Video below on Bridging the EU's Pension Gap
EU Calendar
Tue 01/06 at 11:30 EU-Russia Summit, Rostov-On-Don - press conference
Tue 01/06 at 14:30 Green Week 2010 - opening session
Wed 02/06 at 13:00 EU-Western Balkans High Level Meeting, Sarajevo - press conference
Wed 02/06 at 16:30 European Commission launches debate on corporate governance in financial institutions: press conference by BARROSO, BARNIER and REHN
Fri 04/06 at 14:00 EU-Pakistan Summit - press conference
How does the EU work?
4:The decision-making triangle
The European Union is more than just a confederation of countries, but it is not a federal state. It is, in fact, a new type of structure that does not fall into any traditional legal category. Its political system is historically unique and has been constantly evolving over more than 50 years.
When a hand is raised in the European Parliament - the person who does so is your voice.
The Treaties (known as 'primary' legislation), are the basis for a large body of 'secondary' legislation which has a direct impact on the daily lives of EU citizens. The secondary legislation consists mainly of regulations, directives and recommendations adopted by the EU institutions.
These laws, along with EU policies in general, are the result of decisions taken by the institutional triangle made up of the Council (representing national governments), the European Parliament (representing the people) and the European Commission (a body independent of EU governments that upholds the collective European interest).
(a) The Council of the European Union and the European Council
The Council of the European Union (also known as the Council of Ministers) is the EU's main decision-making body. The EU member states take it in turns to hold the Council Presidency for a six-month period. Every Council meeting is attended by one minister from each EU country. Which ministers attend a meeting depends on which topic is on the agenda: foreign affairs, agriculture, industry, transport, the environment, etc.
The Council has legislative power, which it shares with the European Parliament under the 'co-decision procedure'. In addition to this, the Council and the Parliament share equal responsibility for adopting the EU budget. The Council also concludes international agreements that have been negotiated by the Commission.
According to the Treaties, the Council has to take its decisions either by a simple majority vote, a 'qualified majority' vote or unanimously, depending on the subject to be decided.
The Council has to agree unanimously on important questions such as amending the Treaties, launching a new common policy or allowing a new country to join the Union.
In most other cases, qualified majority voting is used. This means that a Council decision is adopted if a specified minimum number of votes are cast in its favour. The number of votes allocated to each EU country roughly reflects the size of its population.
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