sessions 3 – 4 eu institutions and decision making

Sessions 3 – 4EU Institutions and Decision Making

1. Overview

Two types of institutions should be distinguished:• Institutions that represent EU’s intergovernmental

element: European Council, Council of the European Union (= Council of Ministers), Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER).

• Institutions that represent EU’s supranational element: Parliament, Commission, Court of Justice, Court of Auditors; European Central Bank, European Investment bank.

The EU’s decision-making process, i. e. the production of secondary law, involves three main institutions:

• the European Commission, which has the agenda-setting power and seeks to uphold the interests of the Union as a whole,• the Council of the European Union, which represents the individual member states,• the European Parliament, which represents the EU’s citizens and is, since 1979, directly elected by them.

According to the codecision procedure which is now used for most EU law-making the Parliament shares legislative power equally with the Council.

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2. The European Commission The European Commission has four main roles:• To propose legislation to Parliament and the Council

(right of initiative). However: Council can modify proposals by the Commission unanimously (Art. 250 EC); Council and Parliament can force the Commission to make a proposal (Arts. 208 and 192 EC).

• To manage and implement EU policies and the budget (especially CAP and competition policy),

• To enforce European law (jointly with the Court of Justice, Commission as “guardian of the Treaties”),

• To represent the European Union on the international stage, e. g. by negotiating agreements between the EU and other countries.

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European Commission (ctd.)

The Commission and its president are first nominated and then appointed by member countries after approval by the European Parliament. Currently each country has 1 commissioner. The number of commissioners should be reduced in the future.

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Distinguish:• The commission as a collective-decision making

body (the political arm)• The “Directorates-General” and “services” (the

administrative arm)

European Commission (ctd.)

The power of the Commission, resulting from its monopoly of initiative (example: proposal to increase external tariff rate):

SQ M1 Mp (= SQ) M27

whereby SQ = status quo(zero tariff rate), M1 = most liberal member state, Mp = pivotal member state, M27 = most protectionist member state.

Area of successful Commission proposals

en3. The Council of the European Union

All regulations and directives must be approved by the Council, either jointly with the European Parliament or after consultation with it. The Council is the most important legislative authority of the Community. enThe Council is composed of one representative from each country, usually the national minister in charge of the issue under discussion.

The Council decides by unanimity in the most sensitive areas, such as common foreign and security policy, taxation, asylum and immigration policy, and in most cases by qualified majority voting.

enThe Council of the European Union (ctd.)

The current qualified majority voting procedure assigns a certain number of votes to member countries as a function of their population size, but weighted in a way that favors small countries relative to strict proportionality.

enGeneral problem:

One person, one vote or one country, one vote.

The current procedure (Treaty of Nice) is a political compromise of both principles.

The Council of the European Union (ctd.)Member states‘ votes and population shares

Country Votes % of all votes Population share

Germany 29 8.41 17.01

UK 29 8.41 12.40

France 29 8.41 12.24

Italy 29 8.41 11.97

Spain 27 7.83 8.34

Poland 27 7.83 7.97

Romania 14 4.06 4.62

Netherlands 13 3.77 3.32

Greek 12 3.48 2.19

Czech Republic 12 3.48 2.13

Belgium 12 3.48 2.13

Portugal 12 3.48 2.13

Hungary 12 3.48 2.11

The Council of the European Union (ctd.)Member states‘ votes and population shares

Country Votes % of votes Population share

Sweden 10 2.90 1.84

Bulgaria 10 2.90 1.63

Austria 10 2.90 1.67

Slovakia 7 2.03 1.11

Denmark 7 2.03 1.11

Finland 7 2.03 1.07

Irland 7 2.03 0.80

Lithuania 7 2.03 0.72

Latvia 4 1.16 0.50

Slovenia 4 1.16 0.41

Estonia 4 1.16 0.28

Cyprus 4 1.16 0.17

Luxembourg 4 1.16 0.08

Malta 3 0.78 0.08

The Council of the European Union (ctd.)

The Treaty of Nice requires a triple majority for the qualified majority voting procedure:

(1) Majority of states (in case the decision was not made at the initiative of the commission a two third majority of member states is required) > 13 states

(2) Qualified majority of votes, i. e. 255 out of 345 votes (about 74% of votes)

(3) Upon request of a member state: Supporters represent at least 62% of the population of the EU > 305.586 Mio.


