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Glossary of Institutions, policies and enlargement of the European Union
(Starting with "E")
©
European Communities, 1995-2007
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Economic and
Monetary Union (EMU)
Economic and monetary union (EMU)
is the process of harmonising the economic and monetary
policies of the Member States of the Union with a
view to the introduction of a single currency, the
euro. It was the subject of an Intergovernmental Conference
(IGC), which concluded its deliberations in Maastricht
in December 1991.
EMU was achieved in three stages:
- First stage (1 July 1990 to 31
December 1993): free movement of capital between
Member States, closer coordination of economic policies
and closer cooperation between central banks.
- Second stage (1 January 1994 to
31 December 1998): convergence of the economic and
monetary policies of the Member States (to ensure
stability of prices and sound public finances) and
the establishment of the European Monetary Institute
(EMI) and, in 1998, of the European Central Bank
(ECB).
- Third stage (from 1 January 1999):
irrevocable fixing of exchange rates and introduction
of the single currency on the foreign-exchange markets
and for electronic payments. Introduction of euro
notes and coins.
When the third stage of EMU was launched,
eleven Member States adopted the euro as the single
currency. They were joined two years later by Greece.
Slovenia entered the euro zone on 1 January 2007.
Three Member States did not adopt
the single currency: the United Kingdom and Denmark,
both of which have an opt-out clause, and Sweden,
following a referendum in September 2003. The States
which joined the Union on 1 May 2004 and 1 January
2007 are required to adopt the euro as soon as they
meet all the convergence criteria. They were not granted
opt-out clauses during the accession negotiations.
The challenges facing the long-term
success of EMU are continued budgetary consolidation
and closer coordination of Member States' economic
policies.
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Economic
policy
Economic and Monetary Union (EMU)
implies close coordination of national economic policies,
which have thus become a matter of common concern.
In practical terms, the Council, acting by a qualified
majority on a recommendation from the Commission,
formulates draft guidelines that are sent to the European
Council. In the light of the latter's conclusions,
the Council, again acting by qualified majority, adopts
a recommendation setting out the Broad Economic Policy
Guidelines (BEPG) of the of the Member States and
the Community and informs the European Parliament
(Article 99 of the EC Treaty). These annual broad
guidelines are the central element of coordination
for the Union's economic policies.
In addition to these guidelines, the
EC Treaty lays down other economic policy provisions
in Title VII, including:
- multilateral surveillance: the
Member States, meeting within the Council, monitor
economic developments and the application of the
broad economic policy guidelines; they may issue
recommendations to the government of a Member State
which is failing to comply with the guidelines;
- the excessive-deficit procedure:
the Member States must avoid excessive government
deficits, and it is up to the Commission to ensure
that this principle is complied with;
- financial assistance: when a Member
State is experiencing severe difficulties, the Council
is able, under certain conditions, to grant it financial
assistance;
- prohibition against assuming the
commitments of other Member States: the Community
or the Member States may not assume the commitments
of other Member States;
- prohibition of privileged access:
it is prohibited to grant public bodies, authorities
or undertakings privileged access to finance.
The EC Treaty also lays down the institutional
provisions applicable to the European Central Bank
and the transitional provisions necessary for the
implementation of the various stages of EMU.
The European Constitution, which is
now in the process of ratification, gives Member States
belonging to the euro area greater autonomy to settle
certain issues amongst themselves. In addition, the
Commission's role will be enhanced in the excessive-deficit
procedure. Finally, the Constitution will simplify
the existing texts significantly.
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Economic,
social and territorial cohesion
Economic and social cohesion is an
expression of solidarity between the Member States
and regions of the European Union. The aim is balanced
development throughout the EU, reducing structural
disparities between regions and promoting equal opportunities
for all. In practical terms, this is achieved by means
of a variety of financing operations, principally
through the Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund.
Every three years the European Commission presents
a report on progress made in achieving economic and
social cohesion and on how Community policies have
contributed to it.
