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| CHARTER OF FUNDAMENTAL
RIGHTS |
| The Charter of Fundamental Rights was agreed by
the European Council at Nice in December 2000. The Charter sets out the
rights EU citizens enjoy. These rights derive from the EU Treaties and related
case-law, the European Convention on Human Rights and its case law, the
Social Charters of the Union and the Council of Europe and the constitutional
traditions and international obligations common to Member States. The Charter
sets out these rights in one single text for the first time. The Charter
forms Part Two of the Constitution and will apply to the EU Institutions
and to Member States only when implementing EU law. |
| CO-DECISION |
| Co-decision is the procedure through which the
Council of Ministers and the European Parliament jointly enact most Union
legislation. It will form part of the Ordinary Legislative Procedure. |
| COMMISSION |
| The Commission is an independent body appointed
by the Member States to act as the neutral guardian of their shared interests
and to promote the general interest of the Union. It monitors the implementation
of EU law, proposes legislation and has important executive functions. Commissioners
are nominated by Member States, approved by the European Parliament and
appointed for a period of five years. A new Commission took office in November
2004. The Commissioner nominated by Ireland is Mr Charlie McCreevy. |
| COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS |
| The Committee of the Regions is an advisory body
comprising representatives of regional and local interests. Members of the
Committee are appointed by the Council of Ministers on the basis of nominations
from Member States. |
| COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY (CAP) |
| The Common Agricultural Policy aims to increase
agricultural productivity; to ensure a fair standard of living for the agricultural
community; to stabilise markets; to assure the availability of supplies;
and to ensure that supplies reach consumers at reasonable prices. |
| COMMON COMMERCIAL POLICY |
| The Common Commercial Policy aims "to contribute,
in the common interest, to the harmonious development of world trade, the
progressive abolition of restrictions on international trade and the lowering
of customs barriers". Under it, the EU negotiates collectively in international
trade matters. |
| COMMON FISHERIES POLICY (CFP) |
| The aim of the Common Fisheries Policy is to manage
fisheries for the benefit of both fishingcommunities and consumers. |
| COMMON FOREIGN AND SECURITY POLICY
(CFSP) |
| The Common Foreign and Security Policy is an important
component of the Union's external action. The principles and objectives
which are to guide the Union's external action are set out in Article III-292.
Within that framework, the Member States undertake to work together on international
issues in mutual political solidarity. The CFSP covers all areas of foreign
policy, including questions relating to security. Member States agree to
consult one another on any foreign and security policy issues which are
of general interest in order to reach a common position, where possible. |
| COMMON SECURITY AND DEFENCE POLICY
(CSDP) |
| The Common Security and Defence Policy, currently
known as the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP), is an integral
part of the Common Foreign and Security Policy. It provides the Union with
an operational capacity to use in missions outside the Union for "peacekeeping,
conflict prevention and strengthening international security in accordance
with the principles of the United Nations Charter" (these are known as the
' Petersberg Tasks'). |
| COMPETENCE |
| Member States can decide to confer 'competence',
or the ability to act and to legislate, on the Union in specific policy
areas. Member States do so where they believe that action at Union level
could achieve more than the Member States acting individually. Competence
remains with the Member States unless it is explicitly conferred on the
Union in a Treaty. |
| THE PRINCIPLE OF CONFERRAL |
| This principle means that the Union can only act
in areas where the Member States have specifically conferred competence
upon it. Competences not conferred on the Union in the Constitution remain
with the Member States. |
| COUNCIL OF MINISTERS |
| The Council is the EU institution in which the
Governments of the Member States are represented. Together with the European
Parliament, it enacts legislation and is the budgetary authority. The Council
meets in different formations, depending on the issues under discussion
(e.g. environment) and each Member State is represented at Ministerial level
in each formation. |
| COURT OF AUDITORS |
| The Court of Auditors audits expenditure by EU
Institutions. |
| COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EUROPEAN
UNION |
The Court of Justice of the European Union, based
in Luxembourg, has general responsibility for interpreting EU law and for
ensuring that its application is consistent. Under the Constitution, it
will consist of the Court of Justice (the highest court), the High Court
(currently known as the Court of First Instance) and specialised courts.
