Institutions of the European Union
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The European Union is governed by a number of institutions which are laid out in the treaties of the European Union. The structure has remained fairly similar since the Treaties of Rome even though their relationships have changed. In addition to the official institutions there are a number of other bodies and agencies, most of which also have a basis in the treaties.
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[edit] Treaty Institutions
There are 5 official institutions. In treaty order they are;
- the European Parliament
- the Council of the European Union
- the European Commission
- the Court of Justice of the European Communities
- the European Court of Auditors
[edit] Executive
The European Commission acts as an executive or civil service of sorts. It is currently composed of one member from each state (currently 27) and is responsible for drafting all proposed law, a duty which it maintains a monopoly on in order to co-ordinate European Law, as well as ensuring the treaties are followed (the "Guardian of the Treaties"). It also controls some agencies and the day-to-day running of the Union. Its president (currently José Manuel Durão Barroso) is nominated by the European Council then elected by the Parliament.
[edit] Legislature
The Council of the European Union (aka the Council of Ministers) forms one half of the Union's legislative branch (the other being the Parliament). It is composed of the national ministers responsible for the area of EU law being addressed, for example a law regarding agriculture would go to a Council composed of national agriculture ministers. As a result the body primarily represents the national interest of member-states. The institution's presidency rotates between the member-states every 6 months (currently Germany), though every 3 presidencies co-operate on a common agenda to provide continuity. This body should not to be confused with the European Council below or the non-EU body the Council of Europe.
The European Parliament is the only Union body composed of officials directly elected on European issues. Every 5 years citizens in all member-states vote across a few days for 732 "MEPs" who form the second half of the Union's legislative branch (the other being the Council). Its members sit according to political groups rather than nationality and its president is elected by its members (currently Hans-Gert Pöttering).
[edit] Judiciary
The Judicial branch of the Union consists primarily of the Court of Justice of the European Communities which is the supreme court of the Union, higher than national supreme courts. The institution is composed of one judge nominated by each member-state, with the president elected from among those nominees, and 8 advocate generals who together ensure European law and treaties are interpreted in a uniform way. The current president is Vassilios Skouris It is not to be confused with the non-EU body, the European Court of Human Rights.
Below the Court of Justice there is a lower court called the Court of First Instance created to lift some of the work load of the Court of Justice, its president is Bo Vesterdorf and is also composed of 27 members. The is also a Civil Service Tribunal of 8 judges including a president, currently Paul J. Mahoney. The tribunal deals with discipline among European civil servants.
Outside the Court of Justice there's the fifth institution, the European Court of Auditors which monitors the Unions accounts, its president is Hubert Weber.
[edit] Major non-institutional bodies
Another major body of the Union is the European Council (aka European Summit). Although not currently recognised as an official institution (with no specific authority) it is seen as the supreme political body of the Union giving the Union its general policy direction. It is composed of the heads of state or government of the member-states (along with the President of the European Commission) meeting 4 times a year either in Brussels or somewhere in the country of the Presidency, which it shares with the Council of the European Union. The President is currently Angela Merkel.
[edit] Financial bodies
The European Central Bank controls monetary policy within the Eurozone and is the key financial institution whose duty is to ensure price stability. Its independence means there is little control over it from the institutions however its governing board does contain the governors of all Eurozone national central banks. It is at the centre of the European System of Central Banks which comprises all EU national banks. Its president is appointed by the European Council, currently Jean-Claude Trichet.
The Unions financing institution is the European Investment Bank, providing capital for projects within European policy objectives. Its board of govoners is composed of the 27 national finance ministers. The chairman of its board of directors and management committee is Philippe Maystadt.
[edit] Advisory bodies
There are also two advisory committees to the institutions;
The Economic and Social Committee advises on economic and social policy (principally relations between workers and employers) being made up of representatives of various industries and work sectors. Its 317 members, appointed by the Council for four year terms, are organised into three fairly equal groups representing employers, employees and other various interests. Its president is Dimitris Dimitriadis.
The Committee of the Regions is composed of representative of regional and local authorities who hold an electoral mandate. It advises on regional issues. It has 317 members appointed every four years by the Council. Member are organised in political groups and its president is Michel Delebarre. Although it has no powers of its own it must be consulted by the Council and Commission on various matters.
