European Union basics

The Council of Ministers

The Council of the European Union is the principle decision-making institution in the European Union. It is often informally called The Council of Ministers or just The Council. The Council is composed of twenty-seven national ministers (one per state). However, the exact membership depends on topic that has to be discussed, for example; when discussing the agricultural policy the twenty-seven national agriculture ministers form the Council. The Union's law is limited to specific policy areas, however it does override national law. As the Union operates on supranational and intergovernmental platforms, in some areas the Council is superior to the Parliament, having only to consult to get assent from the body. In many areas, however, the Union uses the legislative process of codecision procedure, in which the two bodies are equal in power. The Council does not have a single president in the traditional sense, but the role is rotated between each member state every 6 months, with the minister from that state then able to set the agenda.

The European Parliament

The European Parliament is the only directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union. Together with the Council of the European Union, it forms the bicameral legislative branch of the Union's institutions and has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world. However their powers as such are limited. The Parliament is composed of 785 Member of the European Parliament. It has been directly elected every five years by universal suffrage. Although the European Parliament has legislative power, it does not have legislative initiative like most national parliaments. It has control over the EU budget and has a veto over the appointment of the European Commission. The European Parliament has two meeting places - Strasbourg, France, which serves for plenary sessions and is the official seat, and Brussels, Belgium, which serves for preparatory meetings and complementary, non-plenary sessions. The Secretariat of the European Parliament, the Parliament's administrative body, is based in Luxembourg.

How Parliament works

Cooperation, meaning the Council can overrule the Parliament if it is unanimous; Consultation, which require just consultation of the Parliament; and Assent procedure, where the Parliament has a veto. The Commission and Council, or just Commission, can also act completely independently of the Parliament, but the use of these procedures are very limited. The procedure also depends upon which type of institutional act is being used.
Fixing the budget is another thing that the Parliament is doing jointly with the Council of Ministers. The European Parliament and the Council of Ministers together are forming the “budgetary authority” in the EU. They meet biannually, form and approve the project for the budget and discuss amendments. The parliament can ask for corrections in the budget or even reject the budget but it requires at least a two-thirds majority to do that.
The Parliament can also discuss the Commission’s annual program, can take the Commission or the Council to the Court of Justice if they are in a violation of the regulations or treaties. It can also approve the appointment of the president and the commissioners in the Commission. One of the most important powers of the European Parliament is that they can vote and force the resignation of the whole College of Commissioners with a majority of two-thirds. This power acts like “brakes” and it can be used in a time of crisis or heavy violation. It has never been used but was close in January 1999 when there was a debate for a misuse of EU finds.