The EU institutions and Advisory bodies

The European Parliament has three core functions:

1. The European Parliament, together with the Council, constitutes the legislative body of the EU. Through the ordinary legislative procedure, the European Parliament, together with the Council, adopts a significant share of total EU legislation. This includes areas such as the Single Market and environmental issues. In other areas, e.g. foreign policy, the Council makes the decisions alone.
   
2. In addition to this, the European Parliament, together with the Council, adopts the budget of the EU.
   
3. Lastly, the European Parliament also has a control function. The European Parliament approves the President of the Commission and subsequently the Commission as a whole. The European Parliament can also dismiss the Commission, if it is not satisfied with its work.
   

Elections to the European Parliament are direct, free and secret and they are held every five years. The members of the European Parliament are elected by the 375 million citizens who are entitled to vote in the EU Member States. The most recent elections took place in 2009, when 736 members from 27 Member States were elected.

As a transitional agreement in the Treaty of Lisbon, 18 new members joined the European Parliament in 2010, which means that today there are 754 members of the European Parliament in total. According to the Treaty of Lisbon, the European Parliament must have a maximum of 750 members in addition to the President, which means that after the next elections there will be 3 members less in the European Parliament.

In the European Parliament, the members are organised in a range of political groups across nationalities. Read more about the political groups here.

Read more about the European Parliament

The European Council consists of the Heads of State or Government of the Member States together with its President and the President of the Commission. In addition, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy also takes part in the work of the European Council.

The European Council defines the overall political guidelines for the development of the EU and typically meets twice every six months. With the Treaty of Lisbon, the European Council has got a President, who is responsible for preparing and chairing the meetings of the European Council. The first permanent President is the former Belgian Prime Minister, Herman Van Rompuy.    

Read more about the European Council

The Council, which is often referred to as the Council of Ministers, is together with the European Parliament the legislative institution of the EU. All legislation must be adopted by the Council. The Member States are represented in the Council, and there are regularly meetings among the Ministers.

Not all the Ministers of the Member States meet simultaneously. The Council is divided into ten different Council configurations that cover different policy areas. If an issue concerning health is to be discussed, it is thus the 27 Health Ministers that assemble.

The Council is assisted in its work by the Council General Secretariat. When a topic is on the Council agenda, it is usually prepared by working groups and the Committee of Permanent Representatives (the Coreper meetings), in which national government officials, prior to the ministerial meetings, negotiate on behalf of the Member States.

Read more about the Council

The overall role of the Commission is to promote the general interests of the EU. It consists of 27 Commissioners, one from each Member State, who are responsible for separate policy areas.

The Commission functions as a college with a chairman deciding which Commissioner is responsible for a certain policy area. The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy is also a member of the Commission and is one of six Vice-Presidents of the Commission.

The Commission is appointed for a period of five years and must be independent of national interests. The European Parliament has the possibility to reject or approve the whole group of Commissioners.

Once a week (usually Wednesday) the President, the Vice-Presidents and the Commissioners meet to discuss relevant issues on the EU agenda. Decisions are made on the basis of simple majority, but unanimity is sought. As a main rule, it is the Commission as a whole which is responsible for a decision and not the individual Commissioner. 

The Commission also has the right of initiative. This means, it is only the Commission that can put forward a proposal for new legislation in the EU. Furthermore, it is the task of the Commission to monitor that the Member States live up to their obligations vis-à-vis the EU.

Read more about the Commission 

The task of the Court of Justice of the European Union is to ensure that EU legislation is observed and that the legislation is interpreted in the same way in all Member States. This is done in cooperation with the courts and tribunals in the Member States.

The supreme body of the Court of Justice of the European Union is the Court of Justice, which consists of 27 judges (one from each Member State) and eight advocates-general, who are selected by consensus of all Member States for a term of six years. In addition, the Court of Justice of the European Union comprises the General Court, which primarily tries cases that are filed by citizens or companies against the institutions of the EU.

Read more about the Court of Justice of the European Union 

The European Central Bank decides and implements the monetary policy of the EU and also monitors price stability in the Euro Area – i.e. the 17 Member States that have introduced the single currency, the Euro, as a means of payment. The European Central Bank also ensures that the payment systems function effectively.

Read more about the European Central Bank

The main task of the European Court of Auditors is to oversee that the EU budget is implemented properly, and that EU funds are spent as intended. The European Court of Auditors has 27 members, one member appointed by each Member State for a period of six years.

Read more about the European Court of Auditors 

The Economic and Social Committee  (EESC) is an advisory body representing various organiszed interests - both European and national - in the economic and social life. The Committee has 344 members and is the voice of civil society organiszations in relation to the European institutions.

The Committee must be consulted on all matters relating to economic, labour market policy and social affairs. The Committee may express its opinion on all questions.

Read more about the Economic and Social Committee

The Committee of the Regions (CoR) is like the EESC set up as an advisory body with 317 members representing local and regional authorities. The Committee checks that local and regional identity and local and regional authorities’ exclusive jurisdiction are respected. The Committee must be consulted on regional, environmental and, education policy as well as on a number of other policies of particular interest to local and regional levels.

Read more about The Committee of the Regions