At European level, the origins of
economic and social cohesion go back to the Treaty
of Rome (1957) where a reference is made in the preamble
to reducing regional disparities. In the 1970s, Community
action was taken to coordinate the national instruments
and provide additional financial resources. Subsequently
these measures proved inadequate given the situation
in the Community, where the establishment of the internal
market, contrary to forecasts, had failed to even
out the differences between regions. With the adoption
of the Single European Act in 1986, economic and social
cohesion proper was made an objective alongside completing
the single market. The Maastricht Treaty (1992), finally,
incorporated the policy into the EC Treaty itself
(Articles 158 to 162).
Economic and social cohesion is essentially
implemented through the regional policy of the European
Union. Besides the reform of the common agricultural
policy and enlargement to the Central and East European
countries in 2004, regional policy was one of the
major issues discussed in Agenda 2000, which covers
the period 2000-2006, largely because of the financial
implications.
Regional policy is the European Union's
second largest budget item, with an allocation of
348 billion euros (2006 prices) for the period 2007-2013.
Enlargement to 27 Member States in January 2007 has
meant an entirely new order. The surface area of the
European Union has increased by over 25%, its population
by over 20%, and its wealth by only 5% approximately.
Average GDP per capita in the European Union has fallen
by more than 10% and regional disparities have doubled.
Since 60% of the regions whose development is lagging
behind are in the 12 Member States which joined the
EU In 2004, the centre of gravity of regional policy
is shifting eastwards.
For the period 2007-2013, economic
and social cohesion will have to concentrate more
on crucial development concerns in the field of economic
growth and employment while continuing to support
regions which have not completed the process of convergence
in real terms. Structural assistance also remains
necessary in geographical areas facing specific structural
problems (areas undergoing industrial restructuring,
urban areas, rural areas, areas dependent on fishing,
and areas suffering from natural or demographic handicaps).
Finally, simplification and decentralisation of the
management of regional policy financial instruments
(Structural Funds and Cohesion Fund) will be the watchwords
of the regional policy reform for the period 2007-2013.
The European Constitution, which
is in the process of being ratified, provides for
the objective of territorial cohesion to be added
to the concept of economic and social cohesion. If
ratified, it will definitively sanction the territorial
dimension of regional policy and also reinforce the
role of the local authorities. Furthermore, the Committee
of the Regions will be more involved in monitoring
compliance with the principle of subsidiarity.
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Education
Each Member State is responsible for
the organisation of its education and training systems
and the content of teaching programmes. In accordance
with Article 149 of the EC Treaty, the Community's
role is to contribute to the development of quality
education by encouraging cooperation between Member
States and, if necessary, by supporting and supplementing
their action. The Community aims specifically to develop
the European dimension in education and the exchange
of information on issues common to education systems
in the Member States.
It also aims to stimulate mobility
and to promote cooperation at European and international
levels. The European Union has at its disposal a number
of specific tools which also aim to foster mutual
understanding, the learning of foreign languages and
the use of new technologies, while promoting the recognition
of skills and qualifications, namely:
- the Lifelong Learning Programme
for action at EU level, comprising the following
sectoral programmes: Comenius (pre-school and school
education), Erasmus (higher education, higher vocational
education and training), Leonardo da Vinci (vocational
education and training other than at higher level),
Grundtvig (adult education), the transversal programme
(areas which fall outside of the four preceding
programmes), and the Jean Monnet programme (European
university integration and support for certain key
institutions and associations active in education
at European level);
- the programmes involving international
cooperation in higher education, such as the Erasmus
Mundus programme between the European Union and
third countries, the objective of which is to improve
the quality of higher education in Europe and to
make it a centre of excellence. In addition, the
regional programmes Tempus (Western Balkans, Eastern
Europe, Central Asia and Mediterranean Partner Countries),
Alfa (Latin America), and Asia-link (Asia) involve
modernising higher education in the partner countries.
