Which EU institution is the most powerful?
The European Union (EU) is currently made up of 25 countries, known as
Member States, which together form the largest voluntary and peaceful
block of countries in the world. Many people mistakenly view the
European Union as a single body whilst in fact; the EU consists of a
number of different institutions that together carry out activities on
behalf of the Member States. There are many institutions but the main
five being the Commission, the Council of Ministers (also called the
Council of the European Union), the European Council and the European
Parliament and the European Court of Justice. In this essay I am
going to focus on these institutions and discuss which is to be
considered more powerful. I will firstly look at each one
individually and how it is organised then analyse its powers and
responsibilities before comparing them and drawing up my conclusions.
However I would like to note that there are many different
interpretations and parameters of ‘powerful’ which make it difficult
to answer the question.
The EU was established in 1992 by the Maastricht Treaty. It comprises
what are known as three ‘pillars’. Firstly the EC; secondly,
inter-governmental co-operation (i.e. between national governments) in
foreign and security policy and the third pillar being
inter-governmental co-operation in justice and home affairs. In the
second and third pillars policy decisions are made by unanimous
cooperation between members and cannot be enforced. Therefore for the
most part, the governing institutions of the EC pillar have limited
input in these pillars.
The European Commission does much of the day-to-day work in the
European Union and is the driving force in the Union's institutional
system. Their main responsibility is to initiate and implement new
programs, and they form a permanent executive that supervise the work
of the EU, much in the way that a national cabinet operates. This
power is displayed in article 211 of the Treaty Establishing the
European Community, which states that, the Commission:
'Shall formulate recommendations or deliver opinions on matters dealt
with in this treaty, if it expressly so provides or if the commission
considers it necessary.'
The Commission is made up of a President and the College of
Commissioners (the political arm), and the Direc...
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[1] The Presidency of the Council is the driving force in the
legislative and political decision-making process, organising and
chairing all meetings and working out compromises to resolve any
difficulties. The Presidency rotates among the Member States every
six months and is used as a mechanism through which Member States can
advance specific priorities. The UK will next hold the Presidency in
the second half of 2005.
[2] The European Council's far reaching and dramatic decisions have
helped propel their meetings into the public spotlight where they have
become the focal point for media coverage of the EU, which increases
their power
[3] During the political, economic and institutional weakening of the
European Community (EC) in the 1960s and 1970s the ECJ persisted and
struggled on to create an extensive and powerful mass of case law that
continued the process for deeper integration. The outcome of this was
extremely positive. The work of the ECJ developed not just a new legal
order but also assisted in the EC's resurgence during the 1980s.
(Dinan 2000: p301)
The European Union has a common “government” called the Parliament. In the background essay it stated, “The role of the parliament is to debate and pass laws, make sure all EU institutions work democratically, and debate, and adopt the EU budget”. This means that the parliament has control over the laws, and controls the European Union budget. In Document B it mentions, “Whatever institution governs the trade of a nation or group of nations whether monarchy, dictator or parliament essentially rules that nation”. This means that the parliament has control over the European Union.
To answer this question I will firstly explain how EU law became incorporated within the member states I will then explain the various types of EU legislation's in circulation. This is important to define as the various types of methods will involve different enforcement procedures. Finally I will explain how EU law is enforced and the ways EU law will effect the member state and individual businesses. I will summarise my findings at the end of the essay, this will give details of all the key ideas I have ut across.
Michelsen, W.. "The Purpose of the Constitution." The constitutionality crisis. N.p., 2010. Web. 8 Dec 2011. .
For this reason, the Commission is referred as the “guardian of the Treaties” or “watchdog” of the EU. Moreover, the decisions made by the Parliament and the Council must be made on the basis of the proposals given by the Commission.
I think that the Legislative Branch is most powerful because it can declare war, it makes laws and also it can impeach the president.
