Institutions Flashcards
(122 cards)
1
Q
What is the proportion of women and men in the EP?
A
1979-1984: 15.2% women
+++
2019-2024: 39.3% women
1
Q
How many MEPs does the European Parliament count today? And as of 2024?
A
2023: 705 MEPs
2024-2029: 720
Amsterdam Treaty (1997/1999): 700
Nice Treaty (2001/2003): 732
until end of Jan 2020: 751 MEPs
2
Q
What is the working language of the Court of Justice of the European Union?
A
French
3
Q
First universal election EP?
A
1979, 410 MEPs directly elected.
introduction of uniform electoral procedure in 1976
First president: the woman Simone Veil
4
Q
right of investiture
A
Parliament’s vote of approval of the full College of Commissioners
5
Q
Court of Auditors
A
Created by budgetary treaty of 1975. Around 950 staff, based in LUX.
6
Q
European Ombudsman: which treaty? Who?
A
Created by Maastricht Treaty to increase democratic guarantees of the EU. The Ombudsman is elected by the EP for 5 years. Current one: Emily O’Reilly
7
Q
Which Treaty established the EIB?
A
The EIB was created by Articles 129 and 130 of the Treaty estab-
lishing the European Economic Community (EEC).
8
Q
Which treaty established the court of auditors?
A
set up by Treaty of Brussels in 1975, a body responsible
for scrutinising the Community’s accounts and
financial management
9
Q
How was the European Monetary system established?
A
Bremen & Brussels Council of 1978, first on a voluntary Basis
10
Q
‘first merger treaty’=
A
1957 Convention on Certain Institutions Common to the European Communities:
combined the ECSC Joint Assembly, the EEC Assembly and the Euratom Assembly into the EP
11
Q
roles of members of the EP
A
1 president
14 vice presidents
5 Quaestors (Members of the European Parliament entrusted with administrative and financial tasks)
all of them = bureau elected for 2.5 years
12
Q
Conference of Presidents (EP)
A
consists of the President of the Parliament and the chairmen of the political groups.
It is responsible for the organisation of the Parliament’s work, and relations with the other EU institutions and with non-Union institutions.
13
Q
Political groups of the European Parliament
A
currently 7 political groups in the European Parliament.
23 Members are needed to form a political group, and at least one-quarter of the Member States must be represented within the group. Members may not belong to more than one political group.
14
Q
motion of censure (EP)
A
by a two-thirds majority EP can pass a motion of censure and thereby compel the Commission to resign as a body (Article 234 TFEU) -> never achieved the required majority
15
Q
supervisory powers of EP
A
EP is empowered to set up special committees of inquiry to look specifically at alleged cases of infringement of Union law or maladministration, e.g. 2016 panama papers
any natural or legal person has the right of to address petitions to the Parliament, which are then dealt with by a standing Committee on Petitions.
16
Q
seat of EP and its secretariat-general
A
seat in Strasbourg,
SG: luxembourg (Since 1992)
17
Q
how often does the European Council meet?
A
at least twice every half year in Brussels
18
Q
members of European Council?
A
- Heads of State or Government of the Member States
- President of the European Council
- President of the European Commission
- High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
19
Q
president of the European Council
A
- his/ her office was created by treaty of lisbon
- 2.5 years mandate, re-election possible once
- selected by qualified-majority voting of the Members of the European Council
20
Q
general policy guidelines for EU action, established by European Council
A
- ‘conclusions’,
- adopted by consensus
- contain basic policy decisions or instructions and guidelines to the Council or the European Commission.
21
Q
treaty articles for institutions
A
Art 14 TEU = EP
Art 15 TEU = European Council
Art 16 TEU = Council
Art 17 TEU = European Commission
Art 18 TEU = high representative
Art 19 TEU = CoJEU
Art 129 +130 TFEU = ECB
Art 285/286 TFEU= ECA
22
Q
Council presidencies since 2021-2024
A
2021: PT, SI
2022: FR, CZ
2023: SE, ES
2024: BE, HU
23
Q
preparatory bodies in the Council
A
In total more than 150
1) Committees set up by the treaties (in total 7, including COREPER), intergovernmental decisions or by Council act - they are mostly permanent and often have an appointed or elected chairperson
2) Committees and working parties set up by Coreper - these deal with very specific subjects and are chaired by the delegate of the country holding the rotating 6-month presidency of the Council.