Education is part of the drive to
achieve the goals of the Lisbon Strategy (to become
the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy
in the world). In this context, the Commission has
stepped up policy cooperation in the field of education,
particularly through the open method of coordination.
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Employment
Promoting a high level of employment
has been one of the Community's objectives since the
Treaty of Amsterdam came into force in May 1999 and
added a Title VIII "Employment" to the Treaty establishing
the European Community.
The Union's responsibilities with
regard to employment are complementary to those of
the Member States, the main aim being to create a
European Employment Strategy (EES). The EES is intended
as the main instrument to provide direction and coordinate
the employment policy priorities supported by the
Member States at European level.
The new Title VIII "Employment" also
requires an Employment Committee with advisory status
to be established, to facilitate the Union's task
of promoting the coordination of national employment
and labour market policies.
The Lisbon European Council (March
2000) considered that the overall aim of these measures
was to raise the overall employment rate in the European
Union to 70% and the female employment rate to more
than 60% by 2010. The Stockholm European Council (March
2001) added two intermediate targets and one additional
target:
- the overall employment rate and
the female employment rate to reach 67% and 57%
respectively in 2005;
- the employment rate for older workers
to reach 50% by 2010.
The Barcelona Council (March 2002)
called for the reinforcement of the European Employment
Strategy as an instrument of the Lisbon Strategy.
Financial support for employment policy
is provided through various instruments:
- the future programme PROGRESS 2007-2013,
the aim of which is to provide financial assistance
for work towards the Union's employment and social
affairs objectives;
- the priorities of the European
Social Fund which are part of the EES objectives;
- the Mutual Learning Programme,
launched at the beginning of 2005, as part of the
incentive measures to promote employment. Its main
objective is to enhance the transferability of the
most effective policies within key areas of the
EES.
At European level, the main structures
in the field of employment are:
- the European Employment Observatory,
an employment policy information system established
in 1982 by the Commission in collaboration with
the national authorities;
- the EURES network, which contributes
to creating a European labour market accessible
to all through the international, interregional
and cross-border exchange of job vacancies and applications
and the exchange of information on living conditions
and gaining qualifications.
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Employment
Committee
As provided for by the Treaty of Amsterdam,
and since a Council Decision of January 2000, the
Employment Committee officially replaces the Employment
and Labour Market Committee (ELMC) set up in 1996.
The Employment Committee takes over
the tasks hitherto carried out by the ELMC on promoting
the coordination of national employment and labour
market policies.
The Committee's main task is to assist
the Council in its work on the European Employment
Strategy and its instruments (Employment Guidelines,
recommendations on the implementation of national
employment policies, etc.).
The Committee also formulates opinions
at the request of either the Council or the Commission
or on its own initiative.
It is made up of two representatives
of each Member State and two representatives of the
Commission. It consults the social partners at European
level in order to carry out its work successfully.
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Energy
The aim of European energy policy
is to develop a low-energy economy which is safer,
more sustainable and more competitive.
To achieve this, the European Union
(EU) will have to deal with a number of difficult
issues:
- climate change;
- guaranteeing a secure energy supply;
- investing in research and development
in the field of energy efficiency, renewable energy
and new technologies, in particular low-carbon technologies;
- achieving the internal market in
energy.
The EU is aware of the importance
of diversifying its range of energy sources, and is
looking not only at fossil fuels (coal, gas and oil),
but also at nuclear energy and renewable energy (solar,
wind-power, biomass, geothermal, hydro-electric, tidal).
The presentation of a common energy
policy in January 2007 placed energy back at the heart
of the Community's action — the treaties creating
the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC Treaty)
and the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM)
in 1951 and 1957 respectively formed the basis for
subsequent European integration.
The Treating establishing the European
Community did not provide a specific legal basis for
Community energy policy, the underlying principles
of which are still based on the Euratom Treaty and
on a number of provisions contained in the chapters
on the internal market and the environment.