Blocking minority (Treaty of Nice):

(1) > 13 states

(2) > 90 votes

(3) Upon request of a member state: > 38% of population, i. e. > 187.295 Mio.


The draft Constitution requires a double majority:

(1) > 55% of states , i. e. > 14 states

(2) > 65% of population, i. e. > 320.372 Mio.

This implies the following blocking minority:

(1) > 45% of states , i. e. > 12 states

(2) > 35% of population, i. e. > 127.508 Mio.

Comparison with Treaty of Nice:• Germany and the other three big countries would

have gained considerable power,• the relative position of Poland and Spain would have

become worse.


The Treaty of Lisbon:• From 2014 on, the calculation of qualified majority will

be based on the double majority of Member States and people.

• However, from 2014 to 2017, a Member State may request that an act can be adopted in accordance with the qualified majority as defined in the current Treaty of Nice.

• Only from 2017 on, the double majority will hold without further restrictions.


Discussion: Voting power and voting weights

The member of a collective decision-making body has some power if the vote of this member can occasionally change the decision. The voting power is not proportional to the voting weight.

Example 1: Two members, A with 51 votes and B with 49 votes. With simple majority rule, A’s voting power = 100%, B’s voting power = 0%.

Example 2: Two members, A with 99 votes and B with 1 vote. With unanimity rule, both members have the same voting power (50%)


Understanding voting power

Example: Three members, A with 30 votes and B with 25 votes and C with 21 votes. Majority of 50 votes is required


Understanding voting power I:The Shapley-Shubik-Index

Permutations Player A Player B Player C

(A,B,C) 0 1 0

(A,C,B) 0 0 1

(B,A,C) 1 0 0

(B,C,A) 1 0 0

(C,A,B) 1 0 0

(C,B,A) 1 0 0

Pivots 4 1 1

Index 4/6 1/6 1/6


Understanding voting power II:The Banzhaf-Index

Coalitions Player A Player B Player C

(A,B,C) 1 0 0

(A,B) 1 1 0

(A,C) 1 0 1

(B,C) 1 0 0

(A) 0 1 1

(B) 1 0 0

(C) 1 0 0

Swings 6 2 2

Index 6/10 2/10 2/10

Swing: If a player can change a winning coalition into a loosing coalition by leaving the coalition and vice versa.


Penrose’s square root law:Basic idea: Suppose voters in your country decide upon an issue by referendum (simple majority). Your own vote will change the outcome of the referendum only if the voters are split into equal parts on that matter. This happens with probability approximately proportional to the inverse of the square root of the number of citizens.

If we want to give all citizens in the EU the same influence on the Council’s decision, the country should have a voting power in the Council proportional to the square root of the population and the quota for qualified majority should be set at 62% (Kirsch et al.).

The Council of the European Union (ctd.)Square root model

Country Votes % of all votes Difference to draft Constitution

Germany 9.08 9,47 -7.25

UK 7.93 8.24 -4.49

France 7.77 8.10 -4.16

Italy 7.66 7.99 -3.93

Spain 6.61 6.89 -2.01

Poland 6.18 6.44 -1.30

Romania 4.65 4.85 0.47

Netherlands 4.04 4.21 0.90

Greek 3.33 3.47 1.21

Czech Republic 3.20 3.34 1.26

Belgium 3.24 3.38 1.25

Portugal 3.25 3.39 1.25

Hungary 3.17 3.31 1.27

The Council of the European Union (ctd.)Square root model

Country Votes % of votes Difference to draft constitution

Sweden 3.01 3.14 1.31

Bulgaria 2.78 2.90 1.33

Austria 2.87 2.99 1.31

Slovakia 2.32 2.42 1.09

Denmark 2.33 2.43 1.33

Finland 2.29 2.39 1.32

Irland 2.05 2.14 1.29

Lithuania 1.84 1.92 1.23

Latvia 1.51 1.57 1.11

Slovenia 1.41 1.47 1.06

Estonia 1.16 1.21 0.94

Cyprus 0.87 0.91 0.76

Luxembourg 0.68 0.71 0.62

Malta 0.63 0.66 0.58

en4. The European Parliament (EP)

Although the origins of the EP go back to the fifties and the founding treaties, only since 1979 its members have been directly elected (for five years) by the people they represent.

