marie abe wakana negishi. three main institutions council the european parliament the commission...
Post on 30-Mar-2015
216 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
THE COMMISSION
Marie Abe
Wakana Negishi
THREE MAIN INSTITUTIONS
Council The European
Parliament
The Commission Power to initiate policies
Approve or Reject
Proposal
Proposal
Composition
President
Commissioners
Commission Bureaucrats
CABINETS
President
• The leader of the Commission• The council nominates and majority votes in the
European Parliament is needed• Jose Manuel Barroso is current President• Decide Portfolio for each commissioner
Portfolio is particular areas of
Responsibility.
Commissioner
• “ONE commissioner for each member state”=27 commissioners
• Nominated from each memberstate• A new group of commissioners appointed in
every 5 years• Meeting held once a week ( College of
Commissioners)• College itself has to be approved by the EP
Who can likely to be Commissioners or President?
• former ministers or senior ministers• All governments usually nominate “pro-European”,
and who have not been associated with any extremist party or wing.
• Only the most prominent national politicians likely to be a President.
Cabinet
• Assisting Commissioners • Meeting is held once a week (chef de cabinet)• Group consists of 6 officials + support staffs• President has 12 officials• Mainly brokering the many different views and
interests among Commissioners
The Bureaucracy of the Commission
• People who are in charge of ADIMINISTRATIVE works.
• 26,000 staffs , 20,000 administrative• - 6,000 senior policy-making• - 3,800 research and technological development• - 1,940 office• - 2,500 translation and interpretation
Dilemma in Staffing
Whether to keep national balance or not?
<Advantage>
1. wide range of knowledge and experiences
2. get the confidence of national governments and administrations in EU decision-making as their members are involved in policy preparation and administration.
3. easy to deal with the Commissioners when using the fellow nationals as the access points.
Dilemma in Staffing
<Disadvantage>
1. Pure meritocratic principle has been disturbed.
2. Cannot completely divest from national identification and loyalties.
3. Different styles complicate policy making process.
Organization
• Ministries/Departments=
Directorates General and Specialized services• DG→ directly handling policies• Specialized Services→ support for policies
Eg) the Secretariat General
Portfolios and Services
Portfolios Names and nationality
Supporting Services
Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth
Androulla Vassiliou
DG Education and culture, DG Translation, DG Interpretation, Translation Centre for the Bodies of the EU etc…
Decision-making Mechanism
The College of Commissioners
Accept or reject or ask DG to redraft
The Secretariat General
monitor
Cabinet
Extensively revise
Lead DG
initial draft
“Model” route
Responsibilities
• 6 major headings
- Proposer and developer of policies and legislation
- Executive functions
- Guardian of the legal framework
- External representative and negotiator
- Mediator and conciliator
- promoter of the general interest
1. Proposer and developer of policies and legislation
• Power is exclusive• Initiation, stimulate• Policy
– several levels
- ×totally free hand…outside voices
- major, cross-sectoral, programmes,
specific areas
1. Proposer and developer of policies and legislation
• Legislative
- prepalation of policy proposals :
sounding & listening process
*vast network of advisory commitees
- expert / consultative
- 3 factors
- expert > consultative?
2. Executive functions
• 3 aspects
- Rule-making powers
- Management of EU finances
- Supervision of ‘front-line’ policy implementation
Comitology
2. Executive functions
• Rule-making powers
- gray area, highly detailed & specialised matters
- follow automatically primary legislation• Management of EU finances
- 2 main duties
- expenditure: 40%↑ CAP/35%↑ cohesion policy
- weakened
- coordinating & managing
2. Executive functions
• Supervision of ‘front-line’ policy implementation
- supervisor & overseer
- 4 important difficulties• Comitology
- implementing committee system
- problem … 2 main reasons
→ distinction delegated & implementing act
- cooperation of the Council & EP
3. The guardian of the legal framework
• supervisory & inplementing responsibilities• aware possible illigalities
- supply national transposition measures
- self-notification
- from another party
- own efforts• constraints & restrictions
What can the Commission do about breaches of EU legislation?
• Non-compliance by a member state• Firms breaching EU law on restrictive practices and
abuse of dominant market positions
e.g. Microsoft, Intel• Firms breaching EU rules on state aid• Potential breaches of EU rules on company mergers
4. External representative and negotiator
• 6 roles
- determing & ocnducting trade relations
- various special external agreements
- international organization
- between the EU & non-member states
- applocant for EU membership
- the CFSP & CSDP
5. Mediator and conciliator
• Search for agreement between competing interests• Grudging incrementalism• Why...?
- Non-partisan
- best position to judge : continuous & extensive discussion
not perfect
6. Promoter of the general interest
• Sectional & national interests• ‘conscience’ of the Union• Avoid partisanship • Good functioning & cohesion as a whole• Difficult … vague• ×Detached, far-seeing, enthusiastic• Short, possible
The Varying(and Declining?) Influence
Provide leadership
- 6 key factors• Many academics : marked decline influence• Weakening real vision & leadership• Why...? : several factors
Conclusion
• The most distinctive:
political/administrative/responsibilities• academic debate
‘intergovornmentalist’
‘suprenationalist’ • remain central & vital
top related