Institutions of the European Union

Contents
	The European Parliament (EP)
	The European Commission
	Council of the European union
	The European Council
	The Court of Justice of the European Communities
	European Court of Auditors
	The Committee of the Regions
	European Economic and Social Committee (ESC)
	The European Ombudsman
	Legislative acts and measures

History

The European Commission was established in the 1950's. The first Commission Berlaymontoriginated in 1951 as the nine-member "High Authority" under President Jean Monnet.
It acts as an executive of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union.

The Seat

The official seat is in Brussels.

Structure

The Commission operates as a cabinet government, with 27 Commissioners. There is one Commissioner per member state, though Commissioners are bound to represent the interests of the EU as a whole rather than their home state. One of the 27 is the Commission President (currently José Manuel Durão Barroso) appointed by the European Council. The Council then appoints the other 26 Commissioners in agreement with the nominated President, and then the 27 Commissioners as a single body are subject to a vote of approval by the European Parliament. The present Barroso Commission took office in late 2004 and had approval to serve until 2009. The Commission's staff is organised in departments, known as ‘Directorates-General'.

Functions

The European Commission has four main roles:

• to propose legislation to Parliament and the Council;

The Commission has the ‘right of initiative'. In other words, the Commission alone is responsible for drawing up proposals for new European legislation, which it presents to Parliament and the Council. These proposals must aim to defend the interests of the Union and its citizens, not those of specific countries or industries.

• to manage and implement EU policies and the budget;

As the European Union's executive body, the Commission is responsible for managing and implementing the EU budget. Most of the actual spending is done by national and local authorities, but the Commission is responsible for supervising it - under the watchful eye of the Court of Auditors.

• to enforce European law (jointly with the Court of Justice);

The Commission acts as ‘guardian of the Treaties'. This means that the Commission, together with the Court of Justice, is responsible for making sure EU law is properly applied in all the member states.
to represent the European Union on the international stage, for example by negotiating agreements between the EU and other countries.

The European Commission is an important mouthpiece for the European Union on the international stage. It enables the member states to speak ‘with one voice' in international forums such as the World Trade Organisation.

Changes under the treaty of Lisbon

The Treaty of Lisbon stated that the size of the Commission will reduce from one per member state to one for two thirds of member states from 2014. This would have ended the arrangement which has existed since 1957 of having at least one Commission for each Member State at all times. However, the Treaty also provided that the European Council could unanimously decide to alter this number. Following the Irish referendum, the European Council decided in December 2008 to revert to one Commissioner per member state with effect from the date of entry into force of the Treaty.

The person holding the new post of High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy will automatically also be a Vice-President of the Commission.

In an effort to ensure greater coordination and consistency in EU foreign policy, the Treaty of Lisbon will create a High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. This merges the post of High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighborhood Policy.

The new High Representative will also become a Vice-President of the Commission, the administrator of the European Defence Agency but not the Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers, which will become a separate post. He or she will have a right to propose defence or security missions.

The High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy will be in charge of an External Action Service that also is created by the Treaty of Lisbon. This will essentially be a common Foreign Office or Diplomatic Corps for the Union.