Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0036/00366.txt

Text File | 1991-06-24 | 10KB | 169 lines

$Unique_ID{COW00366}
$Pretitle{370}
$Title{Belgium
Appendix B.   The European Communities}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Peter J. Kassander}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{council
ec
european
commission
members
court
community
communities
parliament
treaty}
$Date{1984}
$Log{}
Country:     Belgium
Book:        Belgium, A Country Study
Author:      Peter J. Kassander
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1984

Appendix B.   The European Communities

     The complex and ever-changing institutions that make up the European
Communities (EC-more and more commonly called the European Community) form
more than a framework for free trade and economic cooperation. The signatories
to the treaties governing the community have agreed in principle to integrate
their economies and ultimately to form a political union. Frequent strong
opposition from both the public and concerned politicians does not detract
from the founders' intentions, born in the aftermath of World War II, to
create a peaceful union of formerly hostile states.

     The EC is actually a merger of three separate communities. The first, the
European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), was established by a treaty signed
in Paris on April 18, 1951. After several false starts to expand the
community, the original members agreed to form the European Economic
Community (EEC or Common Market) and the European Atomic Energy Community
(EURATOM) by treaties signed in Rome on March 25, 1957. The EEC and EURATOM
modeled their governing institutions on those of the ECSC. Another treaty,
signed in Brussels on April 8, 1965, planned the merger of the institutions
governing all three communities, which was achieved slightly more than two
years later.

     The governing bodies of the EC act under guidelines from any of the
community treaties as necessary. The provisions of the EEC treaty are the
broadest of the three treaties: the elimination of all barriers to trade and
to the movement of persons, services, and capital; the development of common
policies on trade, agriculture, and transportation; the regulation of fair
business practices; the harmonization of economic policies and laws; the
creation of social development funds and investment banks; and the allocation
of special assistance to an association of former colonies and dependencies
affiliated with the member states. Those of the ECSC and EURATOM treaties are
similar but limited to their respective industries.

     Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and the Federal
Republic of Germany (West Germany) are original members of the community.
Britain, Denmark, and Ireland joined on January 1, 1973; Greece became a
member on January 1, 1981. Portugal and Spain applied for membership in 1977,
but the tortuous negotiations regarding their membership were likely to delay
their formal entry until at least 1986.

     The leading institutions of the EC are the Council of Ministers of the
European Communities and the Commission of the European Communities, which
are both headquartered in Brussels. The council tends to represent the
interests of the individual member states; the commission represents those of
the EC as a body. In theory, the fields of competence for each organization
are separate; in practice, they overlap and blur. Generally, the council makes
all the major decisions, acting on advice from the commission, which proposes
and implements policy.

     The council makes decisions by qualified majority or unanimous vote. For
a qualified majority the votes are weighted roughly by population: Britain,
France, Italy, and West Germany receive 10 votes each; Belgium, Greece, and
the Netherlands, five each; Denmark and Ireland, three each; and Luxembourg,
two. Unless the council acts on a proposal from the commission, it must have
the approval of no fewer than six members for a qualified majority. An
agreement reached in 1966 known as the Luxembourg Compromise, however,
requires unanimity when any one country declares a decision to be of vital
importance. Although the agreement is not part of an EC treaty document, it
has been breached only rarely, as, for example, in May 1982, when Britain
tried to veto a vote on agricultural policy to gain leverage in other
budgetary negotiations. Unanimity is preferred for all major decisions.
Several initiatives have been taken to make qualified majority voting the norm
for all council actions. Each member appoints a permanent representative to
the council to act as ambassador. The actual representative at meetings,
varies, however, but is usually a cabinet minister familiar with the issues
under discussion. The presidency of the council rotates every six months. The
council is assisted by a secretariat, which had some 1,800 staff members in
1983.

     The commission has two representatives each from Britain, France, Italy,
and West Germany and one representative from each of the other member states.
They are appointed for four-year terms. In 1983 some 12,500 staff members,
organized into 20 specialized directorates-general, aided the commission in
performing its duties.

     Since 1974 it has become customary for the heads of state or government
of the members of the EC to meet three times a year in a summit conference
called the European Council. Although there is no mention of this organization
in any EC treaty document, some legal experts believe it to be the supreme
manifestation of the Council of Ministers of the European Communities. The
European Council has become an important forum for developing common
approaches to foreign policy as well as economic issues. West Germany and
Italy have proposed that its role be formalized.

     The European Parliament, located in Strasbourg, France, has only advisory
powers over the council and the commission, although it may remove the
officers of the commission by a three-fourths vote of censure. It does not
legislate but responds to actions or queries from the council and the
commission and must approve the budget. If parliament rejects the budget,
a complex procedure of month-to-month accounting ensues, which gives
parliament some bargaining power. Parliament represents the European
citizenry, who directly elect their representatives every five years
according to local electoral laws. (There was an election in June 1984.)
Britain, France, Italy, and West Germany elect 81 members each; the
Netherlands, 25; Belgium and Greece, 24 each; Denmark, 16; Ireland, 15;
and Luxembourg, 6, for a total of 434 representatives. Parliament had a
support staff of 2,950 people in 1983.

     The Court of Justice has the final say in interpreting and applying
EC "laws," i.e., the policies of the council and the commission, and may
judge any document or action except nonbinding opinions of the council.
Individuals, corporations, governments, or EC institutions may bring suit
to the court. The court may also render preliminary opinions on cases brought
to it by other courts within the national judicial systems of the EC members.
The court has 11 judges and five advocates-general who serve for renewable
six-year terms. All members of the court must be chosen by unanimous decision
of the council. In 1983 the court had 480 support staff members.

     The Court of Auditors controls and monitors all budgetary revenues and
expenditures of the EC. The court consists of 10 members selected by the
council for six-year terms. In 1983 the court had a staff of 300 people.

     From time to time, proposals from the council or the commission are
discussed with the Economic and Social Committee, which is made up of about
150 representatives from employers' groups, trade unions, and other
interest groups. Other important EC institutions include the European
Investment Bank, agricultural advisory committees set up for individual
commodities and markets, the European Social Fund, the European Agricultural
Fund, and various other funds.

     The plethora of organizations dealing with agricultural problems
demo