EU Legislative Bodies: Council and Parliament Functions
The Council’s Role and Quorum
Quorum: The Council can vote only if a majority of its members is present. A member of the Council may only act on behalf of one other member.
Opinion is divided whether the Council is intergovernmental or supranational, with debate complicated by its changing role, powers, and methods. Changes in its voting procedures have altered the Council’s priorities over time, obliging Member States (MS) to work together or achieve agreement, and tending to push the Council more toward supranationalism. At the same time, there has been a tendency in recent years for the Council to develop greater influence at the expense of the Commission, thereby strengthening the intergovernmental flavor of the EU.
How the Council Works
The Council of the EU has a cluster of specific responsibilities, including:
- Overseeing attempts to coordinate the economic policies of the member states.
- Signing international treaties on behalf of the EU.
- Approving the EU budget.
- Promoting the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the EU.
- Coordinating cooperation between national courts and police forces on criminal matters.
The European Parliament (EP)
The European Parliament is one of two legislative bodies of the EU, sharing responsibility with the Council of the EU for debating, amending, and voting upon proposals for new EU laws.
Structure and Membership
The EP consists of 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) elected to renewable five-year terms, with seats divided among the member states based on population. It is headed by a president elected by its members and has a number of standing and special committees.
The EP has won new powers over the years. While it still lacks some of the defining features of a legislature, changes in the treaties have made it an equal legislative partner to the Council of the EU. Nevertheless, although it is the only directly elected EU institution, it remains relatively unknown or misunderstood by EU citizens.
Working Locations
It divides its time among three cities:
- The parliamentary chamber is situated in Strasbourg, France. This is where the EP holds its plenary sessions (meetings of the whole).
- Parliamentary committees meet in Brussels, for two weeks every month (except August); this is where most of the real bargaining and revising takes place.
- The administrative secretariat in Luxembourg. This is where most of Parliament’s 3,500 support staff work.
Origins of the EP
The EP began life in 1952 as the Common Assembly of the ECSC. The Assembly had no power to make law, nor could it influence the lawmaking process, which rested with the Council of Ministers. The Treaty of Rome did not create separate assemblies for the EEC and Euratom but instead transformed the ECSC Common Assembly into a joint responsibility with the Council of Ministers over the budget.
Parliament was a keen supporter of the idea of direct elections, a provision made by the Treaty of Rome, but the Council of Ministers remained opposed throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. At stake were concerns about the tendency towards supranationalism and the determination of the Council to keep a firm grip on decision-making powers. It was only in 1976 that the European Council finally changed its mind, and elections were held for the first time in 1979. Now the MEPs were directly elected.
EP Structure Details
The structure has three main elements:
1. The President
The EP is overseen by a president, who must be an MEP and is elected by other MEPs for a renewable term of five years. The President:
- Presides over debates during plenary sessions.
- Signs the EU budget and all legislative proposals decided by ordinary legislative procedure.
- Passes proposals to committees.
- Represents Parliament in its relations with other countries.
- Presides over meetings of the Conference of Presidents and the Bureau of the EP.
To help deal with the many different political groups in Parliament, the President has fourteen vice presidents, who are elected for terms of two and a half years and can substitute for the president at meetings. The President has to build consensus across different party groups.
2. Member of European Parliament (MEP)
The number of MEPs for each country is roughly proportionate to its population, but this is by degressive proportionality: no country can have fewer than 6 or more than 96 MEPs. MEPs are grouped by political affiliation, not by nationality.
3. Parliamentary Committees
As with the U.S. Congress, most of the detailed work of the EP is done in a series of committees in which MEPs gather to discuss and amend legislative proposals. There are 20 permanent committees, ranging from 28 to 86 members. There is strong competition among MEPs to win appointment to a committee, since some committees have a higher political status than others. Seats are divided on the basis of a balance of party affiliations, the seniority of MEPs, and national interests. Once appointed, committee members select their own bureaus, who hold office for half a parliamentary term.
Finally, there is the Conciliation Committee, in which representatives of the EP and the Council of Ministers meet to try to reach agreement whenever the two sides have disagreed on the wording of a legislative proposal. There are 28 members from each side.
How Parliament Works
The powers fall into three groups:
1) Powers Over Legislation
While the Commission has a monopoly on the development of proposals for new laws, the EP can informally influence this stage by sending representatives to the early development meetings held by the Commission, at which point it can encourage the Commission to address issues it thinks are important.
2. Powers Over the Budget
Joint powers with the Council. The EP meets with the Council biannually to consider a draft developed by the Commission and to discuss possible amendments. It can ask for changes to the budget or, with a 2/3 majority, also reject the budget. The draft is usually introduced by the Commission in April, adopted in July, and signed by the EP President in December.
