EU Glossary: Actors and Institutions
European Commission 
President
The President of the Commission shall lay down the guidelines within which the Commission shall work and decide on the internal organisation of the Commission. The President of the Commission is elected by the European Parliament and a majority in the European Council.
 |
Ursula von der Leyen, is the President of the European Commission since the 1st of December 2019, for a 5 year term. Her term of office ends at the 31st of October 2024. © European Kommission, 2019 |
EU Commissioners and their "Project Teams"
Ursula von der Leyen, has structured her Commission into the following "Project Teams". Commissioners are members of "Project Teams", which are led by Vice-Presidents. The Commissioner for Budget and Administration is Johannes Hahn.
European Green Deal
“Coordinating the work on better regulation within the Commission, ensuring that every proposal respects the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, which are at the heart of the Commission's work.” Jean-Claude Juncker Mission Letter
|
Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President for "European Green Deal".
|
| Commissioners | European Green Deal |
|---|---|
| Stella Kyriakides | Health and Food Safety |
| Adina Vălean | Transport |
| Kadri Simson | Energy |
| Virginijus Sinkevičius | Environment, Oceans and Fisheries |
| Janusz Wojciechowski | Agriculture |
| Elisa Ferreira | Cohesion and Reforms |
Promoting our European Way of Life
"My number one priority and the connecting thread running through each and every proposal will be getting Europe growing again and getting people back to decent jobs." Jean-Claude Juncker -Political Guidelines
|
Margaritis Schinas, Vice-President for "Promoting our European Way of Life".
|
| Commissioners | Promoting our European Way of Life |
|---|---|
| Mariya Gabriel | Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth |
| Helena Dalli | Equality |
| Ylva Johansson | Home Affairs |
| Stella Kyriakides | Health and Food Safety |
| Nicolas Schmit | Jobs and Social Rights |
A Europe Fit for the Digital Age
"By creating a connected digital single market, we can generate up to € 250 billion of additional growth in Europe in the course of the mandate of the next Commission, thereby creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs, notably for younger job-seekers, and a vibrant knowledge-based society. The EU should become a leader in the creative industries, but in full respect of cultural diversity."Jean-Claude Juncker – Political Guidelines
| Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President for "A Europe Fit for the Digital Age". |
| Commissioners | A Europe Fit for the Digital Age |
|---|---|
| Thierry Breton | Internal Market |
| Mariya Gabriel | Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth |
| Nicolas Schmit | Jobs and Social Rights |
| Didier Reynders | Justice |
An Economy that Works for People
"I want to reform and reorganise Europe’s energy policy into a new European Energy Union. We need to pool our resources, combine our infrastructures and unite our negotiating power vis-à-vis third countries. We need to diversify our energy sources, and reduce the high energy dependency of several of our Member States." Jean-Claude Juncker -Political Guidelines
| Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President for "An Economy that Works for People". |
| Commissioners | An Economy that Works for People |
|---|---|
| Phil Hogan | Trade |
| Nicolas Schmit | Jobs and Social Rights |
| Paolo Gentiloni | Economy |
| Elisa Ferreira | Cohesion and Reforms |
A new push for European democracy
"The crisis has only been paused. We must make use of this pause to consolidate and complement the unprecedented measures we have taken during the crisis, simplify them and make them more socially legitimate. It is not compatible with the social market economy that during a crisis, ship-owners and speculators become even richer, while pensioners can no longer support themselves." Jean-Claude Juncker – Political Guidelines
Věra Jourová, Vice-President for "Values and Transparency". |
| Commissioners | A new push for European democracy |
|---|---|
| Didier Reynders | Justice |
| Maroš Šefčovič | Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight |
| Dubravka Šuica | Democracy and Demography |
| Helena Dalli | Equality |
A Stronger Europe in the World
"We need better mechanisms in place to anticipate events early and to swiftly identify common responses. We need to be more effective in bringing together the tools of Europe’s external action. Trade policy, development aid, our participation in international financial institutions and our neighbourhood policy must be combined and activated according to one and the same logic." Jean-Claude Juncker -Political Guidelines
| Josep Borrell Fontelles, High Representative/ Vice-President for "A Stronger Europe in the World". |
| Commissioners | A Stronger Europe in the World |
|---|---|
| Olivér Várhelyi | Neighbourhood and Enlargement |
| Janez Lenarčič | Crisis Management |
| Jutta Urpilainen | International Partnerships |
| Phil Hogan | Trade |
Roles and Responsibilities
Art.17 (1) TEU: The Commission shall promote the general interest of the Union and take appropriate initiatives to that end. It shall ensure the application of the Treaties, and of measures adopted by the institutions pursuant to them. It shall oversee the application of Union law under the control of the Court of Justice of the European Union. It shall execute the budget and manage programmes. It shall exercise coordinating, executive and management functions, as laid down in the Treaties. With the exception of the common foreign and security policy, and other cases provided for in the Treaties, it shall ensure the Union’s external representation. It shall initiate the Union’s annual and multiannual programming with a view to achieving interinstitutional agreements."
