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European Union

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of the European Union Politics, sometimes defined as the art and science of government. ... Image File history File links European_flag. ... The European Union or EU is a supranational and intergovernmental union of 25 European states. ...

Three pillars The Treaty of Maastricht which established the European Union, divided EU policies into three main areas, called pillars. ... Pillar I: European Community Pillar II: Common Foreign and Sec. Policy Pillar III: Police and Judicial Cooperation Political Institutions The European Community (EC), most important of three European Communities, was originally founded on March 25, 1957 by the signing of the Treaty of Rome under the name of European Economic Community. ... The Common Foreign and Security Policy or CFSP was established as the second of the three pillars of the European Union in the Maastricht treaty of 1992, and further defined and broadened in the Amsterdam Treaty of 1997. ... Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters is the third of the three pillars of the European Union, focusing on co-operation in law enforcement and combating racism. ... Commission President (José Barroso) Barroso Commission Council of Ministers & European Council Presidency (Austria) Parliament President (Josep Borrell) MEPs Constituencies Elections (2004 / By country) Party groups Committees Judiciary The European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities) is the executive body of the European Union. ... The President of the European Commission is notionally the highest ranking unelected official within the European Union. ... This article needs to be updated. ... The Barroso Commission is the European Commission that has been in office since 22 November 2004 and is due to serve until 31 October 2009. ... The Council of the European Union forms, along with the European Parliament, the legislative arm of the European Union (EU). ... The European Council, informally called the European summit, is a meeting of the heads of state or government of the European Union, and the President of the European Commission. ... Presidency of the Council of the European Union refers to the responsibility of presiding over all aspects of the Council of the European Union, when exercised collectively by a government, on a pre-established rota of the member states, of the European Union. ... The European Parliament is the parliamentary body of the European Union (EU), directly elected by EU citizens once every five years. ... The President of the European Parliament oversees all the activities of the European Parliament and its constituent bodies. ... Josep Borrell Josep Borrell Fontelles (born April 24, 1947) is a Spanish politician. ... A Member of the European Parliament (English abbreviation MEP) is a member of the European Unions directly-elected legislative body, the European Parliament. ... In five European Union Member States (Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy and the United Kingdom), the national territory is divided into a number of constituencies for European elections. ... Elections in the European Union gives information on election and election results in the European Union. ... Elections to the European Parliament were held from June 10, 2004 to June 13, 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom. ... Party groups in the European Parliament combine the MEPs from European political parties, informal European political blocs, and independents. ... The Standing Committees of the European Parliament are designed to aid the European Commission in initiating legislation. ... Court of Justice Court of First Instance Civil Service Tribunal Patent Tribunal Advisory bodies The European Court of Justice (ECJ) is formally known as the Court of Justice of the European Communities, i. ... The Court of First Instance, created in 1989, is a court of the European Union. ... European Union Civil Service Tribunal, since December 2, 2005 a new specialised tribunal within the European Union institutional framework. ... Economic and Social Committee Committee of the Regions Financial bodies The European Unions Economic and Social Committee is the consultative assembly of European social and economic partners. This phrase refers mainly to representatives of business, employers and trade unions. ... The Committee of the Regions (CoR) is an institution of the European Union created by the Treaty of Maastricht. ... European Central Bank European Investment Bank European Investment Fund Decentralised bodies The ECB building in Frankfurt The European Central Bank (ECB) (French: Banque Centrale Europeénne, German: Europäische Zentralbank) The ECB is one of the worlds largest central banks, being in charge of fiscal and monetary policy for the European Unions official currency, the euro, which is - to... The European Investment Bank (the Banque Européenne dInvestissement) is the European Unions financing institution and was established under the Treaty of Rome (1957) to provide loan finance for capital investment furthering European Union policy objectives, in particular regional development, Trans-European Networks of transport, telecommunications and energy... The European Investment Fund, established in 1994, is a European Union agency for the provision of finance to SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises). ... Agencies of the EU Law The agencies of the European Union (or decentralised bodies of the European Union) are bodies which are distinct from the European Unions institutions, in that they have not been created by the treaties but rather by acts of secondary legislation, in order to accomplish a very specific task. ... The European Union is unique among international organisations in having a complex and highly developed system of internal law which has direct effect within the legal systems of its member states. ... Acquis communautaire Procedure Treaties Regulations - Directives - Decisions Recommendations - Opinions EU-related topics The French term acquis (or sometimes acquis communautaire) is used in European Union law to refer to the total body of EU law accumulated so far. ... The European Union legislative procedure describes the way the European Union creates and enacts legislation across the community. ... The treaties of the European Union are effectively its constitutional law, making up the EUs primary legislation. ... A European Union Directive is the (mutually binding) collective decision made by the member states, acting through their national Government Ministers in the Council of the European Union and the Parliament. ... A European Union decision (defined in Article 249/EC) is one of the three binding instruments provide by secondary EU legislation. ... In European Union Law a recommendation Differs from regulations, directives and decisions, in that they are not binding for Member States. ... // Origins of the EU History of the European Union European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) Euratom Single market. ... Economic and Monetary Union Enlargement Foreign relations Pan-European political parties Table of affiliated parties by country

