bank is formallyindependent,
along the lines of the German Bundesbank.When taking decision on
monetary policy, neither the EuropeanCentral Bank nor the national
central banks are allowed totake instructions from EU institutions
or member states. TheECBs own foreign reserve assets amount to 40
billion Euros.
17. Reading ActivitiesTask 2 (Scanning for information)
18. Statement 1 - FALSEThe European Commission is more than
simply a civil service for theEuropean Union, it is the only body
that can propose legislation. It issometimes seen as the driving
force behind European integration butthe member states both guide
and limit its activity. The commission ismade up 27 commissioners -
the president and 26 others, each withresponsibility for a policy
area, such as agriculture or enlargement.Commissioners are
appointed by the member states, and are usuallysenior politicians.
However, their job is to act in the general Europeaninterest, not
to advance the interests of their own country. The numberof
commissioners will change in 2014 under the Lisbon Treaty. From2014
only two-thirds of member states will have a commissioner at anyone
time - so all will have a commissioner for 10 years out of every
15.
19. Statement 2 - TRUEThe Council of Ministers is the EU
institution whichrepresents the EU member states. It is a
many-headedcreature and may bring together government ministersfrom
each country, heads of government, ambassadors, ormerely government
officials. Many decisions are made byofficials meeting in technical
committees and are thenmerely rubber-stamped by ministers. Unlike
theCommission, the Council of Ministers is not a supranationalbody
but an intergovernmental one. It should not beconfused with the
European Council, which is the namegiven to the regular meetings -
sometimes called summits -of the EU member states heads of state or
government.
20. Statement 3 - TRUEThe parliament is the only directly
elected body in theEuropean Union. It holds regular plenary
sessions in Strasbourg,and has a secretariat in Luxembourg, but
members of theparliament do most of their work in Brussels. This is
where theyexamine draft legislations in committees and consult with
theCommission and Council of Ministers. The parliament has thepower
to sack the Commission, it holds hearings on newcommissioners, and
has the last word on about half thespending in the EU annual
budget. Its powers have beensteadily increasing. Most EU
legislation now needs theapproval of both parliament and the
Council of Ministersbefore it becomes law.
21. Statement 4 - FALSEThe court rules on disputes over EU
treaties and other EUlegislation. Its decisions are binding on EU
institutions andmember states. A member state may be taken to court
forfailing to meet its obligations under EU law. Big fines canbe
imposed for non-compliance with the courts rulings.The court hears
actions brought by individuals seekingdamages from European
institutions, or the annulment ofEU legislation which directly
concerns them. It also clarifiespoints of European law at the
request of courts in memberstates. It is made up of senior judges
from each memberstate, who hold office for a renewable term of six
years.
22. Statement 5 - TRUEThe Court of Auditors is meant to keep
track of EU moneyso that citizens know where their money goes. Its
aim is toimprove the efficiency of EU financial management.
Thecourt audits the EU accounts and the implementation of
thebudget, providing the European Parliament and the Councilof
Ministers with a statement on the accounts reliability. Italso
delivers opinions, when requested to do so, on thefinancial
implications of proposed legislation. In the 1990sthe court
regularly revealed cases of fraud, paymentsmade in error and other
cases of spending that failed tomeet its objectives.
23. Statement 6 - FALSEThe bank is responsible for monetary
policy within theeurozone. Its main goals are maintaining price
stability andsafeguarding the value of the euro. It does this
together withthe eurozones 12 national central banks, by setting
interestrates, conducting foreign exchange operations, and
managingnational foreign reserves. The ECB aims to ensure that
theyear-on-year increase in consumer prices is less than, but
closeto, 2% over the medium term. The bank is formallyindependent,
along the lines of the German Bundesbank.When taking decision on
monetary policy, neither the EuropeanCentral Bank nor the national
central banks are allowed totake instructions from EU institutions
or member states. TheECBs own foreign reserve assets amount to 40
billion Euros.
24. Reading activitiesUnpacking the language of
administration
25. Yes Minister (1981) - The Tangled Web
26. What does this mean?Unfortunately, although [your] answer
was indeedclear, simple and straightforward, there is
somedifficulty in justifiably assigning to it the fourth of
theepithets you applied to the statement [i.e. honest], inas much
as the precise correlation between theinformation you communicated
and the facts, in so faras they can be determined and demonstrated,
is suchas to cause epistemological problems of sufficientmagnitude
as to lay upon the logical and semanticresources of the English
language a heavier burdenthan they can be reasonably be expected to
bear.
27. What do you think the point of such jargon is?
28. Vocabulary Tasks
29. Task 11. To give formal approval without much deliberation:
TO RUBBER STAMP2. To listen to what an official has done / intends
to do, and pose questions in order to reach a decision: TO HOLD A
HEARING3. Disobedience to the law or a treaty: NON- COMPLIANCE4. To
ensure that prices do not go up: TO MAINTAIN PRICE STABILITY
32. Task 41. A member state may be taken to court for failing
to meet its obligations under EU law.2. Its decisions are binding
on EU institutions and member states3. The Court of Auditors is
meant to keep track of EU money4. The court rules on disputes over
EU treaties and other EU legislation5. It also delivers opinions on
the financial implications of proposed legislation6. The ECBs own
foreign reserve assets amount to 40 billion Euros.
33. Production TasksSpeaking and Writing
34. How does the EU operate?Working in pairs, look at
thediagram on the right and discusswith how the EU institutions
worktogether.Consider the following points: In what ways are the
peoplesof Europe involved in theseprocesses? How likely is it that
a singlepowerful country can affectthese processes to advancetheir
own national interests?
35. WritingYou will write a text describing andevaluating the
legislative process ofthe EU and the procedures forallocating funds
to various projects.You should: describe how European
institutionswork with each other to producenew laws and to decide
howfunds will be spent (200-300words). evaluate these processes.
Youmay want to discuss whether theyare efficient, democratic or
fair.You will need to justify youropinion, by referring to the
textabove or other suggestedreadings (100-200 words).