24
COREPER I and II
- both meets as a general rule at least once a week
Coreper I is composed of deputy permanent representatives and prepares 6 Council configurations:
- agriculture and fisheries (only financial issues or technical measures on veterinary, phytosanitary or food legislation)
- competitiveness
- education, youth, culture and sport
- employment, social policy, health and consumer affairs
- environment
- transport, telecommunications and energy
Coreper II is composed of permanent representatives and prepares the work of 4 Council configurations:
- economic and financial affairs
- foreign affairs
- general affairs
- justice and home affairs
25
in which languages do documents have to be, to be discussed in the Council?
Council only discusses and reaches decisions on documents and drafts which are available in the 24 official languages.
If a matter is urgent, this rule may be dispensed with by unanimous agreement.
26
European Ombudsman
The European Ombudsman is an independent and impartial body that holds the EU’s institutions and agencies to account and promotes good administration
introduced by Treaty of Maastricht, first one elected in 1995, seat in brussels
27
EDPS
European Data Protection Supervisor (2004, Brussels)
The EDPS ensures that EU institutions and bodies respect people’s right to privacy when processing their personal data.
28
EDPB
European Data protection board, established 2018, located in Brussels
The EDPB is an independent body that ensures the consistent application of data protection rules (GDPR) throughout the EU, and promotes cooperation between national data protection authorities in the EU.
29
European Council
gained formal institutional status under the Lisbon Treaty
responsible for
providing the Union with the ‘impetus necessary for
its development’ and for defining its ‘general political
directions and priorities’
no legislative functions
long-term presidency
replaces the previous system of six-month rotation
President is elected by a qualified majority of the
European Council for a renewable term of 30 months
President also
represents the Union externally, without prejudice
to the duties of the High Representative of the Union
for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
30
EEAS
uropean External Action
Service
comprises staff from the Council, the
Commission and national diplomatic services
31
Council voting rules
QM = 55% of
members of the Council, comprising at least 65%
of the population, support a proposal (Article 16(4)
TEU)
When the Council is not acting on a proposal
from the Commission or the VP/HR, the necessary
majority of Member States increases to 72%
(Article 238(2) TFEU)
To block legislation, at least four
Member States have to vote against a proposal
‘Ioannina compromise’
allows 55% (75% until 1 April 2017) of the Member
States necessary for the blocking minority to ask for
reconsideration of a proposal during a ‘reasonable
time period’ (Declaration 7)
32
How many Council configurations are there?
10
three meet regularly - General Affairs, Ecofin, Foreign Affairs
33
When does the Council take decisions by simple majority
For procedural matters
34
Court of Auditors - term length
6 years, renewable
35
Parliament President & VPs
1 President (curr Roberta Metsola) & 14 Vice Presidents
single ballot, with absolute majority of votes cast
second round if necessary, if third round necessary to fill all positions - simply majority
Quaestors elected in the same way
36
Interinstitutional Agreement
on Better Law-Making
April 2016
37
European Financial Stability
Facility (EFSF)
paid directly by the Member States.
