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:
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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 to reform the supervisory arrangements established
by the Convention. The supervisory bodies were thus
replaced on 1 November 1998 by a single European Court
of Human Rights. The simplified structure shortened
the length of procedures and enhanced the judicial
character of the system.
The idea of the European Union acceding
to the ECHR has often been raised. However, in an
opinion given on 28 March 1996, the Court of Justice
of the European Union stated that the European Communities
could not accede to the Convention because the EC
Treaty did not provide any powers to lay down rules
or to conclude international agreements on human rights.
The Treaty of Amsterdam nevertheless
calls for respect for the fundamental rights guaranteed
by the Convention, while formalising the judgments
of the Court of Justice on the matter. As regards
relations between the two Courts, the practice developed
by the Court of Justice of incorporating the principles
of the Convention into Union law has made it possible
to maintain their independence and coherence in their
work.
The Constitution, which is in the
process of ratification, nevertheless provides for
the European Union to have legal personality, thus
enabling it to accede to the ECHR. It also provides
for the incorporation of the Charter of Fundamental
Rights, announced at the Nice European Council on
7 December 2000, which will give it binding legal
force.
See:
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European
Council
The European Council is the term used
to describe the regular meetings of the Heads of State
or Government of the European Union Member States.
Its role is to provide the European Union with the
necessary impetus for its development and to define
the general political guidelines (Article 4 of the
Treaty on European Union). It does not enact legislation
and is not an institution.
It meets at least twice per year (in
practice, twice per presidency) and the President
of the European Commission attends as a full member.
An extraordinary meeting can be held whenever necessary.
It is chaired by the Member State holding the six-month
presidency of the Union. Decisions are taken by consensus
following negotiation between the Member States, which
begins before the summit. The outcome of the European
Council deliberations is recorded in the conclusions
published at the end of the meeting.
The European Council was set up by
the communiqué issued at the close of the December
1974 Paris Summit and first met in 1975. Before that
time, from 1961 to 1974, the practice had been to
hold European summit conferences. The Single European
Act (1986) gave a legal basis to its existence and
the Treaty on European Union (Treaty of Maastricht,
1992) specified its functions.
Under the terms of a declaration attached
to the Final Act of the Intergovernmental Conference
preparatory to the Treaty of Nice, all meetings of
the European Council have been held in Brussels since
the Union attained a membership of 18 (May 2004).
The European Constitution currently
being ratified gives the European Council the status
of a European institution. It also provides for changes
to the presidency system by establishing the permanent
function of President of the European Council, elected
by that body for a term of two and a half years.
See:
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European
Court of Auditors
The European Court of Auditors, based
in Luxembourg, is composed of one national from each
Member State. Its members are appointed for six years
(renewable) by a qualified majority of the Council
of the European Union after consulting the European
Parliament. The Court of Auditors acts in complete
independence.
The Court checks the revenue and expenditure
of the European Union (and any body created by the
Community) for legality and regularity and ensures
that its financial management is sound. It also supplies
the European Parliament and the Council with a statement
of assurance as to the reliability of the accounts
and the legality and regularity of the underlying
transactions. It draws up an annual report published
in the Official Journal at the end of each budgetary
year.
Under the Treaty of Amsterdam, the
Court of Auditors also has the power to report any
irregularities to the European Parliament and the
Council, and its audit responsibilities have been
extended to Community funds managed by outside bodies
and by the European Investment Bank. However, it does
not have the power to impose penalties.
Under the Treaty of Nice, the Court
is also able to establish internal chambers to adopt
certain categories of report or opinion.
The Court of Auditors was established
in 1975 and began work in 1977, and has been a European
institution since the Treaty on European Union in
1992. It is governed by Articles 246 to 248 of the
EC Treaty.
See:
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European
Development Fund
Created by the Treaty of Rome in 1957,
the European Development Fund (EDF) is the main instrument
providing Community aid for development cooperation
with the countries of Africa, the Caribbean and the
Pacific (ACP countries) and with the Overseas Countries
and Territories (OCTs).
