Is the EU democratic? The role of the European Commission | #EUDemocracyExplained
Summary
TLDRCette série explore le rôle des institutions de l'UE et leur impact sur notre quotidien, en discutant de la démocratie au sein de l'Union. Nous allons voir comment le 'Triangle Institutionnel', composé de la Commission européenne, du Conseil de l'UE et du Parlement européen, participe au processus législatif. La Commission, en tant que gardienne des Traités, propose des lois et assure la représentation de l'UE dans le monde. Ce système complexe offre une 'double légitimité', reflétant les intérêts nationaux et les préférences des citoyens européens.
Takeaways
- 😀 L'Union européenne (UE) est souvent critiquée pour être une technocratie, mais cette série explorera comment les institutions de l'UE impactent notre quotidien et où elles méritent des critiques.
- 🏛️ L'UE travaille à travers un 'Triangle institutionnel' formé de la Commission européenne, du Conseil de l'UE et du Parlement européen, qui représentent les intérêts communs, nationaux et des citoyens.
- 🌟 La Commission européenne a le monopole de l'initiative pour proposer de nouvelles lois, agit en tant que 'gardien des Traités' et assume des fonctions exécutives.
- 📜 L'histoire de la Commission remonte à 1952 avec la Haute Autorité de la Communauté européenne du charbon et de l'acier, et elle a évolué avec les Traités de Rome et de Maastricht, ainsi que le Traité de Lisbonne.
- 👥 La Commission est dirigée par un président et un collège de commissaires, chacun responsable d'un domaine politique spécifique, et représente les intérêts de l'UE dans son ensemble.
- 🔄 Le 'Triangle institutionnel' garantit que les propositions de la Commission restent dans l'intérêt général de l'UE et ne deviennent loi que si le Conseil et le Parlement sont d'accord ou ont au moins leur mot à dire.
- 🗣️ Le Conseil européen, composé des chefs d'État ou de gouvernement des 27 États membres, définit l'agenda et la direction politique de l'UE, mais n'est pas impliqué dans la législation.
- 🏛️ D'autres institutions de l'UE, telles que la Cour de justice de l'UE et la Banque centrale européenne, jouent des rôles clés dans la gestion juridique et financière de l'UE.
- 🔍 L'UE a développé un système complexe d'institutions et d'organes responsables les uns des autres, représentant tous les intérêts principaux pour prétendre à un mandat légitime de gouvernance.
- 🗳️ L'UE possède une approche unique de la responsabilité, avec des mécanismes de 'responsabilité verticale' et 'horizontale' pour s'assurer que les décideurs sont tenus de respecter un code d'éthique et de bonne gouvernance.
Q & A
Quelle est la fonction principale de la Commission européenne?
-La Commission européenne défend les intérêts communs des États membres de l'UE. Elle détient le droit exclusif d'initiative pour proposer de nouvelles législations, agit en tant que 'gardien des Traités' et assume un certain nombre de fonctions exécutives.
Comment la Commission européenne est-elle tenue de rendre des comptes au Parlement européen?
-La Commission européenne est 'responsable' devant le Parlement européen, ce qui implique qu'elle doit soumettre un rapport annuel, répondre aux demandes de propositions législatives et peut être soumise à une motion de censure par le Parlement.
Quel est le rôle du Conseil européen dans l'UE?
-Le Conseil européen, composé des chefs d'État ou de gouvernement des 27 États membres de l'UE, n'est pas impliqué dans l'élaboration de législations. Au lieu de cela, il fixe l'agenda et l'orientation politique de l'UE, jouant ainsi un rôle crucial dans les développements clés de l'UE.
Comment la Cour de justice de l'Union européenne contribue-t-elle à la démocratie en Europe?
-La Cour de justice de l'Union européenne règle les litiges juridiques et, de manière importante, elle a la primauté sur la loi nationale dans les domaines où l'UE a été autorisée à prendre des décisions, contribuant ainsi à la protection de la démocratie.
Quelle est la signification de la 'dualité de légitimité' dans le contexte de l'UE?
-La 'dualité de légitimité' fait référence à la légitimité démocratique accordée par les 27 gouvernements dans le Conseil, élus démocratiquement au niveau national, et par les citoyens européens qui élisent directement leurs représentants au Parlement européen.