‘special-purpose vehicle’ created by
an intergovernmental agreement among the euro
area Member States
38
ESM
created by an intergovernmental
treaty between the members of the euro area,
which entered into force on 27 September 2012
39
Central Bank Appointments
The European Council, acting by a qualified
majority appoints
the President
the Vice-
President and the other four members of the
Executive Board of the European Central Bank
on a recommendation by the Council and after
consulting Parliament (Article 283(2) TFEU
40
High Representative for Foreign Affairs & Security Policy
appointed by European Council, acting by a qualified
majority and with the agreement of the President of the Commission,
Article 18(1) TEU)
; in his/her
capacity as a Vice-President of the Commission,
the HR is nevertheless subject to consent by
Parliament on the Commission as a whole;
41
Appointment of Judges
Governments of the Member States appoint
by common accord the judges and advocates-
general of the Court of Justice and the General
Court (formerly the Court of First Instance)
(Article 19(2) TEU);
42
Court of Auditor appointments
Council appoints the Members of the
Court of Auditors by qualified majority, on the
recommendation of each Member State and
after consulting Parliament (Article 286(2) TFEU
43
EP's political bodies
Conference of Presidents ( the President and the political group chairs)
five Quaestors (responsible for Members’ administrative and financial business)
the Conference of Committee Chairs
the Conference of Delegation Chairs
The term of office of the President, the Vice-Presidents and the Quaestors, as well as of the committee and delegation chairs, is two-and-a-half years
44
Coreper I
Coreper I prepares the work of 6 Council configurations:
- agriculture and fisheries (only financial issues or technical measures on veterinary, phytosanitary or food legislation)
- competitiveness
- education, youth, culture and sport
- employment, social policy, health and consumer affairs
- environment
- transport, telecommunications and energy
The work of Coreper I is prepared by the 'Mertens Group'. This informal group helps to form an initial idea of the positions that the various member state delegations will take at the Coreper meeting
45
Coreper II
Coreper II prepares the work of 4 Council configurations:
- economic and financial affairs
- foreign affairs
- general affairs
- justice and home affairs
46
How many specialised working parties does the Council have?
150 highly specialised working parties and committees, known as the 'Council preparatory bodies
47
Candidate for Commission President is proposed by...
the European Council based on a qualified majority
48
How many mebers did the merged "European Parliamentary Assembly" for all three communities have at its inception?
When did it meet for the first time & where?
142 members
met for the first time in Strasbourg on 19 March 1958
Its members were appointed
by each of the Member States’ national parliaments.
All Members thus had a dual mandate
49
When was the European Parliament named European Parliament?
On 30 March 1962
50
Increases in numbers of MEPs
start: 142
after 1973 enlargement:
198
after 1981 enlargement:
222
after 1986 enlargement:
518
June 1994:
567 f
after 1995 enlargement:
626
IGC of Nice
introduced a new distribution of seats in Parliament,
which was applied at the European elections in 2004
Maximum number of MEPs (previously set
at 700) was increased to 732.
The existing allocation
of seats to the 15 old Member States was reduced
by 91 (from 626 to 535). The remaining 197 seats
were distributed among all old and new Member
States on a pro rata basis.
1 January 2007:
785
Following the 2009
elections, held from 4 to 7 June, the number of seats
was reduced to 736.
As the Treaty of Lisbon (which
entered into force on 1 December 2009) had set a
maximum number of 751 MEPs, to be temporarily
raised to 754 until the next elections, 18 MEPs
were added to the 736 elected in June 2009 during the 2009-14 term
With the accession of Croatia on 1 July 2013,
the maximum number of seats was temporarily
raised to 766, in order to welcome the 12 Croatian
MEPs who were elected in April 2013 (in accordance
with Article 19 of the Act concerning the conditions
of accession of the Republic of Croatia).
For the 2014 elections, the total number of seats was
again reduced to 751.
The distribution of seats has
been reviewed again after Brexit.
Currently there are 705 MEPs.
51
Extension of parliament' legislative powers - areas of codecision under Nice/ areas of OLP under Lisbon
under Nice - codecision applied to 46 legal bases
in the EC Treaty
under/after Lisbon - Following that treaty,
more than 40 new policies became subject to this
procedure for the first time, for example in the areas
of freedom, security and justice, external trade,
environmental policy and the common agricultural
policy (CAP)
52
Areas in which the consultation procedure applies
in areas covered by Articles 27, 41 and 48 TEU and to
taxation, competition, harmonisation of legislation
not related to the internal market and some aspects
of social policy.
53
Areas in which the consent procedure applies
Articles 7, 14, 17, 27, 48 and 50 TEU
Articles 19, 83, 86, 218, 223, 311 and 312 TFEU
and measures to be adopted by the Council when
action by the Union is considered necessary and
the Treaties do not provide the necessary powers
(Article 352 TFEU).
54
Introduction of parliamentary hearings for Commissioner-designates
in 1994
55
Motion of censure by the Parliament
motion of censure
(also called a ‘vote of no confidence’)
since the Treaty of Rome
included in Article 17(8) TEU and in Article 234 TFEU
Motion requires a two-thirds majority of the
votes cast, representing a majority of Parliament’s
component members
successful vote on a motion
of censure leads to the resignation of the Commission
as a body, including the VP/HR
To date, parliament has tried several times unsuccessfully
to use the relevant Treaty provisions and their
predecessors to remove a Commission College
56
Who elects the European Ombudsman?
