The Institutions of the European Union

The European Union (EU) is not a federation like the United States. Nor is it simply an organization for cooperation between governments, like the United Nations. It is, in fact, unique [ju:´ni:k]. The countries that make up the EU (its ‘member states’) remain independent sovereign [´sovrin] nations but they pool their sovereignty in order to gain strength and world influence none of them could have on their own.

Pooling sovereignty means, in practice, that the member states delegate some of their decision-making powers to shared institutions they have created, so that decisions on specific matters of joint interest can be made democratically at European level.

The EU’s decision-making process in general and the co-decision procedure in particular involve three main institutions:

• the European Parliament (EP), which represents the EU’s citizens and is elected by them;

• the Council of the European Union, which represents the individual member states;

• the European Commission, which seeks to uphold the interests of the Union as a whole.

This ‘institutional triangle’ produces the policies and laws that apply throughout the EU. In principle, it is the Commission that proposes new laws, but it is the Parliament and the Council that adopt them.

Two other institutions have a vital part to play: the Court of Justice upholds the rule of European law, and the Court of Auditors checks the financing of the Union’s activities.

In addition to its institutions, the EU has a number of other bodies that play specialized roles:

• the European Economic and Social Committee represents civil society, employers and employees;

• the Committee of the Regions represents regional and local authorities;

• the European Investment Bank finances EU investment projects and helps small business via the European Investment Fund;

• the European Central Bank is responsible for European monetary policy;

• the European Ombudsman investigates complaints about maladministration by EU institutions and bodies;

• the European Data Protection Supervisor safeguards the privacy of people’s personal data;

• the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities publishes information about the EU;

• the European Personnel Selection Office recruits staff for the EU institutions and other bodies;

• the European Administrative School task is to provide training in specific areas for members of EU staff.

The European Parliament

The European Parliament (EP) is elected by the citizens of the European Union to represent their interests. Its origins go back to the 1950s and the founding treaties, and since 1979 its members have been directly elected by the people they represent.

Elections are held every five years, and every EU citizen who is on an electoral roll is entitled to vote. The present parliament has 785 members from all 27 EU countries. Nearly one third of them are women.

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) do not sit in national blocks, but in seven Europe-wide political groups (e.g. European People’s party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats, Socialist Group, etc.).

The EP has three places of work: Brussels [´brΛslz] (Belgium), Luxembourg [´lΛks(ə)mbəg] and Strasbourg [´stræzbəg] (France). Luxembourg is home to the administrative offices (the ‘General Secretariat’). Meetings of the whole Parliament, known as ‘plenary [´pli:nəri] sessions’, take place in Strasbourg and sometimes in Brussels. Committee meetings are also held in Brussels.

Parliament has three main roles:

1. Passing European laws – jointly with the Council in many policy areas. The fact that the EP is directly elected by the citizens helps guarantee the democratic legitimacy of European law.

2. Parliament exercises democratic supervision over the other EU institutions, and in particular the Commission. It has the power to approve or reject the nomination of commissioners, and it has the right to censure the Commission as a whole.

3. The power of the purse. Parliament shares with the Council authority over the EU budget and can therefore influence EU spending. At the end of the procedure, it adopts or rejects the budget in its entirety.

Parliament’s work is divided into two main stages:

1. Preparing for the plenary sessions. This is done by the MEPs in the various parliamentary committees that specialize in particular areas of EU activity. The issues for debate are also discussed by the political groups.

2. The plenary session itself. Plenary sessions are normally held in Strasbourg (one week per month) and sometimes in Brussels (two days only). At these sessions, Parliament examines proposed legislation and votes on amendments before coming to a decision on the text as a whole.

3. Give the Ukrainian equivalents to the following words and phrases.

an organization for cooperation between governments; shared institutions; decisions on specific matters of joint interest; to represent the individual member states; ‘institutional triangle’; to produce the policies and laws; to play a vital part; to uphold the rule of European law; employers and employees; to finance EU investment projects; to help small business via the European Investment Fund; European Ombudsman; to investigate complaints about maladministration; founding treaties; to guarantee democratic legitimacy of European law; to approve or reject the nomination of commissioners; to censure the Commission as a whole; Europe-wide political groups; to examine proposed legislation; power of the Purse; to vote on amendments.

4. Find the English equivalents to the following words and phrases.

Держави-члени Європейського Союзу; об’єднати свої суверенітети, щоб отримати силу; передати свої повноваження стосовно прийняття рішень; на європейському рівні; намагатися підтримувати інтереси Союзу в цілому; застосовувати по всьому ЄС; пропонувати закони; перевіряти фінансову діяльність Союзу; Європейський інвестиційний фонд; особисті данні; набирати кадри для інституцій ЄС; виборчий реєстр; мати право голосувати; демократичний нагляд над іншими інституціями ЄС; ділити повноваження з Радою стосовно бюджету; питання для обговорення.