The EDF finances any projects or programmes
which contribute to the economic, social or cultural
development of the countries in question. It consists
of several instruments, including grants, risk capital
and loans to the private sector.
The EDF is funded by the Member States
and does not yet come under the general Community
budget. However, the aid granted to OCTs is to be
included in the European Union's general budget as
of 1 January 2008, while the aid granted to ACP countries
will continue to be funded by the EDF, at least for
the period 2008-2013.
Each EDF, which generally follows
the cycle of the partnership agreements, is concluded
for a period of around five years. The ninth EDF (2000-2007)
has been allocated 13.5 billion euros, in addition
to 9.9 billion euros left over from the previous EDFs.
The European Investment Bank's own resources contribution
adds a further 1.7 billion euros over the period covered
by the ninth EDF.
See:
[ Back
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European
Economic and Social Committee (EESC)
The European Economic and Social Committee
was set up, as an advisory body, by the Treaty establishing
the European Economic Community in 1957 to represent
the interests of the various economic and social groups.
It consists of 344 members falling into three categories:
employers, workers and representatives of particular
types of activity (such as farmers, craftsmen, small
businesses and industry, the professions, consumer
representatives, scientists and teachers, cooperatives,
families, environmental movements). Members are appointed
by qualified majority of the Council for four years
and this term may be renewed.
The EESC is consulted before a great
many instruments concerning the internal market, education,
consumer protection, environment, regional development
and social affairs are adopted. It may also issue
opinions on its own initiative. Since the entry into
force of the Treaty of Amsterdam (May 1999), the EESC
has to be consulted on an even wider range of issues
(the new employment policy, the new social affairs
legislation, public health and equal opportunities)
and it may also be consulted by the European Parliament.
The Treaty of Nice, which entered
into force on 2003, did not change the number and
distribution by Member State of seats on the Committee.
However, eligibility for membership was clarified:
the EESC is to consist of "representatives of the
various economic and social components of organised
civil society".
The European Constitution, which is
in the process of being ratified, envisages increasing
the term of EESC members from four to five years.
See:
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European
Employment Strategy (EES)
Since the Treaty of Amsterdam added
a new Title VIII on Employment to the Treaty establishing
the European Community, coordination of Member States'
employment policies has become a Community priority.
It was on the basis of these new provisions
that the Luxembourg European Council, held in November
1997, launched the European Employment Strategy (EES),
also known as the "Luxembourg process".
The EES is an annual programme of
planning, monitoring, examination and readjustment
of policies put in place by Member States to coordinate
the instruments they use to tackle unemployment. The
Strategy is based on four components:
- Employment Guidelines: common priorities
for Member States' employment policies, drawn up
by the Commission;
- National Action Plans (NAPs) for
employment: implementation of the common Guidelines
at national level;
- Joint Employment Report: summary
of the National Action Plans, to be used as a basis
for drawing up the following year's Guidelines;
- Recommendations: the Council adopts
country-specific recommendations by a qualified
majority.
In 2005 the Lisbon Strategy was revised
in order to focus more closely on developing strong,
sustainable growth and creating more and better jobs.
This re-launch of the Lisbon Strategy
led to a thorough review of the EES, implementing
the new process in July 2005, with the European Council's
approval of the Integrated Guidelines for Growth and
Jobs.
The European Employment Strategy is
based on four components:
- the Integrated Guidelines for Growth
and Jobs (the Guidelines will now be presented jointly
with the guidelines for the EU's macroeconomic and
microeconomic policies for a period of three years);
- the national reform programmes
for each country;
- the Commission's annual report
on growth and employment, which analyses the 25
new national reform programmes presented by the
Member States;
- any recommendations adopted by
the Council.
The Integrated Guidelines for Growth
and Jobs will serve as a basis for the Community Lisbon
Programme and the national action programmes.
See:
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European
Investment Bank (EIB)
Set up by the Treaty of Rome, the
European Investment Bank is the European Union's financial
institution. Its task is to contribute to economic,
social and territorial cohesion through the balanced
development of the EU territory.
