Demystifying The European Union For Brits

'A Break-neck Break Down of the European Union’s Government'

The EU is a complicated beast at the best of times and it’s no wonder that the ordinary people of Europe find it difficult to connect to those mysterious people known as Eurocrats. A situation not helped by the fact that the two most important people in the EU are both typically (although informally) referred to as ‘The President’. In this brief article I’d like to try and draw some parallels between the some major EU government institutions and those of the UK which myself and my fellow Brits would be more familiar with, hopefully giving people a clearer idea of how things work.

1) The Prime Minister – The EU has two roles which when combined bare similarities to post of Prime Minister, these are the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Council. The Commission President is responsible for allocating portfolios to members of the Commission and can reshuffle and dismiss them as needed much like the Prime Minister can with his Cabinet. Whereas the Council President is a political position designed to act as the representative of the EU on the world stage and who also helps shape political direction.

2) The Cabinet – The British Cabinet is primarily a policy direction shaping group. They have a similar responsibility as the European Council though with perhaps a wider remit. Unlike the Council, Cabinet members can be chosen, reshuffled and dismissed as needed by the Prime Minister. The Council is made up of the heads of government of the 27 member states along with the President of the European Commission, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and the President of the European Council, currently Herman Van Rumpoy. Naturally these members of the Council cannot be removed unilaterally. However the similarity is that both institutions share the same purpose; to define “the general political directions and priorities” of the Union.

3) The House of Commons – The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions and the general day-to-day running of the EU. This is also the duty of the British Parliaments House of Commons. The Commission is headed by the President of the European Commission, currently José Manuel Durão Barroso. Unlike the European Commission the House of Commons is a fully elected body whereas only the Commission President can be said to be elected in any sense with other members of the Commission able to be reshuffled and dismissed in a similar fashion to a Cabinet Minister. This is one of the primary concerns of most EU reformists and the source of the EU’s ‘democratic deficit’.

4) The House of Lords – The European Parliament is the only major elected institution in the EU. It shares its purpose with the unelected House of Lords (a source of the UK’s own democratic deficit) and both institutions are tasked with the censure of new laws being proposed. Because it doesn’t possess legislative initiative (the ability to propose laws) like most elected national parliaments it has much more in common with the House of Lords.

I hope this has cleared up some of the murky world of the EU apparatus, naturally there will be many instances where these comparisons don’t hold true or, especially in the case of the Commission and Council Presidents, where many responsibilities overlap. Please think of this a rough survival guide to get you started.