The institutional framework, the decision making mechanism and the operating system of the EU are granted by the four main institutions, the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament and the European Courts. The European Union has a single institutional framework, which means that there is only one set of institutions.
As already mentioned the European Union (EU) is not a federation like the United States, nor is it simply an organisation for co-operation between governments, like the United Nations. The countries that make up the EU remain independent sovereign nations, but they have delegated some of their decision-making powers to shared institutions which they have created, so that decisions on specific matters can be made jointly at the european level. This transfer of the sovereignty has established the division of power between the Member States and the institutions created by them.
The division of competences between the European Union and its Member States aims to establish a clear and precise distribution of the Union's competences, respecting the principles of Subsidiarity and proportionality whilst meeting, as far as possible, the expectations of European citizens. In areas which do not fall under the exclusive competence of the Community it shall take action in accordance with the principle of the Subsidiarity.
|
Definition: Subsidiarity = The principle of Subsidiarity is to ensure that decisions are taken as closely as possible to the citizen and that constant checks are made as to whether action at Community level is justified in the light of the possibilities available at national, regional or local level. It means that the Union takes actions (except in the areas which fall within its exclusive competence) if this action is not more effective at national, regional or local level. Source: http://www.europa.eu.int/abc/eurojargon/index-eu.htm See more on: http://www.europa.eu.int/scadplus/glossary/index-eu.htm |
The EU competences can be categorized as follows: explicit competences, which are clearly defined in the Treaties; implicit competences where the European Community has explicit powers in a particular area (e.g. transport), it also has powers in the same field with regard to external relations (e.g. negotiation of international agreements), subsidiary powers: in the field of the single market, where the institutions are entitled to take the necessary objectives for the purpose of the Treaties (Article 308 of the EC Treaty).
| Previous chapter | Next chapter |