The EIB's shareholders are the 27
Member States of the European Union. The bank is supervised
by the Board of Governors, which comprises the 27
Finance Ministers. It has legal personality and is
financially independent. It provides long-term financing
for practical projects, the economic, technical, environmental
and financial viability of which is guaranteed. It
grants loans essentially from resources borrowed on
capital markets, to which is added shareholders' equity.
Between 1994 and 1999 the transport, telecommunications,
energy, water, education and training sectors were
the main beneficiaries.
In March 2000 the Lisbon European
Council called for a strengthening of support for
small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The EIB
Group, which comprises the EIB and the European Investment
Fund (EIF), was thus created with a view to boosting
European economic competitiveness. Through the Innovation
2000 initiative, it fosters entrepreneurship, innovation
and the optimal utilisation of human resources by
granting SMEs medium-term loans and bank guarantees,
and by financing venture capital activities.
Outside the European Union the EIB
supports the pre-accession strategies of the candidate
countries and of the Western Balkans. It also manages
the financial dimension of the agreements concluded
under European development aid and cooperation policies.
In this connection, it is active in the Mediterranean
countries and in the African, Caribbean and Pacific
(ACP) countries.
See:
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European
Judicial Network in criminal matters (EJN)
The purpose of the European Judicial
Network (EJN) in criminal matters is to facilitate
mutual judicial assistance in the fight against transnational
crime. It originates in a Joint Action adopted by
the Council on 29 June 1998.
The judicial network is made up of
contact points designed to enable local judicial authorities
and judicial authorities in the other Member States
to establish direct contacts between themselves. These
contact points also provide the legal or practical
information necessary to help the authorities concerned
to prepare an effective request for judicial cooperation.
There is also a European Judicial
Network in civil and commercial matters, established
by Council Decision of 28 May 2001 and based on the
network in criminal matters.
The European Constitution, currently
being ratified, heralds a new stage in the development
of a "judicial Europe" by providing for the adoption
of laws and framework laws designed to encourage support
for the training of the judiciary.
See:
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European
Parliament
The European Parliament is the assembly
of the representatives of the 492 million Union citizens.
Since 1979 they have been elected by direct universal
suffrage and today total 785, distributed between
Member States by reference to their population.
The European Parliament's main functions
are as follows:
- legislative power: in most cases
Parliament shares the legislative power with the
Council, in particular through the codecision procedure;
- budgetary power: Parliament shares
budgetary powers with the Council in voting on the
annual budget, rendering it enforceable through
the President of Parliament's signature, and overseeing
its implementation;
- power of control over the Union's
institutions, in particular the Commission. Parliament
can give or withhold approval for the designation
of Commissioners and has the power to dismiss the
Commission as a body by passing a motion of censure.
It also exercises a power of control over the Union's
activities through the written and oral questions
it can put to the Commission and the Council. And
it can set up temporary committees and committees
of inquiry whose remit is not necessarily confined
to the activities of Community institutions but
can extend to action taken by the Member States
in implementing Community policies.
The Treaty of Amsterdam (in force
since 1999) boosted Parliament's powers by considerably
extending the codecision procedure. The Treaty of
Nice, which entered into force in 2003, also enhanced
Parliament's role as co-legislator by extending the
codecision procedure and granted Parliament a right
to bring actions before the Court of Justice of the
European Communities.
The European Constitution currently
being ratified also provides for stronger powers for
Parliament as co-legislator. The codecision procedure
is to be extended to new areas and Parliament is to
be given equal decision-making powers in budgetary
matters with the Council. From 2009, the number of
Members of the European Parliament may not exceed
750.
See:
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European
Research Area (ERA)
The European Research Area brings
together all of the Community's resources to better
coordinate research and innovation activities at the
level of both the Member States and the European Union.
This concept was launched by the Commission
in 2000 with the idea of developing truly attractive
opportunities for researchers.
Previously, research at European level
had faced numerous difficulties: fragmentation of
activities, isolation of national research systems,
disparity of regulatory and administrative frameworks,
and low levels of investment in knowledge.
Through the resources made available,
the ERA should make it possible to share data, compare
results, carry out multi-disciplinary studies, transfer
and protect new scientific knowledge and gain access
to centres of excellence and state-of-the-art equipment.
