Structure of Government in the EU
From LINX Public Affairs
As the European Union is not a democratic country but a supra-national structure that happens to have elections to some of its positions, the division between judiciary, executive and legislature is not nearly so clear-cut as in the UK: there is no single "legislature" in the EU, but powers are shared between different institutions.
This page doesn't describe all the institutions of the EU, only those of particular interest to LINX activities. A complete list can be found on the EU's web site.
- See also Structure of Government in the UK
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European Court of Justice
The supreme court of the European Union. Note that this is not the same institution as the European Court of Human Rights, which is not one of the institutions of the European Union.
European Commission
The European Commission functions as the main executive arm of the EU, but is also part of the "legislature". The Commission has the sole power to initiate legislation in wide areas of policy (so-called "First Pillar" areas): other institutions merely get to amend and approve (or vote down) what the Commission proposes.
The European Commission is divided into Directorates-General, which function similarly to departments of state. More details on these is to be found separately.
A partial list:
- DG Information Society (DG-INFSO)
- DG Internal Market (DG-MARKT)
- DG Enterprise
- DG Justice, Liberty and Security (DG-JLS)
- DG Health and Consumer Affairs (DG-SANCO)
European Council
Commonly confused with the Council of Ministers (don't confuse them, they're different!), the European Council is the name given to the summits between the heads of government of EU member states, often convened for the purpose of amending EU Treaties and increasing the powers of the EU.
Council of Ministers
The Council of Ministers is the body that has the final say in making European law. Its formal name is the Council of the European Union, but that just makes it easier to confuse with the European Council.
The Council of Ministers is the collection of national governments within the EU. Each member state sends a Minister to vote on behalf of the country in the Council. Although the Council is conceptually a single body, its composition varies according to the topic at hand. Thus, if the topic is money, the Council will at that time comprise mainly of Economics and Finance Ministers, if it's about Trade then Trade Ministers, if it's law enforcement then Interior and Justice Ministers etc.
The Council of Ministers holds the final say in the legislative process. This isn't just theoretical either: nothing will be approved without their consent. However, note that in practice national governments frequently approve laws in the Council of Ministers which are contrary to government policy at home.
The Council of Ministers can also ask the Commission to prepare a proposal for a new law although, since in wide areas of policy the Council can't initiate such proposals themselves, what they get back from the Commission isn't always what they expected.
European Parliament
The European Parliament gets consulted on most European law, and has the right to amend an increasing subset of legislation. However any such amendments must be agreed by the Council of Ministers, and in practice the European Parliament has very much the junior role.
Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER)
Sherpas for the Council of Ministers; lots of real decisions effectively get taken here.
Legislative Process
There are multiple legislative processes in the EU, depending upon under which part of the Treaties the law is made. Ways these vary include whether the European Parliament gets much of a say at all, and whether voting in the Council of Ministers needs to be unanimous or not.