Appointment of Members
A new College of Commissioners is appointed every five years. The current team is in office until the 31st of October 2024.
Art. 17 (7) TEU: "Taking into account the elections to the European Parliament and after having held the appropriate consultations, the European Council, acting by a qualified majority, shall propose to the European Parliament a candidate for President of the Commission. This candidate shall be elected by the European Parliament by a majority of its component members. If he does not obtain the required majority, the European Council, acting by a qualified majority, shall within one month propose a new candidate who shall be elected by the European Parliament following the same procedure. The Council, by common accord with the President-elect, shall adopt the list of the other persons whom it proposes for appointment as members of the Commission. They shall be selected, on the basis of the suggestions made by Member States, in accordance with the criteria set out in paragraph 3, second subparagraph, and paragraph 5, second subparagraph. The President, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the other members of the Commission shall be subject as a body to a vote of consent by the European Parliament. On the basis of this consent the Commission shall be appointed by the European Council, acting by a qualified majority.
Art.17 (3) TEU: ,,The Commission’s term of office shall be five years. The members of the Commission shall be chosen on the ground of their general competence and European commitment from persons whose independence is beyond doubt. In carrying out its responsibilities, the Commission shall be completely independent. Without prejudice to Article 18(2), the members of the Commission shall neither seek nor take instructions from any Government or other institution, body, office or entity. They shall refrain from any action incompatible with their duties or the performance of their tasks."
Art.17 (4) TEU: ,,The Commission appointed between the date of entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon and 31 October 2014, shall consist of one national of each Member State, including its President and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy who shall be one of its Vice- Presidents."
Art. 17 (5) TEU (This article has not been put into practice yet): ,,As from 1 November 2014, the Commission shall consist of a number of members, including its President and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, corresponding to two thirds of the number of Member States, unless the European Council, acting unanimously, decides to alter this number. The members of the Commission shall be chosen from among the nationals of the Member States on the basis of a system of strictly equal rotation between the Member States, reflecting the demographic and geographical range of all the Member States. This system shall be established unanimously by the European Council in accordance with Article 244 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union."
Legal Bases
- Treaty on European Union (Art. 17)
- Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (Art. 234, 244-250)
- Rules of Procedure
European Parliament 
President
The President is elected for a renewable term of two and a half years, i.e. half the regular term of the Parliament. The President represents the European Parliament vis-à-vis the outside world and in its relations with the other EU institutions.
 |
David Maria Sassoli is currently President of the 9th European Parliament. © European Parliament, 2019 |
The European Parliament after the Brexit
After the United Kingdom left the EU, the number and distribution of seats in the European Parliament changed. As of 1 February 2020, the European Parliament will consist of 704 seats instead of 751. From the UK's 73 seats, 26 will be redistributed to some of the member states. France receives 5 extra seats, Spain 4, Italy, The Netherlands 3, Ireland 2, whereas Poland, Romania, Sweden, Austria, Denmark, Slovakia, Finland, Croatia and Estonia will get 1 additional seat each. The remaining 47 seats will be put in reserve for future EU enlargements.
The distribution of the new seats tries to compensate the underrepresentation of countries. The cause of distortions is the treaty principle of "degressive proportionality". There is a bias in favour of member states with a smaller population in the representation of EU citizens because a Member of Parliament represents fewer citizens in a smaller country than a Member in a larger country. Conversely, the vote of a citizen has more weight in a smaller country.