This article covers the EMU of the European Union. ... The European Union (EU) was originally created by the six founding states in 1952, but has grown to its current size of 25 member states. ... Foreign relations of the European Union Foreign relations of Austria Foreign relations of Belgium Foreign relations of Cyprus Foreign relations of the Czech Republic Foreign relations of Denmark Foreign relations of Estonia Foreign relations of Finland Foreign relations of France Foreign relations of Germany Foreign relations of Greece Foreign relations... A European political party, or formally a political party at European level, is a type of political party organization in the European Union, eligible to receive funding from the Union. ... The majority of major political parties in Europe have aligned themselves into the pan-European political organisations listed below. ...

The European System of Central Banks (ESCB) is composed of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the national central banks (NCBs) of all 25 EU Member States. The ECB building in Frankfurt The European Central Bank (ECB) (French: Banque Centrale Europeénne, German: Europäische Zentralbank) The ECB is one of the worlds largest central banks, being in charge of fiscal and monetary policy for the European Unions official currency, the euro, which is - to...

The Euro is the official and legitimate currency of the EU. The euro (plural euro, symbol: €; banking code: EUR) is the official currency of the European Union and single currency for over 300 million Europeans in the following twelve European Union member states: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain; collectively also known as...

--168.8.56.10 16:47, 14 April 2006 (UTC)==Functions==

The "Eurosystem" is the rtωerm used to refer to the ECB and the NCBs of the Member States which have adopted the euro (also known as eurozone). In accordance with the Treaty establishing the European Community and the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank, the primary objective of the Eurosystem is to maintain price stability (in other words control the inflation). Without prejudice to this objective, the Eurosystem shall support the general economic policies in the Community and act in accordance with the principles of an open market economy. The Eurosystem is the system of central banks consisting of the European Central Bank and the central banks of the member states of the European Union whose currency is the euro. ... The euro (plural euro, symbol: €; banking code: EUR) is the official currency of the European Union and single currency for over 300 million Europeans in the following twelve European Union member states: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain; collectively also known as... The euro area (also called Eurozone, Eurosystem or Euroland) is the subset of European Union member states which have adopted the euro, creating a currency union. ... The European Community (EC), most important of three European Communities, was originally founded on March 25, 1957 by the signing of the Treaty of Rome under the name of European Economic Community. ... The ECB building in Frankfurt The European Central Bank (ECB) (French: Banque Centrale Europeénne, German: Europäische Zentralbank) The ECB is one of the worlds largest central banks, being in charge of fiscal and monetary policy for the European Unions official currency, the euro, which is - to... In economics, inflation is a change in some important measure of money which says either real or apparent value is falling. ...

The basic tasks to be carried out by the Eurosystem are:

• to define and implement the monetary policy of the eurozone;
• to conduct foreign exchange operations;
• to hold and manage the official foreign reserves of the Member States; and
• to promote the smooth operation of payment systems.

In addition, the Eurosystem contributes to the smooth conduct of policies pursued by the competent authorities relating to the prudential supervision of credit institutions and the stability of the financial system. The ECB has an advisory role vis-à-vis the Community and national authorities on matters which fall within its field of competence, particularly where Community or national legislation is concerned. Finally, in order to undertake the tasks of the ESCB, the ECB, assisted by the NCBs, shall collect the necessary statistical information either from the competent national authorities or directly from economic agents. Monetary policy is the government or central bank process of managing money supply to achieve specific goals—such as constraining inflation, achieving full employment or economic growth. ... Foreign exchange has several meanings: In telecommunications, Foreign exchange service is a type of network service. ... Foreign exchange reserves are the foreign currency deposits held by national banks of different nations. ... The Global Financial System refers to those financial institutions and regulations that act on the international level, as opposed to those that act on a national or regional level. ...