Comment la Commission européenne représente-t-elle les intérêts de l'UE dans le domaine du commerce?
-La Commission européenne a des responsabilités importantes dans la représentation de l'UE à l'échelle mondiale, notamment dans le domaine du commerce, où elle négocie des accords commerciaux et défend les intérêts économiques de l'Union.
Quels sont les principaux domaines de responsabilité d'un commissaire dans la Commission européenne?
-Les commissaires sont responsables de divers domaines politiques, tels que l'emploi et les droits sociaux, le budget et l'administration, la santé et la sécurité alimentaire, la gestion des crises, etc.
Comment la Cour des comptes européenne contribue-t-elle à la responsabilité institutionnelle de la Commission européenne?
-La Cour des comptes européenne supervise de manière indépendante la gestion budgétaire de la Commission, produisant un rapport annuel sur la manière dont la Commission gère le budget de l'UE.
Quelle est la critique principale concernant la Commission européenne en termes de responsabilité verticale?
-La critique principale est que la Commission européenne n'a pas de responsabilité verticale directe envers les électeurs, car le président de la Commission n'est pas élu directement par les citoyens.
Quels sont les mécanismes de responsabilité horizontale en place pour la Commission européenne?
-Les mécanismes de responsabilité horizontale incluent le contrôle parlementaire, les demandes de propositions législatives du Conseil et du Parlement, la surveillance de la Cour des comptes européenne sur le budget, les actions de la Cour de justice de l'UE en cas de violation du droit de l'UE, et les politiques et pratiques internes de la Commission.
Outlines
🌐 Introduction à la démocratie de l'UE
Le premier paragraphe introduit la série explorant le rôle des institutions de l'UE et leur impact sur la vie quotidienne. Il discute de la démocratie au sein de l'Union, des aspects qui méritent critique et des domaines où elle est plus présente que prévu. Le script se concentre sur le 'Triangle institutionnel', qui comprend trois institutions clés de l'UE : la Commission européenne, le Conseil de l'UE et le Parlement européen. Le texte explique le rôle de la Commission, ses responsabilités et son évolution historique, depuis la Haute Autorité de la CECA jusqu'à la Commission des Communautés européennes et les traités de Maastricht et de Lisbonne.
🏛️ Le Triangle institutionnel et la légitimité double
Le deuxième paragraphe delves into the 'Institutional Triangle', explaining how legislation is made in the EU. It highlights the roles of the European Commission, representing the EU's common interest, the Council of the European Union, representing national governments, and the European Parliament, representing European citizens. The paragraph discusses the 'dual legitimacy' of the EU, granted by the 27 governments in the Council and European citizens who elect their representatives in the Parliament. It also introduces the European Council, composed of Heads of State or Government, which sets the EU's agenda and political direction, and distinguishes it from the Council of the European Union. The paragraph concludes by mentioning other EU institutions and their roles in ensuring democratic accountability and proper governance.
🗳️ Responsabilité et démocratie dans la Commission européenne
Le troisième paragraphe examine la question de la responsabilité et de la démocratie au sein de la Commission européenne. Il aborde les critiques concernant l'absence d'une 'vertical accountability' directe, c'est-à-dire l'élection du Président de la Commission par les citoyens. Le texte explique le processus de désignation du Président de la Commission, qui implique le Conseil européen et le Parlement européen, et souligne l'importance de la 'dual legitimacy'. Le paragraphe explore également les mécanismes de 'horizontal accountability', tels que les pouvoirs de surveillance du Parlement européen sur la Commission, y compris le pouvoir de motion de censure. Il mentionne également les autres institutions qui exercent une surveillance sur la Commission, comme le Conseil de l'UE, la Cour des comptes européen et la Cour de justice de l'UE. Le paragraphe conclut en invitant les spectateurs à réfléchir aux défis de la démocratie au sein de la Commission et à partager leurs opinions.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Technocracy
💡Brussels bureaucrats
💡Institutional Triangle
💡European Commission
💡Legislation
💡European Parliament
💡Council of the European Union
💡European Council
💡Dual legitimacy
💡Accountability
Highlights
The EU is often criticized as undemocratic, but this series explores its democratic elements.
