H418/02 - EU institutions and sources

Membership and the Commission

The UK joined the European Communities in 1973 and left the EU on 31 January 2020. A transition period continued until the end of 2020. The rules in this lesson explain the historical membership relationship; they do not assume that the UK remains a member or that every new EU measure now applies here. EU institutions continue to exist, but the UK no longer supplies members as a member state. OCR's EU guidance retains this historical impact on English and Welsh law.

The European Commission is the EU's executive institution. In the later UK membership period, the College included one commissioner from each member state, including its President. Commissioners had policy portfolios and were expected to act independently in the EU interest, rather than as their national government's delegates. Appointment involved member-state governments and approval by the European Parliament; commissioners were not directly elected as commissioners by voters.

The Commission normally proposes EU legislation under the ordinary legislative procedure. It researches and drafts a proposal; Parliament and the Council then decide whether to adopt it. The Commission also administers policies and the budget and monitors compliance with EU law. It can bring infringement proceedings against a member state before the Court of Justice. Proposing a law and prosecuting a failure to comply are different functions; the Commission does not itself decide every court dispute.

The Commission's official institutional account confirms its proposal and enforcement roles. A hypothetical proposal about worker safety would normally start with the Commission, but its draft alone would not become binding legislation.

Parliament and the Council

The European Parliament represents EU citizens through directly elected Members of the European Parliament, or MEPs, elected every five years. While the UK was a member, UK voters elected MEPs. MEPs work in political groups and committees; Parliament is not simply a meeting of national ministers. It jointly adopts much EU legislation with the Council, approves the budget with it and scrutinises the Commission, including approval of the Commission and the power to censure it.

The Council of the European Union represents member-state governments. The minister attending depends on the subject: agriculture ministers discuss agriculture, for example. Each minister can commit their government's position. Together with Parliament, the Council negotiates, amends and adopts much legislation based on Commission proposals. It also coordinates policies, participates in the budget and concludes international agreements. Voting requirements depend on the treaty basis; qualified-majority voting is common, while some matters require unanimity. Membership does not mean each state can veto every ordinary measure.

This division combines citizen representation with national-government representation. The Council's official account distinguishes it from the European Council, the heads of state or government setting broad political direction. The Council of Europe is a separate international organisation, associated with the European Convention on Human Rights. Neither it nor the European Court of Human Rights is an EU institution.

Original comparison: an MEP votes on a proposal as an elected citizen representative; a national employment minister negotiates in the Council for their government. Calling both “the European government” hides their different sources of accountability.

The Court of Justice

The Court of Justice of the European Union, or CJEU, is the EU judicial institution in Luxembourg. It includes the Court of Justice and General Court. In the later membership structure, the Court of Justice had one judge per member state, assisted by advocates general who gave independent opinions; opinions were advice to the court, not binding judgments. The General Court expanded to two judges per member state by the end of UK membership and heard many direct challenges by individuals or businesses to EU acts. Judges were appointed by common agreement of member-state governments for renewable six-year terms. They did not sit as delegates instructed how to decide by national governments.