Treaty of Lisbon provides that Parliament elects
the European Ombudsman (Article 228 TFEU)
57
How is the President of the EP elected? For how long?
Under the Rules of Procedure, the President of
Parliament is elected from amongst its Members for
a renewable term of two-and-a-half years (Rule 19)
58
Tasks of EP President
represents Parliament vis-à-vis the
outside world
and in its relations with the other
EU institutions.
oversees the debates
in plenary and ensures that Parliament’s Rules of
Procedure are adhered to
At the beginning of every
European Council meeting, the President of the
European Parliament sets out Parliament’s point of
view and its concerns as regards the items on the
agenda and other subjects
After the EU budget has
been adopted by Parliament, the President signs
it, rendering it operational.
The Presidents of both
Parliament and the Council sign all legislative acts
adopted under the ordinary legislative procedure.
One of the 14 Vice-Presidents (Rule 23) can replace
the President.
59
Political bodies of the EP
Beaurau
(Rule 24 — the President and 14 Vice-Presidents),
the
Conference of Presidents (Rule 26 — the President
and the political group chairs)
the five Quaestors
(Rule 28 — responsible for Members’ administrative
and financial business)
the Conference of
Committee Chairs (Rule 29)
and the Conference of
Delegation Chairs (Rule 30).
The term of office of the
President, the Vice-Presidents and the Quaestors, as
well as of the committee and delegation chairs, is
two-and-a-half years (Rule 19).
60
How many committees does the Parliament have?
Members sit on 20 committees
two subcommittees
and 39 delegations (interparliamentary delegations
and delegations to joint parliamentary committees,
parliamentary cooperation committees, and
multilateral parliamentary assemblies)
also a delegation to the Joint Assembly set
up under the agreement between the African,
Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states and the EU
each committee or
delegation elects its own Bureau, consisting of a
Chair and up to four Vice-Chairs
.
61
Parliament political groups
a political
group must comprise Members elected from at least
one quarter of the Member States and must consist
of at least 23 Members (Rule 32).
MEPs may not belong to more than one group
There are 7 political groups in the EP
62
Parliament Secretariat
Parliament’s Secretariat is headed by the Secretary-
General, who is appointed by the Bureau (Rule 222).
The Secretariat’s composition and organisation
are also determined by the Bureau: it currently
comprises 12 Directorates-General and the Legal
Service.
Its task is to coordinate legislative work and
organise the plenary sittings and meetings. It also
provides technical, legal and expert assistance to
parliamentary bodies and MEPs to support them
in the exercise of their mandates. The Secretariat
provides interpretation and translation for all
meetings and formal documents.
63
Parliament's rules of procedure
Under the Treaties, Parliament organises its work
independently. It adopts its Rules of Procedure,
acting by a majority of its component Members
(Article 232 TFEU)
Except where the Treaties provide
otherwise, Parliament acts by a majority of votes
cast (Article 231 TFEU
64
Where is the seat of the EP?
Strasbourg
65
Latest amendments to 1976 electoral act
Council Decision (EU, Euratom) 2018/994 of 13 July 2018, which includes provisions on the
possibility of different voting methods (advance
voting, electronic, internet and postal voting); on
thresholds; on the protection of personal data;
on the penalisation of ‘double voting’ by national
legislation; on voting in third countries; and on
the possibility of the visibility of European political
parties on ballot papers.
66
Electoral system of EP
Under the amended 1976 Electoral Act, European
elections must be based on proportional
representation and use either the list system or the
single transferable vote system.
Ms can also authorize voting based on a preferential list
system.
67
Voting age for EP
Age to stand for election
The voting age is 18 in all Member States except
Austria and Malta, where it is 16, and Greece, where
it is 17.
The minimum age
to stand for election is 18 in most Member States,
the exceptions being Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the
Czech Republic, Estonia, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania,
Poland and Slovakia (21), Romania (23), and Italy and
Greece (25)
68
Compulsory voting?