The Intelligent Energy - Europe programme,
which comes under the framework programme for innovation
and competitiveness (2007-2013), provides Community
funding to help achieve the Union's objectives in
the field of sustainable energy.
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Enhanced
cooperation
Enhanced cooperation allows those
countries of the Union that wish to continue to work
more closely together to do so, while respecting the
single institutional framework of the Union. The Member
States concerned can thus move forward at different
speeds and/or towards different goals. However, enhanced
cooperation does not allow extension of the powers
as laid down by the Treaties. Moreover it may be undertaken
only as a last resort, when it has been established
within the Council that the objectives of such cooperation
cannot be attained within a reasonable period by applying
the relevant provisions of the Treaties.
The general arrangements for enhanced
cooperation are laid down by the Treaty on European
Union (EU Treaty, Title VII) and relate to both the
European Union and the European Community. In principle,
at least eight States must be involved in enhanced
cooperation, but it remains open to any State that
wishes to participate. It may not constitute discrimination
between the participating States and the others. Enhanced
cooperation must also further the Treaty objectives
and respect the whole of the acquis communautaire
and the powers of the various parties. It may not
apply to an area that falls within the exclusive competence
of the Community.
In addition to the general regime,
special arrangements may be made or added by individual
Treaties, as in the case of the Treaty establishing
the European Community (EC Treaty, Articles 11 and
11 A). Under the EC Treaty, for example, the initiative
for enhanced cooperation is taken by the Commission
at the request of the Member States concerned, whereas
under the EU Treaty the initiative comes from the
Member States. In either case, institution of enhanced
cooperation is subject to a decision of the Council,
acting by a qualified majority. Enhanced cooperation
may also be pursued in relation to the common foreign
and security policy (CFSP), except for military or
defence matters.
The Treaty of Amsterdam incorporated
the "enhanced cooperation" concept into the Treaty
on European Union as regards judicial cooperation
on criminal matters and into the Treaty establishing
the European Community. The Treaty of Nice introduced
major changes aimed at simplifying the mechanism.
In particular, a Member State may not oppose the establishment
of enhanced cooperation as originally allowed by the
Treaty of Amsterdam.
The European Constitution now being
ratified provides for easier recourse to this mechanism.
In particular, the initial authorisation procedures
and those concerning participation by other Member
States at a later stage have been simplified. The
minimum participation threshold has been set at one
third of Member States. The restrictions concerning
the CFSP are removed. The Constitution provides for
a special mechanism in defence matters: permanent
structured cooperation.
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Enlargement
The European Union currently has 27
Member States. In addition to the first six Member
States — Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg
and the Netherlands — 21 countries have acceded
to the Union. These are:
- 1973: Denmark, Ireland and the
United Kingdom;
- 1981: Greece;
- 1986: Spain and Portugal;
- 1995: Austria, Finland and Sweden;
- the fifth enlargement of 2004 and
2007: Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary,
Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia,
then Bulgaria and Romania.
Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia and Turkey have the status of candidate
countries. Accession negotiations with Croatia and
Turkey opened on 3 October 2005.
The countries of the Western Balkans
which are engaged in the stabilisation and association
process have the status of potential candidate countries.
Apart from Croatia and the Former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia, which are candidate countries, these
are Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia,
including Kosovo, as defined by UN Security Council
Resolution 1244.
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Enterprise
policy
The objective of enterprise policy
is to produce an environment that is more conducive
to the creation and development of businesses, especially
small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), within
the European Union.
The main focus of this policy is on:
- promoting entrepreneurship (encouraging
business creation, and supporting companies, especially
SMEs, during their start-up and development phase);
- promoting European performances
in terms of competitiveness (encouraging businesses
to adapt to structural change and maintaining a
high and consistent level of productivity growth;
- taking account of the specific
characteristics and needs of the different sectors
of industry;
- promoting innovation (following
up technological developments, new product designs,
developing new ways of marketing products);
- better access to funding, support
networks and programmes;
- simplification of the regulatory
and administrative environment.