3) Powers Over Other EU Institutions
The EP can take the Commission or the Council to the ECJ over alleged infringements of the treaties and has had the power since 1994 to approve the appointment of the Commission President and all of the Commissioners (although it cannot vote on individual commissioners).
The most potentially disruptive of Parliament’s powers over the Commission is its ability, under certain conditions and with an absolute majority of MEPs and a two-thirds majority of votes cast, to force the resignation of the entire College of Commissioners through a motion of censure.
How is EU Law Made?
Most EU law is made under the Ordinary Legislative Procedure (OLP). In a few policy areas (e.g., tax), different procedures apply. In the OLP, three bodies are involved: the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council of the EU. The Commission proposes legislation, but both Parliament and Council approval are needed before it can become law. The Parliament is directly elected and comprises members (MEPs) from all of the MS. The Council represents MS’s national governments in the legislative process via technical experts, ambassadors, and ministers.
The OLP Process
The ordinary legislative procedure starts when the Commission (the EU executive) publishes a draft law. In theory, a draft can go through multiple ‘reading’ stages in the Parliament and Council, but in practice, most EU law made under the OLP is agreed at the 1st reading. Once the Commission publishes its proposal in the form of a draft law, Parliament and Council work in parallel on amendments.
In the Parliament
Work takes place on two levels: Committee (group of MEPs focused on a distinct policy area) and plenary (all 751 MEPs). Any MEP can suggest amendments to the draft law. Parliament’s work is coordinated by a designated MEP (the rapporteur). MEP’s amendments are collected in a report, and this confirms the Parliament’s position on the draft law.
In the Council
Working groups of technical experts draft revisions to the Commission text. Once the Council has agreed revisions that are politically acceptable to enough MS, it formalizes its position by adopting the Council general approach. At this point, three different versions of the draft law exist: 1. Commission proposal, 2. Parliament report, 3. Council general approach.
Trilogue and Finalization
Next, during an informal process known as trilogue, the three institutions resolve their differences to forge a single text agreeable to all. A successful trilogue means that the first reading votes in Parliament by a simple majority and in Council by a qualified majority. Once both institutions have approved the text, it undergoes a legal and linguistic check before publication in the Official Journal of the EU as final law.
EU law normally enters into force on the date specified in the act, usually 20 days after publication. However, this is rarely the date from which new rules apply. Regulations, which do not require any national implementation, normally include a transitional period (of months or years) between the entry into force date and the date from which provisions start to apply. For directives, which do require national implementation, the deadline for the adoption of national implementing rules is often months or years after the directive’s entry into force date.
Types of EU Law
EU legislation is divided into primary and secondary.
Primary Legislation
The treaties (primary legislation) are the basis or ground rules for all EU action. The European Union is based on the rule of law. This means that every action taken by the EU is founded on treaties that have been approved voluntarily and democratically by all EU member countries. For example, if a policy area is not cited in a treaty, the Commission cannot propose a law in that area.
A treaty is a binding agreement between EU member countries. It sets out EU objectives, rules for EU institutions, how decisions are made, and the relationship between the EU and its member countries. Treaties are amended to make the EU more efficient and transparent, to prepare for new member countries, and to introduce new areas of cooperation, such as the single currency.
Under the treaties, EU institutions can adopt legislation, which the member countries then implement. The complete texts of treaties, legislation, case law, and legislative proposals can be viewed using the EUR-Lex database of EU law.
Secondary Legislation
Secondary legislation includes regulations, directives, and decisions; these are derived from the principles and objectives set out in the treaties.
Regulations
These are the most powerful EU legislative tools. Usually fairly narrow in intent, they are often designed to amend or adjust an existing law. A regulation is binding in its entirety on all member states and directly applicable in the sense that it does not need to be turned into national law.
Directives
These are binding on member states in terms of goals and objectives, but it is left up to the states to decide how best to achieve those goals. Most focus on outlining general policy goals, while some are aimed at harmonization. The governments of the member states must tell the Commission what they plan to do to achieve the goals of a directive.
Decisions
These are also binding and can be aimed at one or more member states, at institutions, and even at individuals. They are usually fairly specific in intent and have administrative rather than legislative goals. Some are aimed at making changes in the powers of the EU, and others are issued when the Commission must adjudicate disputes between member states or corporations.
Recommendations and Opinions
These have no binding force, so it is debatable whether or not they have the effect of law. They are used mainly to persuade or to provide interpretation on the application of regulations, directives, or decisions.