|
| DECLARATION |
A statement attached to a Treaty by one or more
Member States (or by the Conference which negotiated the Treaty) explaining
its approach to a given matter. Though not legally binding, a Declaration
carries substantial political weight.
|
| ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE |
| The Economic and Social Committee is an advisory
body. Its role is to inform the decision-making institutions of the EU on
a broad range of social and economic issues. It is made up of representatives,
nominated by the Member States, drawn from of various categories of economic
and social activity. |
| ENHANCED COOPERATION |
| Enhanced cooperation allows a group of Member States
to choose to cooperate on a specific matter, subject to certain conditions
and safeguards, in areas in which the Union does not hold exclusive competence.
The current Treaty provisions for enhanced co-operation have not yet been
used. |
| EURATOM |
| The name given to the European Atomic Energy Community,
and to the 1957 Treaty, sometimes known as the 'Second Rome Treaty', which
established it. Euratom makes certain provisions for the management of nuclear
power within the Union. It is legally distinct from the European Union but
shares a common membership and common institutions. |
| EURO GROUP |
| The informal group of Finance Ministers of the
Member States which have adopted the euro as their currency. |
| EUROJUST |
| Eurojust is a European Union body established in
2002 to facilitate judicial co-operation and coordination between Member
States in dealing with the investigation and prosecution of serious cross-border
crime, particularly organised crime. |
| EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK |
| The European Central Bank conducts the monetary
policy of the European Union. Its primary aim is to promote price stability
in the Euro area safeguarding the value of the Euro. |
| EUROPEAN COMMUNITY |
| The European Community (EC), originally known as
the European Economic Community (EEC), was established by a 1957 Treaty,
commonly known as the Treaty of Rome. The European Community together with
Euratom is known as the 'European Communities'. The European Constitution
will create a single legal framework bringing together the Community and
Union and abolishing the pillars. |
| EUROPEAN CONVENTION |
The European Convention was established by the
European Council in December 2001 to bring forward recommendations for
a new Constitutional Treaty for the EU. It brought together government
and parliamentary representatives from existing and future Member States
of the Union with European Parliamentarians and representatives of the
Commission. It was chaired by former French President Valéry Giscard
d'Estaing. It met from February 2002 to July 2003 |
| EUROPEAN COUNCIL |
| The European Council sets the broad political
guidelines for the Union. It brings together the Heads of State or of Government
of
the Member States together with the President of the Commission. It usually
meets about four times a year. |
| EUROPEAN OMBUDSMAN |
| The European Ombudsman is elected by the European Parliament
and investigates complaints about maladministration by the Union's institutions
and bodies. |
| EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT |
| The European Parliament is directly elected every
five years. Member States return Members of the European Parliament (MEPs)
in rough relation to their size (though smaller countries return more MEPs
than their population would strictly suggest). The Parliament has, with
the Council of Ministers, an important role in the legislative and budgetary
processes of the EU. It also oversees the work of the Commission. Ireland
returned 13 MEPs in the elections in June 2004. |
| EUROPEAN UNION |
| The European Union (EU) was set up by the Treaty
on European Union, or Maastricht Treaty, of 1992. It consists of three 'pillars'
or areas of activity. The first pillar comprises the European Communities,
the second pillar the Common Foreign and Security Policy, and the third
pillar judicial and police cooperation in criminal matters. The European
Constitution will create a single legal framework bringing together the
Community and Union and abolishing the pillars. |
| EUROPOL |
| Europol, the European Police Office, aims at improving
the effectiveness of cooperation between the police authorities of Member
States in preventing and combating terrorism, unlawful drug trafficking
and other serious forms of international organised crime. |
| EUROZONE |
The area where the Euro is the official currency.
|
| INTERGOVERNMENTAL CONFERENCE (IGC) |
An Intergovernmental Conference, involving all
Member States, is necessary to agree changes to the Treaties. A new Treaty,
containing those changes, must then be ratified by all Member States according
to their respective constitutional requirements.