[edit] Other bodies and agencies
Two notable positions are; The European Ombudsman deals with citizens grievances against the Unions institutions and is elected for five year terms by the Parliament. The current Ombudsman is Nikiforos Diamandouros. The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) ensures the institutions respect citizens' privacy rights in relation to data processing. The current supervisor is Peter Hustinx.
Three inter-institutional bodies are; The Office for Official Publications of the European Communities publishes and distributes official Union publications, digitally as well as in print. The Office's director-general is Thomas Cranfield. The European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) is a recruitment body which organises competitions for posts within Union institutions, its director is Erik Halskov. The European Administrative School (EAS) gives specific training to the staff of Union institutions, its director is David Walker.
OLAF (Office Européen de Lutte Anti-Fraude) deals with investigating fraud in the institutions and is therefore operates independently of institutions such as the Commission, though is classed as a General Service in the Commission. It was established in 1999 and its director is Franz-Hermann Brüner.
There are numerous other specialised agencies of the EU, usually set up by secondary legislation though sometimes written into treaties, for example Europol. The agencies are usual set up to deal with a specific area, such as Food Safety (the European Food Safety Authority) or defence procurement and development (the European Defence Agency). These agencies tend to be decentralised across the Union.
[edit] Locations of the institutions
There is no official "capital city of the European Union", with institutions spread across a number of cities. Though with most concentrated in Brussels, that city is often considered the de facto capital of the Union. The seats of the institutions and some other bodies are guaranteed by the treaties[1].
Brussels is the seat of the European Commission (staff of about 23,000) and the Council of the European Union. The European Parliament also has its second seat in the city, being the venue for its committee meetings and mini-sessions. In addition it hosts nearly all European Council summits, the Committee of the Regions, the Economic and Social Committee and numerous agencies of the Union (including the European Defence Agency and EUROCONTROL) as well as being the headquarters for non-EU institutions such as NATO and the WEU. As a result of this concentration, most representation towards the Union is in the city and it is the favoured city for any move towards a single "capital". See also: Brussels and the European Union.
Luxembourg City is essentially the Union's de facto judicial capital housing all the Union's courts; the European Court of Justice (incorporating the Court of First Instance) and the European Court of Auditors. It also plays host to the European Investment Bank and the Secretariat of the European Parliament, though the Parliament hasn't met in the city for decades (but the hemicycle still exists).
Strasbourg is the official seat of the European Parliament, meeting there for twelve week-long plenary sessions each year. Because this is the official, and most iconic, seat the Parliament is sometimes know as the "Strasbourg Assembly". However due to the costs of the two seats there is a strong movement to abandon this seat, however the movement is being blocked by the host nation, France. The city is also hosts the headquarters of the non-EU bodies; the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights.
Agencies and bodies are divided among the member-states, for example 
Frankfurt, as the largest financial centre in the Eurozone, hosts the Central Bank and the Hague hosts Europol. Since the 2004 enlargement there has been a drive to put more agencies in the new member-states to make a more equal distribution. However some problems have been encountered with this, for example; Frontex, the new border agency, has had a problems recruiting skilled experts because many do not want to live in the agency's host city, 
Warsaw, due to low wages and standard of living. In addition, plans to place the headquarters of Galileo in 
Prague has met with opposition over security concerns that the city would not be safe enough for such a sensitive agency.
[edit] Institutional changes
The European Constitution is currently stalled in ratification, but in whatever treaty that replaces it the institutional changes are expected to remain. In the current text, the "European Council" will become an official institution, while the "Court of Auditors" will cease to be one. The "Council of the European Union" will officially be known as the "Council of Ministers" and the "Court of Justice of the European Communities" will have its name updated to "Court of Justice of the European Union".
According to the text the institutional framework shall aim to; promote the Union's values, advance its objectives, serve its interests (those of its citizens and those of the Member States) and ensure the consistency, effectiveness and continuity of its policies and actions.
[edit] See also
- List of the names of bodies of the European Union in its official languages
- List of European Union-related topics
- European Union
- President of the European Commission
- President of the European Parliament
- Presidency of the Council of the European Union
[edit] External links
- Institutions of the EU europa.eu
- Commission europa.eu
- Council europa.eu
- Parliament europa.eu
- Court of Justice europa.eu
- TCE Part 1 europa.eu
- Institutions and other bodies eu2007.de
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