Enterprise policy thus contributes
to sustainable growth and job creation. It is involved
in achieving the objective set by the European Council
in Lisbon on 23 and 24 March 2000 when the Heads of
State and Government declared that the European Union
was to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based
economy in the world by 2010.
EU enterprise policy helps to support
and coordinate the Member States' activities. The
Union can neither replace national competences nor
harmonise national legislation and regulations.
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Environment
The European Union's environment policy,
based on Article 174 of the Treaty establishing the
European Community, aims to preserve, protect and
improve the quality of the environment and to protect
human health. It also focuses on the careful and rational
use of natural resources and contributes to promoting,
at international level, measures intended to combat
regional or global environmental problems.
It is based on the precautionary,
preventive action, correction at source and "polluter
pays" principles.
The Sixth Environment Action Programme,
adopted in 2002, defines the priorities and objectives
of European environmental policy until 2010, concentrating
on four priority areas: climate change; nature and
biodiversity; environment, health and quality of life;
and natural resources and wastes. It is complemented
by seven thematic strategies in the following areas:
atmospheric pollution, waste, the marine environment,
soils, pesticides, natural resources and the urban
environment.
Over the past thirty years, European
environmental action has evolved from the resolution
of certain specific problems to a more horizontal,
preventive and integrated approach. The idea of "sustainable
development" was enshrined as one of the objectives
of the Union in the Amsterdam Treaty, and the mainstreaming
of environmental protection has been reinforced in
other Community policies, in particular those pertaining
to the internal market, transport and energy.
It has been made easier for a Member
State to apply stricter standards than the harmonised
standards, as long as they are compatible with the
Treaty and communicated to the Commission.
Most of the Community acts in this
area have been adopted in accordance with the codecision
procedure, with the exception of certain fields such
as fiscal provisions, land use planning or areas that
significantly affect Member States' choices with regard
to energy.
Most of the Community acts in this
area have been adopted in accordance with the codecision
procedure, with the exception of certain fields such
as fiscal provisions, land use planning or areas that
significantly affect Member States' choices with regard
to energy.
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Environmental
liability
Environmental liability is an application
of the "polluter pays" principle outlined in the Treaty
establishing the European Community. Arrangements
for applying it are set out in Directive 2004/35/EC.
It applies to environmental damage
and the risk of damage resulting from commercial activities,
once it is possible to establish a causal link between
the damage and the activity in question. Environmental
damage is defined as direct or indirect damage caused
to the aquatic environment, flora and fauna and natural
habitats protected by the Natura 2000 network, as
well as direct or indirect contamination of the soil
which could lead to a serious risk to human health.
Two systems of liability have been
created: a system with no fault to be proved and a
system where evidence of a fault or negligence must
be presented. The former applies to dangerous or potentially
dangerous commercial activities listed in the Community
legislation. In this case, the operator may be held
liable even if he has committed no fault. The second
system applies to all other commercial activities
where species and natural habitats protected under
Community law have been damaged or are at imminent
risk of damage. In this case, the operator will not
be liable unless he has committed a fault or has been
negligent.
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Equal
opportunities
The general principle of equal opportunities
contains two key elements: one is the ban on discrimination
on grounds of nationality, and the other is equality
for men and women. It is intended to apply to all
fields, particularly economic, social, cultural and
family life.
The Treaty of Amsterdam added a new
provision, reinforcing the principle of non-discrimination,
which is closely linked to equal opportunities. Under
this new provision, the Council has the power to take
appropriate action to combat discrimination based
on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief,
disability, age or sexual orientation. Moreover, thanks
to its programme to combat discrimination (2001-2006),
the European Union has been encouraging and complementing
the activities of the Member States to combat all
forms of discrimination.
