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^{Brief guide to the European Union}

 What is the European Union?

The European Union (or ‘EU’) is a group of European countries that work together in an economic and political union. The idea for it came about after the Second World War, which pitched European nations against each other and left their economies in ruins.  ‘Old’ names for the EU that you might still hear are: EEC (European Economic Community), the common market and the EC (European Community).

 Which countries are members?

There are currently 15 countries or ‘member states’ in the EU. These are: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK. When the EU first came into being there were only six members. The UK joined in 1973. There are plans for several countries from Eastern and Central Europe to join the EU over the coming years. This is referred to as ‘enlargement’.

The three decision-making institutions of the European Union are:

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION

The Commission consists of 20 Commissioners appointed by the governments of the member states of the EU. The five larger states, including the UK, appoint two commissioners and the smaller states appoint one. The current UK Commissioners are Neil Kinnock (a former leader of the Labour Party) and Chris Patten (a former Conservative minister and ex-Governor of Hong Kong).

The Commissioners’ main job is to propose new European laws and changes to existing laws. They do this after consulting a wide range of organisations and are required to act on the basis of what’s best for the EU and its citizens rather than the interests of their particular country. Although the UK commissioners are both former politicians, their job in the Commission is essentially administrative.

 

The European Parliament

The European Parliament consists of 626 members from across the 15 member states. They are democratically elected in EU-wide elections every five years (the last election was in June 1999). Members of the European Parliament are known as MEPs or Euro-MPs. The number of MEPs a member state has depends on the member state’s size. The UK has 87 MEPs. The UK is divided into 12 regions which return between three and 11 MEPs, depending on their size. The Eastern Region (which consists of Bedfordshire, Cambridge-shire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Suffolk and Norfolk) has eight MEPs.  The main job of the Parliament, which represents the 370 million citizens of Europe, is to decide the European laws. These laws are known as ‘directives’, ‘regulations’ or ‘decisions’. Most matters are now decided by a procedure known as ‘co-decision’ by both Parliament and the Council of Ministers (see below).

 

The Council of Ministers

The Council of Ministers consists of Ministers from the member states. It is the EU’s main decision-making body but most of its decisions now have to be taken in conjunction with the European Parliament (see above).

 

EU laws govern important areas of our life. But contrary to what the media often leads people to believe, it does not have aims to govern all areas of our lives and to reduce countries’ sense of individuality and nationhood.

Most EU laws have developed from the EU’s aim to create conditions within its member states in order to promote fair and successful trade between them. That is why most of the laws relate to our rights as consumers of these products and services (eg, food safety) and as the workers producing them (eg, rights to paid holidays, rights for part-time workers).

The EU can only make laws in areas that have been agreed by the heads of the individual member states. Also, it can only make them in areas where, as part of a single economic market, the laws of individual states would not be sufficiently effective. This is known as the principle of subsidiarity. For example, because we import considerable amounts of food from the EU, UK food safety laws alone would not offer us significant protection. Similarly, the employees’ rights of UK citizens who can choose to work in another EU country have to depend on EU-wide rather than national regulations.

As well as generally helping the economy of your country and giving you the right to study, train and work in other EU states, the EU offers special opportunities for young people. These include:

• language training programmes

• cultural exchange programmes

• work experience within the EU

• youth programmes, and

• work training programmes.

The Council of Europe is an inter-governmental organisation, based in Strasbourg, France. It is sometimes confused with the EU despite being a completely distinct organisation.

The Council of Europe was set up after the Second World War to promote co-operation between European countries and help prevent further conflict. It undertakes a wide range of activities covering all the major issues facing Europe, except defence. It has 43 member states, including the 15 member states of the EU.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is sometimes confused with the EU’s European Court of Justice – an organisation that ensures that EU law is interpreted and applied consistently in all EU member states. This confusion is a major reason why some people mistakenly believe that the EU has more control over our lives than our national government.

The ECHR was set up in 1959 to implement the European Convention of Human Rights that was signed by the member states of the European Council in 1950. The Convention aimed to protect basic rights such as the right to life, respect for private and family life and freedom of expression. Britain was involved in drafting the Convention and was one of the first countries to ratify it in 1951.

Like the European Council, the ECHR is based in Strasbourg, where the European Parliament sometimes meets. However, like the European Council, it is not a EU institution and the EU has no control over it.