The document outlines the structure and key institutions of the European Union (EU), including the Council of Ministers, European Commission, and various courts, detailing their roles in legislation, governance, and financial management. It discusses the historical establishment of the EU through treaties, highlighting significant agreements like the Maastricht Treaty and the Lisbon Treaty, which expanded its powers and responsibilities. Additionally, the EU's foreign and security policies, challenges in migration, and responses to current crises are addressed.

1. EUOPREAN UNION
IRUM KHAN
157 MARKS IN IR

2. Structure of European union

6. COUNCIL OF MINISTER
• One minister from each EU country
• Presidency: rotates every six months
• Decides EU laws and budget together with
Parliament
• Manages the common foreign and security policy

7. COUNCIL OF MINISTER
Most decisions in the Council are taken by ‘double majority’.
A decision must have the support of at least:
• 55 % of Member States (16 countries)
• Member States that represent 65 % of the EU’s
population

8. Summit of heads of state and
government of all EU countries
• Held at least 4 times a year
• Sets the overall guidelines for EU policies
• President: Donald Tusk

9. EUROPEAN COMISSION
• 28 independent members, one from each EU country
• Proposes new legislation
• Executive organ
• Guardian of the treaties
• Represents the EU on the international stage

10. The Court of Justice – upholding the law the law
28 independent judges, one from each EU country
• Rules on how to interpret EU law
• Ensures EU countries apply EU laws in the same way

11. 28 independent members
• Checks that EU funds are used properly
• Can audit any person or organisation dealing with EU funds
The European Court of Auditors: getting value
for your money

12. • Ensures price stability
• Controls money supply and decides
interest rates
• Supervises that banks are safe
• Works independently from governments
The European Central Bank: managing the euro
Mario Draghi
President of the Central Bank

13. The European Economic and Social Committee:
voice of civil society
• Represents trade unions, employers, farmers,
consumers and so on
• Advises on new EU laws and policies
• Promotes the involvement of civil society in EU matters
353 members

14. The Committee of the Regions: voice of local government
• Represents cities and regions
• Advises on new EU laws and policies
• Promotes the involvement of local government in EU
matters
353 members

15. Civil servants working for the EU
The Commission employs about 23 000 permanent civil
servants and 11 000 temporary or contract workers
Other EU institutions employ about 10 000 staff
• Permanent civil servants
• Selected by open competitions
• Come from all EU countries
• Salaries decided by law
• EU administration costs €15 per EU citizen per year
• EU staff will be reduced by 5% between 2013 and 2017

16. •How it was established

17. • The EU was established, along with its citizenship, when the Maastricht
Treaty came into force in 1993, and was incorporated as an international
legal juridical person upon entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009
• Its beginnings can be traced to the Inner Six states (Belgium, France, Italy,
Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany) at the start of
modern European integration in 1948, and to the Western Union,
the International Authority for the Ruhr, the European Coal and Steel
Community,
• the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy
Community, which were established by treaties. These increasingly
amalgamated bodies grew, with their legal successor the EU, both in size
through the accessions of a further 22 states from 1973 to 2013, and in
power through acquisitions of policy areas.
• In 2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
• The United Kingdom became the only member state to leave the EU, in
2020
• ten countries are aspiring or negotiating to join it.

18. Maastricht treaty Representatives from 12
countries signed the Treaty on 7 February 1992
• European citizenship
• The Treaty introduced European citizenship, allowing citizens to reside in and
move freely between Member States.
• Common foreign and security policy
• The Treaty established a common foreign and security policy with the aim of
"safeguarding the common values, fundamental interests and independence
of the Union".
• Justice and Home Affairs
• The Treaty developed close cooperation on justice and home affairs to ensure
the safety and security of European citizens

19. The Treaty of Amsterdam
• The first, the Treaty of Amsterdam, was signed in 1997 and
entered into force on May 1, 1999.
• Building on the social protocol of the Maastricht Treaty, it identified
as EU objectives the promotion of employment, improved living
and working conditions, and proper social protection; added sex-
discrimination protections and transferred asylum, immigration,
and civil judicial policy to the community’s jurisdiction; granted the
Council of Ministers the power to penalize members for serious
violations of fundamental human rights; and gave the Parliament
veto power over a broad range of EC policies as well as the power
to reject the European Council’s nominee for president of the
Commission.

20. TREATY OF NICE
• A second treaty, the Treaty of Nice, was signed in 2001 and entered into
force on February 1, 2003. Negotiated in preparation for the admission of
new members from eastern Europe, it contained major reforms.
• The maximum number of seats on the Commission was set at 27, the
number of commissioners appointed by members was made the same at
one each, and the president of the Commission was given greater
independence from national governments.
• Qualified majority voting in the Council of Ministers was extended to
several new areas.
• Approval of legislation by qualified voting required the support of
members representing at least 62 percent of the EU population and either
the support of a majority of members or a supermajority of votes cast.