The European research area should
thus fulfil an ambition of determining value for the
European Union, namely to develop a genuine common
research policy.
See:
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European
Security and Defence Policy (ESDP)
The European Union's European security
and defence policy (ESDP) includes the gradual framing
of a common defence policy which might in time lead
to a common defence. The European security and defence
policy (ESDP) aims to allow the Union to develop its
civilian and military capacities for crisis management
and conflict prevention at international level, thus
helping to maintain peace and international security,
in accordance with the United Nations Charter. The
ESDP, which does not involve the creation of a European
army, is developing in a manner that is compatible
and coordinated with NATO.
The Maastricht Treaty (1992) was the
first to include provisions on the Union's responsibilities
in terms of security and the possibility of a future
common defence policy. With the entry into force of
the Treaty of Amsterdam (1999), new tasks have been
included in the Treaty on European Union (Title V).
This important innovation relates to humanitarian
and rescue operations, peacekeeping operations and
the use of combat forces in crisis management, including
peacemaking operations (known as "Petersberg tasks").
In addition to these civilian and military crisis
management operations, the ESDP includes a "conflict
prevention" component. The Political and Security
Committee (PSC), the EU Military Committee (EUMC)
and EU Military Staff (EUMS) are the permanent political
and military structures responsible for an autonomous,
operational EU defence policy. In December 1999, the
Helsinki European Council established the "global
objective", in other words that the Union must be
able to deploy up to 60 000 persons within 60 days
and for at least one year.
At the Göteborg European Council
of June 2001, the European Council spoke of its willingness
to improve EU capacities in the fields of conflict
prevention and crisis management, making use of military
and civilian means.
The Treaty of Nice (2001) gave the
PSC charge of crisis management operations, although
the Council retained responsibility.
The European Constitution, currently
being ratified, clearly states the goal of establishing
a genuine common European defence. It updates the
Petersberg tasks and inserts two clauses: a mutual
defence clause and a solidarity clause in the event
of terrorist attacks or natural or man-made disasters.
It also provides for military tasks to be assigned
to a group of Member States or the establishment of
a "permanent structured cooperation" in the defence
field. These measures would allow some Member States
to move faster towards the goal of a common European
defence.
See:
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European
Union
The European Union (EU) was established
by the Treaty on European Union (Maastricht, 1992).
The project of creating a Union has
a long history, and was first mooted at the European
summit of 1972.
The Union is both a political project
and a form of legal organisation.
It is a political project in that
the Union's task is "to organise, in a manner demonstrating
consistency and solidarity, relations between the
Member States and between their peoples" (Article
1 of the Treaty on European Union).
To achieve this, the Union is set
a number of objectives:
- To promote economic and social
progress, sustainable development, an area without
internal frontiers and economic and monetary union.
These objectives match the aims pursued by the EU's
sectoral policies.
- To assert its identity on the international
scene. This aim is linked with implementation of
the common foreign and security policy.
- To strengthen the protection of
rights through the introduction of a citizenship
of the Union. Union citizenship, which is created
by the Treaty of Maastricht, is a special relationship
between the EU and the nationals of the Member States.
- To create an area of freedom, security
and justice. As its name suggests, this area is
intended to promote greater freedom, security and
justice for the citizen.
- To build on the acquis communautaire
-- the corpus of rules established by and in the
context of the Union.
The European Constitution now being
ratified adds two further aspects. First of all, the
Union is founded on values: respect for human dignity,
liberty, democracy, equality, the rule of law and
human rights. It also has its own symbols: a flag
(twelve stars on a blue background), an anthem (Ludwig
van Beethoven's "Ode to Joy"), a motto ("United in
diversity"), a currency (the euro) and a Europe day
(9 May).
The Union is a form of legal organisation
consisting of three pillars:
- the first corresponding to the
European Community;
- the second comprising the common
foreign and security policy (CFSP) and the European
security and defence policy (ESDP);
- the third consisting of police
and judicial cooperation in criminal matters.
It has a single institutional framework
for the three pillars (essentially consisting of the
European Council, the European Parliament, the Council
of the Union and the European Commission). This ensures
coherence and consistency in the Union's action across
the pillars.