Voting is compulsory in five Member States (Belgium,
Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Cyprus and Greece): the
obligation to vote applies to both nationals and
registered non-national EU citizens.
69
When are elections for the EP held?
within the same period
starting on a Thursday morning and ending on the
following Sunday, exact times set by MS
cf. Articles 10 and 11 of the 1976 Electoral
Act
70
Involvement of national parliaments
Early Warning Mechanism for subsidiarity breaches introduced via Lisbon Treaty
Protocol No 1 on the role of
national parliaments in the European Union and
Protocol No 2 on the application of the principles
of subsidiarity and proportionality
Within eight
weeks from the date of transmission of a legislative
proposal, NPs may send a reasoned opinion to the
Presidents of the European Parliament, the Council
and the Commission stating why they consider
that the draft in question does not comply with the
subsidiarity principle.
Legislative proposals can be
blocked if there is a consensus among a majority
of chambers. However, the final decision rests with
the legislative authority (the European Parliament
and the Council)
71
How often has the EWM for a subsidiarity violation been triggered?
3 times since Lisbon entered into force
May 2012 - (‘Monti II’)
October 2013 - EPPO
May 2016 - review of posted workers directive
72
Role of national parliaments in EU institutional setup
Articles 10 and 12 TEU
73
Cooperation avenues between EP and NPs
A) Conferences of speakers of
the parliamentary assemblies
of the European Union
B) The ECPRD
European Centre for Parliamentary Research and Documentation (ECPRD)
set up in 1977
jointly administered by the
EP and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe
C) Conference of Parliamentary Committees
for Union Affairs of the Parliaments
of the European Union — COSAC
has met every
six months since 1989, each parliament repped by 6 members
parliamentary consultation
and coordination body that adopts its decisions by
consensus
D) Joint Parliamentary Meetings
one time:
1990 Rome Conference of Parliaments of the Community
74
IPEX
Interparliamentary EU information exchange
75
When was the name "European Council" devised?
In the Paris European summit of February 1974, it was decided that these meetings of Heads of State
or Government should henceforth be held on a
regular basis under the name of ‘European Council’
76
When was the European Council established in the Union Treaties?
The Single European Act (1986) included the European Council
in the body of the Community Treaties for the first
time, defining its composition and providing for bi-
annual meetings
The Treaty of Maastricht (1992) formalised its role in
the EU’s institutional process
The Treaty of Lisbon made the European Council
a full institution of the EU (Article 13 TEU) and
defined its tasks, which are to ‘provide the Union
with the necessary impetus for its development and
define the general political directions and priorities
thereof’ (Article 15 TEU)
77
Who decides on the Council formations?
The European Council decides by qualified
majority on the formation of the Council and the
calendar of rotating presidencies.
78
The European Council's role in the European Semester
At its spring meetings
it issues policy orientations on macroeconomic,
fiscal and structural reform and growth-enhancing
policies.
At its June meetings it endorses
recommendations resulting from the assessment of
the National Reform Programmes drawn up by the Commission and discussed in the Council.
79
The European Council on matters of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters
At the request of a member of the Council, the
European Council decides whether to establish
enhanced cooperation in an area related to this
field (Article 20 TEU)
80
EIB Board of Directors
chaired by EIB President
comprised by 28 directors & 31 alternate directors
27 members appointed by MS & 1 member appointed by the Commission
approves lending & borrowing operations
81
EIB Board of Governors
comprised of member state ministers, mostly finance ministers
defines general lending policy
82
President of Court of Justice
3 years, can be re-elected
Art 254
83
President of General Court
3 years, can be re-elected
Art 253
84
President of the eurogroup
elected for 2.5 years
currently: Pascal Donohoe
85
Where are Council meetings held?
Council meetings are held in
Brussels, but also in Luxembourg (sessions in April,
June and October)
86
How many Council configurations are there?
At present there are 10 Council
configurations, three of which meet regularly
(General Affairs, Foreign Affairs, and Economic and
Financial Affairs (Ecofin)).
87
Default decision making process of Council?
