The Council of Ministers

The Council is made up of ministers from national governments of each of the member states. It meets most weeks in Brussels or Luxembourg to agree legislation and policy. The Council's work is prepared by diplomats and officials in a committee called Coreper, involving the permanent representations to the EU of each member state. The United Kingdom Permanent Representation is known as UKRep. The Council is supported by some 3,500 staff based in Brussels.

The European Council brings together the heads of state or government of the European Union and the president of the European Commission. It defines the general political guidelines of the EU. The Presidency of the Council is held by each member state, in rotation, for a period of six months. The meetings of the European Council usually take place in Brussels.

The European Commission

The EU's administrative and executive body, the Commission is headed by twenty-seven Commissioners, ie. one for each Member State, who are charged with furthering the goals of the Union and implementing EU policy and legislation.

Initial proposals for legislation and policy are drafted by the Commission for consideration and decision by the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament. The Commissioners, who serve for five years, are nominated by national governments and approved by the European Parliament. MEPs have the power to sack the Commission. The headquarters of the Commission is in Brussels where most of its permanent staff of around 25,000 are based.

Transparency information to note:

• the Register of Expert Groups - http://europa.eu.int/comm/secretariat_general/regexp/index.cfm?lang=EN (register of the advisory bodies that assist the European Commission and its services in preparing legislative proposals and policyinitiatives):
  
• the Register of 'Joint Entities' - http://europa.eu.int/comm/secretariat_general/joint_entities/index_en.htm
  
• Social Dialogue Committees - http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/social_dialogue/sectoral_en.htm
  

The European Parliament

The European Parliament is the democratically elected body whose members (MEPs) are elected every five years. Membership has increased with the 2004 enlargement from 626 to 732. (For a short period, from May 1st until the new Parliament reconvened in July 2004, there were 788 MEPs).

Working in Brussels and Strasbourg, Parliament scrutinises the activities of other EU institutions, passes the annual EU budget, and shapes and decides new legislation jointly with the Council of Ministers. The Parliament has a staff of about 5,900.

The European Court of Justice

Based in Luxembourg, the Court, which has a judge from each member state, adjudicates on all legal issues and disputes involving Community law. The judges, who sit for a period of six years, are assisted by advocates-general who give a preliminary ruling on each case before a final judgement.

The Court deals with two main types of actions: those referred to it by national courts for rulings of interpretation of Community law; and those started by one of the other institutions (usually the Commission against a member state). The Court has a staff of about 1,450.

The Court of Auditors

The Court of Auditors, based in Luxembourg, checks that the EU's money is being properly spent. It presents an annual report to the European Parliament. It also carries out special investigations into specific spending areas.

The Economic and Social Committee

This is an advisory body of 344 representatives nominated by the member states every four years from industry, unions, and other interest groups. It gives opinions on proposals for EU legislation. The UK has 24 members and the Committee is based in Brussels.

The Committee of the Regions

Established in 1994, its 344 members are appointed by member states, drawn from local and regional government. Based in Brussels, the Committee has a consultative role and a particular interest in issues such as regional development and transport that are important to local government. The UK has 24 members.

The European Ombudsman

The Ombudsman is appointed by the European Parliament to investigate complaints of maladministration against any of the EU institutions. The Ombudsman submits an annual report to Parliament.

The European Central Bank

The Frankfurt based ECB is the central bank for the euro zone. Its main objective, as defined in the Maastricht Treaty, is to ensure price stability - in other words, the interest rate and other measures to preserve the stability of the single currency. The ECB has a staff of about 1,350.

The European Investment Bank

The EIB is the EU's long-term lending institution, set up in 1958 under the Treaty of Rome. It facilitates the financing of capital investment projects. Its headquarters are in Luxembourg. The EIB has a staff of about 1,370.

Community Agencies

Various tasks have been devolved to specialist agencies, which are set up across the European Union. Further information on their websites.

Last updated January 23rd, 2008