The Treaties do not officially confer
legal personality on the Union but there is a consensus
among the political players that this should be done.
This option is endorsed by the Constitution, which
clearly provides that the Union shall have such personality.
See:
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European
Union agencies
The agencies of the European Union
are bodies established under European public law and
enjoying legal personality, which have been set up
by an instrument of Community secondary legislation
to carry out a specific technical, scientific or administrative
task.
The first agencies were set up in
the 1970s but most of them started work in 1994 or
1995, following the decision of the Brussels European
Council (October 1993) on the siting of the headquarters
of seven of them. The most recent are the executive
agencies that have been created to manage one or more
European programmes. These have been established for
a fixed period of time and are located in Brussels
or Luxembourg.
29 bodies currently meet the definition
of a Community agency, though referred to by various
names (centre, foundation, agency, office, monitoring
centre, etc.).
As autonomous organisations, the agencies
are a heterogeneous group, with a common organisational
model. They can be divided into three sub-groups according
to their areas of activity (pillars of the European
Union), to which the executive agencies have recently
been added.
Community agencies:
- OHIM – Office for Harmonisation
in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs),
with its headquarters in Alicante (Spain);
- CPVO – Community Plant Variety
Office, Angers (France);
- ERA – European Reconstruction
Agency, Thessaloniki (Greece);
- EMEA – European Medicines
Agency, London (United Kingdom);
- EFSA – European Food Safety
Authority, Parma (Italy);
- EMSA – European Maritime
Safety Agency, Lisbon (Portugal);
- EASA – European Aviation
Safety Agency, Cologne (Germany);
- ENISA – European Network
and Information Security Agency, Heraklion (Greece);
- EU-OSHA – European Agency
for Safety and Health at Work, Bilbao (Spain);
- ECDC – European Centre for
Disease Prevention and Control, Stockholm (Sweden);
- CEDEFOP – European Centre
for the Development of Vocational Training, Thessaloniki
(Greece);
- EEA – European Environment
Agency, Copenhagen (Denmark);
- EUROFOUND – European Foundation
for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions,
Dublin (Ireland);
- EMCDDA – European Monitoring
Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Lisbon (Portugal);
- EFRA - European Fundamental Rights
Agency, Vienna (Austria);
- ERA – European Railway Agency,
Valenciennes and Lille (France);
- ETF – European Training Foundation,
Turin (Italy);
- CdT – Translation Centre
for the Bodies of the European Union, Luxembourg;
- CFCA – Community Fisheries
Control Agency, Vigo (Spain);
- FRONTEX – European Agency
for the Management of Operational Cooperation at
the External Borders of the Member States of the
European Union, Warsaw (Poland);
- ECHA – European Chemicals
Agency, Helsinki (Finland);
- European Global Navigation Satellite
System (GNSS) Supervisory Authority, Brussels (Belgium).
Agencies in the field of the common
foreign and security policy:
- EDA – European Defence Agency,
Brussels (Belgium);
- EUISS – European Union Institute
for Security Studies, Paris (France);
- EUSC – European Union Satellite
Centre, Madrid (Spain).
Agencies in the field of police and
judicial cooperation in criminal matters:
- Eurojust – The European Union's
Judicial Cooperation Unit, the Hague (Netherlands);
- Europol – European Police
Office, the Hague (Netherlands);
- CEPOL – European Police College,
Bramshill (United Kingdom).
Executive agencies:
- Education, Audiovisual and Culture
Executive Agency, Brussels (Belgium);
- Public Health Executive Agency,
Luxembourg;
- Intelligent Energy Executive Agency,
Brussels (Belgium).
See:
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European
arrest warrant
The European arrest warrant is a judicial
decision issued by a Member State with a view to the
arrest and surrender by another Member State of a
person being sought for a criminal prosecution or
a custodial sentence.
It is a tool designed to strengthen
cooperation between the judicial authorities of the
Member States by eliminating the use of extradition.
It is based on the principle of mutual recognition
of decisions in criminal matters.
