Subject: European Union Basics (FAQ), Part 6/8
Supersedes: <european-union/basics/part6_816804688@rtfm.mit.edu>
Date: 11 Dec 1995 14:18:17 GMT
Expires: 15 Jan 1996 14:16:40 GMT
References: <european-union/basics/part5_818691400@rtfm.mit.edu>
Summary: This file is part of an eight-part posting containing basic
  information about the European Union and other related or unrelated
  European political organisations. It is hoped to serve both as background
  information for those wishing to discuss European politics on the
  talk.politics.european-union newsgroup, and as a general reference for
  anyone concerned with politics in Europe.
X-Last-Updated: 1995/07/09
X-URL: http://www.vub.ac.be/SMIT/eubasics/other.html
Originator: faqserv@bloom-picayune.MIT.EDU
Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu talk.politics.european-union:2856 eunet.politics:16539 alt.politics.ec:9043 alt.answers:14156 talk.answers:1114 news.answers:59691

Archive-name: european-union/basics/part6
Posting-Frequency: once every three weeks
Last-modified: 31 May 1995
Version: 2.1
URL: http://www.vub.ac.be/SMIT/eubasics/other.html


European Union Basics (FAQ) list

Version 2.1 of 31 May 1995. Posted regularly to talk.politics.european-union,
eunet.politics, alt.politics.ec, alt.answers, talk.answers and news.answers.
See <About this list> in the last part of this list for ways to retrieve the
most recent version or (better) read the HTML version mentioned above. There
you will find original accented characters not present in this text version.

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Other important EU institutions

What is the European Court of Justice?

The European Court of Justice can be compared to the supreme court of the
European Union. It has the task of interpreting the Treaties or secondary EU
legislation when disputes arise. [Note: This is a very important task, since
final compromises reached within the Council are often deliberately fuzzy to
reach any agreement at all.] It has no general jurisdiction over the courts
and laws of the member states.

The European Court of Justice consists of fifteen Judges (one from each
member state) and nine Advocates-General who assist the Court by making
preliminary recommendations which are almost invariably followed.The Court's
rulings are directly applicable in all member states concerned.

The European Court of Justice, based in Luxembourg, is not to be confused
with the European Court of Human Rights based in Strasbourg, which is only
competent for issues arising from the European Convention for the Protection
of Human Rights and Personal Freedoms, and is recognised by all member
states of the Council of Europe.

What is the Court of Auditors?

The Court of Auditors checks whether the accounts of all EU institutions are
in accordance with legislation and jurisdiction, and it can comment on EU
institutions' financial management. It is intended as a safeguard against
abuse of the financial arrangements involved in EU policies, including
questions of improper expenditure, fraud, as well as waste and value for
money. It has fifteen members (one from each member state), supported by a
permanent professional staff of some 335. Its resources are generally
considered inadequate to carry out its important functions.

What is the Economic and Social Committee?

The Economic and Social Committee consists of representatives of the major
interest groups from different sectors of economic and social life, notably
of industry, trade unions, farmers, transporters and other sectors affected
directly by the EU's economic and social policies. They must be consulted
for policies in several areas defined in the treaties; they can be consulted
by the Council or the Commission in other areas as well. There is little
evidence of the ESC playing a significant role in the policy process.

The ESC comprises 222 members (MESCs):

   * 24 each from Germany, France, Italy and the UK
   * 21 MESCs from Spain
   * 12 each from Belgium, Greece, the Netherlands and Portugal
   * 9 each from Austria, Denmark, Finland, the Republic of Ireland and
     Sweden
   * 6 from Luxembourg

What is the Committee of Regions?

The Committee of Regions is a new advisory body established by the
Maastricht Treaty, to take into account the views of regional and local
government in European decision making. The advisory Committee of Regions is
a compromise between the aspirations of powerful regions in federally
organised member states (such as Germany, Spain and Belgium), which have
long asked for direct influence on EU decision making, and the views of much
more centralised member states (such as the UK, Denmark and the Netherlands)
whose regional governments have only derived powers from a strong central
government.

The CoR has the same numeric composition as the ESC: totalling 222 members
(MCoRs). It is important to note that the MCoRs are appointed by their
national governments, not directly by any regional authority.

What is the European Monetary Institute?

The Maastricht Treaty inlcudes provisions for the establishment of a
Economic and Monetary Union by the end of this century. This was not the
first try: attempts (to codify the objective) failed in 1962, 1970 and 1978.

The European Monetary Institute (based in Frankfurt) has the task of
co-ordinating monetary policy of the central banks of the member states
within the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), and to prepare the
so-called third stage of Economic and Monetary Union, in which a single
European currency will be introduced. This stage is intended to start in
1999. At the start of the third stage, the EMI will be renamed to European
Central Bank (ECB). The director of the EMI is Mr Alexandre Lamfalussy
(Belgium).

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Last modifications on 31 May 1995. Edited by Roland Siebelink; corrections
and suggestions welcome.

--
Roland Siebelink <rcsiebel@vub.ac.be>


