1. 1. EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS :WHAT THEY ARE & WHAT THEY DOEnglish V (Achilleas Kostoulas)
2. 2. Pre-Reading TaskWhat do we already know about the EUinstitutions?
3. 3. What does a commissioner do?http://www.worldfishing.net/news101/damanaki-considers-banning-discards
4. 4. What is the Council of the European Union? http://criticalppp.com/archives/53669
5. 5. Where is the European Parliament located? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:European-parliament-strasbourg-inside.jpg
6. 6. Can a member state of the EU be taken to court?http://www.bellona.org/articles/articles_2007/dutch_ecj
7. 7. Who keeps track of how EU money is spent? http://eca.europa.eu/portal/pls/portal/docs/1/187066.TIF
8. 8. What does the European Central Bank do? http://www.oilempire.us/oil-jpg/Euro_banknotes.jpg
9. 9. Reading activitiesTask 1 (Note taking)
10. 10. The European CommissionThe European Commission is more than simply a civil service for theEuropean Union, it is the only body that can propose legislation. It issometimes seen as the driving force behind European integration butthe member states both guide and limit its activity. The commission ismade up 27 commissioners - the president and 26 others, each withresponsibility for a policy area, such as agriculture or enlargement.Commissioners are appointed by the member states, and are usuallysenior politicians. However, their job is to act in the general Europeaninterest, not to advance the interests of their own country. The numberof commissioners will change in 2014 under the Lisbon Treaty. From2014 only two-thirds of member states will have a commissioner at anyone time - so all will have a commissioner for 10 years out of every 15.
11. 11. The Council of MinistersThe Council of Ministers is the EU institution which represents theEU member states. It is a many-headed creature and maybring together government ministers from each country, headsof government, ambassadors, or merely government officials.Many decisions are made by officials meeting in technicalcommittees and are then merely rubber-stamped by ministers.Unlike the Commission, the Council of Ministers is not asupranational body but an intergovernmental one. It should notbe confused with the European Council, which is the name givento the regular meetings - sometimes called summits - of the EUmember states heads of state or government.
12. 12. The European Parliament (location)The parliament is the only directly elected body in theEuropean Union. It holds regular plenary sessions inStrasbourg, and has a secretariat in Luxembourg, butmembers of the parliament do most of their work inBrussels. This is where they examine draft legislations incommittees and consult with the Commission and Council ofMinisters. The parliament has the power to sack theCommission, it holds hearings on new commissioners, andhas the last word on about half the spending in the EUannual budget. Its powers have been steadily increasing.Most EU legislation now needs the approval of bothparliament and the Council of Ministers before it becomeslaw.
13. 13. The European Parliament (powers)The parliament is the only directly elected body in theEuropean Union. It holds regular plenary sessions inStrasbourg, and has a secretariat in Luxembourg, but membersof the parliament do most of their work in Brussels. This iswhere they examine draft legislations in committees andconsult with the Commission and Council of Ministers. Theparliament has the power to sack the Commission, it holdshearings on new commissioners, and has the last word on abouthalf the spending in the EU annual budget. Its powers havebeen steadily increasing. Most EU legislation now needs theapproval of both parliament and the Council of Ministersbefore it becomes law.
14. 14. The European Court of JusticeThe court rules on disputes over EU treaties and other EUlegislation. Its decisions are binding on EU institutions andmember states. A member state may be taken to court forfailing to meet its obligations under EU law. Big fines canbe imposed for non-compliance with the courts rulings.The court hears actions brought by individuals seekingdamages from European institutions, or the annulment ofEU legislation which directly concerns them. It also clarifiespoints of European law at the request of courts in memberstates. It is made up of senior judges from each memberstate, who hold office for a renewable term of six years.
15. 15. The European Court of AuditorsThe Court of Auditors is meant to keep track of EU moneyso that citizens know where their money goes. Its aim is toimprove the efficiency of EU financial management. Thecourt audits the EU accounts and the implementation of thebudget, providing the European Parliament and the Councilof Ministers with a statement on the accounts reliability. Italso delivers opinions, when requested to do so, on thefinancial implications of proposed legislation. In the 1990sthe court regularly revealed cases of fraud, paymentsmade in error and other cases of spending that failed tomeet its objectives.
16. 16. The European Central BankThe bank is responsible for monetary policy within theeurozone. Its main goals are maintaining price stability andsafeguarding the value of the euro. It does this together withthe eurozones 12 national central banks, by setting interestrates, conducting foreign exchange operations, and managingnational foreign reserves. The ECB aims to ensure that theyear-on-year increase in consumer prices is less than, but closeto, 2% over the medium term. The bank is formallyindependent, along the lines of the German Bundesbank.When taking decision on monetary policy, neither the EuropeanCentral Bank nor the national central banks are allowed totake instructions from EU institutions or member states. TheECBs own foreign reserve assets amount to 40 billion Euros.
17. 17. Reading ActivitiesTask 2 (Scanning for information)
18. 18. Statement 1 - FALSEThe European Commission is more than simply a civil service for theEuropean Union, it is the only body that can propose legislation. It issometimes seen as the driving force behind European integration butthe member states both guide and limit its activity. The commission ismade up 27 commissioners - the president and 26 others, each withresponsibility for a policy area, such as agriculture or enlargement.Commissioners are appointed by the member states, and are usuallysenior politicians. However, their job is to act in the general Europeaninterest, not to advance the interests of their own country. The numberof commissioners will change in 2014 under the Lisbon Treaty. From2014 only two-thirds of member states will have a commissioner at anyone time - so all will have a commissioner for 10 years out of every 15.
