The Treaty of Rome dealt with economics.

The European Union is made up of 5 institutions:

• Council of Ministers - Executive
• European Commission - Administrative
• European Parliament - Legislative
• Court of Justice
• Court of Auditors

There is also the Committee of the Regions, the Economic & Social Committee and the Ombudsman.

The European commission is made up of 20 members and is a civil service type job. They are the administrators of the European Union. Their powers include the following:

1. Right of Initiative
2. Executive Power
3. Guardian of the Treaties
4. Diplomatic Service

The European Commission has 11 official languages and the European Court recognizes 12 (Irish being the 12th language). The "working" languages of the European Commission are English, French and German.

The Council of Ministers has 15 members, one from each member country. They are the decision making body. They adapt or amend proposals. All voting is done in secret, they are not accountable to anyone. Ministers might be put under pressure when they get home to their own countries to explain how they voted.

The European Council is a summit of the heads of state and governments of the member states. They have at least 2 meetings annually. They issue guidelines.

The European Parliament currently has 626 MEPs (members). Their powers include: Political power, Legislative power and Budgetary power (currently 90 billion Euros).

Enlargement - there are 12 countries in various stages of negotiations for membership. One of the many requirements of the EU is that member countries are not allowed to have a death penalty.

The Structural Fund consumes approximately 1/3 of the EU budget.

Address:

European Commission
rue Van Maerlant 2 - 1040 Brussels
Belgium

Telephone: +32 (2) 299 16 22

European Union main page

Lorraine and Kevin Nagle at the European Commission in Brussels

Carla and Cathy standing with the Portuguese flag in the lobby of the European Commission.

Copyright @ 2001 James M. Lavelle
jlavelle@caldwell.edu