Adopted in December 2000, and due
to be incorporated in the European Constitution, which
is currently being ratified, the Charter of Fundamental
Rights of the European Union includes a chapter entitled
"Equality" which sets out the principles of non-discrimination,
equality between men and women, and cultural, religious
and linguistic diversity. It also covers the rights
of the child, the elderly and persons with disabilities.
The Constitution explicitly adds the
principles of equality and the ban on discrimination
to the values on which the Union is founded. The text
identifies them as general provisions that the Union
must promote in the definition and implementation
of its policies and actions.
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Equal
treatment for men and women
As early as 1957, the Treaty establishing
the European Economic Community enshrined the principle
of equality between men and women, with Article 141
requiring that they should receive equal pay for equivalent
work. Since 1975 a series of directives have broadened
the principle to cover access to employment, training
and promotion, the aim being to eliminate all forms
of discrimination at work, and later in social security,
statutory schemes and occupational schemes.
In addition to the promotion of equal
opportunities via multiannual programmes started in
the 1980s, the Commission launched a Community strategy
(2001-2005) to establish a framework of action within
which all Community activities could contribute to
the objective of abolishing inequalities and promoting
equality between women and men.
The Treaty of Amsterdam sought to
supplement Article 141 (which is limited in scope,
covering only equal pay) by including the promotion
of equality between men and women as one of the tasks
of the Community set out in Article 2 of the EC Treaty.
The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European
Union, adopted in December 2000 and due to be incorporated
in the European Constitution, which is being ratified,
states that "Equality between men and women must be
ensured in all areas, including employment, work and
pay."
The Constitution adds the principle
of equality between men and women to the values on
which the Union is founded and identifies it as a
general provision that the Union must take into account
in all its actions.
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Eurojust
Set up by a Council Decision in 2002,
Eurojust is the body entrusted with reinforcing the
fight against serious crime through closer judicial
cooperation within the European Union.
This body for coordinating Member
States' national public prosecution services comprises
27 national representatives: judges, prosecutors and
police officers on secondment from each Member State.
It can carry out its tasks through one or more of
the national members or collectively. Moreover, each
Member State may appoint one or more national correspondents,
who may also act as contact points for the European
Judicial Network.
Eurojust's competence covers investigations
and prosecutions in relation to serious crime, particularly
organised crime or cross-border crime. Its goals are
to promote coordination between competent authorities
in the Member States but also to facilitate international
mutual legal assistance, and carry out extradition
requests and European arrest warrants.
Eurojust also contributes to Member
States' criminal investigations on the basis of analyses
carried out by Europol. There is some overlap in the
two bodies' competences with regard to: computer crime,
fraud and corruption, laundering of the proceeds of
crime, environmental crime, participation in a criminal
organisation.
The European Constitution, which is
in the process of ratification, expands and more closely
defines Eurojust's operational competences. The Treaty
of Nice entitles Eurojust to request Member States
to open investigations, without this request being
binding. In contrast, the constitutional treaty provides
for Eurojust itself to:
- initiate criminal investigations,
while taking account of national practices and rules;
- propose to national authorities
that prosecutions be initiated;
- coordinate investigations and prosecutions
being pursued by the competent authorities.
The European Constitution also provides
that the Council may take a unanimous decision to
establish a European Public Prosecutor's Office on
the basis of Eurojust. This would be responsible for
investigating, prosecuting and bringing to judgment
the perpetrators of, and accomplices in, serious cross-border
crime and illegal activities which harm the European
Union's interests.
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Europe
'à la carte'
This refers to the idea of a non-uniform
method of integration which allows Member States to
select policies as if from a menu and involve themselves
fully in those policies; there would still be a minimum
number of common objectives.