|
| LEGAL INSTRUMENT |
| A 'legal instrument' is a tool the Union may use
to implement its policy decisions. In some cases this is legislative, ie
a law must be enacted to implement the policy. In other cases it is nonlegislative,
ie no law is necessary. |
| LEGAL PERSONALITY |
The Union uses legal instruments to implement
its policy decisions. Some of these instruments are legislative, meaning
that they require the adoption of a law; others do not require this. The
Union currently has a choice of 15 instruments available to it some are
used in only one area). In the interests of simplification, the European
Constitution has reduced this number to 6.
|
| MEMBER STATE |
A country which is a member of the European Union.
|
| NATIONAL FORUM ON EUROPE |
The Forum was established by the Government in
October 2001 to facilitate a broad discussion of issues relevant to Ireland's
membership of an enlarging Union, and to consider the range of topics arising
in the context of the debate on the Future of Europe. It meets regularly
under the Chairmanship of Senator Maurice Hayes.
|
| OWN RESOURCES |
The Union's 'Own Resources' are the means through
which its activities are financed. The current own resources are divided
into three categories. These are: so-called 'traditional own resources'
(mainly customs duties collected by Member States on behalf of the EU);
resources based on value added tax (VAT) (this resource is levied on the
notional harmonised VAT bases of Member States); and the Gross National
Income based resource (this resource is levied as a uniform rate in proportion
to the GNI of each Member State). GNI approximates to GNP.
|
| 'PASSERELLE' |
| The term 'passerelle' comes from the French word
for footbridge. It is a procedure proposed by the Convention which would
allow for the European Council to take a unanimous decision to change the
decision-making procedure in a given policy area from unanimity to qualified
majority voting. |
| PETERSBERG TASKS |
| The activities the Union may undertake in the area
of Common Security and Defence Policy are known as the 'Petersberg Tasks'
(after the town in which they were agreed). Currently these are " humanitarian
and rescue tasks, peace-keeping, and the tasks of combat forces in crisis
management, including peace- making". The Constitution expands this list. |
| PRIMACY OF EU LAW |
The principle of the primacy of EU law has existed since
before Ireland joined the European Communities in 1973. It applies only
to those areas in which the Member States have agreed to transfer powers,
or competences, to the Union under the terms of the EU treaties. The
principle means that when Member States agree to be bound by EU law, they
must implement and enforce what they have agreed and comply with judgments
of the Union's Courts in relation to those laws. |
| PROPORTIONALITY |
| Under the principle of proportionality, Union action
may not exceed "what is necessary to achieve the objectives of the Union." |
| PROTOCOL |
A protocol is a text, annexed to a treaty, which
expands upon or explains a given topic. It has the same legal force as the
Treaty itself.
|
| QMV (QUALIFIED MAJORITY VOTING) |
The Treaties provide that the Council of Ministers
may take decisions, depending on the issue, by (a) unanimity; (b) qualified
majority voting (QMV); or (c) simple majority. Decisions in most areas are
taken by QMV. Currently, each Member State has a number of votes weighted
according to a scale which groups together Member States of similar population
size. To be adopted a measure requires a certain number of votes to be cast
in its favour. Under the Constitution, a new system of 'double majority'
voting will apply. To be adopted a measure will normally require the support
of 55% of the Member States representing 65% of the Union's population.
|
| STABILITY AND GROWTH PACT |
| The Stability and Growth Pact is an agreement to
ensure budgetary discipline in economic and monetary union (EMU), in particular
through the avoidance of excessive budgetary deficits by Member States. |
| STRUCTURAL FUNDS |
| Structural Funds are funds used by the Union to
promote the economic and social development of the regions deemed to be
lagging behind. |
| SUBSIDIARITY |
Under the principle of subsidiarity, the Union
may only act if objectives cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member
States, either at national or local level, or where, because of scale, they
can be better achieved at Union level.
|
| TREATY |
A binding international agreement among states.
The EU's objectives, powers and rules have been defined and developed in
a series of Treaties among its Member States, from the Treaty of Paris (1950)
to the Treaty of Nice (2001). Ireland, together with the UK and Denmark,
joined the European Communities in 1973 by means of an Accession Treaty
with the other Member States.
|
| UNANIMITY |
| When unanimity is required, all Member States must
agree with a proposal. |
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