The Institutions of the European Union

The institutions of the EU (listed in Article 13 TEU) are the European Council, the Commission, the Council, the Parliament, the Court of Justice and the General Court, the Court of Auditors and the European Central Bank.
The European Council is now one of the institutions of the EU and is listed in Article 13 TEU. It was established as a result of informal meetings between the heads of state or government of the Member States during the 1970s. Since 1974, it held regular summits. At these meetings, high-level decisions about the future development of the EU are made and disputes between Member States (for example, over budget contributions) are addressed. The European Council was first given a legal basis by the Single European Act. Article 15 TEU sets out the tasks of the European Council and states that it is to political directions to the European Union. It comprises:
The heads of state or governments of the Member States
The President of the European Council
The President of the Commission
The High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
The TEU provides (in Article 15 (5)) for an election by qualified majority of a President for a term of two and a half years, renewable once. In the event of a serious misconduct, the European Council can end the President’s term of office in accordance with the same procedure. The role of the President is to prepare and chair meetings of the European Council and represents the Union at his level and does not hold national office.
The second institution is the European Parliament. It has gone from being merely a ‘talking shop’ in 1957 to being a co-legislator along with the European Council and the Commission in many areas of the Treaty with real powers of scrutiny and supervision over the other institutions. Note however, it does not generally have sole power to enact legislation; even now, it is the less powerful legislator in key areas of Union competence and the Council remains the principal legislative body for the European Union.
The body that was to develop into the European Parliament was initially called the Assembly and was one of the institutions of the ECSC. The maximum number of seats is set by Article 14 TEU and varies according to a country’s population. MEPs have the power to approve, amend or reject nearly all EU legislation. They hold the European Commission to account and can force it to resign. The European Parliament also decides on the EU budget and influences how EU money is spent.
The European Parliament has been given the power:
1. to set up temporary committees of inquiry (Article 226 TFEU, ex Article 193 EC)
2. to appoint an Ombudsman (Article 228 TFEU (ex Article 195 EC))
The European Ombudsman conducts inquiries into cases of maladministration by European Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies, acting on his or her own initiative or on the basis of complaints from EU citizens. The Ombudsman is elected by the European Parliament for the duration of the parliamentary term. Article 227 TFEU allows citizens of the EU to petition the Parliament. Any citizen, resident or company with its registered office in the Union may petition the Parliament about matters which concern them directly.
ECJ, in a line of cases that strengthened and consolidated the Parliament’s position in the EU legal order, ruled that the Parliament must be consulted when so required by the Treaty. Failure to observe this essential procedural requirement is a ground for annulment under Article 263 TFEU.
The SEA (1986) introduced a major extension of the EP’s power with the introduction of the ‘cooperation procedure’. This procedure was significantly extended in scope by the ToA. The ToA also greatly simplified the co-decision procedure in a way that strengthened the position of the Parliament so that the European Parliament finally became a co-legislator with the Council in those areas in the Treaty to which this procedure applies. The Treaty of Lisbon, extends the co-decision procedure to become the ordinary legislative procedure.
The position of the Parliament has been significantly strengthened in regard to the appointment of the Commission. The appointment of the Commission as a whole is subject to a vote of approval by the European Parliament; the nominee for the President of the Commission has also to be approved by the Parliament. Under Article 234 TFEU, the European Parliament can, by a two-thirds majority, force the resignation of the Commission as a whole.
The Parliament also plays a significant role in being the scrutineer of other institutions. The Commission must reply to oral and written questions from the Parliament; the Council has accepted that it should respond to questions from the Parliament.

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