Economic Integration

d) Council of Ministers/“Council of the EU”

• d) Council of Ministers/“Council of the EU”
• Located in Strasbourg
• Along with the European parliament is the legislative arm of the EU
• Unlike the European commission, the ministers can defend their national interests
• 27 different councils (agriculture, transport, etc.)
• The council does not have a single president but the role is rotated every 6 months. (Belgium since 7/1/2010)
• e) Others
• Court of Justice
• 27 members for 6 years.
• It ensures that the treaties are interpreted and applied correctly by other EU institutions and member states
• Court of Auditors
• Examining the legality and regularity of receipts and expenditures
• Management of EU budget
• sub-committees
• Committee of the regions
• Advice on regional issues
• f) Policy Initiation, Analysis, Preparation, Approval, Implementation:
• EU Council of Ministers, representing national interests, holds strongest hand.
• Proposals from the Commission and amendments from the Parliament require assent of the Council.
• Proposals rejected or amended by the Parliament can still be approved by unanimous assent of the Council.

EMU (Economic & Monetary Union)

• EMU (Economic & Monetary Union)
• By joining the EU, the countries become members of the EMU
• They are committed to adopting the euro eventually and taking appropriate steps in that direction. But EU accession does not necessarily mean adoption of the euro.
• The new member states must pursue price stability and also fulfill the same convergence criteria that were required of the existing members.
• There is no predefined timetable for adopting the euro by the new member states, it will depend on the level of convergence required.
• a) Common currency (Euro) area for 12 members
• European Monetary System (EMS), arrangements by which most nations of the EU linked their currencies to prevent large fluctuations relative to one another.
• It was organized in 1979 to stabilize foreign exchange and counter inflation among members
• In 1994 the European Monetary Institute (EMI) was created as transitional step in establishing the European Central Bank (ECB) and a common currency.
• ECB (established July 1, 1998) is located in Frankfurt, Germany; the central bank for Europe’s single currency, the euro
• Main task is to maintain the price stability in the euro area, (to keep inflation low, present target is to keep inflation below but close to 2%)
• The ECB with the National Central banks, composes the European System of Central banks