Development of the EU Commission Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Development of the EU Commission - Essay Example The EU operates through a system of supranational independence institutions and intergovernmental negotiated decisions by the member states. The main institutions of EU include the European Union Council, the European Council, the Court of Justice of the EU, the European Commission, and the European Central Bank1. It has a parliament named European Parliament, elected every five years by the EU citizens. The European Commission is the EU’s supervisory body; responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the union’s treaties, and the general daily running of the union. It operates as a cabinet government, which has 27 members of the Commission. Each member state has one member, and they are bound to represent EU’s interests as a whole, but not their home state. The 27 members elect the Commission President as proposed by the European Council and elected by the European Parliament. The Council in agreement with the nominated president appo ints the 26 members of the Commission, and then the European government approves the full Commission. The EU Council The EU Council is a body comprising of the heads of state of the EU member states, President of the European Council as well as the European Commission’s President. The High Representative for Foreign Affairs also takes part in the Council’s meetings. ... It became an informal body in 1975 and an official EU institution in 2009 after the enforcement of the Treaty of Lisbon. The European Parliament The European Parliament is a parliamentary institution of the European Union elected directly. It exercises the legislative function of the EU together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission. It is one of the most powerful legislatures in the world. It has 754 members serving the world’s largest democratic electorate in the world, second only to India. It is also the world’s greatest international democratic electorate. The universal suffrage directly elects the European Parliament since 1979. The parliament has legislative power that such body does not possess it because it has no legislative initiative as most state parliaments within the Union2. It is the first institution of the EU that has ceremonial precedence in Europe. It shares equal budgetary and legislative powers with the Council, and enjoys equal control over the EU budget. The European Commission and the executive body of the EU are accountable to Parliament because it elects the Commission’s President and staffs the whole Commission. It has the mandate to censure the body thereby forcing its resignation. Powers of the EU Institutions The European Union Commission The European Union Commission holds significant powers in ensuring proper implementation of the treaties. These powers include the mandate to recognize breaches of the EC laws, which is Article 284. The powers given to the Commission are remarkable and it encounters challenges considering that it has to work through the Member States agencies that at times violate the EC laws. However, the Commission has