Simple majority
BUT: in practice it applies only to a small number of decisions
internal Council rules, the organisation
of the Council’s General-Secretariat, and rules
governing committees provided for in the Treaty
88
Voting rules for QMV in the Council
55% of the members of the Council (72% if the
proposal does not come from the Commission or
the High Representative)
comprising at least 15/27 MS
representing at least 65% of EU population
reinforced qualified majority - 72% - 20/27 MS in the absence of an initiative by
the Commission or the High Representative)
new system has been applicable since
1 November 2014
89
Positions appointed by Council QMV
applies in the appointment of the President and Members of the Commission and the
Members of the Court of Auditors, the European
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee
of the Regions
90
Number of Commissioners
before Lisbon: no less than one and
no more than two
Treaty of Lisbon originally
stipulated that the membership of the Commission,
from 1 November 2014, was to be equivalent to
two thirds of the number of Member States
At the
same time, it introduced an element of flexibility
by allowing the European Council to determine
the number of Commissioners (Article 17(5) TEU)
In 2009, the European Council decided that the
Commission would continue to consist of a number
of members equal to the number of Member States
91
How to become Commissioner
European Council, by qualified majority, and after appropriate consultations, proposes candidate for Commission President to Parliament
(results of the
European elections have to be taken into account)
Parliament elects the Commission president by majority of its component members
Council, acting by a qualified majority and by
common accord with the President-elect, adopts
the list of the other persons whom it proposes for appointment as members of the Commission, on the
basis of the suggestions made by Member States
The President and the other members of the
Commission, including the High Representative of
the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, are subject to a vote of consent, as a body, by Parliament
and are then appointed by the European Council,
acting by a qualified majority
Since the Treaty of Maastricht a Commissioner’s term
of office has matched the European Parliament’s
five-year term and is renewable.
92
Commission institutions
37 DGs
3 EU interinstitutional services
10 Services
(according to https://commission.europa.eu/about-european-commission/departments-and-executive-agencies_en)
European
Anti-Fraud Office
the Legal Service
the Historical
Archives
the Publications Office
the European
Political Strategy Centre
also 6 executive agencies
93
Members of Court of Justice
It consists of two courts of law: the Court of Justice proper and the General Court
One judge per Member State (27). The Court is
assisted by eight advocates-general, whose number
may be increased by the Council if the Court so
requests.
The Judges of the Court of Justice elect
from among themselves a President and a Vice-
President for a renewable term of three years.
94
Appointment to the Court of Justice
Appointment procedure (Article 253 TFEU)
The judges and advocates-general are appointed by
common accord of the governments of the Member
States after consultation of a panel responsible for
assessing candidates’ suitability (Article 255 TFEU)
They are appointed for six years
95
Court of Justice Registrar
the institution’s secretary general and
manages its departments under the authority of the
President of the Court.
96
Formations of the Court of Justice
The Court may sit as a full Court
with 27 judges, in a Grand Chamber of 15 judges or
in chambers of three or five judges.
97
General Court membership
47 judges between 1 September 2016 & 1 September 2019
Since 1 September 2019 - two judges per member state
judges are
appointed by common accord of the governments
of the Member States after consultation of a panel
responsible for giving an opinion on candidates’
suitability to perform the duties of judge
term of office: six years, renewable
judges may be called upon to perform the task of Advocate-
General, as unlike the Court of Justice, the General
Court does not have permanent advocates-general.
98
Most frequent General Court configuration?
More than 80% of
the cases brought before the General Court are
heard by a chamber of three judges.
99
Who may bring an action to the Court of Justice?
Referral: actions may be brought by the Member
States, the institutions themselves or any natural
or legal person if the actions relate to a measure
(in particular a regulation, directive or decision)
adopted by an EU institution, body, office or agency
and addressed to them
100
General Court v Court of Justice jurisdiction
Court of Justice has exclusive
jurisdiction over actions between the institutions
and those brought by a Member State against the
European Parliament and/or against the Council
General Court has jurisdiction, at first instance, in
all other actions of this type, particularly in actions
brought by individuals and those brought by a
Member State against the Commission.
101
How long has the Central Bank been conducting the Union's monetary policy?
1 January 1999
102
Since when does the ECB also have supervisory functions in the context of the SSM?
