APPENDIX 2: GLOSSARY
Charter
of Fundamental Rights: the Charter sets out the fundamental
rights, freedoms and principles applicable at EU level and was
first proclaimed by the Presidents of the Council, Parliament
and Commission at the Nice European Council in December 2000.
It is a political document, not a legally binding one.
Co-decision procedure:
introduced by the Treaty of Maastricht and modified by the Treaty
of Amsterdam, this procedure is set out in Article 251 of the
EC Treaty and now applies to many areas of Community legislation.
Under it, a Commission proposal can only become law if both the
Council and EP agree it.
Commission: an EU institution
comprising 27 Commissioners, one from each Member State. It has
the tasks of ensuring the Treaties are correctly applied, of proposing
new legislation to the Council and European Parliament for approval,
and of exercising implementing powers conferred on it by the Council.
Competence: a term describing
the powers conferred by the Member States on EU institutions under
the EU Treaties to undertake specific action or propose legislation
in a particular policy area.
Council of Ministers:
this is the principal decision-making institution of the Union.
It meets in a variety of configurations (e.g. the General Affairs
and External Relations Council, the Economic and Financial Affairs
Council) attended by the relevant national ministers and is chaired
by the Presidency. Working Groups and COREPER prepare the Council's
work. It is supported by the Council Secretariat.
Court of Justice: the
Court of Justice, also known as the ECJ, is based in Luxembourg
and comprises 27 judges (one from each Member State) assisted
by eight Advocates-General. Its broad task is to ensure that the
law is observed in the interpretation and application of the Treaty.
It has jurisdiction in the first, or Community, Pillar, more limited
jurisdiction in the third Pillar (police and judicial cooperation
in criminal matters) and no jurisdiction in the second Pillar
(CFSP). There is also a Court of First Instance (CFI) to deal
with certain specified issues.
European Community: the
present name for what was originally called the European Economic
Community (EEC). The EEC was established by the Treaty of Rome
but was renamed the European Community by the Treaty of Maastricht.
European Council: a meeting
of Heads of state or government of the Member States, their Foreign
Ministers and the President of the Commission. The European Council
meets twice during each six-monthly Presidency in Brussels. Its
meetings are sometimes referred to as European Summits. The European
Council provides the EU with strategic direction and necessary
impetus for its development. It operates by consensus and will
normally agree "Conclusions" signalling the future course
of EU action. It does not exercise legislative functions.
European Parliament (EP):
the EP is currently composed of 785 members (MEPs—72 from
the UK) directly elected every five years in each Member State
by a system of proportional representation. See Table 3. Originally
a consultative body, successive Treaties have increased the EP's
role in scrutinising the activities of the Commission and Council
and extended its legislative and budgetary powers through co-decision.
The EP meets in plenary session in Strasbourg and, occasionally,
in Brussels.
European Union: the European
Union was created by the Treaty of Maastricht. It consists of
three "Pillars". The First Pillar comprises the pre-existing
European Communities (the European Community, Euratom and the
ECSC) and covers largely, though not exclusively, economic business.
The Second Pillar is the Common Foreign and Security Policy. The
Third Pillar, after amendment by the Treaty of Amsterdam, covers
certain police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters. Under
the First, or Community, Pillar most legislation is proposed by
the Commission and adopted as law by the Council and EP. Inter-governmental
procedures apply under the Second and Third Pillars. Member States,
as well as the Commission, have the right to propose policies
or laws for approval by the Council.
EU Treaties: these refer
principally to the Treaty establishing the European Community
(TEC), and the Treaty on European Union (TEU or Treaty of Maastricht)
and acts or treaties supplementing or amending them, notably the
Single European Act, the Amsterdam Treaty and the Nice Treaty.
Member State: a country
that is a member of the European Union.
MEP: Member of the European
Parliament.
Passerelle: A Treaty provision
enabling procedural requirements to be reduced, or other adjustments
made, without formal Treaty revision. Literally "a bridge".
Pillars: there are three
"Pillars". The first Pillar refers to the Community
or EC Treaty (TEC). The second and third Pillars refer to the
two areas of inter-governmental cooperation established by the
Maastricht Treaty. These are the Common Foreign and Security Policy
(CFSP) and Justice and Home Affairs (the latter amended by the
Amsterdam Treaty to include only police and judicial cooperation
in criminal matters).
Qualified majority voting (QMV):
this is a voting mechanism in the Council under which a proposal
can be adopted without every Member State agreeing to it. New
QMV arrangements agreed in the Nice Treaty came into force on
1 November 2004. 255 votes are needed for a qualified majority
out of a total of 345 weighted votes. The weighting of votes refers
to the allocation of votes to each member state and roughly reflects
population size. In addition, the votes in favour of a proposal
have to be cast by a majority (or in some cases a two-thirds majority)
of Member States, and at least 62 per cent of the Union's population.
Subsidiarity: the principle
that action should only be taken by the Community or Union if,
and in so far as, the objectives of the proposed action cannot
be sufficiently achieved by the member states and can therefore
be better achieved at European level.
TEC: the Treaty establishing
the European Community as amended by subsequent Treaties up to
and including the Treaty of Nice.
TEU: the Treaty on European
Union, also known as the Maastricht Treaty, as amended by subsequent
Treaties up to and including the Treaty of Nice.
Unanimity: a form of voting
in the Council. A proposal requiring unanimity must have no Member
State voting against (abstentions do not prevent the adoption
of acts requiring unanimity).
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