The council of ministers is a step down the chain, problems unresolved here are untangled by the council. It exercises day to day executive control of the EU. It enacts regulations, directions, decisions and recommendations or opinions. It co-ordinates the general economic policies of members states and concludes international agreements. It is made up of ministers from each member state, who meet to make decisions of behalf of their governments.
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The 20 members of the commission come from the 15 EU members. The commission is the independent beurocracy of the EU. It proposes draft legislation to the council of ministers and the European Parliament. It also act as the guardian of the EU treaties i.e. it can institute legal proceedings against member states. Although it has the right of initiative, the Commission does not take the main decisions on EU policies and priorities.
The European Parliament looks at proposals from the commission and the council of ministers and makes recommendations. In the 'co-operative procedure' parliament can improve proposed legislation by amendment, this procedure is operational in a limited number of areas as is the 'co-decision procedure' which shares decision-making power equally between Parliament and council. The parliament also has the power to scrutinise the executive (council of ministers) and the commission. It has the power to censure the commission, the threat of which led to its resignation in recent times.
The EP has a dialogue with the European Central bank as specified by the TEU. It receives nominations for the executive board, holds a three-monthly meeting with the president and can summon the ECB to scrutinise decisions.
The European court of Justice enforces EU legislation. Judges are appointed by a common accord of the governments of the members states.
The powers in bullet form:
Parliament
- Approves Budget
- Share of decision making power in the co-decision procedure
- Power to improve proposed legislation by amendment within the co-operation procedure.
- Supervision of executive – representatives of the council of ministers.
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Council
- Set EU objectives
- Co-ordinate national policies
- Legislate
Court
- settle disputes between the union's different institutions and member states.
- has passed laws in such fields as employment, the environment, consumer protection and the free movement of goods and services.
Commission
- proposes legislation to the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament.
Court of Auditors
- Submit reports on EU finances
European Central Bank
- Sets interest rates amongst Euro countries.
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Diagram of the relationship between institutions. (BBC)
What elements of democracy can be identified in these institutions and processes?
Council of Ministers
As described, is the place where member states have the final say. It is made up of government ministers who sit as equals and it is therefore intergovernmental. In 1994 John Major said: "…the European Union is an association of states deriving its basic democratic legitimacy through national parliaments." By this he meant that ministers directly elected to the national parliaments can reflect national interests at the EU council level.
The European Commission
The ‘civil service’ of the EU is not directly elected, but legitimacy comes from its selection by the council and necessary approval from parliament. It is accountable to the parliament in terms of having to answer questions from MEPs. It is authorised by the parliament and is under its scrutiny, the parliament can force the commission to resign through a vote of censure.
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The European Parliament
As is stated in the title of the Essay, since 1979 this has been the only directly elected EU institution. This takes the form of a secret ballot every five years and MEPs are chosen by proportional representation.
Though Parliament is the weakest institution this is changing: The Amsterdam Treaty shifted more powers to MEPs. The parliament has greater powers of veto, the budget and commission as earlier described. It is moving in the direction of becoming an equal to the Council of Ministers.
Commentators have noted that it is the less democratic institutions of the Council and Commission which have the power in the EU. Certainly despite its new powers the EU could function without the parliament, something which can't be said of the other institutions.
Where are the areas seen as central to the 'democratic deficit' problem?
Council of Ministers
If as stated by John Major, the EU gets its legitimacy through national Parliaments, then the attrition of national powers by the undemocratic EU institutions is undermining this idea.
Romano Prodi said: "As long as the veto exists, the EU will be like a soldier trying to march with a ball and chain around one leg. The unanimity requirement means either complete paralysis or reducing everything to the lowest common denominator."3 Meanwhile the legitimacy the EU gets from National parliaments is further diminished.
Commentators have noted that decisions of the parliament and Council which go against the will of the less democratic commission have been undermined anyway. In June 2001 Ireland voted against the Nice Treaty by referendum. But the joint statement issued by EU president Goran Persson and Commission president Romano Prodi was: 'The member states and the commission will pursue the enlargement negotiations with undeminished vigour and determination, in line with our firm commitment given to the applicant countries.' It's not surprising people feel disconnected from the EU elites when their feelings on the EU masterplan seem to have no effect.
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Parliament
Reif and Schmitt 1980 analyse European elections as 'second order national contests "both voters and parties consider competition for power in the national arena to be so much more important that competition for power in the European arena that they use their only opportunity to elect a Union institution to express domestic political preferences".4
In June 1999 only 23% of voters turned out for the British European elections which throws doubts on the legitimacy of the EP democracy. "The overall implications of second-order voting is that there is no systematic electoral linkage to the politics of representation or accountability."5
As has been mentioned, the momentum generated by key leaders is seen as almost impossible to oppose in the EP. The alternatives to the EU system in place at the moment are to strengthen the powers of the EP, directly elect the executive or adopt swiss-style referendums. All these systems though more democratic by definition have their own problems. The first two options would clash with the multi-party nature of the EU, which at the moment contains more flexible groups than are required in forming majority governments. The third option is a valid way to take the larger decisions of the EU to the people, though it could be argued the thrust of the politics would still be decided by the elites of Council and Commission. Certainly, the less the people of Europe feel they have a say in how they're governed by the EU, the less likely the EU is to gain the popularity it hungers.
Words: 1487
Bibliography
- (Weale, 1999, p.14)
- (p.167) Governing the European Union
- Speaking to the EP on the 1/12/1999 Romano Prodi
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(p.174) Governing the European Union
- (p.175) Governing the European Union