November 2014
103
ESCB v Eurosystem
The ECB and the national central banks (NCBs) of
all Member States constitute the European System
of Central Banks (ESCB), while the Eurosystem
comprises the ECB and the NCBs of those EU
Member States whose currency is the euro
104
SSM
Since November 2014, the ECB has been responsible
for the supervision of all credit institutions (either
directly for the largest banks or indirectly for other
credit institutions) in the Member States participating
in the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) and
cooperates closely in this function with the other
entities forming the European System of Financial
Supervision (ESFS)
105
European System of Financial
Supervision (ESFS)
European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs):
European Banking Authority (EBA)
European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA)
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)
the European Systemic Risk Board
the Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities
and the national supervisory authorities of EU member states
106
Single Supervisory Mechanism
The ECB and the national
competent authorities of the euro-area Member
States together constitute the Single Supervisory
Mechanism (SSM)
ECB directly supervises the largest banks, while
the national supervisors continue to monitor the
remaining banks.
Body within the ECB responsible - Supervisory Board (Chair & Vice Chair of this body must be approved by Parliament)
Tasks:
- granting and withdrawing authorisation for credit
institutions
- ensuring compliance with prudential
requirements
- conducting supervisory reviews
and participating in supplementary supervision
of financial conglomerates. It also has to address
systemic and macro-prudential risk
Powers in the context of the supervisory tasks:
investigatory powers (information requests, general
investigations and on-site inspections) and specific
supervisory powers (e.g. authorisation of credit
institutions). The ECB also has the power to enact
administrative penalties. It may also require credit
institutions to hold higher capital buffers
107
European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) is responsible for macro-prudential supervision of the financial system in the EU.
Although not part of the ECB, the ESRB is based at the ECB’s offices in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and the ECB ensures its Secretariat
The President of the ECB is also the Chair of the ESRB.
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SRM - Single Resolution Mechanism
Within
the Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM), the ECB
assesses whether a credit institution is failing or likely
to fail, and informs the European Commission and
the Single Resolution Board accordingly.
Resolution
authorities will be responsible for deciding on the appropriate resolution action.
The Single Resolution
Board (SRB) is the central decision-making body of the Single Resolution Mechanism.
Its mission is to
ensure that credit institutions and other entities under its remit facing serious difficulties are resolved
effectively and with a minimal cost to taxpayers and
the real economy. It has been fully operational since
1 January 2016
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Court of Auditors
One member per MS (27)
Members of the Court are appointed:
* By the Council, by qualified majority;
* On the recommendation of each Member State
regarding its own seat;
* After consulting the European Parliament.
Six years term, renewable. The term of office of the
President is three years, renewable.
he Court elects its President from among its
Members for a renewable term of three years.
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Organisation of Court of Auditors
around five chambers
with responsibility for specific areas of expenditure
and for revenue
Each Chamber has two areas
of responsibility:
firstly, to adopt special reports,
specific annual reports and opinions;
secondly, to
prepare draft observations for the annual reports
on the general budget of the EU and the European
Development Fund, and draft opinions for adoption
by the Court as a whole
the Chambers are accompanied by two horizontal
committees:
* The Audit Quality Control Committee, dealing
with the Court’s audit policies, standards and
methodology, audit support and development
and audit quality control; and
* The Administrative Committee, dealing with
all administrative matters and decisions on
communication and strategy.
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DAS
Following its audits the Court provides Parliament
and the Council with a yearly Statement of Assurance
(known as ‘DAS’, from the French ‘déclaration
d’assurance’) as to the reliability of the accounts
and the legality and regularity of the underlying
transactions.
Between 2006 and 2011, the Commission succeeded
in improving financial management, bringing down
the error rate from 7% in 2006 to 3.9% in 2011.
While the error rate rose to 4.8% in 2012, it has been
improving every year since then: 4.7% (2013), 4.4%
(2014), 3.8% (2015), 3.1% (2016), and finally 2.4% in
2017
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Number of EESC opinions
On average,
the EESC delivers 170 advisory documents and
opinions a year (of which about 15% are issued on
its own initiative).
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Committee of the Regions
329 members
24 for Germany, France and Italy;
21 for Spain and Poland;
15 for Romania;
12 for Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden;
9 for Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Lithuania and Slovakia;
7 for Latvia, Estonia and Slovenia;
6 for Cyprus and Luxembourg;
5 for Malta.
