Where Does Power Lie In the EU (Essay by K. S)

Where does power lie in the European Union?

By K. S

The European Union was created in the consequences of the WWII. The EU member states devoted to working together for peace and prosperity. The EU started out as the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), in 1951, and has transformed into an economic, social and political union. Successive EU treaties and treaty reforms have given EU institutions a wide range of executive, legislative and judicial powers. So, where does power lie in the European Union?

During a seminar discussion some students argued that the Commission is the powerful body of the European Union, that the Treaty of Rome, 1957, gave the Commission two major legislative and executive privileges; the authority to implement policy and the right to initiate legislation. However as Desmond Dinan pointed it out "the Single European Act legitimize the Council's right to encroach on the Commission's executive powers, and the Commission failed in successive intergovernmental conferences to regain its original authority and power" (Dinan, page 205). Since the Maastricht treaty there are some areas where the Commission is autonomous for example agriculture and trade policy. However, Maastricht severely limited the Commission’s legislative role and executive power as well. The most important duty carried out by the Commission is the drafting of policy documents for discussion and decision by the Council of Ministers. 

Other students argued that the Council of Ministers' the key decision-making body. The Council is where most policies originate and where the power of executive lies. Also, “In conjunction with the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers forms the EU's legislature” (Simon Hix, page 23 ). The Council is composed of ministers from the governments of the 28 member states. The Council of Ministers develops the EU's common foreign and security policy proposals, within the framework set by the European Council. However the European Council is not an official EU institution, but an international political body separate from the EU's structure. The Council of Ministers decide the agenda, introduces initiatives, amend and adopt laws and takes the chair for all Council meetings. When exercising these powers the general practice in the Council is to decide by consensus and any member state have the power to veto any initiative that is against its national interests. As Colin Pilkington pointed it out in the EU; "the veto is regarded as being like a nuclear deterrent; held in reserve but never used "(Pilkington, page 60). However,  the British Prime Minister David Cameron used veto and blocked the Lisbon treaty change to tackle the euro-zone crisis, in 2011. Then Cameron told a news conference that ''What is on offer isn't in Britain's interests'' (Cameron, BBC, 9 Dec, 2011.) 

The number of participant students stated that the European Parliament is the Union's key law-making body, that  The EP is the only directly elected institution of the EU.  Since Mastricht, 1992, the EP “together with the Council and the Commission it exercises the legislative function” (Simon Hix, 2005).  The Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are directly elected by the citizens of EU 28 Member States. Since 1979, direct elections has reduced democratic deficit in the European Union and enhanced the legitimacy and political power of the EP. With every Treaty change parliament's powers have grown, however, the extension of the European parliament's legislative powers compensated at the European level for the loss of parliamentary sovereignty and power at the national level. Also, under the Lisbon Treaty of 2009, the EP won the right to vote for the commission president. However, as the Financial Times' correspondent Wolfgang Munchau argued 'The biggest irony of the EU is that with every new treaty the formal powers of parliament have increased, yet in reality the Council is becoming ever stronger" (Munchau, FT, 2014). Formally, the EP have powers; to reject or amend the Council decisions, the ability to reject or amend the EU budget. The EP also scrutinizes the exercise of executive powers by the Commission and the Council. The EP votes on the Council's nomination for the Commission president, the Commission also, must report to the EP every month and the EP has the right to dismiss the Commission, for example In 1999, the Santer Commission was forced to resign by the EP, after a whistle-blower report.

During the seminar were not discussed about other EU institutions such as; the European Central Bank (ECB), the European Court of Auditors (ECA) and the European Court of Justice (CJEU) and Euro - insider pressure groups. For example; the ECB determines fiscal policy. The Court of Auditors set up to scrutinise the conduct of community institutions as the taxpayers' representative. The Auditors also auditing the Union's annual budget. The Court of Justice is also  the highest judicial authority of the EU.  'The Court works closely with the national courts to oversee the implementation of EU law' ( Simon Hix, Page 8). The Court of Justice has full powers of judicial review and legal adjudication. There were not also discussed Euro - insider interest groups. Euro - groups are highly powerful in the EU. The European Union is open to the influence of Euro - groups, because their knowledge, access and advices helps the EU rulers to implement more powerful strategies. The EU also enables interest groups to provide checks and balances against powerful officials (Truman, 1951, Simon Hix, 2005, page, 208). EU officials exercise executive power, while Euro - groups exercise the power to influence EU policies.

This seminar discussion showed that the European Union is highly decentralized political system. There are number of powerful institutions and actors in the EU,  where there is a stable and clearly defined set of institutions for collective decision making.The EU treaties and treaty reforms have given institutions a wide range of executive, legislative and judicial powers,  those powers are distributed and exercised by the EU institutions and actors such as; The Commission, the Council of Ministers, the European Parliament, the European Central Bank, the Court of Auditors, the Court of Justice and Euro - pressure groups and business organisations.