Simmonds C., ‘Paramountcy and the ECHR: a conflict resolved? [2012] Cambridge Law Journal Vol. 71 Issue 3, 498-201
The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. The EU has developed a single market through a standardized system of laws that apply in all member states. EU policies aim to ensure the free trade of people, goods, services, and capital, enact legislation in justice and home affairs, and maintain common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries and regional development.
The United States government is designed with checks and balances to ensure that no one branch can become more powerful than another. Though this may be the case, it is still possible that one branch of the our government can still be more powerful than the others. The equality of power in our government has constantly changed over the course of the life of the United States. Although these changes have occurred, we still have not made all of the branches equal and the inequality has been due to meet the demands of the time. For example, in 1938 our country was facing a depression and nothing was getting done. So, Roosevelt took it upon himself to give the Executive branch more power, to then in turn, help the country creep back out of the hole it had dug itself. After the country didn’t need the reform bills and the size of the government that Roosevelt had put it, things were then downsized and put into a more stable equilibrium. Though there were attempts to make everything equal, the Legislative Branch now holds the majority of the power, and is the most powerful branch that our government has.
Peterson, J. and Shackleton, M. 2002. The institutions of the European Union. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
The European Union (EU), since the initial foundation in 1952 as the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and throughout periods of development, has been considered one of the most advanced forms of regional integration. It, based on numerous treaties and resolutions, has strived to promote values such as peace, cooperation or democracy, and in 2012 was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for having “contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe” (Nobel Media AB, 2012). Despite its struggle for promoting democracy, the EU itself has long experienced scholarly criticisms that it suffers the democratic deficit, from which its democratic legitimacy is undermined by observable problems in political accountability and participation. As the importance of legitimacy in a democratically representative institution is hardly debatable, the criticism of whether and why the EU lacks democracy has been given a considerable gravity in academia.
The EU is a union of sovereign European states who share sovereignty based on treaty. The union also possesses competences in policy sectors with exclusive jurisdiction in the area of Economic and Monetary Union while others are shared with Member States (MS), the other powers belong to MS as derived from the conferral of powers art 5(2) TEU, 2(1) TFEU art.3 & 4 TFEU additionally other powers have been offered by the decisions of the European Court for direct effect on citizens
The United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are two different groups, but they affect the world in the same way. They both want to make a difference in today's world, they strive for peace and prosperity, and they work hard to accomplish their goals.
The League of Nations seemed doomed from the start, by not having the USA at their side; they faced military problems. Likewise, due to the First World War, France and Britain were the only two major powers in the league. In addition, these two powers were depleted both financially and in military power, hence unable to enforce their orders. Furthermore, the failures of the league began from its own covenant. Out of all twenty-six articles in the league’s convent, Article 11 gambled with the league’s status as a peace preserving organisation. Article 11 stated “Any war or threat of war, whether immediately affecting any of the Members of the League or not, is hereby declared a matter of concern to the whole League, and the League shall take any action that may be deemed wise and effectual to safeguard the peace of nations.” (CITE) This gambled with the status of the league. For instance, if a war broke out between two nations, and the victor won, this was directly viewed as a failure on behave of the league. In addition, this deemed true in the following three years after the league has been founded; during the Polish-Lithuanian crises (1920), the invasion of Poland over Russia (1920-21), the invasion of Ruhr in (1923), and the Italian-Albanian crises.
Lelieveldt, H. and Princen, S. 2011The politics of the European Union. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
The world is at a point where people have to question if they feel safe, and if they do, why they feel safe? The answers will vary, but more than likely, the United States, not the United Nations, will be the answer. The Security Council was made to keep peace among the world, and the concept of it was a great idea in theory. The world needs protection from the horrors of genocide, the death from terrorists, and the corruption of governments that can create many issues. However, in recent years the United States has led the charge for the war on terror, while the U.N. Security Council has sat at a stalemate over the issue. Change is needed in the United Nations Security Council for it to return to the relevancy that it was always suppose to have and to move past the issue of personal problems.