The 'Institutional Triangle' of the EU includes the European Commission, Council, and Parliament, which are key to policy-making.
The European Commission is the sole initiator of new legislation and acts as the 'guardian of the Treaties'.
The Commission's role has evolved from the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1952.
The European Council, created in 1974, sets the EU's agenda and political direction.
The European Parliament gained democratic legitimacy through the first European elections in 1979.
The Maastricht and Lisbon Treaties have significantly shaped the modern European Commission.
The Commission is composed of over 30,000 staff and is led by a President and college of commissioners.
The 'Institutional Triangle' ensures that legislation aligns with the EU's general interest and requires agreement from national and citizen representatives.
The European Council is distinct from the Council of the European Union, with the former setting the EU's agenda and the latter involved in legislation.
Other EU institutions like the European Court of Justice and the European Central Bank play crucial roles in the EU's functioning.
Democracy in the EU is maintained through a combination of vertical and horizontal accountability mechanisms.
The Commission President's appointment process involves both the European Council and Parliament, reflecting dual legitimacy.
Horizontal accountability is evident in the Commission's oversight by the Parliament, Council, and European Courts.
Critiques of the Commission's democratic legitimacy are discussed, including the spitzenkandidaten proposal.
The series invites viewers to consider the democratic aspects of the EU and the Commission's role.
Transcripts
You’ve probably heard the common refrain: ‘the EU is a technocracy […] the EU isn’t
democratic […] the Brussels bureaucrats are imposing their laws on us’. But is this true?
In this series we will explore the role of the EU’s institutions and their impact on our everyday
lives. We’ll discuss elements of the process where there is more democracy than you might expect,
and areas where the Union deserves criticism. This is a journey through the policy-making process,
across the European continent, and to the very heart of the European project. This is
EU Democracy Explained. Over the coming weeks, we’ll follow this thread through the so-called
‘Institutional Triangle’, where we’ll discover how democracy plays its part in the work of three key
EU institutions that produce policies applying throughout the EU: the European Commission,
the Council of the European Union, and the European Parliament. We’ll also take a look
at the European Council and its important role. On our journey, we’ll learn more about how each
of them works, we’ll delve into detail about what democracy actually is and how it works in Europe,
and we’ll ask ourselves: “what makes the EU democratic?” But before all that, let’s start
at the beginning with a very unique institution: the European Commission. The European Commission
defends the common interests of the EU’s Member States. In order to do this, it holds the sole
right of initiative to propose new legislation, it acts as the so-called “guardian of the Treaties”,
and it fulfils a number of executive functions. So, it drafts proposals for new laws and the
draft EU budget, it is responsible for making sure that all EU countries properly apply EU law. And,
in a context where the EU is increasingly seeking to assert itself on the world stage, the
Commission also holds important responsibilities in representing the EU globally in areas such
as trade, among others. In other words, the European Commission represents the interests
of the EU as a whole. It all started in 1952 with the supranational High Authority of the European
Coal and Steel Community, the modern Commission’s earliest ancestor. In this era we also see the
creation of two other institutions: the Council of Ministers which represents national governments,
and the consultative European Parliamentary Assembly. Keep those names in mind: we’ll come
back to them when we discuss the modern Council of the European Union and European Parliament.
And from then right up until the modern day, the system has been developing. The 1957 Treaty of
Rome created two new communities (the European Economic Community and Euratom) each with their
own equivalents of the High Authority, and in 1967 the Merger Treaty combined these disparate
institutions into one: the Commission of the European Communities. In 1974 the Heads of State
and Government created the European Council, which developed over the years into being the
EU’s agenda setter, and in 1979 the first European elections took place, granting greater democratic
legitimacy to the European Parliament. Subsequent developments, including the 1992 Maastricht Treaty
and the Lisbon Treaty, which has been in force since 2009, complete the picture to where we find
ourselves today. The modern European Commission is a juggernaut, with over 30 000 staff working
in several Directorates-General tasked with developing proposals in a number of areas. It
is headed by a President and steered by a college of commissioners, each responsible for different
policy areas. So there is a Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, for Budget and Administration,
as well as for Health and Food Safety, Crisis Management, and many more - but the decisions
are always taken by the college as a whole. The President is designated via an approval process
involving the European Council and the European Parliament, and the college of commissioners
currently holds one commissioner from each of the 27 EU Member States. We’ll come back to these
details later on, because they’re important when considering how European democracy plays a part.
