European Union:

When the United Kingdom joined the European Union in 1973 (then called the European Economic Community), it became part of the most ambitious economic, social and political project of the Twentieth Century.

The European Union

Many myths have been circulated about the EU’s effectiveness, its lack of democratic legitimacy and the extent to which it is eroding national sovereignty. Although its structure and organisation are by no means beyond reproach, the overall result of EU membership for the UK has been very positive.

It is difficult to make a comprehensive list of all the specific areas of legislation for which the EU has control, partly because the degree of responsibility can vary within those designated areas. However, the principle result of the EU’s activities and the bulk of legislation that it produces is to improve the quality of life of European citizens. Whether it be by allowing people to live and work freely in any other European country, giving men and women equal pay, making product prices more competitive, creating jobs and attracting investment or making sure that the food and drink we consume or the cars we drive are of a certain standard, the EU has unquestionably made its member countries better, safer and more prosperous places to live.

Every decision and action that is taken is a direct result of Union members working together and Britain is as central to that decision-making process as any other country. The notion that we are somehow ‘ruled’ by bureaucrats in Brussels is therefore not only ill-informed, it is simply wrong. However, the Liberal Democrats are committed to reforms that will make the European institutions more accountable and transparent. All member states have their own proud traditions and none of them wish to give up their sovereign status to any type of European ‘superstate’. In fact to ensure this never happens, member states now have an exit clause which allows them to withdraw completely from the European Union and restore ultimate control over their countries’ future.

When the UK became a member of the EU, it did so by signing up to the Accession Treaty which effectively ratified the chain of European Treaties signed by EU members since 1951 and which are the foundation stones for European law and the European institutions.

European Law

As a result of European Treaties, European law has supremacy over British law, so that when a law is passed in the European Parliament, it automatically becomes law in the UK. To ensure that new proposals for EU law are in the UK’s interest, a European Select Committee made up of Members of Parliament from both Houses, sits permanently to scrutinise these proposals before they become law. Upon joining the EU a member state commits to all past and future European laws in the areas in which the EU has competence. Implementation in member states takes into account special features of their own legal systems. European law is based upon the treaties that initially set up the process of integration and further treaties that were signed to expand the remit of the EU. They act as a standard to which all pieces of EU law must shape up to. Because of this it is possible for member states and individuals to appeal to the European Court of Justice if they believe a particular law is not compatible with the European treaties. The Court is also responsible for interpreting laws passed by the Commission and thus can act as the arbitrator in disputes between member states.

European Institutions

1. The European Commission
The European Commission is the body responsible for implementing legislation passed by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers, and as such is often compared to a European civil service. But the Commission is also the only body which has the powers to initiate legislation, which the Parliament and Council then scrutinises.

It is made up of 25 Commissioners, each appointed by member states after being approved by the European Parliament. The Commission is split into 24 Directorates-General which cover the areas of policy over which the EU has authority or influence. The Commission is ultimately accountable to the European Parliament, which has the power to sack it (as was the case when Jacques Santer was president of the Commission in 1999).

2. The European Parliament
The European Parliament examines draft legislations put forward by the Commission (usually in smaller, more manageable Committees than in plenary session, when the whole Parliament sits)

The 786 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are directly elected by the 450 million citizens of the European Union, giving the European Union a sense of democratic legitimacy. The number of MEPs allocated to countries depends on their population relative to other EU members. Germany has the most MEPs with 99, the UK has 78 and Malta sends the smallest contingent to Brussels with only 5 MEPs.

Following the Maastrict Treaty of 1992 the European Parliament was given co-decision making power with the European Commission. This meant that it could vote to reject 80% of EU legislation enabling it to answer critics who accused it of being nothing but a powerless debating chamber. It was also given the power to demand the resignation of the entire Commission (as it did in 1999) and the right to approve each new Commission as it came into office. In 2004 the European Parliament rejected the entire Commission of incoming President Jose Manuel Barroso because of concerns about some of the views of Italian Commissioner Rocco Buttiglione.

Like other parliaments it has set up committees to look into specific issues. These are sometimes permanent bodies that consider topics such as the environment but they can focus on smaller issues such as the committee set up after the BSE scares of the early 1990’s.

3. The Council of Ministers
The Council of Ministers is the European body which represents the governments of the 25 EU member states. It is a very flexible institution and as such is quite hard to define in simple terms. At the highest level of summit meetings it becomes the European Council. At these summits leaders such as Tony Blair or the German Chancellor meet to discuss major issues such as extending the powers of the EU as a whole. However the Council of Ministers also meets at lower levels. For example on issues of foreign policy, all EU member states will send their foreign minister to sit on the Council. For issues concerning fishing, all 25 ministers responsible for fisheries will attend, for environment issues, environment ministers will attend, and so on.

How the Council comes to a decision depends on the subject area involved. In many areas a process of qualified majority voting is used. Under this procedure each member state has a vote proportional to its size e.g. Germany, UK and Italy have 29 votes, Austria and Sweden have 10 votes. For a decision to be made a number of criteria need to be met but it roughly works out at around 60% of the population of the EU.

However in a number of sensitive areas a decision must be unanimous if it is to be passed giving every member state the power to veto. These areas include asylum, common foreign and security policy and taxation.

Whilst it is the European Commission that proposes new laws these must be accepted by the Council and the European Parliament if they are to be enacted. In many areas both the Council and the European Parliament must agree on the proposed law through a process known as co-decision. Policy areas covered by co-decision making include education, transport and the environment.

