Transcription
The European Parliament, the European Commission, the European Court of Auditors, the European Court of Justice. Any piece, Brussels, passbook, breaks it. The EU seems really complicated. It's made up of 7 EU institutions and even more lower-level bodies spread out over 4 countries with hundreds of buildings and employees traveling back and forth. To make it even more confusing, two of these institutions sound the same and sit in the same building while having different functions: the European Council, not to be confused with the Council of the EU, which is also known colloquially as the Council of Ministers. Confused yet? Tell me about it.
This complexity is one of the reasons why some experts say many Europeans are indifferent about EU politics. One and a half of them didn't even vote in the last European elections. But the EU, and especially its laws, are important. It represents roughly half a billion people spread over 28 countries. Take that in for a second. The EU doesn't just make laws that affect these people, from what they can buy at supermarkets to where they can live. Many of these laws also have an impact on the rest of the world. Think agriculture, food standards, trade agreements that are protectionist, consumer rights, climate change, migration.
So, let me break down for you how European law actually gets proposed and voted on. Who's involved and why it's so complex? Because of course, there's a reason for that. In order for 28 different nations to agree on common rules and regulations, with everyone having a fair share and say, a complex system had to be established. That grew more and more so the more nations joined the union. By design, the EU was organized in a way to create checks and balances and make sure that no one, not one country or institution or person, has all of the power. So when it comes to lawmaking, here's how that was done.
It all starts with the European Council. That's the institution it gets to decide on the general direction and the priorities of the EU. This is what the leaders of all EU Member States, so think Macron, Sanchez, meet together with the President of the European Council, currently Charles Michel, to set the political agenda of the EU.
Next, the political agenda is passed on to the European Commission. This is the main organization in the EU that proposes new laws, but cannot vote them. That's important. It's another way of diverting power. There are 28 commissioners, each member state gets to appoint one to represent them. Another measure to reinforce checks and balances. Together with the President of the Commission, currently Jean-Claude Juncker, these commissioners debate which laws they think should be passed. Once the commissioners have agreed on a law they'd like to propose, it gets handed over to two other EU institutions: the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. These are the only two institutions within the EU that get to adopt laws, most of the time together, sometimes alone. It depends. I told you it's complicated, but I'll walk you through it, so bear with me.
Let's start with the European Parliament. It's the second biggest parliament in the world, and it's the only organization within the EU where representatives or MEPs are directly elected by the European people. Every five years, each member state gets a fixed number of MEPs proportional to their population. The most important task is to debate and vote on laws suggested by the Commission, from a ban on single-use plastics to limits to banker bonuses, capping the price of mobile phone calls within the EU, and the safety of e-cigarettes. But here's the catch: even if the MEPs agree a law should be passed, they cannot do it alone. They do so in what's called a coalition with the Council of the European Union.
This is the institution where the governments of the EU member states have their say and defend their national interests. The Council is comprised of the national ministers of each member state, for example, the Minister for Environment, Agriculture and Fisheries, or Justice and Home Affairs. In the vast majority of cases, a law can only pass if both the European Parliament and the Council agree it should be adopted. Why? Yep, you got it: checks and balances.
Okay, deep breath. You've almost made it to the end. Well done. Three more institutions to talk about. There's the European Court of Justice, basically the EU Supreme Court. It's comprised of one judge from each member state. I don't have to do the whole checks and balances thing again, I think you get it by now, right? They make sure countries and EU institutions abide by EU law. There's also the European Central Bank, which is based in Frankfurt to symbolize its independence from political control. And there's the European Court of Auditors. Both of these institutions deal with money. I shall spare you the details.
So, what have we learned today? Well, that there are a lot of EU institutions in different cities with different roles and functions. Some set the agenda, others propose new laws, others vote on them, and others still make sure they're being followed. But it's this complex structure that makes it less likely that one country, institution, or person can become too dominant. So, it may be hard to keep up with who's doing what and who's in charge, but that's exactly the point. In the end, it's all about consensus. And in times like these, isn't that an achievement in itself?