Have you ever wondered what the heck all the little institutions of the EU actually do? Or who is really in charge?
What is the difference between the Council of Ministers, the European Council, the European Parliament, and the European Commission?
The Council of Ministers, simply called the council, is a group of appointed, (not elected) officials which makes up half of the legislative function of the EU.
Let's unpack that.
In the US we have a Secretary of State, Sec. of Treasury, Sec of Dept. of Interior. We have one for everything. Guess what? So does every nation in the EU. So if you're part of the EU, and the EU is discussing Energy legislation this month you send your Secretary of Energy, or the closest thing to that which a country has. So, with 28 countries in the EU, and the EU is working on Energy right now, there are 28 people who get to go represent their nation at the EU level. These people are not elected, but they are people from their government. They are in both of these positions, Sec. of Energy in Croatia, and the Minister on the Council.
Who gets to decide that it's energy which is being discussed right now? How does the Council go from discussing Energy to discussing Agriculture, or anything else?
The President of the Council of Ministers gets to pick the issues which are discussed. He is not elected. The Presidency of the Council rotates every six months through all the countries of the EU. Right now Lithuania holds the presidency of the Council. Greece is up next on Jan 1st, 2014. So, if right now they're discussing Energy for example, and the Greece Sec. of Energy gets to the council and he decides that it's time to actually work on Agriculture or something else, he goes back to his Government job in Greece and sends the Head of the the Agriculture dept to the Council.
The European Council is another group of people which meet twice a year. These people consist of the the heads of state of the 28 countries. The Presidents, Prime Ministers, etc some together to meet. The purpose of them meeting is to discuss disagreements of the different legislative bodies. They attempt to play politics to keep legislation moving forward.
The European Parliament is the other half of the legislation process. These people are elected officials from each of the 28 member states. The EP's power has gradually increased since 80's, but they are still second to the Council of Ministers. The reality is that if the Council of Ministers does not want to move forward with something that it does not happen. It is kind of like the Council is the Senate, and the EP is the House of Representatives.
Lastly the European Commission is another group of appointed people from each member states. The difference here is that these people are not there to represent their country. They are there to make decisions on the part of the entire EU, to act on part of the greater good the whole group of nations. Each member of the commission has an area which they are assigned. (Competition, Employment, Climate Action, Communication... etc). They are called Directorate General (DG's) for short. They change out every 5 years, and all the 28 DG's change at the same time. Under them are Eurocrats, which are just citizens who always work for the EU and are not switched or anything. The Commission helps a little bit on very specific issues with the legislation.
So who is really in charge? Which one matters the most?
This is a hard question, but I tend to argue that the Council of Ministers is the most important because they select the issues which the EU legislation is focused on. So, whoever is the President of the Council of Ministers is probably the most important person in the EU at that moment.
Who is that right now? Dalia Grybauskaite, from Lithuania.
This should help when reading articles about the EU, which are hopelessly confusing without a road map of how it all works.
What is the difference between the Council of Ministers, the European Council, the European Parliament, and the European Commission?
The Council of Ministers, simply called the council, is a group of appointed, (not elected) officials which makes up half of the legislative function of the EU.
Let's unpack that.
In the US we have a Secretary of State, Sec. of Treasury, Sec of Dept. of Interior. We have one for everything. Guess what? So does every nation in the EU. So if you're part of the EU, and the EU is discussing Energy legislation this month you send your Secretary of Energy, or the closest thing to that which a country has. So, with 28 countries in the EU, and the EU is working on Energy right now, there are 28 people who get to go represent their nation at the EU level. These people are not elected, but they are people from their government. They are in both of these positions, Sec. of Energy in Croatia, and the Minister on the Council.
Who gets to decide that it's energy which is being discussed right now? How does the Council go from discussing Energy to discussing Agriculture, or anything else?
The President of the Council of Ministers gets to pick the issues which are discussed. He is not elected. The Presidency of the Council rotates every six months through all the countries of the EU. Right now Lithuania holds the presidency of the Council. Greece is up next on Jan 1st, 2014. So, if right now they're discussing Energy for example, and the Greece Sec. of Energy gets to the council and he decides that it's time to actually work on Agriculture or something else, he goes back to his Government job in Greece and sends the Head of the the Agriculture dept to the Council.
The European Council is another group of people which meet twice a year. These people consist of the the heads of state of the 28 countries. The Presidents, Prime Ministers, etc some together to meet. The purpose of them meeting is to discuss disagreements of the different legislative bodies. They attempt to play politics to keep legislation moving forward.
The European Parliament is the other half of the legislation process. These people are elected officials from each of the 28 member states. The EP's power has gradually increased since 80's, but they are still second to the Council of Ministers. The reality is that if the Council of Ministers does not want to move forward with something that it does not happen. It is kind of like the Council is the Senate, and the EP is the House of Representatives.
Lastly the European Commission is another group of appointed people from each member states. The difference here is that these people are not there to represent their country. They are there to make decisions on the part of the entire EU, to act on part of the greater good the whole group of nations. Each member of the commission has an area which they are assigned. (Competition, Employment, Climate Action, Communication... etc). They are called Directorate General (DG's) for short. They change out every 5 years, and all the 28 DG's change at the same time. Under them are Eurocrats, which are just citizens who always work for the EU and are not switched or anything. The Commission helps a little bit on very specific issues with the legislation.
So who is really in charge? Which one matters the most?
This is a hard question, but I tend to argue that the Council of Ministers is the most important because they select the issues which the EU legislation is focused on. So, whoever is the President of the Council of Ministers is probably the most important person in the EU at that moment.
Who is that right now? Dalia Grybauskaite, from Lithuania.
This should help when reading articles about the EU, which are hopelessly confusing without a road map of how it all works.