EU institutions Past Paper Questions

Explain the powers of the European Council, Commission, and Parliament. [14]

The European Union was established in 1957 by The Treaty of Rome initially consisting of just 6 member states. Currently, there are now 28 member states with the UK joining in 1973 after the enactment of the European Communities Act 1972. In 2009, the Treaty of Lisbon completely restructured the European Union within two new treaties, the Treaty of the European Union (TEU) and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). These treaties outline the functions and powers of the institutions. 

The executive element of the EU is The Commission, it promotes general interest through the proposal and enforcement of legislation and the implementation of policies and EU budget. The commission independently proposes laws to the Parliament and council that aim to protect the interests of the EU and its citizens regarding issues that cannot be sufficiently solved at a national level. The Commission also has a large budgetary role in which it allocates EU funding by creating spending policies in conjunction with the parliament and council. It also has a smaller supervisory role regarding budget and how funds are spent, under the scrutiny of the Court of Auditors. Its…