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The European Union is composed of three "pillars":
- the European Community is the legal framework for Community policies
relating to the single market, international trade, development assistance,
monetary policy, agriculture, fisheries, environment, regional development,
energy, etc;
- the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP);
- Justice and Home Affairs, covering cooperation within the Union in
areas such as civil and criminal law, immigration and asylum policy,
border control, drug trafficking, police cooperation and exchange of
information.
All these three major components of the European Union are governed in
part by a set of fundamental objectives and basic principles and in part
by a single institutional framework.
The major overriding internal objective of the European Union is to promote
economic and social progress, notably through the creation of a border-free
area, through the promotion of economic and social cohesion, and through
the establishment of economic and monetary union, including a single currency.
Externally, the main overall objective of the Union is to assert its identity
on the international scene, in particular through a Common Foreign and
Security Policy, including the development of a common defence policy.
The central basic principles governing the Union are respect for national
identities, democracy and fundamental human rights.
As for the single institutional framework of the Union, the main EU institutions
are as follows:
- The European Parliament represents the 370 million citizens of the
European Union. Its role is to pass legislation and to subject to scrutiny
and control the use of executive power by the institutions of the European
Union. Until 1979, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) were nominated
by national legislative bodies from among their own members. Direct
elections to the Parliament commenced in June 1979. The most important
powers of the European Parliament fall into three categories: firstly,
legislative power, where the Parliament's influence has been extended
to amending and adopting legislation proposed by the Commission. Accordingly,
the Parliament and Council now share power of decision in many areas;
secondly, power over the budget, where the European Parliament approves
the Union's budget each year; thirdly, supervision of the executive
branch of the Union, through its power of appointment of the President
and members of the Commission. The European Parliament may question
individual Commissioners and ultimately has the power to dismiss the
Commission itself. Individually, or as a group, European citizens have
the right to petition the Parliament. An Ombudsman is responsible for
investigating allegations of maladministration brought by citizens.
- The Council of the European Union, known as the Council of Ministers,
which acts on proposals from the Commission and is the Union's primary
decision-making body. The Council's role is to define political objectives,
coordinate national policies and resolve differences between its members
or with other institutions. The Council's competence extends across
all three pillars of the Union. It is composed of ministers of the governments
of the Member States. Ministerial meetings are prepared by the Permanent
Representatives of the Member States.
- The Commission, which is responsible for safeguarding the EU Treaties
and for initiating and proposing community legislation and policy, as
well as overseeing the implementation of such legislation. In addition,
the Commission acts as the guardian of European Community law and can
refer cases to the European Union's Court of Justice. The Commission
is in effect the manager and executive authority of European Union policies
and international trade relations. It is the Union's executive body
and consists of 20 Commissioners nominated by the Member States and
appointed for a period of five years.
- The Court of Justice, which is the final arbiter on Community law.
Its judges (one from each Member State, one of whom is appointed President)
settle disputes over the interpretation and application of Community
law and have the power to overturn decisions deemed to be contrary to
the Treaties establishing the Community. Its judgements are binding
on the Commission, on national governments, and on firms and individuals.
It thus provides the judicial safeguards necessary to ensure that the
law is observed in the interpretation and implementation of the Treaties
and in EU activities as a whole.
- The Court of Auditors completes the list of the main institutions
of the European Union. Its job is to oversee the financial aspects of
the Community, to ensure that money is not misspent and to highlight
cases of fraud. The Court thus represents the interests of the taxpayer.
- The European Investment Bank is the European's Union's financing institution,
which provides loans for capital investment promoting the Union's economic
development.
- The Economic and Social Committee advises the Parliament, Council
and Commission on economic and social activity in the Union, either
on its own initiative or at the request of the institutions.
- The Committee of the Regions was created to protect regional and local
identities in the regions of the European Union and to ensure that they
are taken into account in the manner in which EU policies are implemented.
- The European Ombudsman represents the mechanism which enables victims
of any improper administration by EU institutions to have recourse to
appeal.
In 1999, decisions taken by the European Council meeting in Helsinki
resulted in the establishment of a number of interim and permanent structures
to further the development of a Common Foreign and Security Policy. These
are described in Chapter 4, together with
the evolution of the European Security and Defence Identity (ESDI), the
development of relations between the European Union and the Western European
Union (WEU), the establishment of contacts between the European Union
and NATO. Further information on the role of the WEU
in relation to these issues is provided later in this chapter.
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