The distribution of seats before and after Brexit is listed in the table below:
Political Groups
| Parliamentary Group | Parliamentary Party Leader | Seats in Parliament before Brexit |
Seats in Parliament after Brexit |
|---|---|---|---|
| European People's Party (EPP) | Manfred Weber (CSU/Germany) | 182 | 187 |
| Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament (S&D) | Iratxe García Pérez (PSOE/Spain) | 154 | 148 |
| Renew Europe (ALDE) |
Dacian Ciolos (PLUS / Romania) | 108 | 97 |
| Greens/European Free Alliance (Greens/EFA) | Ska Keller (Die Grünen/Germany), Philippe Lamberts (Ecolo / Belgium) | 75 | 67 |
| Identity and Democracy (ID) | Marco Zanni (Lega / Italy) | 73 | 76 |
| European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) | Ryszard Legutko (PiS / Poland), Raffaele Fitto (Direzione Italia) | 62 | 61 |
| Confederal Group of the European United Left - Nordic Green Left(GUE/NGL) | Martin Schirdewan (Die Linke/Germany) | 41 | 39 |
| Non-Inscrits (NI) = Non-attached members | - | 56 | 29 |
Committees and Committee Chairs
| Committee | Committee Chairs |
|---|---|
| AFET- Foreign Affairs | David McAllister (EPP, Germany) |
| Subcommitee SEDE - Security and Defence | Nathalie Loiseau (Renew, France) |
Subcommitee DROI - Human Rights | Maria Arena (S&D, Belgium) |
DEVE - Development | Tomas Tobé (EPP, Sweden) |
INTA - International Trade | Bernd Lange (S&D, Germany) |
BUDG - Budgets | Johan van Overtveldt (ECR, Belgium) |
CONT - Budgetary Control | Monika Hohlmeier (EPP, Germany) |
ECON - Economic and Monetary Affairs | Roberto Gualtieri (S&D, Italy) |
EMPL - Employment and Social Affairs | Lucia Ďuriš Nicholsonová (ECR, Slovakia) |
ENVI - Environment, Public Health and Food Safety | Pascal Canfin (Renew, France) |
ITRE - Industry, Research and Energy | Cristian Silviu Bușoi (EPP, Romania) |
IMCO - Internal Market and Consumer Protection | Petra de Sutter (Greens / EFA, Belgium) |
TRAN - Transport and Tourism | Karima Delli (Greens / EFA, France) |
REGI - Regional Development | Younous Omarjee (GUE / NGL, La Reunion - France) |
AGRI - Agriculture and Rural Development | Norbert Lins (EPP, Germany) |
PECH - Fisheries | Chris Davies (Renew, United Kingdom) |
CULT - Culture and Education | Sabine Verheyen (EPP, Germany) |
JURI - Legal Affairs | Lucy Nethsingha (Renew, United Kingdom) |
LIBE - Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs | Juan Fernando López Aguilar (S&D, Spain) |
AFCO - Constitutional Affairs | Antonio Tajani (EPP, Italy) |
FEMM - Women's Rights and Gender Equality | Evelyn Regner (S&D, Austria) |
PETI - Petitions | Dolors Montserrat (EPP, Spain) |
Roles and Responsibilities
Art.14 (1) TEUV: ,,The European Parliament shall, jointly with the Council, exercise legislative and budgetary functions. It shall exercise functions of political control and consultation as laid down in the Treaties. It shall elect the President of the Commission."
Members
Art. 14 (2) TEUV: ,,The European Parliament shall be composed of representatives of the Union’s citizens. They shall not exceed seven hundred and fifty in number, plus the President. Representation of citizens shall be degressively proportional, with a minimum threshold of six members per Member State. No Member State shall be allocated more than ninety-six seats. The European Council shall adopt by unanimity, on the initiative of the European Parliament and with its consent, a decision establishing the composition of the European Parliament, respecting the principles referred to in the first subparagraph.
Rules of Procedure and Legal Bases
European Council
President
On the 2 July 2019, Charles Michel was elected by the EU heads of State and Governments as President of the European Council. As President he chairs the European Council meetings and drives its work forward.
 |
Charles Michel is President of the European Council. © Council of the European Union, 2019 |
Member States of the European Council
Art. 15 (2) TEU:,,The European Council shall consist of the Heads of State or Government of the Member States, together with its President and the President of the Commission. The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy shall take part in its work."
Distribution of Votes - Political Alignment of the Dominant Governing Party
European Peoples Party (EPP) | Party of European Socialists (PES) | Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE) | Independent |
|
| Bulgaria | Denmark | Belgium | Lithuania | Poland |
Croatia | Finland | Estonia |
| |
Cyprus | Malta | Czech Republic | ||
Germany | Portugal | France | ||
| Greece | Slovakia | Luxembourg | ||
Hungary | Spain | The Netherlands | ||
Ireland | Sweden | Slovenia | ||
| Latvia | Italy | |||
Romania (represented by President Klaus Johannis, EPP) |
| |||
| Austria |
| |||
| ||||
| ||||
10 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 1 |
Roles and Responsibilities
Art.15 (1) TEU: ,,The European Council shall provide the Union with the necessary impetus for its development and shall define the general political directions and priorities thereof. It shall not exercise legislative functions."
