How the European Parliament Works

European Commission

The European Commission acts as the EU's executive arm and is responsible for initiating legislation, upholding treaties and the day-to-day running of the EU. It acts in the interest of the EU as a whole, as opposed to the Council which reflects national interests. The Commission is primarily based in Brussels.

The executive power of the Union is currently held by the Council, which gives the Commission that power, but can take it away, act directly or impose conditions. The Commission lacks power in areas such as Foreign Policy. That power is held by the European Council of national leaders.

These relationships will change if the Lisbon Treaty is accepted. The European Council of national leaders would become a formal institution of the EU with the power to appoint the Commission, which some see more as a government.

The Commission is similar to a cabinet government. There are currently 27 commissioners for different areas of policy, one from each member state. Internal working languages are English, French and German. One of the 27 is the Commission President. The President and the commissioners are nominated by the Council. Appointment of the Commission President, and also the Commission in its entirety, are approved by Parliament. That means no formal objections can be raised by Parliament to individual Commissioners.

The Commission includes the administrative body of about 23,000 (2007) civil servants who are in departments called Directorates-General (D-G) � rather like Ministries. In addition, over 9000 external staff are employed. A Commissioner's portfolio can be supported by numerous D-Gs, they prepare proposals for them and if approved by a majority of Commissioners it goes forward to Parliament and Council for consideration. Turf wars are common.

The single largest D-G is the Directorate-General for Translation, with 2186 staff. The largest group by nationality is Belgian (21.4%) - a majority of staff being based in the country. The Commission's civil service is headed by a Secretary General.

OLAF, the European Anti-Fraud Office, is an independent investigation service within the Commission.

For further information, visit the European Commissions website.

Finland has 13 Members of the European Parliament

Estonia has 6 Members of the European Parliament

Lithuania has 13 Members of the European Parliament

Latvia has 8 Members of the European Parliament

Germany has 99 Members of the European Parliament

Ploand has 50 Members of the European Parliament

Czeck Rep. has 22 Members of the European Parliament

Slovakia has 13 Members of the European Parliament

Austria has 17 Members of the European Parliament

Hungary has 22 Members of the European Parliament

Slovenia has 7 Members of the European Parliament

Romania has 33 Members of the European Parliament

Bulgaria has 17 Members of the European Parliament

Malta has 5 Members of the European Parliament

Cyprus has 6 Members of the European Parliament

Greece has 22 Members of the European Parliament

Italy has 72 Members of the European Parliament

France has 72 Members of the European Parliament

Spain has 50 Members of the European Parliament

Portugal has 22 Members of the European Parliament

UK has 72 Members of the European Parliament

Ireland has 12 Members of the European Parliament

Belgium has 22 Members of the European Parliament

Netherlands has 25 Members of the European Parliament

Luxembourg has 6 Members of the European Parliament

Denmark has 13 Members of the European Parliament

Sweden has 18 Members of the European Parliament

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent sovereign countries, with almost 500 million citizens. The EU is a single market that generates an estimated 30% share of the value of the world�s goods and services.

The European Council is not legally an institution of the European Union. It is more a summit meeting of the heads of state or government, including the President of the EU Commission. However adoption of the Lisbon Treaty will make it an official institution, with a president elected for two and a half years.

The EESC is the only consultative body at European Union level that gives the Commission, the Council and the Parliament the points of view of the people most directly affected by EU legislation.

The Council of Europe is not part of the European Union but an international organisation in its own right, founded in 1949.

The Council of the European Union forms the other half of the EU's legislature, with the Parliament. It also co-ordinates the broad economic policies of the Member States.

The Court of Justice, together with the national courts, is the European Community�s judiciary.

The Court of Auditors publishes objective reports and opinions for European citizens in all the official EU languages.

The EU Banks are the European Investment Bank Group, consisting of the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund, and the EU Central Bank that deals with the Eurozone of 16 countries.

The European Commission acts as the EU's executive arm and is responsible for initiating legislation, upholding treaties and the day-to-day running of the EU. It is intended to act solely in the interest of the EU as a whole.

The Committee of the Regions is a consultative body composed of 344 representatives of regional and local governments.

Agencies are specialised and decentralised bodies that have been established to support the EU Member States and their citizens. These agencies are located all over the EU.

The EU had an agreed budget of �120.7 billion for the year 2007 and �864.3 billion for the period 2007-2013. That is only around 1% of the EU members� Total Gross National Incomes.

The 736 seat European Parliament is the only directly elected body of the EU. The Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are elected every five years.

How the European Parliament works

European Commission