21. • Lisbon Treaty, signed in December 2007, required
approval by all 27 EU member countries in order to take
effect.
• The treaty, which retained portions of the draft constitution,
would establish an EU presidency, consolidate foreign
policy representation for the EU, and devolve additional
powers to the European Commission, the European Court of
Justice, and the European Parliament. Unlike the draft
constitution, the Lisbon Treaty would amend rather than
replace existing treaties

22. • Passport controls have been abolished for travel within
the Schengen Area.
• The eurozone is a group composed of the 20 EU member
states that have fully implemented the economic and monetary
union and use the euro currency.
• Through the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the union
has developed a role in external relations and defense.
• It maintains permanent diplomatic missions throughout the
world and represents itself at the United Nations, the World
Trade Organization, the G7 and the G20

23. Common foreign and security policy
According to Article J.1 of title V of the Maastricht Treaty, the European Union defines
and implements a common foreign and security policy that covers all areas of foreign
and security policy, the objectives of which are to:
• Safeguard the common values, fundamental interests, independence and integrity of
the Union in conformity with the principles of the United Nations Charter;
• Strengthen the security of the Union in all ways;
• Preserve peace and strengthen international security, in accordance with the
principles of the United Nations Charter, as well as the principles of the Helsinki Final
Act and the objectives of the Paris Charter, including those on external borders;
• Promote international co-operation;
• Develop and consolidate democracy and the rule of law, and respect for human rights
and fundamental

24. Foreign policy
• There are a number of bodies set up within the context of
the CFSP. Within the council, there is the Foreign Affairs
Council (FAC) configuration, essentially a meeting of foreign
ministers and the Political and Security Committee or
PSC, which monitors the international situation in the areas
covered by the CFSP and contributes by delivering opinions
to the Council of Ministers, either at its request or its own
initiative, and also monitors the implementation of agreed
policies

25. CFSP
• The European Defence Agency (EDA) encourages increase in
defense capabilities, military research and the establishment of a
European internal market for military technology.
• Two bodies carried over from the Western European Union (see
defense, below) are the European Union Institute for Security
Studies (EUISS) and the European Union Satellite Centre
(EUSC).
• The EUISS is the European Union's in-house think tank. Its mission
is to find a common security culture for the EU, to help develop
and project the CFSP, and to enrich Europe's strategic debate. The
EUSC is providing analysis of satellite imagery and collateral data

26. CFSP cont.
• The list of terrorist organizations was started in 2001 with the 13
organizations listed on 27 December of Common Position
2001/931/CFSP
• Countering terrorism and common definition of terrorism
• seriously intimidating a population
• unduly compelling a Government or international
organization to perform or abstain from performing any act
• seriously destabilizing or destroying the fundamental
political, constitutional, economic or social constructs

27. CFSP cont.
• The European Peace Facility (EPF) is an off-budget EU
financing instrument set up in March 2021, aiming towards the
delivering of military aid to partner countries and funding the
deployment of EU military missions abroad under the CFSP
• The Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) is the part
of the CFSP that relates to defense and crisis management,
implemented by EU structures in CSDP missions drawing on
civilian and military assets provided by member states.
• Based on articles 42–46 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU),
the CSDP also entails a mutual defense clause amongst member
states as well

28. Achievement
• No major conflict among EU countries
• Human development
• Social cohesion
• Soft power in the world
• Common agenda in world organizations

29. CHALLENGES TO EUROPEAN UNION
• Ukraine crisis
• corona virus
• migrant issues
• Palestine issue
• identity crisis
• how to respond to China
the world’s largest club of wealthy countries remains split between
those that support brussels’ initiatives focused on distributing migrants
between members in an act of solidarity and those countries, like
Hungary or Poland, whose far-right governments consider the influx of
outsiders a threat.

30. • Alex Cobham, chief executive at the Tax Justice Network,
said:
• “It is shameful that finance ministers from the EU – who
preside over tax systems that lose over $130 billion to cross-
border tax abuse every year, whose citizens consistently call
for them to take action, and who have sat on their hands
while the OECD has failed to deliver any kind of headway –
are now trying to stifle the best chance for global progress
at the UN

31. • Poland, Slovakia and Hungary announced restrictions on
imports on Friday after the European Commission decided
not to extend a ban on sales into Ukraine's five EU
neighbours, which also include Romania and Bulgaria.