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61 Cards in this Set
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Article 7 of Treaty on European Community
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names bodies: EP, Council, Communities, ECJ, court of appeals
Consulting organizations and Agencies |
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where does the democratic quality of the EU rest?
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1 - council of the EU (where member states and its governments are rep); and
2 - EP, directly elected by the citizens |
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who controls the council?
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national parliaments and the EP
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who has responsibility for the investiture procedure of the Commision?
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member states and EP
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when did the Assembly become the European Parliament?
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Single European Act 1987
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which areas are EP powers limited?
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Common Foreign and Security Policy, Justice and Home Affairs, Common agricultural policy, trade policy (all expensive)
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what are the four functions of a traditional parliament?
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1 - legislative
2 - choice of executive 3 - control function towards government 4 - information and educational function of citizens |
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How is the EP different from National parliaments?
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no differentiation between legislative and executive functions, so there is no european government which has to rely on a parliamentary majority
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what changed the legislative function of the EP?
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SEA and Maastricht treaty
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Article 251
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co-decision right
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what gave EP more rights in recent treaties?
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the expansion of the co-decision right to other areas
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what are the four practical functions of the EP?
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1 - policy formation
2 - electoral or investiture function 3 - creative function 4 - interactive function |
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How many MEP are there?
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right now, 732;
after the accession of Bulgaria and Romania: 700 |
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what does the number of parliamentarians reflect?
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NOT number of inhabitants of the member states; political agreement
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what happened in 1999?
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banning of the creation of a fraction of MEPs from only one country
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how many members must be in a fraction of the EP?
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at least 19 members from 5 different states
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Article 190 TEC (introducted in Amsterdam Treaty
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raised number of MEPs to 700 at most
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which fraction in the EP holds more seats?
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Conservatives (then the Social democrats)
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main rights of the EP?
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consultation, control, codecision and investiture
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what is the EP entitled to talk about?
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every question concerning the EC/EU
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what are the four procedures of the EP?
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1 - consultation procedure
2 - procedure of cooperation 3 - codecision procedure 4 - assent procedure |
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when was the procedure of cooperation introduced?
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SEA (1987)
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when was the codecision procedure developed?
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Amsterdam Treaty (1997)
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when was the codecision procedure introduced?
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Maastricht Treaty (1992)
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does the EP have any formal right to initiate legislation?
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NO --exception: rules governming duties of MEPs and possible approval of a unified electoral system for electing its own members
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what is the bureau of the EP?
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comprises of the EP president and 14 vice presidents and 5 "advisory" quaestors
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what does the bureau of the EP do?
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makes important budgetary, procedural and personnel decisions
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what is the Conference of the Presidents?
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president of the EP and the heads of political fractions
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what does the Conference of Presidents do?
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seating arrangements in the chamber, arrange EPs work programme and authorise the drawing up of own initiative reports; also right to propose dismissal of EP president, chairman of a committee or other elected officials
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how many plenery meetings each year?
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12
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where are plenary meetings held?
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Strasbourg
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where are mini-plenaries held? how many per year?
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Brussels, 6 times a year
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what do committees do for the EP?
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provide policy expertise (report on legislation) and discuss report; then pass to plenary for final vote
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how is the EP important?
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decides how Union will spend its money; can amend and block the Union's budget proposal
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what is the central decision-making body in the EC?
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Council of the EU
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what is the main function of the Council?
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the representation of the interests of the states
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what is one main difference between the council and the other institutions?
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The Council has a lot of secrecy
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what is the council composed of?
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national ministers (or their representatives) meeting in the composition of different sectoral councils
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what are the two important councils?
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General Affairs Council; ECOFIN Council composed of national economics and finance ministers
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how many configurations of the council are there?
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9 configurations
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what are the four main tasks of the council?
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1 - legislative body; usually in co-decision with the EP
2 - coordinates the general economic policies of the member states 3 - concludes international agreements between EC and other states 4 - budgetary authority adopting ECs budget |
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How does the Council vote?
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usually QMV, but if sensitive by unanimity
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how many votes does each country have in the Council?
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there is a weighted system recognizing its relative size
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what is the threshold required for a qualified majority in the Council?
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71% until it expands to 27 members, then 74.8%
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how many total votes in the Council?
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345
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how often does the President of the Council change?
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every six months
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what are the functions of the President of the Council?
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Administrative Function;
Initiative Function Coordination function Broker function Representative function |
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What does the General Secretariat do?
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prepares the Council's work and ensures it runs smoothly
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who is the General Secretariat headed by?
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Secretary-General, High Representative for the COmmon Foreign Security Policy Javier Solana
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who prepares the decisions of the Council? how often do they meet?
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COREPER (Permanent Representatives Committee); meets weekly
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Is the European Council a body of the Community?
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no, in reality it is a body of the EU
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where was the European Council founded?
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Paris Summit 1974; formally in the SEA (1987)
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how often does the European Council meet?
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twice a year
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what is principle role of European Council?
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provide EU with necessary impetus for development and define general political guidelines
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what is the European Commission? What is their main task?
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supranational body par excellence;
to initiate legislation |
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what is the composition of the Commission and where does it state it? how long is the term?
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Article 213 TEC; 25 commissioners one of each member state; term = 5 years
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what does the Commission president do and how is he elected?
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elected by QMV of the Council;
say in distribution of the portfolios within Commission (approved by EP) |
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what does it mean to be a collegial body? which body is collegial?
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Commission is collegial, which means no decisions by single commissioners but only as a whole commission
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how are decisions taken in the Commission?
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simple majority = 13 votes
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what does the Commission consist of beyond the commissioners?
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36 directorates-general and specialized services, headed by director-general;
each commissioner has own cabinet which act as connection between DGs and Commissioner |
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what are the functions of the commission?
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1 - exclusive right to initiate legislation
2 - formulate recommendations and deliver opinions to advance integration 3 - controls primary and secondary community law 4 - exercises the powers conferred on it by the council 5 - administer the budget |