Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Outline
EU versus CoE
Institutions, Policy Tools and Processes of
the European Union
Institutions, Policy Tools and Processes of
the Council of Europe
EU and CoE
Brussels
Strasbourg
European Union
15 member states
(14 pending)
Council of Europe
45 member states
EU
CoE
The European flag represents both the Council of Europe and the European Union to
strengthen the idea of solidarity between the different organizations for a united and
democratic Europe
.
1950
1951
1957
European
Coal and
Steel
Community
(ECSC)
Treaty of
Paris
Treaty of
Rome
Treaty of
Maastricht
Treaty of
Amsterdam
(Concluded
formation of the
ECSC)
(the EC Treaty)
Created the
European
Union
Further developed
the EU
(Signed by:
Belgium, France,
Germany, Italy,
Luxembourg, the
Netherlands)
Determined the
legal framework
of the European
Community.
Created the
European
Atomic Energy
Community
(Euratom) and
the European
Community
(EEC)
1992
1997
Gave Parliament
co-decision powers
in
the ECs legislative
process
EU Membership
Current
Members
Austria, Belgium,
Denmark, Finland,
France, Germany,
Greece, Italy,
Ireland,
Luxembourg, the
Netherlands,
Future Members
Portugal, Spain,
Sweden, the United
Bulgaria, Cyprus,
Kingdom
Common Foreign
and Security
Policy
Foreign Policy
Cooperation, common
positions and measures
Peacekeeping
Human rights
Democracy
Aid to non-member
countries
Security policy
Drawing on the WEU:
questions concerning
the security of the EU
Disarmament
Financial aspects of
defence
Long-term: Europes
security framework
3 Pillars
Cooperation in
Justice and Home
Affairs
Cooperation between
judicial authorities in
civil and criminal law
Police cooperation
Combating racism and
xenophobia
Fighting drugs and the
arms trade
Fighting organised
crime
Fighting terrorism
Criminal acts against
children, trafficking in
human beings
European Court of
Justice
15 Ministers
15 Judges
Committee of the
Regions
European Parliament
222 Members
626 Members
Court of Auditors
15 Members
European
Commission
20 Members
European Central
Bank
European
Investment Bank
Tasks Include:
Drawing up legislation
Budgetary control
Appointments
External relations
One representative of each Member State at ministerial level, with composition varying
according to the subject discussed.
General Affairs
Council
Economic and
Financial Affairs
Transport Council
Agriculture Council
Tasks Include:
Decision-making functions
Advisory functions
Supervisory functions
Consists of 2 members from Germany, France, the UK, Italy and Spain, and one from each
of the other Member States.
Members are appointed by Member States for a term of 5 years.
Headed by a President (Romano Prodi)
EU Commission Directorate-Generals
Policies
Agriculture
Competition
Economic and Financial Affairs
Education and Culture
Employment and Social Affairs
Energy and Transport
Enterprise
Environment
Fisheries
Health and Consumer Protection
Information Society
Internal Market
Joint Research Centre
Justice and Home Affairs
Regional Policy
Research
Taxation and Customs Union
External Relations
Development
Enlargement
External Relations
Trade
Types of proceeding:
Committee of the
Regions
222 Members
Court of Auditors
15 Members
European Central
Bank
Economic and Social
Committee
222 Members
European
Investment Bank
Policy Process
Binding authority?
Regulation
Consultation Procedure
Cooperation Procedure
Co-decision Procedure
Approval Procedure
Yes
Direct applicability, the legal acts do not have to be transposed into
national law but confer rights or impose duties on the community
citizen in the same way as national law.
Directive
Consultation Procedure
Cooperation Procedure
Co-decision Procedure
Approval Procedure
Yes
Objective of law is binding on the Member states but implementation is
left to national authorities.
Decision
Simplified procedure
Yes
Distinguished from Regulations by being of individual application: the
persons to whom it is addressed must be named in it and are the only
ones bound by it.
Distinguished from Directives in that it is binding in its entirety
(whereas the Directive simply sets out objectives to be attained).
Recommendation
Simplified procedure
No
Expresses a view but does not place any legal obligation on the
addressees. Political and moral significance.
Opinion
Simplified procedure
No
An assessment; prepares the way for subsequent legally binding acts,
or are a prerequisite for the institution of proceedings before the Court
of Justice. Political and moral significance.
1950
1997
European Coal
and Steel
Community
(ECSC)
Treaty of
Amsterdam
Consultation Procedure:
The earliest legislative process within
the Community.
Member States in the Council played the
decisive role in expressing the will of the EC.
The Commission submits proposals and the
Council makes the decisions.
Used now only in limited instances
Co-decision Procedure:
Treaty of Amsterdam created equality
of arms between the Council
and Parliament.
Denies the Council the right to adopt
its common position if efforts to
reach agreement with Parliament fail.
Used for most of the important legislation.
