EU Law The Council of Ministers and the European Essay Example For Students

EU Law: The Council of Ministers and the European Essay Council are the mostpowerful of the main institutions. Discuss. The different functions and responsibilities of each of theinstitutions makes it is almost impossible to single out themost powerful. Power, meaning by definition authority andcontrol. The Commission the guardian of treaties, TheEuropean Parliament the voice of democracy, The Court ofJustice, in theory, the servant of community law, and TheCouncil the decision maker, all play a vital role in theperformance of the European Community . None of theinstitutions works in isolation, but combine together toachieve the aims and objectives of the Community. Their levelof power is determined not only by the role of the institutionsthemselves but also the decision making process. Therefore inorder to evaluate the levels of power it is necessary toexamine each of the five main institutions and then to brieflyestablish their capacities within each decision making process. Described as being a hydra-headed conglomerate of a dozen or morefunctional councils (Pinder p25), The Council Of Ministers comprises 40different councils of national civil servants. Backed by a governmentaldepartment, most ministers realise that they have a responsibility to tryto reach agreements that will be of some benefit to the Community as awhole, although the national governments are able to exert an influenceover Community legislation. A Committee of Permanent Representatives(COREPER) which is charged with the background work and The Council OfMinisters is in permanent session. The Council meets in Brussels andLuxembourg, however the presidency which is described as a countrysopportunity to show its commitment to Europe (Noel p24) rotates everysix months and during this time meetings are held in whichever countryholds presidency. Combining legislative, executive and diplomatic roles, itsfunction is fundamentally to examine Commission proposals, ensuring thatthere is a common understanding and then establish whether the proposal canbe accepted. It is The Council Of Ministers job to try to co-ordinate thepolicies of the Member States in areas where the Communitys method isstill co-operation and not integration, for example areas such asmacroeconomic policy and foreign policy. Despite being the main decisionmaking body it can only deal with proposals coming from the Commission, mayonly amend them by unanimity and has no power of legislation without theCommissions approval. Decisions are taken by the ministers and, once adecision is adopted, recommendations are usually put to the Member Statesalthough they do not carry legal force. However, the less importantdecisions may be adopted without debate, as long as the permanentrepresentatives and commission representatives are unanimous. Also assisted by COREPER and a General Secretariat and consistingof heads of state or government, the president of the EEC Commission,foreign affairs ministers and members of the Commission. The EuropeanCouncil is an extension of the Council Of Ministers to the levels of headsof government or state. Although there was no provision for a EuropeanCouncil in the Treaty Of Rome, it was agreed in 1974 to establish one, thefirst meeting being in Dublin, 1st March 1975. Since then it is the onlyinstitution to have gained full competence in the Single European Act,giving legal recognition to its existence. In 1986 it was also agreed in1986 to restrict meetings to twice a year (having previously been threetimes a year), with a view to limiting the intervention of The EuropeanCouncil in the general running of the Community. Linked with the growing authority of the heads of state orgovernment in most member states, the importance of the European Council issteadily increasing. Despite having no legislative powers the EuropeanCouncil is vital in resolving log-jams, pushing the Community forwards andit sets an agenda for Community objectives. The decisions made havesignificant implications on the Community and although the methods forlaying the guidelines lead to difficulties regarding the implementation,they are decidedly effective. To Kill A Mockingbird Essay SummaryTherefore other areas of legislation still require proposals to go throughThe Consultation Procedure. The Co-operation Procedure involves The Commission taking a view onThe European Parliaments opinion. After this The Council adopts a commonposition whereby every one agrees by qualified majority. It is then TheParliaments responsibility to either approve or take no action in whichcase The Council either adopts the act, rejects it by an absolute majority,although The Council may still adopt the proposal within three months, oramend by absolute majority. If this takes place, within one month TheCommission must review the parliaments amendments within one month andthen may revise them. Finally The Council is given the option of eitheradopting or amending Commission proposals, adopting the amendments that theCommission would not accept or fail to act. Under The Maastricht Treaty there exists The ConciliationProcedure, which although not in action yet would have a more extensiverange of areas to cover. Comparable to The Co-operation Procedure, exceptThe European Parliament has the option of approving, taking no action,proposing amendments or rejecting the proposal. In the event of a rejectionThe European Parliament is obliged to inform The Council of itsintentions. The Council then has three months to act on the amendments, inwhich time it may adopt all aims, adopt the amendments proposed by TheEuropean Parliament by unanimity or fail to act. This procedure gives TheEuropean Parliament a significant role if The Council fails to act. If newlegislation is not created within six weeks The Council readopts a commonposition. However, if it is rejected by absolute majority voting within TheEuropean Parliament the proposal lapses. By means of a process of elimination the most powerfulinstitutions may be narrowed down. The Court Of Justice despite having thefinal say, therefore having authority over all of the other institutionsdoes not enter the process of establishing policies, consequentlydemonstrating that its role is to survey the implementation and onlyintervene to ensure that the community law is observed. The EuropeanParliament has a consultative role and despite increasing importance, itsdecisions can be overruled too simply by The Council and The Commission. Both vital to the Community and both having considerable amounts of power. The competition is between The Council and The Commission. Despite TheCouncils power to make decisions, all proposals originate from TheCommission and may only be altered by unanimity, whereas The Commissioncreates proposals and ensures that they are implemented. In conclusion, an understanding that the institutions work inunison instead of isolation to gain full-effect is imperative. However, ifthe definition of power is taken to be control and authority, then it isneither The Council Of Ministers nor the European Council which is the mostpowerful of the five main institutions, but by having the monopoly of thepower to propose as well as to implement it is undoubtedly The Commission.