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enThe European Parliament (EP)(ctd.)

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Year No. of MEPs

No. of MS

Status of MEPs

Title of Chamber

1952 78 6 nominated ECSC Common Assembly

1958 142 6 nominated EC Common Assembly

1973 198 9 nominated European Parliament

1979 410 9 elected European Parliament







The European Parliament (ctd.)Distribution of seats in EP in 2007

Country seats country seats

Germany 99 Bulgaria 18

UK 78 Austria 18

France 78 Slovakia 14

Italy 78 Denmark 14

Spain 54 Finland 14

Poland 54 Irland 13

Romania 35 Lithuania 13

Netherlands 27 Latvia 9

Greek 24 Slovenia 7

Czech Republic 24 Estonia 6

Belgium 24 Cyprus 6

Portugal 24 Luxembourg 6

Hungary 24 Malta 5

Sweden 19 Total 785

The European Parliament (ctd.)Party groups in EP in 2007

Party group Political orientation No. of MEPs (%)

European People’s Party/ European Democrats

Centre-right (Christian Democrats & Conservatives)

278 (35.4 %)

Party of European Socialists Centre-left 216 (27.5 %)

Alliance of Liberals and Democrats

Liberal 104 (13.2 %)

Europe of Nations Eurosceptics and generally right-wing

44 (5.6 %)

Greens/European Free Alliance

Environmentalists & some Regionalists

42 (5.3 %)

European United Left/ Nordic Green Left

Left-wing 41 (5.2%)

Independence/ Democracy Eurosceptic/ Anti-EU 24 (3.1 %)

Identity, Tradition and Sovereignty Group

Right-wing 23 (2.9 %)

Non-attached Various 13 (1.7 %)

enThe European Parliament (EP) (ctd.)

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The European Parliament still lacks the powers and influence of national parliaments. However, since the 1970’s, Treaty amendments and institutional agreements have greatly enhanced the European Parliaments powers (with respect to budgetary, legislative and personnel decisions):

The regular plenary sessions are held in Strasbourg. Although he EP has come to base more support staff for the assembly in Brussels, part of the staff is still located in Luxembourg where it was originally based.

enThe European Parliament (EP) (ctd.)

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• In the 1970’s: more budgetary powers for EP• 1980: Isoglucose judgment of the ECJ: Legislative

Council decisions without consultation of EP are void.• 1987 (SEA): Introduction of cooperation procedure for

some legislation (greater scope for delay, amendment, and blocking laws)

• 1993 (Maastricht Treaty): Codecision procedure introduced for some legislation; EP given approval power over nominated Commission.

• 1999 (Amsterdam Treaty): Extension of codecision procedure; EP given formal right to veto nominee for post of Commission President.

• 2003 (Nice Treaty): Further extension of codecision procedure.

en5. The European Council The European Council, which should not be confused with the Council of the European Union, is the forum where the heads of the member states and the president of the Commission meet to discuss general issues.

Although it has no formal decision-making power, it is the most influential body. It is here that all the major policy guidelines are set and that all decisions on the big issues are taken. The European Council meets at least every sixth months, and it makes all decisions unanimously. The presidency rotates all six months among all EU members. en

Only since Maastricht the European Council is explicitly mentioned in the Treaties (now Art. 4 EU and Art. 99 EC).

en6. General Discussion • Over-Centralization ?

Reference-Model: Theory of Fiscal FederalismMore competencies for the Community(Principle of subsidiarity?)Reducing the requirements for qualified majorityEuropean Court of JusticeCharter of Human Rights

• Deficit of Democracy?Criterion: To what extent citizens’ preferences are reflected in the collective decisions.

• Lack of Transparency?Access to information, complexity of legal procedure, responsibility and accountability of political authorities.Comitology: 300-400 temporary expert committees and about 150 standing advisory groups to assist and monitor the Commission.

sessions 3 – 4 eu institutions and decision making

Documents

european council

european parliament

european law

enthe council

ec council

council of ministers

european union ctd

european investment