5. Match the definition in the right column to the word in the left.

1. ombudsman	a. to get a new member of a society, group, etc;
2. to censure	b. official list or record of names;
3. to recruit	c. to share in common; put (money, resources, etc) together for the use of all who contribute;
4. to uphold	d. experienced person having authority to inquire into grievances of citizens against public authorities;
5. to pool	e. estimate of probable future income and expenditure, esp. that made by a Government;
6. personnel	f. facts, things certainly known and from which conclusions may be drawn;
7. budget	g. criticize unfavourably for something;
8. roll	h. persons employed in any work, esp. public undertaking and the armed forces;
9. data	i. to support and approve (a person, his conduct, a practice)

6. Fill in the gaps with the suitable word. A:

Censured; shared; employees; treaty; pooled; upheld; delegated; data; recruited; employers; exercising

1. He already is being heavily … by the country's top college coaches. 2. They signed a…. to settle all border disputes by arbitration. 3. The House … the Member of Parliament for his rude remark to the Minister. 4. …… often make …. redundant. 5. Kyiv University has always … freedom-loving spirit. 6. They are merely ….. their right to free speech. 7. The chairman is unable to attend the meeting, so he has ….. his voting powers to the secretary. 8. They … their efforts to get better results. 9. Bill and I … an office for years. 10. … are groups of information that represent the qualitative or quantitative attributes of a variable or set of variables.

B: Fill in the appropriate proposition or adverb where necessary.

1. This medicine will safeguard you … a return … the disease. 2. When the president is censured, it serves … a condemnation and has no direct effect … the validity … presidency, nor are there any other particular legal consequences. 3. The European Union is, … fact, unique. 4. The member states make decisions … specific matters … joint interest democratically … European level. 5. The member states, … practice, delegate some … their decision-making powers … shared institutions. 6. The decision-making process in the EU … general and the co-decision procedure … particular involve the three main institutions. 7. The policies and laws produced … this ‘institutional triangle’ apply ……. the EU. 8. Parliament shares … the Council authority … the EU budget. 9. Parliament examines proposed legislation and votes … amendments … the plenary sessions. 10. Parliament adopts or rejects the budget … its entirety.

7. Look through the text again and decide if the following statements are true or false. Correct those, which are false. Use the text and your own knowledge.

1. The European Union (EU) is a political and military union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in Europe. 2. The activities of the EU are regulated by a single institution – Parliament. 3. The European Council is composed of one representative per member state — either its head of state or head of government — plus the President of the Commission. 4. The European Parliament forms one half of the EU's legislature. 5. MEPs are elected on a national basis, so they sit according to their nationality. 6. The Court of Justice has the power to reject or censure the Commission and the EU budget. 7. The Parliament and the Council form and pass legislation jointly, using co-decision, in certain areas of policy.

8. Answer the questions.

1. What kind of organization is the European Union? 2. Why do the member states pool their sovereignty? 3. What are the main bodies and their functions of the UE? 4. What legislative functions does this institutional triangle have? 5. What is the role of the Court of Justice and the Court of Auditors? 6. What are other bodies that play specialized roles? 7. How is the European Parliament elected? 8. Where are the places of work of the European Parliament? 9. What are the main roles of the European Parliament? 10. What does passing European laws mean? 11. What is meant by democratic supervision? 12. What is the power of the Purse? 13. What stages is Parliament’s work divided into?

9. Translate into English in writing.

Європейський Парламент — одна з п'яти інституцій Європейського Союзу, асамблея, яка представляє майже 500-мільйонне населення.

Починаючи з 1979 року Європейський Парламент обирають прямим загальним голосуванням; місця в ньому розподілені між країнами-членами відповідно до чисельності населення. Парламент виконує такі основні функції:

• разом з Радою, бере участь у законодавчому процесі через численні процедури (процедура спільного ухвалювання рішень, процедура співпраці, узгодження, консультативний висновок тощо);

• контролює діяльність інституцій Союзу, затверджуючи склад Комісії (та через право висловлювати їй вотум недовіри), а також через письмові й усні запити, які він може адресувати Комісії та Раді;

• поділяє з Радою бюджетні повноваження, а саме: ухвалює річний бюджет та контролює його виконання.

Європарламент також призначає омбудсмена, уповноваженого розглядати скарги від громадян Союзу з приводу порушень у діяльності інституцій та органів Спільноти. Зрештою, Парламент може створювати тимчасові комітети з розслідування, чиї повноваження не обмежуються вивченням діяльності інституцій Спільноти, а можуть поширюватись і на дії країн-членів із впровадження політики Спільноти.

10. Additional Text. Translate into English in writing.