But first let’s focus on how the Commission fits into the wider EU system. The European
Union is complex, and from the outside it can seem intimidating. The first step towards understanding
how it functions is by looking at what’s called the “Institutional Triangle”. The triangle is
where European legislation gets made, with the Commission representing the EU’s common interest,
the Council of the European Union representing the national governments, and the European
Parliament representing the European citizens. In line with the ordinary legislative procedure,
the process is launched by a proposal from the Commission. But no proposal can become a law
unless it has the support both of the Council and the Parliament, which each have specific
rules dictating how they vote. In some areas, the procedure doesn’t apply and the Council
decides alone, with only a consultative role for the Parliament. And in others, like the
Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Common Security and Defence Policy, the Council decides,
but the Commission has no exclusive right of initiative. It’s a complex picture which we’ll
explore throughout this series, but the headline is this: the institutional triangle ensures that
the Commission’s draft proposals remain in the EU’s general interest, and that they can’t become
law unless the bodies representing national interests and citizens’ interests agree, or at
least have a say. Thus, the Union is imbued with a ‘dual legitimacy’ granted by the 27 governments in
the Council, democratically elected at national level, and by European citizens, who directly
elect their representatives in the Parliament. Let’s also bring in the European Council. Now,
having a European Council and a Council of the European Union can be a bit confusing because
their names do sound very similar, but that’s a story for another time. For now, the key takeaway
is that the European Council is a body made up of the Heads of State or Government of the EU27,
while the Council of the European Union is made up of ministers from those governments. While the
Council works in the institutional triangle to review and approve Commission proposals,
the European Council isn’t involved in making legislation. Instead, it sets the agenda and
political direction of the EU, so it has a crucial voice in the key developments of the EU. There are
a number of other institutions that work in the EU process. The European Court of Justice settles
legal disputes and, importantly, holds primacy over national law in areas where the EU has been
empowered to make decisions. Financial management is independently supervised by the European Court
of Auditors, and the European Central Bank is on hand to make sure the Eurozone remains strong
enough to support the EU’s economic policies. And even beyond this there are more specialised
entities, like the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, that
all have a role to play. The European project has thus developed a complex system of institutions
and bodies accountable to each other, representing all the main interests they need to represent in
order to claim a legitimate mandate to govern, and ensuring the policies which are eventually adopted
have been fed by proper expertise. But there is more to the concept of democratic accountability,
so let’s delve deeper into what it is and why it is so important, and see how it applies to the
European Commission. Accountability in a democracy is crucial: without mechanisms to ensure those
in power are held to a proper code of ethics and good governance, there would be no limits placed
on what they could do. Accountability serves to ensure a number of things,
including that public resources are used properly, corruption is stamped out, and fundamental rights
are respected. In other words, accountability protects a democracy. Now, there are plenty
of different ways of achieving accountability, and the unique EU system has a correspondingly
unique approach to accountability – but the core principles are the same. The most well-known
form of accountability is that which takes place between citizens and policy-makers, what we might
term ‘vertical accountability’. At its most basic, citizens who elect their representatives can
register their discontent by choosing a different representative at the next election, or by recall.
So having democratic or electoral legitimacy can go a long way to forming vertical accountability.
But that isn’t the only way: letter-writing campaigns, townhall events, protest movements,
and so on can also be considered as examples of this type of accountability. On the other hand,
you can’t rely on vertical accountability as the only method of holding those in power to account.
For instance, if voter turnout at an election happens to be very low, then the very fact
that so few citizens vote actually undermines the quality of accountability they generate.
