Final Presentation

The Institutional Framework of the European Union ○ The Institutional Framework includes the following organizations: o European Council o o o o

European Commission European Parliament European Court European Central Bank European Council - suvet

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The European Council is the highest political institution of the European Union.

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It defines the general political guidelines of the European Union

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It meets around four times a year in Brussels.

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It includes the heads of governments of the 27 member states and the President of the European Commission.

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The Council has no formal executive or law making powers.

The European Commission - komisiq  Executive branch of the European Union  Responsibilities  Cabinet government  Commission President (5 year term) ○ European Commission is the executive branch of the European Union -

It is responsible for proposing laws, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union.

○ The Commission operates in the method of cabinet government, with 27 Commissioners. There is one Commissioner per member state; however Commissioners represent the interests of the EU as a whole rather than their home state. ○ One of the 27 is the Commission President appointed by the European Council with the approval of the European Parliament for five a year term. The current Commission President – José Manuel Barroso (elected

2004)

European Parliament  Together with the European Council it forms the legislative branch of the European Union  The only directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union  The most powerful legislature organ in the world  The Parliament and Council form the highest legislative body within the Union.  Composed of 785 MEPs

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The European Parliament is the only directly elected institution of the European Union. EU citizens elect the Parliament members every five years.

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The Parliament is composed of 785 members.

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Has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world

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Together with the European Council it forms the bi-cameral legislative branch of the European Union.

European Court

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Highest court in the European Union 

It has the ultimate say on matters of EU law in order to ensure equal application across the various European Union member states

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Established in 1952

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Based in Luxembourg City

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The court is composed: one judge per member

state; only 13 of them hear a case at any one time in the 'Grand Chamber'

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The European Court of Justice is the highest court in the European Union.

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The court has the final word on EU law issues.

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The Court was established in 1952 and is based in Luxembourg City — unlike most other Union institutions which are based in Brussels.

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The court is composed of one judge per member state, although only 13 of them are hearing a case at the same time.

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The court is led by a president, since 2003 this has been Vassilios Skouris.

European Central Bank o Responsible for the monetary policy of the countries in the Eurozone o One of the most important central banks o Established by the European Union in 1998 o Headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany o The predecessor to the ECB was the European Monetary Institute (EMI). o The ECB has the exclusive right to set interest rates for the Eurozone

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The European Central Bank (ECB) is one of the most important banks in the world.

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It is responsible for the monetary policy of the 15 member countries of the Euro zone.

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It was established by the European Union in 1998, headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany.

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The ECB sets interest rates for the Euro zone and authorizes issuance of banknotes for each member of the Union.

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The primary objective of the ECB is "maintaining price stability" within the Euro zone and keeping inflation low. The present target is to keep

inflation below, but close to, 2%.

The Euro zone  The Members of the Euro zone - Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain  Countries from EU, which are not members of the Euro zone - Denmark, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia  Maastricht Treaty gave Denmark and UK the right to not adopt the Euro as their currency – they can join the Euro zone when their governments decide  The next enlargement of the Euro zone is expected to be Slovakia in 2009

- The Euro zone refers to the European Union member states that have adopted the Euro currency union. -

The Euro zone includes the members who have already adopted the Euro as their national currency.

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The European Central Bank is responsible for the monetary policy within the Euro zone.

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In 1998 eleven European countries had met the criteria for entering the Euro zone. The next year those countries adopted the Euro as their national currency.

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Later physical coins and banknotes were introduced on 1 January 2002.

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Currently there are 15 member states with over 320 million people in the Euro zone: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain

− Countries from EU, which are not members of the Euro zone. The twelve countries of the European Union that do not use the Euro are: Denmark, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. The next enlargement is expected to be Slovakia in 2009.

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Denmark and the United Kingdom obtained special rights in the original Maastricht Treaty of the European Union. Both countries are not legally required to join the Euro zone unless their governments decide otherwise.

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The current Danish government has announced plans to hold a referendum on the issue following the adoption of the Euro and joining the Euro zone.

Criteria for accepting the country in the Euro zone = limited budget deficit of up to 3% of GDP = limited public debt of up to 60% of GDP = inflation rates within 1.5% of the three EU countries with the lowest rate = stability of long-term interest rates = ability to maintain the currency’s value during a given period.

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The criteria require o 1) limited budget deficit of up to 3% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product), o 2) limited public debt of up to 60% of GDP, o 3) inflation rates within 1.5% of the three EU countries with the lowest rate, o 4) the stability of long-term interest rates o 5) ability to maintain the currency’s value during a given period. This means a maximum of ± 15% fluctuation in the value of the currency, maintained for at least two years.