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European
Central Bank (ECB)
Founded on 30 June 1998 in Frankfurt,
the European Central Bank (ECB) is responsible for
monetary policy in the thirteen member countries of
the Eurozone. Since 1 January 1999, its main tasks
have been to maintain price stability in the Eurozone
and to implement the European monetary policy defined
by the European System of Central Banks (ESCB).
The decision-making bodies of the
ECB (Executive Board and Governing Council) administer
the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), whose
roles are to manage money supply, conduct exchange
operations, hold and manage the official foreign reserve
assets of the Member States and ensure the smooth
functioning of payment systems.
The ECB acts totally independently.
The Treaty of Nice, which came into
force on 1 February 2003, did not change the composition
of the Governing Council (comprising the members of
the Executive Board and the governors of the national
central banks), but created the possibility of changing
the rules on decision-making (generally adopted by
a simple majority of members, with each having one
vote).
The planned enlargement of the Eurozone
to include the ten countries that joined the Union
in 2004 as well as Bulgaria and Romania in 2007 will
lead to more members of the Governing Council. A Council
Decision of March 2003 therefore allowed the ECB and
ESCB constitutions to be amended with regard to voting
arrangements, in order to maintain the Governing Council's
ability to take decisions effectively in an enlarged
Eurozone, however many Member States adopt the euro.
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European
Commission
The European Commission is a politically
independent collegial institution which embodies and
defends the general interests of the European Union.
Its virtually exclusive right of initiative in the
field of legislation makes it the driving force of
European integration. It prepares and then implements
the legislative instruments adopted by the Council
and the European Parliament in connection with Community
policies.
The Commission also has powers of
implementation, management and control. It is responsible
for planning and implementing common policies, executing
the budget and managing Community programmes. As "guardian
of the Treaties", it also ensures that European law
is applied.
The Commission is appointed for a
five-year term by the Council acting by qualified
majority in agreement with the Member States. It is
subject to a vote of appointment by the European Parliament,
to which it is answerable. The Commissioners are assisted
by an administration made up of Directorates-General
and specialised departments whose staff are divided
mainly between Brussels and Luxembourg.
Since its inception the Commission
has always been made up of two nationals from each
of the Member States with larger populations and one
national from each of the others. However, the Treaty
of Nice limited the number of Members of the Commission
to one per Member State. The Constitution, which is
in the process of ratification, provides for a Commission
in which only two thirds of the Member States would
be represented after 2014. The Members will then be
selected in accordance with a rotation system based
on the principle of equality.
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European
Community
The European Community (EC) is a founding
element of the European integration process.
It was established (as the European
Economic Community) by the Treaty of Rome in 1957,
with the principal objective of creating a common
market without internal borders.
The establishment of the European
Union (EU) in 1992 did not cause the European Economic
Community to disappear. It remains part of the EU
under the designation "European Community".
Article 2 of the Treaty establishing
the EC defines its task as promoting throughout the
Community:
- a harmonious, balanced and sustainable
development of economic activities;
- a high level of employment and
of social protection, and equality between men and
women;
- sustainable, non-inflationary growth;
- a high degree of competitiveness
and convergence of economic performance;
- a high level of protection and
improvement of the quality of the environment, the
raising of the standard of living and quality of
life, economic and social cohesion, and solidarity
among the Member States.
To achieve these goals, the EC has
devised a set of sectoral policies, focusing on the
fields of transport, competition, fisheries and agriculture,
asylum and immigration, energy and the environment.
These policies are implemented under
the decision-making procedure laid down by the Treaty
establishing the EC, with particular emphasis on codecision.
The decision-making mechanism governing these policies
is based on a specific model known as the "Community
method".
See:
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European
Company
The European Company (known by its
Latin name of "Societas Europaea" or SE) is a company
established under Community law. It has its own legal
framework and can operate as a single entity throughout
the EU.
In 2001, the Union formally adopted
the regulation on the Statute for a European Company
and the associated directive on employee participation
in European Companies.
