Question

1. Give a detailed description of each of the institutions of the European Union. NO PLAGIARISM

Answer 1

European Union has 7 main institutions, and the role of each one is set out in the treaties.

1. European Council

- The European Council brings together the heads of state or government of every European Union country and decides on the political direction of the EU. It sets the EU's foreign and security policies and nominates important EU roles. The European Council has a formal role in the EU's European Semester process. The European Council meets 4 times per year at least. European Council mostly takes its decisions by concensus.

2. Council of European Union

-The council of European Union consists of one government minister from every member state. The council is part of the law making process in the EU. It is single legal entity, although members are not fixed. The government ministers on the council will depend on the type of laws and policies that are being discussed. The presidency of the Council rotates every 6 months.  

3. European Commission

-The European Commission is the executive of the European Union. This means that it is responsible for initiating laws, enforcing the laws of the EU and managing the EU's policies. It is made up of 27 commisioners and is based in Brussels. Each member state nominates a commisioner, but the nominated candidates must be approved by the European Parliament. The Parliament must also approve the president of the European Commission.

4. European Parliament.
-The European Parliament is one of the law making institutions of the European Union. European Parliament is part of the legislative process in EU. Most proposed laws must be approved by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU to become a law. The European Parliament has 705 seats and elections to fill these seats are held in all member states every five years. The European Parliament is the only directly elected body within the EU. The European Parliament is based in Brussels, Luxembourg and Stratsburg.

5. European Court of Justice .

-The European Court of Justice ensures that the European law is interpreted and applied in each member state. The European Court of Justice is the judicial institution of the EU. The ECJ deals with the disputes between the parties. It sits in Luxembourg and is composed of 28 judges, one judge from each member state. In addition to the 28 judges, there are 8 Advocate Generals who deliver reasoned opinions on the cases to assist the ECJ in making its decisions.

6. Court of Auditors.
- The main task of the European Court of Auditors, is auditing and overseeing the accounts and budgets of the institutions of the EU. Court of Auditors has no jurisdictional functions. It is rather a professional external investigatory audit agency. The primary role of the ECA is to check if the budget of the EU has been implemented correctly. The ECA's mission is to contribute to improving EU financial management, promote accountability and transparency and act as independent guardian of the financial interests of the citizens of the Union.

7. European Ombudsman.
-The European Ombudsman safeguards the fundamental rights of the citizens living in Europe by ensuring open and accountable administrations within the European Union. It works to promote good administration at the EU level. The typical duties of the Ombudsman are to investigate complaints and attempt to resolve them, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation.