Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations
Committee
Eleventh Report to Parliament on Subordinate
Legislation
Annual Report
concerning
Statutory Rules Series 1998
Ordered to be Printed
By Authority. Government Printer for the State of Victoria
May 1999
No. 43 Session 1999
The European Parliament is the directly-elected democratic
expression of the political will of the peoples of the European Union. It is the largest
multinational parliament in the world, representing 370 million citizens of the Union. Its
primary objectives are to pass good laws, and to scrutinise and control the use of
executive power. The Parliament sees itself as the guardian of the European interest and
the defender of the citizens' rights.
The Council of the European Union (also known as the
Council of Ministers) has no equivalent in the world. It is here that the Member States
legislate for the Union, set its political objectives, coordinate their national policies
and resolve differences between themselves and with other institutions. It is a democratic
body; each meeting of the Council bringing together representatives of the Member States
(usually Ministers) who are responsible to their national parliaments and public opinions.
The European Commission in some respects acts as the heart
of Europe, from which the other institutions derive much of their energy and purpose. Its
role and responsibilities place it firmly at the heart of the EU's policy-making process.
The Council and the European Parliament require a proposal from the Commission before
legislation can be passed. In addition, "EU laws are mainly upheld by Commission
action, the integrity of the single market is preserved by Commission policing,
agricultural and regional development policies are sustained, managed and developed by the
Commission as is development cooperation with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe,
Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific. Research and technological development programmes,
vital for the future of Europe, are orchestrated by the Commission."
The Court's role is to provide the judicial safeguards
which are necessary to ensure that the law is observed in the interpretation and
application of the Treaties and in all of the Community's activities. The Court's
decisions have made Community law a reality for European citizens and it may decide cases
brought by Member States, by Community institutions and by individuals and companies. By
cooperating closely with national courts and tribunals through the preliminary ruling
procedure, it ensures the uniform interpretation of Community law within the Community.
This Court is the taxpayers' representative and is
responsible for checking that the European Union spends its money according to the
budgetary rules and regulations and for the intended purpose. Being completely
independent, it contributes to transparency in the Union
The EIB is the EU's financing institution and provides
long-term loans for capital investment promoting the Union's balanced economic development
and integration. Its ECU 20 billion volume of annual lending makes it the largest of the
international financing institutions in the world.
The Committee is purely consultative, issuing opinions
that reflect the views of the Union's wide membership. Members of the Committee are drawn
from a wide range of activities in civil society.
This Committee is the EU's youngest institution,
reflecting the Member States' desire to involve regional and local identities and
prerogatives in the development and implementation of EU policies. There is now a legal
obligation to consult representatives of such authorities on matters that directly concern
them.
While the European Union as a whole works towards the
development of uniform rules, the Committee of Regions provides pressure for diversity.
Every citizen of each Member State is both a national and
a European citizen. One of his/her rights as a European citizen is to apply to the
European Ombudsman if he/she is a victim of an act of "maladministration" by the
EU institutions or bodies.
The function of the EMI is to make possible the monetary
unification. EMI is not the European Central Bank; this will not be established until the
end of the monetary union process.
Extracts from Serving the European Union: A Citizen's
Guide to the Institutions of the European Union, Office for Official Publications of
the European Communities.
[Home]
[Table of Contents]
Last Updated 31/8/99
©Parliament of Victoria
|