Commission
Proposal
European Parliament
Opinion
Committee of the Regions
Commission
Proposal
COR
ESC
Council
No amendments by Parliament or approval of all amendments by Council
Instrument adopted
or
approval/no action
COMMON POSITION
Council
Council
Amendments rejected
Conciliation Committee convened by Council and Parliament
No agreement
Instrument rejected
Power of the EU
The Subsidiary Principle
The EC must act where the objectives
to be pursued can be better attained at
Community level, enhancing its powers
The EC must not act where objectives
can be satisfactorily attained by the
Member States acting individually,
constraining its powers.
Principle of Proportionality:
The need for the specific legal instrument must be thoroughly assessed to see whether there is a less
constraining means of achieving the same result. Framework legislation, minimum standards and mutual
recognition of the Member States' existing standards should always be preferred to excessively detailed
Community rules.
The subsidiary principle was codified in a Protocol annexed to the Treaty of Amsterdam.
To better prepare the Union for enlargement, the EU leaders have called for modifications to
amend the Treaties of Amsterdam and Nice.
The declared aims of EU Treaty changes are:
bringing the EU closer to its citizens,
strengthening the EU's democratic character,
facilitating the EU's capacity to make decisions, especially after its enlargement,
enhancing the EU's ability to act as a coherent and unified force in the international system,
effectively deal with the challenges globalisation and interdependence create.
Draft
Constitutional
Treaty
Intergovernmental
Conference (IGC)
An IGC is the only instrument that
can modify an EU Founding
Treaty.
Convention
After 16 months of discussions, the Conventions adopted a
draft proposal for an EU Constitutional Treaty which will serve
as a starting point for the IGC.
Valry Giscard d'Estaing presents the Conventions report to the Italian presidency.
Council of Europe
1949
1950
1957
1959
Treaty of
London
Signature in Rome
of the Council's
Convention for
the Protection of
Human Rights
and Fundamental
Freedoms
- the first
international legal
instrument
safeguarding
human rights.
Established the
Standing
Conference of
Local and
Regional
Authorities of
Europe (now the
Congress of
Local and
Regional
Authorities
of Europe)
to bring together
local and
regional authority
representatives.
Established
the
European
Court of
Human
Rights,
under the
European
Convention on
Human Rights,
to ensure
observance of
the obligations
undertaken by
contracting
states.
Established the
Council of Europe.
Signed by ten
states:
Belgium, Denmark,
France, Ireland,
Italy, Luxembourg,
the Netherlands,
Norway, Sweden
and the United
Kingdom.
Signature of the
European Cultural
Convention,
forming the
framework for the
Council's work in
education, culture,
youth and sport.
1998
Single permanent
European Court of
Human Rights to be
established in
Strasbourg under
Protocol No. 11 to the
Council's European
Convention on Human
Rights, replacing the
existing system.
Albania, Andorra,
Malta, Portugal,
Spain, Switzerland
Armenia and
Finland, San Marino,
1988-89
1961-78
Azerbaijan, Bosnia
and Herzegovina,
Bulgaria, the Czech
Republic, Estonia,
Georgia, Hungary,
Belgium, Denmark,
Latvia, Lithuania,
France, Ireland,
Moldova, Poland,
Italy, Luxembourg,
Romania, Russian
Netherlands,
Federation and
Norway, Sweden,
United Kingdom
Montenegro,
1949-Original 10
Austria, Cyprus,
Germany, Greece,
Iceland, Turkey,
1949-56
Slovakia,Slovenia,
Ukraine
1990-2003
Council of Europe
The Principles
Congress of Local
and Regional
Authorities of
Europe
43 Judges
Committee of
Ministers
45 Ministers
Parliamentary
Assembly
313 Members
The Assembly has 5 political groups: Socialist Group (SOC), Group of the
European Peoples Party (EPP/CD), European Democratic Group (EDG),
liberal, Democratic and Reformers Group (LDR), and Group of the Unified
European Left (UEL).
Some members of the Assembly choose not to belong to any political group.
Compare the Parliamentary Assembly, which is comprised of representatives elected or appointed by national
parliaments of all the Council of Europes Member States, with the EUs European Parliament, comprised of the
directly elected representatives of the 15 member countries of the EU.
Compare with:
Court of Justice of the European Communities:
Meets in Luxembourg and ensures compliance with the law in the interpretation and
application of the European Treaties of the European Union.
International Court of Justice :
Judicial body of the United Nations which meets in The Hague.
Charters
Codes
Framework convention
Outline convention
Agreements
Recommendations
European Conventions and Agreements are prepared and negotiated within the
institutional framework of the Council of Europe.
It is then agreed to open the treaty for signature by member States of the
Council.
European Conventions and Agreements, however, are not statutory acts of the
Organisation; they owe their legal existence simply to the expression of the
will of those States that may become Parties thereto, as manifested inter alia by the
signature and ratification of the treaty.
The Joint Declaration on Co-operation and Partnership between the Council of Europe and
the European Commission (2001), aimed at giving fresh impetus to efforts to strengthen cooperation between the Council of Europe and the European Community.