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The European Union (EU) is not a
federation like the United States. Nor is it simply an
organisation for co-operation between governments, like the
United Nations. It is, in fact, unique. The countries that
make up the EU (its ‘member states’) remain independent
sovereign nations but they pool their sovereignty in order to
gain a strength and world influence none of them could have on
their own. Pooling sovereignty means, in practice,
that the member states delegate some of their decision-making
powers to shared institutions they have created, so that
decisions on specific matters of joint interest can be made
democratically at European level.
The EU's decision-making process in general and the
co-decision procedure in particular involve three main
institutions:
This ‘institutional triangle’ produces the policies and
laws that apply throughout the EU. In principle, it is the
Commission that proposes new laws, but it is the Parliament
and Council that adopt them.
Two other institutions have a vital part to play: the Court
of Justice upholds the rule of European law, and the Court of
Auditors checks the financing of the Union’s activities.
The powers and responsibilities of these institutions are
laid down in the Treaties, which are the foundation of
everything the EU does. They also lay down the rules and
procedures that the EU
institutions must follow. The Treaties are agreed by the
presidents and/or prime ministers of all the EU countries, and
ratified by their parliaments. |