Members are appointed for five years by the Council
acting unanimously on proposals made by the
Member State concerned (Article 305 TFEU).
advisory body which represents the
interests of regional and local authorities in the
European Union and addresses opinions on their
behalf to the Council and the Commission.
main tasks:
EWS check for subsidiarity
cohesion policy
6 plenary sesss per year
The Committee
of the Regions (Section 7 of the EU budget)
had an administrative budget of approximately
EUR 96 million for 201
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EIB
Article 308 +309 TFEU
task:
contribute to the balanced and steady development
of the internal market in the interest of the Union
The EIB, in all sectors of the economy, facilitates the
funding of projects that:
* Seek to develop less-developed regions;
* Seek to modernise or convert undertakings,
or develop new activities which cannot be
completely financed by means available in
individual Member States;
* Are of common interest to several Member
States
EIB activities focus on four priority areas:
innovation and skills, access to finance for smaller
businesses, climate and environment, and strategic
infrastructure
EIB mainly has
recourse to its own resources and the international
capital markets (Article 309 TFEU)
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EIB resources
Own resources:
own resources are provided by the members of the EIB, i.e. the Member States (Article 308 TFEU)
in accordance with Member States’ economic weight
Following the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU, the EIB’s Board of Governors decided that the remaining Member States would proportionally increase their capital subscriptions in order to maintain the same level of overall subscribed capital (EUR 243.3 billion)
As of March 2020, the subscribed capital of the EIB had increased by an additional EUR 5.5 billion, following the decision by two Member States to increase their capital subscriptions (Poland and Romania).
The EIB’s total subscribed capital now amounts to EUR 248.8 billion
Capital markets:
EIB raises the greater part of its lending
resources from international capital markets, mainly
through the issuing of bonds. It is one of the largest
supranational lenders in the world
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EIB instruments
loans
guarantees
other instruments
Lending is mainly provided in the form of direct or
intermediate loans
Direct project loans are subject to certain conditions, e.g. the total investment costs
must exceed EUR 25 million, and the loan can only cover up to 50% of the project costs
Intermediate
loans consist of lending to local banks or other
intermediaries which, in turn, support the final
recipient. The majority of lending takes place in the
EU.
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EIB Governance structure
has legal personality, in accordance with
Article 308 TFEU
directed and managed by
a Board of Governors (consists of the ministers
designated by the Member States)
lays down general directives
for the credit policy of the Bank and ensures
its implementation
a Board of Directors and a
Management Committee
both appointed by Board of Governors for 5 years
Board of Directors consists of 28 directors and
31 alternate directors.
Each Member
State nominates a director, as does the Commission
(Article 9(2) of the Statute)
The management committee consists of the President
and eight Vice-Presidents, appointed for a period of
six years by the Board of Governors on a proposal
from the Board of Directors. Their appointments are
renewable (Article 11(1) of the Statute)
An Audit Committee audits the activities of the Bank
(Article 12 of the Statute).
6 members, appointed by Board of Governors
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EIB Group
EIB Group was established in 2000 and consists
of the EIB and the European Investment Fund (EIF)
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EIF
European Investment Fund (EIF) was founded
in 1994
public-private partnership
(PPP) with three main shareholder groups:
the EIB, as
majority shareholder with 62.2%,
the Commission
(30%), and several public and private financial
institutions (7.8%)
The EIF provides various forms
of risk capital instruments, e.g. venture capital. The
lending focus of the EIF is small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs), and it uses a wide range of
innovative instruments with the aim of improving
access to finance for SMEs
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European Ombudsman
established by Maastricht Treaty
At the start of each parliamentary term or in the case
of death, resignation or dismissal of the Ombudsman,
the President of the European Parliament calls for
nominations for the office of Ombudsman and
sets a time limit for their submission.
Nominations
must have the support of at least 40 Members from at least two member states
ominations are
submitted to Parliament’s Committee on Petitions,
which considers their admissibility. The Committee
may ask to hear the nominees. A list of admissible
candidates is then put to the vote in Parliament. The
Ombudsman is elected by a majority of the votes
cast
elected for duration of the legislature
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How many committees does the European Parliament have?
20 standing committees (four subcommittees)
2 committees of enquiry
5 closed special committees
