European Journal of Scientific Research (ISSN: 1450 ... - EuroJournals

© European Journal of Scientific Research, Vol 7, No 5, 2005
THE COMMISSION
The Commission is specifically charged with the duties of guarding the Treaties,
initiating legislation, and managing specific spheres directly assigned to it by the
Treaties. While the Commission cannot be considered as the EU's main decision-maker
(it must share that role with the Council and the Parliament), it is probably the most
critical player in the policy initiation phase (Marks, Hooghe and Blank, 1996). The
Commission has the responsibility for investigating the feasibility of new EU policies,
and the some 200-300 reports, White Papers, Green Papers, etc. that it issues each year
reflect this policy-initiation capacity.
THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
The main legislative body of the EU is not the Parliament, but rather the Council of
Ministers. Until the passage of the Single European Act (SEA), the council was the sole
legislative authority- the SEA gave the Parliament more authority. Comprised of
government ministers from the member countries (the specific ministerial composition
changes with function) foreign ministers deal with foreign affairs and certain
administrative functions, financial ministers attend to financial matters, etc., the Council
is formally charged with the task of agreeing, amending or rejecting the Commission's
proposals for legislation, as well as agreeing with6f.rejecting Parliament's amendments.
Although the-Commission and the Council share the responsibility for making
legislation, they differ markedly in their loyalties and methods of operation. While the
Commission is charged with representing the Community as a whole, the Council's
underlying responsibility is to the Member States, and hence, its main tasks often center
on reconciling. the interests of the various Member States (Middlemas, 1995). And while
the Commission is designed as a "transparent" organization, the Council frequently
operates in secret.
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
The European Parliament is the one EU body directly elected by the union's citizens. The
number of representatives differs according to the size of each country (e.g., Germany
has 99, while Luxembourg has just six). When the Parliament sits; the representatives are
grouped by political group or party, not by nation, which is really very symbolic of the
integrative approach. Major-parties include the Socialists, Greens, European People's
Party, European Democratic Alliance" and the Liberals (Middlemas, 1995).
EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE
The fourth major EU institution is the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which is based in
Luxembourg. The Court, which is composed of judges from 15 member states and served
by six Advocates General, reviews the' legality of the Acts of the Commission and the
Council and makes decisions on enforcement and / or annulment. The ECJ, which has
faced an impressive caseload since 1958 when it was first formed, was overwhelmed by
the legalistic requirements and questions encompassed in the 286 different regulations
within the Single Market Act. Under extreme pressure from businesses and investors; the
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