• European Union leaders have agreed on the officials who will hold the key positions in the world’s biggest trading bloc in the coming years. 

• German conservative Ursula von der Leyen has been picked as president of the European Commission for a second five-year term. 

• At a summit in Brussels, the bloc’s 27 national leaders also picked former Portuguese premier Antonio Costa as the future chair of their European Council meetings and selected Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas as the next EU foreign policy chief.

European Union’s Seven Institutions

• The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 27 countries. It operates an internal (or single) market which allows free movement of goods, capital, services and people between member states.

• The European Union’s institutional setup is unique and its decision-making system is constantly evolving. 

• The powers, responsibilities and procedures of the EU’s institutions are laid down in the founding treaties of the EU: the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (1957) and the Treaty on European Union (1992). More recently, the Lisbon Treaty (2007) introduced certain amendments and additions to their competencies.

• There are four main decision-making institutions which lead the EU’s administration. 

• These institutions collectively provide the EU with policy direction and play different roles in the law-making process. 

They are:

i) The European Parliament 

ii) The European Council

iii) The Council of the European Union

iv) The European Commission.

Their work is complemented by other institutions and bodies, which include:

v) The Court of Justice of the European Union

vi) The European Central Bank

vii) The European Court of Auditors.

European Commission

The European Commission is the executive branch of the EU. 

It: 

i) Proposes new EU laws and ensures that EU laws are correctly applied across Member States.

ii) Develops policies, manages EU budget spending.

iii) Speaks on behalf of the EU on the global stage, for instance in areas of trade policy, economic issues or climate policy, and negotiates international agreements for the EU.

iv) Is a guardian of Treaties, ensuring Member States comply with EU Treaties and laws.

How is the Commission appointed?

• Every five years, the European Council — made up of EU heads of state and government — proposes a Commission presidential candidate to the European Parliament. If an absolute majority of members of Parliament support the nominee, he or she is elected.

• This candidate for president is proposed based on the political makeup of the parliament following European Parliament elections; typically, they will be chosen from the largest political family in the Parliament.

• The Commission is a team of 27 Commissioners (one from each EU country) – led by the Commission President, who decides who is responsible for which policy area.

• The president-elect selects potential Vice-Presidents and Commissioners based on suggestions from EU countries.

• Once the 27 nominees have been endorsed, the European Parliament as a whole votes whether or not to approve the entire team. Following Parliament’s vote, the Commissioners are appointed by the European Council.

• The College of Commissioners is composed of the president of the Commission, eight vice-presidents, including three executive vice-presidents, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and 18 Commissioners, each responsible for a portfolio.

• All Commissioners are equal in the decision-making process, and held equally accountable for these decisions.

• The European Commission is held democratically accountable by the European Parliament, which has the right to approve and dismiss the entire political leadership of the Commission.

• The current Commission’s term of office runs until October 31, 2024.

Who is Ursula von der Leyen?

• Ursula von der Leyen, born in 1958, was a member of the German Bundestag from 2009 to 2019 and a Federal Minister in Germany for more than 14 years, responsible for Family Affairs (2005-2009), then for Labour and Social Affairs (2009-2013) and later for Defence (2013-2019). 

• She completed her medical studies with a state examination and licence to practise medicine in 1987, followed by a doctorate in 1991 and a Master of Public Health in 2001. 

• She has been a member of Christian Democratic Union (CDU since 1990. From 2003 to 2005, she was a member of the CDU Parliamentary Group in the Lower Saxony State Parliament. In 2019, she was elected president of the European Commission.

Who is Antonio Costa?

• Antonio Costa was born in Lisbon on July 17, 1961.

• He is nicknamed “Gandhi of Lisbon”.

• He has his roots in Goa where his grandfather was born and his father spent most of his life.

• In 2017, he was presented the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman by the President of India. He also holds an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card.

• He was first elected Member of Parliament in 1991 and made his debut in Government as Secretary of State for Parliamentary Affairs in 1995. He was appointed Minister for Parliamentary Affairs in 1997, holding direct responsibilities for the organisation of the 1998 Lisbon World Exposition.

• He became a Member of the European Parliament in June 2004. He was elected vice-president of the European Parliament.

• Costa was elected as Lisbon mayor in 2007.

• He became Prime Minister in November 2015 and was reappointed in October 2019.

European Council

• The European Council is the highest political entity of the European Union.

• The members of the European Council are the heads of state or government of the 27 EU member states, the European Council President and the President of the European Commission.

• It defines the EU’s overall political direction and priorities, traditionally by adopting conclusions. It does not negotiate or adopt EU laws.

• European Council conclusions can also set a deadline for reaching agreement on a particular item or for the presentation of legislative proposal. In this way, the European Council is able to influence and guide the EU’s policy agenda.

Creation of European Council

• Following the Copenhagen Summit in December 1973, which made provision for summits to be held whenever necessary, the Paris Summit of December 1974, hosted by President Valery Giscard d’Estaing, created the European Council. It was created with the intention of establishing an informal forum for discussion between heads of state or government.

• The new European Council met for the first time in March 1975 in Dublin.

• In December 2009, the Treaty of Lisbon entered into force, reforming the structure of the EU and the way in which it functions. The European Council became a fully-fledged institution with its own president. Earlier, the European Council had been an informal body and the head of the European Council was an unofficial position.

• The president of the European Council is elected by the European Council by a qualified majority. The president is elected for a 2.5 year term, which is renewable once. 

• The European Council mostly takes its decisions by consensus. However, in certain specific cases outlined in the EU treaties, it decides by unanimity or by qualified majority. If a vote is taken, neither the European Council President nor the Commission President take part.

• The European Council President chairs, drives forward the work of the European Council and facilitates its cohesion and consensus. The position of President of the European Council became a permanent and full-time role following the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009.

Difference between European Council and Council of Europe

• The European Council is an institution of the European Union, consisting of the heads of state or government from the member states together with the President of the European Commission, for the purpose of planning Union policy.

• The Council of Europe is not part of the EU institutional setup. The Council of Europe is the continent’s leading human rights organisation. It includes 47 member states, 27 of which are members of the European Union. It is composed of national ministers from each EU country.

• Founded in 1949, the Council of Europe is one of the oldest and the biggest European organisations. Its headquarters is situated in Strasbourg in France. All Council of Europe member states have signed up to the European Convention on Human Rights, a treaty designed to protect human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The European Court of Human Rights oversees the implementation of the Convention in the member states.

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