The European arrest warrant is based
on a Framework Decision adopted by the Council on
13 June 2002. This decision is applied from 1 January
2004.
See:
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European
institutions
The European institutions are the
political bodies created by the Treaty of Rome to
build a united Europe.
Article 7 of the Treaty establishing
the European Community lists five European institutions
in the strict sense of the term:
- the European Parliament;
- the Council of the European Union;
- the European Commission;
- the Court of Justice;
- the Court of Auditors.
Article 3 of the Treaty on European
Union provides that the institutions shall operate
within a single institutional framework. This means
that they act within the decisional process of the
three pillars.
They interact with other players such
as the European Economic and Social Committee, the
Committee of the Regions, the European Central Bank,
the European Investment Bank, the European Ombudsman
and the Community agencies, thus forming the European
institutional system.
The European Constitution now being
ratified provides that the Union's "institutional
framework" shall comprise the European Parliament,
the Council of Ministers (known as "the Council"),
the European Commission, the Court of Justice and
the European Council, which would thus acquire the
status of a European institution.
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European
political cooperation (EPC)
European political cooperation (EPC)
was introduced informally in 1970 (in response to
the Davignon report) and formalised by the Single
European Act with effect from 1987. The object is
consultations between the Member States in foreign
policy matters. The Member States have regard for
the views of the European Parliament and wherever
possible take common positions in international organisations.
EPC was superseded by the common foreign and security
policy.
See:
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European
political parties
The Regulation on the regulations
governing political parties at European level and
the rules regarding their funding entered into force
in 2004. It lays down conditions for recognition of
a European political party, generating entitlement
to Community funding:
- it must have legal personality
in the Member State in which its seat is located;
- it must be represented, in at least
one quarter of Member States, by Members of the
European, national or regional Parliaments or assemblies,
or have received, in at least one quarter of the
Member States, at least three per cent of the votes
cast in each of those Member States at the most
recent European Parliament elections;
- it must observe the principles
of the European Union;
- it must have participated in elections
to the European Parliament, or have expressed the
intention to do so.
The conditions to be met for entitlement
to Community funding (8.4 million annually) are also
set: it must declare its sources of funding, and certain
sources are prohibited. Community funds must be used
solely to cover expenditure related to its political
programme and can in no circumstances be used to finance
national political parties.
The European People's Party (EPP),
the Party of European Socialists (PSE), the Alliance
of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), the European
Green Party (EGP) and European United Left (GUE) are
just some of the parties set up in European form.
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European
security and defence identity
The military intervention of NATO
in Bosnia highlighted an imbalance in terms of risk
linked to the fact that, broadly speaking, the European
forces were operating on the ground whereas the US
forces intervened in the air, and were less at risk.
The Clinton administration recognised
that there could be crises within Europe in which
the United States would not wish to intervene. It
was therefore in favour of the idea of creating a
kind of European pillar within NATO -- in other words,
a European security and defence identity.
Against this background, the NATO
Council held in Brussels in January 1994 recognised
the importance of defining a specifically European
identity in relation to security and defence. The
first steps towards this were taken at the NATO Council
held in Berlin on 3 June 1996.
Since then, the European Union has
set up its own permanent political and military structures
for the political control and strategic management
of crises. In December 2002, within the framework
of the permanent arrangements for EU-NATO cooperation
and consultation known as "Berlin Plus", the Union
and NATO signed a strategic partnership agreement
on crisis management. Through this agreement, the
Union will have access with immediate effect to NATO's
logistical and planning resources, including intelligence.
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Europol
(European Police Office)
Europol is responsible for improving
cooperation between the Member States' police and
customs authorities.
The idea of a European Police Office
was first raised at the Luxembourg European Council
(June 1991). Provision for the Office was made in
the Treaty of Maastricht, and it began its activities
in January 1994 as the Europol Drugs Unit (EDU).
The Convention establishing Europol
was signed in July 1995 and entered into force on
1 October 1998. Europol's field of competence is the
combating of crime and terrorism, but it is not a
European police force as such. It is an instrument
at the service of the Member States designed to help
them deal with criminal phenomena. In practical terms,
Europol's work consists of facilitating the flow of
information between national authorities and providing
the latter with crime analyses. Europol participates
in joint investigation teams comprising representatives
of the various Member State authorities and provides
the information they need on the spot.
