How We Are Governed- EU
The European Parliament

THE EUROPEAN UNION


Growth of The E.U.
{mosimage}After Word War II in order to prevent another World War Jean Monnet and Robert Schuman approached the leader of the German people Chancellor Adenauer and shared their dream with him.  He immediately saw the value of their vision and agreed to work for a peaceful and prosperous Europe.  The leaders of the 4 neighbouring countries, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, quickly supported the idea of creating a new Europe, and were committed to building a peaceful and prosperous Europe. At the beginning in 1951 the European Union, known as the European Coal and Steel Community, had 6 members – France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Other countries, among them Ireland, asked to join and at present there are 27 countries in the E.U. and 3 more (Turkey, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Croatia) have applied for membership.  

  • These are the current members of the E.U.:


Austria           Estonia            Hungary        Luxembourg        Slovakia
Belgium          Bulgaria          Finland           Ireland                Slovenia

Cyprus           France            Italy              Malta                    Spain

Czech Rep.     Germany         Latvia            Netherlands          Sweden

Denmark        Greece            Lithuania        Portugal              Romania

Poland                UK

  • Ten countries joined the E.U. in May 2004


Cyprus              Estonia           Latvia            Malta        Slovakia
Czech Rep.        Hungary        Lithuania        Poland      Slovenia

 

In 1973 Ireland, Denmark and the U.K. were the first 3 countries to join the founding countries and the remaining countries joined in the 1980s, 1990s and in 2004.


The Powers of the EU Parliament

The E.U. Parliament is the only institution directly elected by E.U. citizens. In recent years the Parliament has been given more power.  It must be consulted by the European Council before decisions can be made.  

The Parliament has power to:

  • influence European laws and policies
  • accept or reject EU legislation proposed by the Commission
  • approve international agreements
  • accept or reject the budget
  • approve the admission of new members
  • approve the appointments of the President of the Commission
  • and members of the Commission
  • dismiss the Commission.


These powers require that we have competent and good people representing us and working for the good of all European citizens.  It is essential that we use our vote wisely to elect such people for they have a say in decisions and policy making that affect our lives and those of our children.

How the European Union is Governed

The 5 Main Institutions of the European Union

 

1.The European Council: This consists of leaders of each country and the President of the European Commission.  It makes all the important European laws and policies.  The European Council is obliged to consult the European Parliament about the decisions it wants to take.

 

2. The Council of Ministers: This consists of ministers from the member states with similar responsibilities – e.g. health. They make legislation for their areas of responsibilities.  However, important matters and decisions must go to the European Council.

 

3. The European Parliament: This is the only institution directly elected by European Citizens.  At present it has 732 MEPs.  Until 2007 13 of them will be Irish.  The members of the E.U. Parliament cannot number more than 736.  With the addition of new member states to the E.U. the number of MEPs representing each state will change.  The Parliament was set up to give the people of Europe a direct voice.  It can question decisions and has more and more power to change or delay draft laws.  The Parliament must be consulted by the European Council.

 

4. The European Commission: At present the Commission consists of at least one representative from each member country.  It ensures that European laws and policies are carried out.  The Commission also proposes new laws and policies to the European Council and Parliament.  The Commission has little decision making power although it has considerable influence.  The number of commissioners will change with the number of countries joining the E.U.

 

5. The European Court of Justice: This consists of one judge from each member state.  It is responsible for enforcing European law.

For more information visit websites
http://ec.europa.eu/ireland
http://www.europarl.europa.eu