EU: Structure of the European Communities
01 January 1991
EU: Structure of the European Communities
bacdoc July=1995
The first main organisation, formed in 1951, was the European
Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). This comprised: Belgium, France,
West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and Netherlands.
Treaty of Rome 1957
Established the European Economic Community (EEC) aimed at
integrating the economies of the six countries and the European
Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) to encourage the non-military
use of nuclear power. In 1967 the so-called Merger Treaty merged
the three bodies into the European Community.
Single European Act (SEA) 1987
The Single European Act of 1987 amended and complemented the
Treaties of Rome and Paris. The Act was intended to increase the
efficiency of the Community and institutionalised co-operation
between member states on foreign policy.
Membership
In 1973 the original six members were joined by Denmark, Ireland
and the UK (making a total of nine), in January 1981 Greece
joined and in January 1986 Spain and Portugal joined.
The 12 members of the EC are: Denmark, France, Germany, Belgium,
Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland
and the UK.
In 1994 3 new members joined, making a total of 15: Sweden,
Finland and Austria (referendums in Norway and Switzerland
rejected membership).
Locations
The European Parliament (and the Council of Europe) are based in
Strasbourg, France (the EP holds its committee meetings in
Brussels). The Commission and the Council of Ministers are based
in Brussels. The Court of Justice is based in Luxembourg.
The European Council
The European Council, set up in 1974, comprises the 12 heads of
government and meets every six months at the end of each
Presidency. It is not an institution of the Community under the
Single European Act but it the highest decision-making body.
It deals with issues concerning the EC and with
intergovernmental cooperation.
The Council of Ministers
The Council is the legislative body of the EC. All proposals
which are initiated by the Commission, and considered by the
Parliament, have to be agreed (or not) by the Council. The
Council comprises the representatives of the 15 Member States.
The composition of the Council of Ministers varies according to
the subject matter, eg: agriculture, industry, finance, economic
policy. The Council has a staff over 2,000 based in Brussels.
The ministerial level meetings are preceded by meetings of the
Permanent Representatives Committee, known as COREPER (a French
acronym). This committee operates at two levels: the Permanent
Representatives of each state with ambassador status, work
through COREPER II; the Deputy Permanent Representatives work
through COREPER I. COREPER prepares the reports and decisions for
the Council of Ministers.
The Commission
The Commission of the European Communities (often referred to as
the `European Commission') is the `civil service' of the EC. It
is headed by seventeen Commissioners, at least one of whom comes
from each Member State (larger States, like the UK and Germany,
have two). Each Commissioner is appointed for four years,
renewable, by mutual agreement between the states. Each
Commissioner is given a specific area of responsibility. The
European Parliament has the power to force them to collectively
resign.
The job of the Commission is: 1) to ensure that Community rules
and principles are respected. They are the guardians of the
Treaty of Rome and the Single European Act (it is this role that
MEPs are critical of over the abolition of internal frontier
controls). 2) The Commission has investigative powers and can
impose fines on companies and individuals found in breach of
Community regulations and laws. There is a right of appeal to the
European Court of Justice. 3) it can make proposals to the
Council of Ministers on economic, nuclear, and to a lesser
degree, social matters. 4) it implements Community po