15. European parties: A powerful caucus in the European Parliament and beyond

This chapter examines the party system of the European Parliament (EP). In the early 1950s, members of the EP decided to form party-political groups instead of national blocs to counterbalance the dominance of national interests in the European Council. Since then, the party groups have gradually, but consistently, consolidated their positions in the EP. The chapter first considers the shape of the EP party system, the structure of the party groups, and the role of national parties within them. It then looks at the Spitzenkandidaten (lead candidates) initiative, whereby the Europarties put forward their own candidates for the Commission President in the 2014 elections. It also discusses coalition politics and parliamentary committees as well as electoral accountability in the EP and concludes with an overview of the state of research on the EP party system, emphasizing the need to understand how coalitions are formed in the committees and the plenary.

8. The Commission Services: A powerful permanent bureaucracy

This chapter examines the functions and organization of the European Commission services, arguing that they are a bureaucracy with unique agenda-setting powers at the heart of the European Union polity. It begins with an overview of the origins and evolution of the Commission services, focusing on the influence of Jean Monnet, first President of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), and how the services were shaped by national bureaucratic models as well as international organization models. The chapter proceeds by discussing the Commission services’ powers, structure, and functioning and what the officials think about the role of the institution with respect to agenda-setting, nationality, and EU governance. It argues that while the Commission bureaucracy has become more circumspect of bold political initiatives, neither its capacity nor its will to play a strong policy role in Europe have been significantly weakened.

4. The Council of Ministers: Conflict, consensus, and continuity

This chapter examines the inhabitants of, and working visitors to, the Council of Ministers’s headquarters in Brussels. The Council of Ministers has always occupied an important position among the European institutions and in European policy-making. As a European Union institution, it is involved in all areas of EU activity, both by legislating in tandem with the European Parliament (EP) and by coordinating the member states’ policies in particular fields. The chapter first traces the origins of the present-day Council of Ministers before discussing its hierarchy and what the Council does. It then considers how the Council deals with the other EU institutions such as the European Council, the EP, and the European Commission. It shows that the Council embodies the enduring tension between supranationalism and intergovernmentalism as explanatory tools for understanding the construction of the EU.

2. The history of EU institutions: Six decades of institutional change

This chapter examines the history of European Union institutions, and especially the quasi-constant change that has taken place since the creation of the EU. It begins with a discussion of five phases of EU institutional development: the founding, consolidation of the European Community model, institutional change through task extension, reform of the institutional system, and the brief ‘constitutional’ moment at the turn of the century. It then considers the euro crisis and Brexit, along with the respective weight of state interests, ideas, and institutions in the evolution of EU institutions. It shows how institutional change in the EU seems to have followed a functionalist logic, leading to complex compromises that, in turn, prompt regular calls for ‘simplification’ and democratization.

1. Theorizing EU institutions: Why they matter for politics and international relations

This edition examines why and how European Union institutions matter. It discusses the origins and development of EU institutions as well as their structures, functions, and powers. It also considers how a particular institution fits into the EU’s long wider institutional system, which theories help us best to understand the institution, and how the institution is likely to be changed by the EU’s long constitutional crisis and continued turmoil over the euro. This chapter provides a brief history and a taxonomy of EU institutions and considers the crises confronting EU institutions, including the referendum vote in the United Kingdom in 2016 to leave the EU. It also describes three competing theoretical approaches to the study of EU institutions: integration theory, the new institutionalism, and the separation of powers tradition. Finally, it looks at debates about the accountability of EU institutions.

10. European agencies: Managing Europeanization

This chapter examines why European Union agencies have been created and what impact they are having on European governance. It begins with a discussion of theories that explain law-makersʼ design choices and the increasing popularity of European agencies, focusing on delegation and policy credibility, the politics of agency design, and legal obstacles to delegation. It then looks at the development and operation of three regulatory agencies: the European Environment Agency, the European Medicines Agency, and the European Food Safety Authority. It also considers issues regarding the EU agenciesʼ independence and accountability before concluding with an analysis of the model in which an EU agency serves as the coordinating hub of a network of national regulatory authorities.

7. The Court of Justice: European integration and judicial institutions

This chapter considers the structure and functions of the Court of Justice of the European Union. It first traces the history and development of the European Court of Justice before discussing its structure and functions. In particular, it describes the composition of the Court, judicial appointments, what the Court does, enforcement proceedings, actions for judicial review, and the preliminary rulings procedure. The chapter goes on to explain how the Court works in a practical sense by focusing on its judicial chambers. It also examines the wider political environment in which the Court operates, such as its role in addressing the regulatory steps taken to manage the ongoing euro crisis or the issue of EU citizenship in relation to free movement rights. The chapter also offers some reflections on the nature and influence of the Court and concludes by analysing its relationship with the European Court of Human Rights.

17. Conclusion: EU institutions in theory and practice

This chapter examines what is enduring about the character of the European Union institutions, however fragile the wider political process of European integration seems to be. It also considers where the EU as an institutional system has been and where it is going. The chapter begins by discussing the interdependence of EU institutions, noting that they are obliged to work together to deliver collective governance even as they and European governments try to solve multiple crises that sap political time and attention. It then explores the problems faced by the EU’s institutional system with respect to leadership, management, and integration of interests, along with the Community method. It concludes with an assessment of the accountability conundrum: how the EU institutions, in the absence of a truly European polity, can become more accountable to citizens and thus a more legitimate level of governance.

14. Coreper: National interests and the logic of appropriateness

This chapter examines the role of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) in the European Union. Coreper originated as a diplomatic forum to meet regularly and prepare meetings of the Council of Ministers. It evolved into a locus of continuous negotiation and de facto decision-making, gaining a reputation as ‘the place to do the deal’. Coreper is the site in EU decision-making where national interests and European solutions interact more frequently, more intensively, and across more issue areas than any other. The chapter first provides an overview of the origins of Coreper before discussing its structure and powers. It then considers how Coreper, as an institutional environment, gives rise to what neo-institutionalists call ‘logic of appropriateness’, which informs bargaining behaviour and influences everyday decision-making outcomes.

11. The Court of Auditors and the European Anti-Fraud Office: The politics of financial accountability

This chapter examines the politics of financial accountability in the European Union by focusing on two organizational entities designed to protect its financial interests: the Court of Auditors and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF, from the French Office européen de lutte antifraude). It first provides an overview of the two institutionsʼ origins before discussing their internal structures, powers, and their place in the institutional landscape of the EU. It then considers the institutions in context, with emphasis on their respective roles in financial control and the larger EU system, theories on their establishment and development, and their impact. The chapter concludes by assessing the contributions of OLAF and the Court of Auditors to the growing salience of financial management in the EU.