EU Closer to U! – EU Institutions in a nutshell

The European Union is all around you, regardless of whether you’re an EU citizen or not. Its impact and support for us is visible through many funded projects; helping young people, engaging in economic cooperation and facilitating political debate. It is hard to imagine today’s world without the EU. However, there is still plenty of disinformation regarding the functioning of the European Union, its main institutions and their functions. 

Let’s handle those issues together in this guide – “EU closer to U!”

The first question that needs to be answered is: “What exactly is the EU?”

The European Union is a very complicated organisation, due to its intricate economic, legal and political foundations, which cannot be put on an equal footing with other international structures like the United Nations. That is why the EU is usually called “sui generis”, which means “of its own kind”, making our Union even more special. 

The Union’s nature today is largely based on the Lisbon Treaty, which entered into force on 1 December 2009 and introduced several new significant developments, such as introducing the position of the President of the European Council, extending the legislative powers of the European Parliament and giving the Charter of Fundamental Rights legal power.

Many people wonder how many institutions the European Union consists of? Five? Three? Six? Many others are bewildered at questions such as – what is the difference between the European Council, the Council, Council of Ministers and Council of Europe? They are all over the media yet not always clearly explained. 

Okay, these are some of the issues with the EU structure, but my aim is to explain it. First and foremost, the EU has seven official institutions. 

(Now pause for a second and try to list all of them – one, two, three… Ready? Wonderful!) 

Let’s start with the institution, which is closest to the people – the European Parliament (EP). The EP consists of 720 Members (MEPs) who represent the interests of the citizens of all Member States, have legislative powers, elect the President of the European Commission and may provide scrutiny over the actions of the rest of the institutions. The EP’s president is Roberta Metsola, and the headquarters are based in Strasbourg and Brussels, but it also has an office in Luxembourg!  

The other (and in some instances main) legislator is the Council of the European Union, also called the Council and Council of Ministers. The Council gathers ministers from all twenty-seven Member States, and different ministries join depending on the topic discussed – for example, the Agriculture and Fisheries Council brings together ministers working specifically on this topic from all countries. This institution represents the interests of the Member States. 

What’s peculiar about the Council, however, is the rotating Presidency; every six months a different country is responsible for preparing the agenda, organisation, presiding over the meetings (excluding the Foreign Affairs Council) and setting the priorities. Currently, until 30 June, Poland holds the Council Presidency, with the motto “Security Europe!”. Its successor is Denmark. 

I believe that when people think of the EU nowadays, they see Ursula von der Leyen. That is because she is the President of another institution – the European Commission. The Commission essentially has a monopoly over legislative initiative – what does this mean? Only the Commission can propose new laws*, and such proposals are later deliberated on by the Parliament and the Council. The Commission also provides external representation for the Union (in areas which are not common foreign and security policy), monitors whether Member States respect EU laws, and exercises executive functions. It has twenty-seven members (including the President and High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy), which are independent and represent the overall interest of the Union – together they make the College of Commissioners. 

The commissioner in charge of Enlargement, closest to our network, is Marta Kos, who oversees the Enlargement portfolio. Many of us, Young European Ambassadors, had the pleasure of meeting her and asking insightful questions! 

Good news – you can find her on Instagram – @martakos_eu.

Several times a year, you will hear about a summit of European leaders. Donald Tusk, Giorgia Meloni, Emmanuel Macron, Victor Orban and twenty-three other Prime Ministers, Presidents or Chancellors discuss and deliberate over the current and future political direction of the EU. This is the fourth institution – the European Council. It has twenty-nine members – including its President (currently Antonio Costa) and the President of the European Commission. But it does not have legislative powers! Instead, it has powers to nominate its candidates for the Commission’s Presidency and focuses on strategy and solving sensitive and complex issues.  

There is also a special institution in Luxembourg, which is not as popular as the EP and the Commission, however, it is a crucial component of the Union and helps to balance its structure. This is the European Court of Auditors (ECA). It also has twenty-seven members, one for each Member State, independently acting in the interest of the Union. The ECA’s main task is to conduct the EU’s audit and analyse all its revenue and expenditure. It issues reports, such as assessments of proposals or of general performance, which are published and sent to the other EU institutions. 

Literally next to ECA, as you need only an eight-minute walk to get from one institution to another, is the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).  It is divided into the General Court and the Court of Justice and the competences of each are strictly regulated in the treaties. The main role of the CJEU is to provide the uniform interpretation of EU Law, oversee its application and intervene when it is being breached. The EU institutions, as well as individuals, can bring cases before the CJEU. However, the requirements regarding their standing will differ. Main actions considered by the Court are for annulment, infringement and damages. 

Last, but certainly not least, is the European Central Bank. With its headquarters in Frankfurt, 

The ECB acts as the central bank for the EU Member States, whose currency is the Euro, and its main function is to maintain price stability by setting interest rates, issuing Euro banknotes and to ensure safety of the banking system (including electronic payments). 

That would be the EU’s institutional framework in a nutshell! 

However, the structure is much more complex, and there are certain areas of controversy, even between Member States and EU institutions themselves. 

How is the EU going to change in the coming decades? Which institutions will go through the most reforms, if any? We will see what the future brings us! But we can be sure that the EU is in our everyday life, so we cannot be indifferent to this sui generis! 

*There are special instances when a quarter of the Member States, Court of Justice of the European Union or European Central Bank can initiate the ordinary legislative procedure.But that is information for the legal nerds among us.