However on other decisions it is the Council which has the final say with the Parliament only being consulted on the issue. Here Parliament can propose amendments or even reject the proposal but it is the Council which has the final say in the policy that is sent to the Commission. Policy areas where this process of consultation takes place include agriculture, EU citizenship and economic policy.

4. The European Court of Justice
Not to be confused with the European Court for Human Rights, the European Court of Justice is responsible for settling disputes over EU treaties and legislation. It is also responsible for ruling on disputes between EU member states.

The Court has real power to impose considerable fines on EU states that are not complying with EU legislation. It can also annul EU laws which it concludes lack a proper basis in the treaties that established the EU. This ensures that it is possible for member states to challenge laws made by the EU which they believe go against the core principles of the EU project. Since 1989 the Court has also heard cases from individuals seeking damages from EU institutions or the annulment of EU legislation which can be shown to directly affect them.

The Court is made up of a Senior Justices from each of the EU member states who hold office for renewable terms of 6 years.

The Court plays a vital role in ensuring that member states are all affected equally by EU regulation and that EU law is interpreted and applied consistently throughout the EU. For example the Court can rule that it is illegal for France to prohibit the sale of British beef after this has been allowed by health experts from the EU.

5. The European Court of Auditors
The Court of Auditors is responsible for ensuring that EU funds are spent in an accountable and transparent manner. It also aims to improve the efficiency of EU financial management.

The Court of Auditors is responsible for all institutions that handle EU income or expenditure. It can demand on the spot checks or carry out more comprehensive overviews of their finances. The Court compiles an annual report on the financial year for the EU as a whole which provides a valuable resource for the European Council and Parliament when they are putting together the budget for the following year. Criticisms of spending are then taken into account so that the same mistakes will not be made next time.

The Court of Auditors is comprised of one member from each member state. These individuals will have formerly occupied similar positions within their national governments and be highly experienced in this type of work.

6. The European Central Bank
Whilst the UK is not a member of the Euro, 12 of the 25 EU members states are. The European Central Bank was set up in 1998 to introduce and manage this new currency as it entered first the financial markets and then came into general circulation in 2002.

The European Central Bank has close links with all 25 central banks of EU member states but has greater contact with the 12 Euro members with whom it makes up what is known as the ‘Eurosystem’. However the European Central Bank has complete independence to ensure that it makes decisions for the good of the Eurosystem as a whole.

Perhaps the best known activity of the Central Bank is to set interest rates throughout the Eurozone. This is done to ensure that the level of inflation across the Eurozone does not rise above 2%. In this respect it is undertaking a similar strategy to the Bank of England but on a larger scale.

What The EU Has Done For Us

The role of the EU in the politics of the UK has been a controversial topic since its creation. The project as a whole is often criticised for eroding the sovereignty of nation states. The record of EU institutions is not without fault but is also important to note the benefits that the UK has accrued from European integration.

Security: The initial aim of the founders of the European project was to bind the countries of Europe together to avoid a repeat of two of the most destructive conflicts the world has ever seen, WW1 and WW2. Since its foundation, there has not been a single incident of armed conflict between EU (or EC) nations. Peace in western Europe can’t be said to be completely down to European integration but the project has set up such high levels of cooperation between states that disagreements can be settled long before violence becomes a threat. Cooperation between member states has also enabled security forces to share information and attempt to tackle cross-border crime such as drug-trafficking and terrorist group activity.

Environment: With concerns about the effects of global warming growing, the EU has been at the forefront of the battle for the environment. In 1973 sulphur dioxide emissions (a cause of acid rain) were measured in the UK at 6.1 million tonnes. By 1999 this figure had fallen to 1.2 million. On issues such as acid rain, it is often not enough for an individual country to take action. Even if your country is not producing harmful emissions, this becomes insignificant if your neighbours are doing so and ruining your good work. Incidents such as the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986 show how the scale of environmental damage is sometimes felt far beyond the centre of catastrophe. If you have ever visited a beach with a blue flag flying above it, this is a result of EU measures, demonstrating to swimmers that the water they are swimming in has reached EU standards. Beaches are awarded a blue flag if they rate highly in inspections for sewage contamination and water quality.

Economic: Over half of the UK’s trade is with EU member states. Membership to the European Single Market gives the UK access to an economy the size of the US and Japan combined. This means that EU states can’t impose tariffs or standards on the British goods imported into their countries. UK companies are therefore given a level playing field to compete throughout the EU and around 3 million UK jobs are dependant on the EU.

Much of the work of the EU has been to harmonise standards and regulations between member states. For example the distance between train tracks used to vary across Europe making it difficult to run trains across the continent. Now thanks to European regulations the distance is identical across the EU.

Social: The EU has been a vocal champion of workers rights. It is now a legal requirement for firms to give their workers 4 weeks paid leave a year, parental leave, equal rights for part time workers and much more besides. British workers are now free to work anywhere in the EU without needing to obtain a visa. Currently some 100,000 are choosing to take advantage of this law.

When travelling in the Europe, EU citizens have the right to healthcare in the country that they are in thanks to the E111 form. Students wishing to study in another EU country are charged the same rates as native students, rather than having to pay expensive international student fees (10,000 currently choose to study abroad).

EU Funding For Wales

Like many regions in European, Wales has benefited hugely from European subsidy. The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is aimed at reducing regional imbalances and assisting disadvantaged regions, particularly run-down areas facing restructuring problems, industrial decline and rural deprivation.

The Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO) is part of the Welsh Assembly and is responsible for administering Structural Funds in Wales.  Wales has been allocated a total of over £1.5 billion by the European Union for the period 2000-2006.  With match funding from a variety of public, private and voluntary sources the Structural Funds are worth over £3.2 billion in Wales.

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