Political Institutions Essay

The parliament which is officially known as the European Parliament is the only unifications body that directly elected. It is make up of 785 peniss who are elected for five year terms by universal suffrage and are determined by the political loyalty. By virtue of being the only elected body of the union, parliament reflects the more than 500 million citizens wishes, however, it has relatively weaker power as compared to the council in some areas such having the absolute legislative powers. Its powers include co-owning the legislative and budgetary authority of the union with the council.Further, it has power over the counseling which the council do not enjoy and hence earning it the praises that it is the most powerful and democratic legislature in the globe. Parliament overview, 2007 Its current professorship who also doubles as its speaker is Hans-Gert Pottering elected in 2007.The council of the European spousal relationship which was also known as the Council of Ministers d ue to its composition, it is composed of national ministers, one per nation, who meets various capacities depending with the issue to be discussed e.g. if it is security matters being discussed and then the respective ministers in charge of security matters in every nation attends the council. It co-holds both the legislative and budgetary powers with the parliament, and further it holds the administrator powers, making it the main finding making organ of the EU.The power of the council is however, kept at bay through a rotating kind of its leadership, its presidency rotates between the member states every six months and therefore preventing any attempts to override the mandate of the council over the early(a) unions institutions. Again, the decision making is subject to voting with majority or unanimity being set as the requirements, with the votes being allocated by the ratio of population. The councils power also extends to the control of the other two pillars of the union n amely the common Foreign and Security insurance and the Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal matters. The Council of the European Union, 2007The delegacy of the European Communities forms the executive arm of the union its composition includes one member each from the unions states i.e. twenty seven. The members are elected on condition that they will not represent their respective national interests. The bodys main tariff is to draft all the law of the union and has a monopoly of legislative inventiveness within the European confederation pillar however, the laws are subject to approval by both the parliament and the council.Again, its powers extend to overseeing the daily activities of the union and also it has got a duty to up hold the law and treaties and hence playing the role of a Guardian of the Treaties that makeup the union. Its powers are put to check by the situation that the president who is the commissions head is nominated by the council and approved by th e parliament.Other members of the commission who are known as the commissioners are proposed by member states in consultation with the commissions president and again approved by the parliament. The commissions current president is Jose Manuel Baroso who together with his commission was elected into office in 2004. Institutions Commission, 2007This is the supreme court of justice of the European Communities also known as the European Court of Justice it acts on Union law matters. It is composed of twenty seven judges one apiece from the member states, the court president is chosen (elected) from among the 27, currently Vassilos Skouris is the occupier of the post.The courts major role is to make sure that the Union law is adhered to by all the member states, its supremacy is seen on the fact that the Union law overrides national laws of members nations. For instance in 2001 it ruled that a section of the national constitution of Germany was not in order with the Union law because it barred women from engaging in military roles. 20 The court of justice does not act all alone in matters concerning the Union law it is assisted by two lesser courts known as the Court of First Instance of the European Communities (CFI) and Civil Service Tribunal. Institutions Court of Justice, 2007The sensitivity of fraud cases and the fact that the Unions Budget involved large amounts of money, an auditing body was necessary the court of auditors is responsible for the monitoring of the expenditure of the union and preparing yearly audits on the Unions budget. Its name does not necessarily imply any legal or judicial powers but it gives views on legislations that involve financial matters. It is composed of one member apiece from the union members and who are appointed by the council every six years, with the president being elected every three years from among them, currently Hubert weber occupies the seat. Institutions Court of Auditors, 2007With new laws and treaties being enac ted chiefly to accommodate new members and new ideologies and partly to streamline the functioning of the Unions institutions, new institutions have been proposed to be created. Under capital of Portugal Treaty of Changes the following institutions are proposed the European Council, which has been formerly acting as an informal body under the Council of ministers. Its inception will see it assuming the executive powers that were initially the preserve of the council of ministers and therefore becoming the highest political body of the Union. Other powers will include delineating the Unions policy agenda and creating the momentum for integration, other features will be similar to that of the council of ministers.The other proposed institution is the European Central Bank, this bank is tipped to represent the interests of the euro-zone i.e. the fifteen states that have adopted the euro, and the main caprice behind the formation of this body is to induce fiscal controls in order to su stain price stability. Its governance will include a board made national bank governors and a president appointed by the European Council currently Jean-Claude Trichet is the president. Draft Treaty modifying, 2007The European Union system of government though unmatched can be likened to other models of governance, for instance, Germanys federalism and the Swiss federal council where power is headspringly shared between the state and the federal government with the states having a principal say in the decision making process even at the federal level unlike in US where powers are clearly divide between the state and the federal government with the state having limited say over decision making process. The rotating presidency, the choice of lesser cities to host the headquarters of the Community Institutions, the spreading of executive powers between the institutions, are some of the equal representation measures employed by the EU. Borzel, Tanja A, 2002 References EU Law Blog, av ailable at http//eulaw.typad.com, accessed on November 26, 2008 encounter of the executives, available at http//www.enalu?lang=2&doc=473, accessed on November 26, 2008EUR-Lex Treaties, available at