The European Convention currently
being ratified provides for the Office's powers to
be strengthened to allow it to coordinate, organise
and conduct investigations jointly with national authorities.
The Constitution also provides that the European Parliament
is to exercise control over Europol together with
the national parliaments. Europol must abide by the
Charter of Fundamental Rights and its activities will
be subject to judicial review by the Court of Justice.
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Excessive
deficit procedure
The excessive deficit procedure is
governed by Article 104 of the Treaty establishing
the European Community, under which the Member States
are obliged to avoid excessive deficits in national
budgets.
The Commission assesses the situation
and the Council decides whether or not an excessive
deficit exists. The Commission, which draws up a report
in this connection, is required to take into account
all the relevant factors (cyclical conditions, reforms,
etc.) having a bearing on an excessive deficit.
When the Council decides that an excessive
deficit exists in a Member State, it first of all
makes recommendations to the State concerned, with
a view to rectifying the situation within a given
period. If the Member State fails to comply with these
recommendations, the Council may instruct it to take
appropriate measures for reducing the deficit. If
necessary, the Council has the option of imposing
penalties or fines and of inviting the European Investment
Bank (EIB) to reconsider its lending policy towards
the Member State concerned.
The reference value for the existence
of an excessive deficit is 3% of gross domestic product
(GDP). A Council Regulation adopted in 1997 is designed
to speed up and clarify the implementation of the
excessive deficit procedure.
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External
responsibilities of the European Community
The European Community's external
responsibilities are defined in accordance with whether
they are conferred on the Community or on the Member
States. Competence is described as "exclusive" where
exercised entirely by the Community (e.g. the common
agricultural policy) and "mixed" where shared with
the Member States (e.g. transport policy).
The distinction has been defined in
Court of Justice case law and is based on the principle
of implicit powers, whereby external competence derives
from the existence of explicit internal competence.
The EC Treaty confers explicit powers in only two
cases: commercial policy (Article 133) and association
agreements (Article 310).
The common foreign and security policy
comes under the heading of the EU's external relations,
which are governed by intergovernmental procedures
(second pillar), rather than under the external responsibilities
of the European Community. To enable the Community
to adapt to structural change in the world economy
and reflect the wide responsibilities given to the
World Trade Organisation, the Treaty of Amsterdam
has amended Article 133 of the EC Treaty to allow
the Council, acting unanimously, to broaden the scope
of the common commercial policy to cover international
negotiations and agreements on services and intellectual
property.
The Treaty of Nice has enabled decision-making
through qualified majority to be introduced into these
areas. Competence for agreements on the harmonisation
of cultural, audiovisual, educational, social and
health services will continue to be shared with the
Member States. The agreements are therefore subject
to unanimity.
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eEurope
The European Commission launched the
eEurope initiative in December 1999, and it was approved
by the Lisbon European Council in March 2000. The
communication adopted, "eEurope - an information society
for all", is part of the Lisbon Strategy which states
that the European Union should become, by 2010, the
most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy
in the world. The main objectives of the initiative
are the following:
- bringing every citizen, home and
school, every business and administration, into
the digital age and online;
- creating a digitally literate Europe,
supported by an entrepreneurial culture open to
information technology;
- ensuring that the information society
is socially inclusive.
To achieve this, the Commission adopted
the eEurope 2002 action plan in May 2000. The main
actions were intended to stimulate a cheaper, faster,
more secure Internet, promote human and financial
investment and stimulate the use of the Internet.
The eEurope 2005 action plan succeeded
eEurope 2002. eEurope 2005 was essentially focused
on the deployment of broadband access at competitive
prices, network security and better use of information
technology by public bodies ("eGovernment").
Launched in June 2005, the "i2010"
initiative is a new strategy framework of the Commission
in the field of the information society and the media.
i2010 is the first Commission initiative adopted in
the context of the revised Lisbon Strategy and the
partnership for growth and employment.
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