Organization

The process of decision-making in the Eurosystem is centralised through the decision-making bodies of the ECB, namely the Governing Council and the Executive Board. As long as there are Member States which have not yet adopted the euro, a third decision-making body, the General Council, shall also exist. The NCBs of the Member States which do not participate in the euro area are members of the ESCB with a special status – while they are allowed to conduct their respective national monetary policies, they do not take part in the decision-making with regard to the single monetary policy for the euro area and the implementation of such decisions. The euro area (also called Eurozone, Eurosystem or Euroland) is the subset of European Union member states which have adopted the euro, creating a currency union. ...

The Governing Council comprises all the members of the Executive Board and the governors of the NCBs of the Member States without a derogation, i.e. those countries which have adopted the euro. The main responsibilities of the Governing Council are:

• to adopt the guidelines and take the decisions necessary to ensure the performance of the tasks entrusted to the Eurosystem;
• to formulate the monetary policy of the euro area, including, as appropriate, decisions relating to intermediate monetary objectives, key interest rates and the supply of reserves in the Eurosystem, and
• to establish the necessary guidelines for their implementation.

The Executive Board comprises the President, the Vice-President and four other members, all chosen from among persons of recognised standing and professional experience in monetary or banking matters. They are appointed by common accord of the governments of the Member States at the level of the Heads of State or Government, on a recommendation from the EU Council after it has consulted the European Parliament and the Governing Council of the ECB (i.e. the Council of the European Monetary Institute (EMI) for the first appointments). The main responsibilities of the Executive Board are: The Council of the European Union forms, along with the European Parliament, the legislative arm of the European Union (EU). ... The European Parliament is the parliamentary body of the European Union (EU), directly elected by EU citizens once every five years. ... The European Monetary Institute (EMI) was the forerunner of the European Central Bank (ECB). ...

• to implement monetary policy in accordance with the guidelines and decisions laid down by the Governing Council of the ECB and, in doing so, to give the necessary instructions to the NCBs; and
• to execute those powers which have been delegated to it by the Governing Council of the ECB.

The General Council comprises the President and the Vice-President and the governors of the NCBs of all 25 Member States. The General Council performs the tasks which the ECB took over from the EMI and which, owing to the derogation of one or more Member States, still have to be performed in Stage Three of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). The General Council also contributes to: This article covers the EMU of the European Union. ...

• the ECB's advisory functions;
• the collection of statistical information;
• the preparation of the ECB's annual reports;
• the establishment of the necessary rules for standardising the accounting and reporting of operations undertaken by the NCBs;
• the taking of measures relating to the establishment of the key for the ECB's capital subscription other than those already laid down in the Treaty;
• the laying-down of the conditions of employment of the members of staff of the ECB; and
• the necessary preparations for irrevocably fixing the exchange rates of the currencies of the Member States with a derogation against the euro.

The Eurosystem is independent. When performing Eurosystem-related tasks, neither the ECB, nor an NCB, nor any member of their decision-making bodies may seek or take instructions from any external body. The Community institutions and bodies and the governments of the Member States may not seek to influence the members of the decision-making bodies of the ECB or of the NCBs in the performance of their tasks. The Statute of the ESCB makes provision for the following measures to ensure security of tenure for NCB governors and members of the Executive Board:

• a minimum renewable term of office for governors of five years;
• a minimum non-renewable term of office for members of the Executive Board of eight years (it should be noted that a system of staggered appointments was used for the first Executive Board for members other than the President in order to ensure continuity); and
• removal from office is only possible in the event of incapacity or serious misconduct; in this respect the Court of Justice of the European Communities is competent to settle any disputes.

The ECB's capital amounts to €5 billion. The NCBs are the sole subscribers to and holders of the capital of the ECB. The subscription of capital is based on a key established on the basis of the EU Member States' respective shares in the GDP and population of the Community. It has, thus far, been paid up to an amount just over €4 billion. The euro area NCBs have paid up their respective subscriptions to the ECB's capital in full. The NCBs of the non-participating countries have paid up 5% of their respective subscriptions to the ECB's capital as a contribution to the operational costs of the ECB. As a result, the ECB was endowed with an initial capital of just under €4 billion. When Greece entered the third stage of EMU on 1 January 2001 the Bank of Greece paid up the remaining 95% of its subscription to the ECB's capital. January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Not to be confused with the National Bank of Greece. ...