This legislation entered into force
in 2004 after some 30 years of discussion. It allows
companies to cut administrative costs and provides
them with a legal structure suitable for the common
market, avoiding the legal and practical constraints
arising from 25 different legal systems.
Under the European Company Statute,
an SE can be set up by:
- merger;
- creation of a holding company;
- creation of a joint subsidiary;
- conversion of an existing company
set up under national law.
The SE must have a minimum subscribed
capital of 120 000 euros and its registered office,
specified in the statutes, must be at the same place
as its real head office.
The agreement on the SE is one of
the priorities identified by the Financial Services
Action Plan (FSAP) and is regarded as vital to the
creation of a fully integrated market in financial
services.
See:
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]
European
Constitution
The European Constitution, officially
known as the "Treaty establishing a Constitution for
Europe", marks a key step in European integration.
It is the result of the work of the
Convention, which drew up a "Draft Treaty establishing
a Constitution for Europe" in July 2003. This draft
served as a basis for the work of the Intergovernmental
Conference (IGC) which started officially in October
2003. The IGC concluded on 29 October 2004 in Rome
with the signature of the new Constitutional Treaty
by the 25 Heads of State and Government of the Member
States.
The aim of the Treaty establishing
a Constitution for Europe is to make the enlarged
Europe more effective, democratic and transparent.
It is intended to replace the Treaty on European Union
and the Treaty establishing the European Community.
It also:
- simplifies the treaties so as to
improve the visibility of the EU's work;
- reforms the institutions (in particular
by scrapping the pillar-based structure of the Union);
- deepens European integration (for
example reinforcing the common foreign and security
policy by creating a European foreign affairs minister).
To enter into force, the Treaty establishing
a Constitution for Europe must be ratified by all
the Member States, in accordance with each one's constitutional
rules.
See:
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]
European
Convention
The process of setting up the European
Convention began in December 2000 with a Declaration
annexed to the Nice Treaty, the "Declaration on the
Future of the Union". This proposed continuing with
institutional reform beyond what had been achieved
at the 2000 Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) following
a three-stage procedure: launching a debate on the
future of the European Union, a Convention on institutional
reform to be set up as decided at the Laeken European
Council in December 2001 and an IGC to be convened
in 2004.
According to the Laeken Declaration,
which created it, the aim of this Convention was to
examine four key questions on the future of the Union:
the division of powers, the simplification of the
treaties, the role of the national parliaments and
the status of the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Three
phases were envisaged: a listening phase, a deliberating
phase and a drafting phase. At the end of the last
phase, a single constitutional text would be proposed.
This document would serve as the starting point for
the IGC negotiations conducted by the Heads of State
and Government, ultimately responsible for any decision
on amendments to the treaties.
The inaugural meeting of the Convention
was held on 28 February 2002, and it concluded its
work on 10 July 2003 after reaching agreement on a
proposal for a European Constitution.
The Convention is an innovation in
the history of the European Union as previous IGCs
had never been preceded by a phase of debate open
to all stakeholders.
On18 June 2004, the Intergovernmental
Conference met at Head of State or Government level
and agreed on the draft European Constitution prepared
by the Convention.
See:
[ Back
]
European
Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
The European Convention on Human Rights,
signed in Rome under the aegis of the Council of Europe
on 4 November 1950, established an unprecedented system
of international protection for human rights, offering
individuals the possibility of applying to the courts
for the enforcement of their rights. The Convention,
which has been ratified by all the Member States of
the Union, established a number of supervisory bodies
based in Strasbourg. These were:
- a Commission responsible for advance
examination of applications from States or from
individuals;
- a European Court of Human Rights,
to which cases were referred by the Commission or
by a Member State following a report by the Commission
(in the case of a judicial settlement);
- a Committee of Ministers of the
Council of Europe, which acted as the guardian of
the ECHR and was called upon to secure a political
settlement of a dispute where a case was not brought
before the Court.
The growing number of cases made it
necessary | 