19. 19. Statement 2 - TRUEThe Council of Ministers is the EU institution whichrepresents the EU member states. It is a many-headedcreature and may bring together government ministersfrom each country, heads of government, ambassadors, ormerely government officials. Many decisions are made byofficials meeting in technical committees and are thenmerely rubber-stamped by ministers. Unlike theCommission, the Council of Ministers is not a supranationalbody but an intergovernmental one. It should not beconfused with the European Council, which is the namegiven to the regular meetings - sometimes called summits -of the EU member states heads of state or government.
20. 20. Statement 3 - TRUEThe parliament is the only directly elected body in theEuropean Union. It holds regular plenary sessions in Strasbourg,and has a secretariat in Luxembourg, but members of theparliament do most of their work in Brussels. This is where theyexamine draft legislations in committees and consult with theCommission and Council of Ministers. The parliament has thepower to sack the Commission, it holds hearings on newcommissioners, and has the last word on about half thespending in the EU annual budget. Its powers have beensteadily increasing. Most EU legislation now needs theapproval of both parliament and the Council of Ministersbefore it becomes law.
21. 21. Statement 4 - FALSEThe court rules on disputes over EU treaties and other EUlegislation. Its decisions are binding on EU institutions andmember states. A member state may be taken to court forfailing to meet its obligations under EU law. Big fines canbe imposed for non-compliance with the courts rulings.The court hears actions brought by individuals seekingdamages from European institutions, or the annulment ofEU legislation which directly concerns them. It also clarifiespoints of European law at the request of courts in memberstates. It is made up of senior judges from each memberstate, who hold office for a renewable term of six years.
22. 22. Statement 5 - TRUEThe Court of Auditors is meant to keep track of EU moneyso that citizens know where their money goes. Its aim is toimprove the efficiency of EU financial management. Thecourt audits the EU accounts and the implementation of thebudget, providing the European Parliament and the Councilof Ministers with a statement on the accounts reliability. Italso delivers opinions, when requested to do so, on thefinancial implications of proposed legislation. In the 1990sthe court regularly revealed cases of fraud, paymentsmade in error and other cases of spending that failed tomeet its objectives.
23. 23. Statement 6 - FALSEThe bank is responsible for monetary policy within theeurozone. Its main goals are maintaining price stability andsafeguarding the value of the euro. It does this together withthe eurozones 12 national central banks, by setting interestrates, conducting foreign exchange operations, and managingnational foreign reserves. The ECB aims to ensure that theyear-on-year increase in consumer prices is less than, but closeto, 2% over the medium term. The bank is formallyindependent, along the lines of the German Bundesbank.When taking decision on monetary policy, neither the EuropeanCentral Bank nor the national central banks are allowed totake instructions from EU institutions or member states. TheECBs own foreign reserve assets amount to 40 billion Euros.
24. 24. Reading activitiesUnpacking the language of administration
25. 25. Yes Minister (1981) - The Tangled Web
26. 26. What does this mean?Unfortunately, although [your] answer was indeedclear, simple and straightforward, there is somedifficulty in justifiably assigning to it the fourth of theepithets you applied to the statement [i.e. honest], inas much as the precise correlation between theinformation you communicated and the facts, in so faras they can be determined and demonstrated, is suchas to cause epistemological problems of sufficientmagnitude as to lay upon the logical and semanticresources of the English language a heavier burdenthan they can be reasonably be expected to bear.
27. 27. What do you think the point of such jargon is?
28. 28. Vocabulary Tasks
29. 29. Task 11. To give formal approval without much deliberation: TO RUBBER STAMP2. To listen to what an official has done / intends to do, and pose questions in order to reach a decision: TO HOLD A HEARING3. Disobedience to the law or a treaty: NON- COMPLIANCE4. To ensure that prices do not go up: TO MAINTAIN PRICE STABILITY
30. 30. Task 21. summit 2. draft legislation 3. consult with someone 4. secretariat
31. 31. Task 3monetarysessionsfinancial areapolicypolicyplenary implicationsforeign reserves
32. 32. Task 41. A member state may be taken to court for failing to meet its obligations under EU law.2. Its decisions are binding on EU institutions and member states3. The Court of Auditors is meant to keep track of EU money4. The court rules on disputes over EU treaties and other EU legislation5. It also delivers opinions on the financial implications of proposed legislation6. The ECBs own foreign reserve assets amount to 40 billion Euros.
33. 33. Production TasksSpeaking and Writing
34. 34. How does the EU operate?Working in pairs, look at thediagram on the right and discusswith how the EU institutions worktogether.Consider the following points: In what ways are the peoplesof Europe involved in theseprocesses? How likely is it that a singlepowerful country can affectthese processes to advancetheir own national interests?
35. 35. WritingYou will write a text describing andevaluating the legislative process ofthe EU and the procedures forallocating funds to various projects.You should: describe how European institutionswork with each other to producenew laws and to decide howfunds will be spent (200-300words). evaluate these processes. Youmay want to discuss whether theyare efficient, democratic or fair.You will need to justify youropinion, by referring to the textabove or other suggestedreadings (100-200 words).