Similarly, if policy-makers don’t take citizens’ preferences into account when making policy,
that also undermines the quality of accountability generated. This is a risk that applies to all the
different forms of accountability between citizens and policy-makers: if they aren’t engaged, there
is no vertical accountability. Because of this, a healthy democracy also has what we might call
“horizontal” or “institutional” accountability, a set of systematic checks and balances. These
can take the form of oversight mechanisms between the legislative and executive branches, internal
working practices that require legislators to adhere to certain rules; even something as
basic as having a competent civil service can offer a form of institutional accountability,
insofar as it remains ‘in’ the system as a ballast through successive administrations. Finally,
judicial oversight is another crucial form of institutional accountability, and there are many
more beyond this. So how does all this apply to the Commission, and to the EU as a whole? Let’s
start with vertical accountability. One of the main critiques coming from those who insist on
the caricature of ‘Brussels bureaucrats’ is that there is no accountability to (or representation
of) the electorate in the European Commission - that there is no vertical accountability. Now,
while it is true that the President of the Commission is not a directly elected position,
in the same way that, for instance, the President of France is, we have to remember that the EU
is not a country, and the Commission is not a government. Nonetheless, the Commission President
is closer to the citizens than the caricatures would have you believe: each new President is
nominated by the Heads of State and Government in the European Council – these are the people at the
heads of the 27 national governments, all of whom carry a national-level electoral mandate – and
the appointment (along with the appointment of the college of commissioners) must follow
a process of Parliamentary approval. In addition, the European Council’s nomination must “take into
account” the European elections. These rules are all set out in detail in the European Treaties
to ensure each Commission President holds a solid democratic mandate according to the principle of
dual legitimacy: citizens have a say first because their national governments nominate the candidate,
and second because their representatives in the Parliament – democratically elected via
pan-European elections – have final approval. All this being said, the appointment of the Commission
President is still problematic for some who would prefer an alternate (more direct) method,
and we will explore an example of this – the controversial spitzenkandidaten proposal - in
an upcoming episode. In a sense though, whether you agree with those concerns or not, it’s all
the more reason why the institutional checks and balances – the horizontal accountability – is
crucial to the EU system. And the Commission is horizontally accountable in a variety of ways.
In fact, horizontal accountability is really where the EU really comes into its own. Take
as an example the fact that the Commission as set out in the European Treaties, is as a body
“responsible to” the European Parliament. Part of this dynamic between the two institutions is that
the Parliament holds crucial oversight powers over the Commission. The Commission submits
an annual general report to the Parliament, for instance, and when asked by Parliament to submit
a legislative proposal, the Commission must either do so or provide a written justification as to why
it has chosen not to. The most significant of all the Parliament’s oversight powers,
though, is a “motion of censure”, which you might think of as being like an impeachment clause. If
the Parliament votes by a two-thirds majority, the Commission as a whole is forced to resign.
Up until today, eight motions of censure have been brought before the Parliament,
though none have crossed that crucial two-thirds threshold. Even beyond the oversight mechanisms
described in the Treaties, there’s more. For instance, a common practice has developed where
the Commission President gives an annual ‘State of the Union’-style address to MEPs. You can see,
then, that the Commission formally being “responsible to” the Parliament is a fact
that is taken very seriously. The institutional accountability of the European Commission isn’t
limited to the Parliament’s powers, though. The Council of the European Union can also ask the
Commission to submit a legislative proposal, just like the Parliament. The European Court of
Auditors has oversight of the way the Commission handles the EU budget, producing an annual report
on this. The European Court of Justice can take action against the Commission if it
finds that the institution has acted against EU law. Finally, the European Commission has
extensive internal policies and working practices which supplement this horizontal accountability,
from wide-ranging freedom of information rights for citizens, regular consultations,
a open transparency register for interest groups, and much more. Many people find it difficult to
see how democracy weaves its way in and out of the European Commission, and it is often much easier
to paint with a broad brush. As we’ve seen though, the EU’s structure does give a dual legitimacy to
the appointment of the Commission, and also holds significant oversight, via a number of avenues,
over its functioning. Nonetheless, many still feel there are critiques to be made: we may have
horizontal accountability, but is the Commission’s vertical accountability flawed? And in the end,
what does this mean for the ultimate question of whether the European Commission is democratic? Let
us know your thoughts in the comments below. Thanks for watching, and be sure to like,
comment, and subscribe for more from TEPSA. In the next video we’ll continue our exploration of
democracy in the EU by looking at the roles of the Council of the European Union. In the meantime,
if you want to learn more about EU current affairs, check out our EuropeChats series
here. And if you want to learn more about Jean Monnet, the first President of the European
Commission’s predecessor, the High Authority of the ECSC, then check out this video.
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