In addition, the NCBs of the Member States participating in the euro area have provided the ECB with foreign reserve assets of up to an amount equivalent to around €40 billion. The contributions of each NCB were fixed in proportion to its share in the ECB's subscribed capital, while in return each NCB was credited by the ECB with a claim in euro equivalent to its contribution. 15% of the contributions were made in gold, and the remaining 85% in US dollars and Japanese yen.

External links

• Organisation of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB)
• The Statute of the ESCB (PDF)

This article is based largely on the official ECB website but with alterations. Original Copyright © European Central Bank. Users of the ECB's website may make free use of the information obtained direct from it subject to the following conditions: 1. Distribution or reproduction of the information must be done accurately and when doing so the ECB must be cited as the source. 2. Where the information is incorporated in documents that are sold (regardless of the medium), the natural or legal person publishing the information must inform buyers, both before they pay any subscription or fee and each time they access the information taken from the ECB's website, that the information may be obtained free of charge through the ECB's website. 3. If the information is transformed by the user (e.g. by seasonal adjustment of statistical data, calculation of growth rates) this must be stated explicitly. 4. When linking to the ECB's website from business sites or for promotional purposes, the ECB's website must be the sole element of the browser's window (i.e. must not appear within another website's frame).

System members

Eurozone

• European Central Bank [1]
  • Austria: Österreichische Nationalbank [2]
  • Belgium: Nationale Bank van België/Banque nationale de Belgique [3]
  • Finland: Bank of Finland [4]
  • France: Banque de France [5]
  • Germany: Deutsche Bundesbank [6]
  • Greece: Bank of Greece [7]
  • Ireland: Banc Ceannais na hÉireann / Central Bank of Ireland [8]
  • Italy: Banca d'Italia [9]
  • Luxembourg: Banque Centrale du Luxembourg [10]
  • Netherlands: De Nederlandsche Bank [11]
  • Portugal: Banco de Portugal [12]
  • Spain: Banco de España [13]

The ECB building in Frankfurt The European Central Bank (ECB) (French: Banque Centrale Europeénne, German: Europäische Zentralbank) The ECB is one of the worlds largest central banks, being in charge of fiscal and monetary policy for the European Unions official currency, the euro, which is - to... The Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB) is the central bank of the Republic of Austria and, as such, an integral part of both the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and the Eurozone. ... The National Bank of Belgium (Nationale Bank van België in Dutch, Banque nationale de Belgique in French, and Belgischen Nationalbank in German) has been the central bank of Belgium since 1850. ... The Bank of Finland, Helsinki, with the statue of Johan Vilhelm Snellman in front. ... One of the Banque de Frances offices in Paris. ... The Deutsche Bundesbank (German Federal Bank) is the central bank of Germany and a part of the European System of Central Banks. ... Not to be confused with the National Bank of Greece. ... Banc Ceannais na hÉireann or the Central Bank of Ireland is the central bank of the Republic of Ireland which had control of the issue of Irish banknotes and coins. ... Banca dItalia is the central bank of Italy and part of the European System of Central Banks. ... Banque Centrale du Luxembourg (BCL, Central Bank of Luxemburg) is the central bank of the Luxemburg. ... De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB, The Dutch Bank) is the central bank of the Netherlands. ... The Banco de Portugal is the central bank of the Republic of Portugal. ... The Banco de España (Bank of Spain) is the national central bank of Spain. ...

Non-Eurozone

• Cyprus: Kentrike Trapeza tis Kyprou
• Czech Republic: Ceska Narodni Banka
• Denmark: Danmarks Nationalbank [14]
• Estonia: Eesti Pank
• Hungary: Magyar Nemzeti Bank
• Latvia: Latvijas Banka
• Lithuania: Lietuvos Bankas [15]
• Malta: Central Bank of Malta [16]
• Poland: Narodowy Bank Polski [17]
• Slovakia: Národná banka Slovenska
• Slovenia: Bank of Slovenia Banka Slovenije
• Sweden: Sveriges Riksbank [18]
• United Kingdom: Bank of England [19]