With the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon on 1 December 2009, the European Council became an official EU institution.
Legal bases and rules of procedure
- Treaty on European Union (Art. 15)
- Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (Art. 235, 236)
- Rules of Procedure
Council of the European Union
Rotating Presidency
The Presidency of the Council of the European Union rotates among the EU member states every six months. During the six month period, the presidency chairs meetings at every level in the Council of the European Union (together with the European Parliament the legislative organ of the EU), helping to ensure the continuity of the EU's work in the Council.
Council presidencies up to 2024 | |
|---|---|
2019 |
Romania: January-June 2019
Finland: July-December 2019 |
2020 |
Croatia: January-June 2020
Germany: July-December 2020 |
| 2021 |
Portugal: January-June 2021
Slovenia: July-December 2021 |
| 2022 |
France: January-June 2022
Czech Republic: July-December 2022 |
| 2023 |
Sweden: January-June 2023
Spain: July-December 2023 |
| 2024 |
Belgium: January-June 2024
Hungary: July-December 2024 |
Role and Responsibilities
Art.16 (1) TEU: ,,The Council shall, jointly with the European Parliament, exercise legislative and budgetary functions. It shall carry out policy-making and coordinating functions as laid down in the Treaties."
Members
Art. 16 (2) TEU: ,,The Council shall consist of a representative of each Member State at ministerial level, who may commit the government of the Member State in question and cast its vote."
Legal Bases
Court of Justice 
President
The judges of the Court of Justice are appointed by common accord of the governments of the Member States for six years. The President of the Court of Justice is elected from and by the judges for a renewable term of three years. He presides over hearings and deliberations of the full Court or the Grand Chamber, directing both judicial business and administration. He also assigns cases to the chambers for examination and appoints judges as rapporteurs.
 |
Koen Lenaerts is President of the Court of Justice since the 8th of October 2015. © European Union, 2015 |
Role and Responsibilities
Art.19 (1) TEU: ,,The Court of Justice of the European Union shall include the Court of Justice, the General Court and specialised courts. It shall ensure that in the interpretation and application of the Treaties the law is observed. Member States shall provide remedies sufficient to ensure effective legal protection in the fields covered by Union law."
Art. 19 (3) TEU: ,,The Court of Justice of the European Union shall, in accordance with the Treaties:
(a) rule on actions brought by a Member State, an institution or a natural or legal person;
(b) give preliminary rulings, at the request of courts or tribunals of the Member States, on the interpretation of Union law or the validity of acts adopted by the institutions;
(c) rule in other cases provided for in the Treaties."
Members
Art.19 (2) TEU: ,,The Court of Justice shall consist of one judge from each Member State. It shall be assisted by Advocates-General. The General Court shall include at least one judge per Member State. The Judges and the Advocates-General of the Court of Justice and the Judges of the General Court shall be chosen from persons whose independence is beyond doubt and who satisfy the conditions set out in Articles 253 and 254 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. They shall be appointed by common accord of the governments of the Member States for six years. Retiring Judges and Advocates-General may be reappointed."
Legal Bases
European Central Bank 
President
The President heads the executive board, governing council and general council of the European Central Bank. He is not elected by popular vote, rather the President is appointed by the European Council, for an eight-year non-renewable term.
 |
Christine Lagarde was appointed in November 2019 as President of the European Central Bank. © European Central Bank 2019 |
Role and Responsibilities
Art. 282 (1) TFEU: ,,The European Central Bank, together with the national central banks, shall constitute the European System of Central Banks (ESCB). The European Central Bank, together with the national central banks of the Member States whose currency is the euro, which constitute the Eurosystem, shall conduct the monetary policy of the Union."
Art. 282 (2) TFEU: ,,The ESCB shall be governed by the decision-making bodies of the European Central Bank. The primary objective of the ESCB shall be to maintain price stability. Without prejudice to that objective, it shall support the general economic policies in the Union in order to contribute to the achievement of the latter’s objectives."
Members
Art 283 (2)TFEU: “The Governing Council of the European Central Bank shall comprise the members of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank and the Governors of the national central banks of the Member States whose currency is the euro.”
Art 283 (2)TFEU: “The Executive Board shall comprise the President, the Vice-President and four other members. The President, the Vice-President and the other members of the Executive Board shall be appointed by the European Council, acting by a qualified majority, from among persons of recognised standing and professional experience in monetary or banking matters, on a recommendation from the Council, after it has consulted the European Parliament and the Governing Council of the European Central Bank. Their term of office shall be eight years and shall not be renewable. Only nationals of Member States may be members of the Executive Board”
Legal Bases
