Directive and indirective effects Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Directive and indirective effects - Essay Example At the same time, however, the EU's member governments have created and allocated increasing powers and discretion to a number of supranational organizations, including the executive Commission, the European Court of Justice (ECJ), and a European Parliament (EP), which now acts as a co-legislator with the Council in a growing number of areas. Although clearly the creation, or agents, of the member governments, these supranational organizations possess powers and preferences distinct from those of their member-state principals, and they have frequently been posited by both practitioners and academic observers as the embodiment of the project of European integration. The Commission of the European Union was established as one of the two executive institutions of the European Communities (EC). As opposed to the Council of the European Union, which represents the Member States, the Commission has been regarded as both the European, or supranational, and the administrative arm of the EC executive. The term refers to both the collectivity of the Commissioners (currently 20 in number) and the administrative apparatus that serves them. ... As to supervision, the Commission was given a general responsibility to ensure that other EC institutions and the Member States fulfilled those tasks and provisions assigned to them under the founding treaties. It had a duty to ensure that decisions taken by the Council were carried out, or adhered to, by the Member States, making it responsible for the implementation of EC legislation (for more detailed information see Elgstrm, 2005, p. 214). With the establishment of the EU, the European Commission continued to uphold the founding treaties and the acquis communautaire by monitoring other institutions and the Member States, although its exclusive right of initiative was compromised. In extreme circumstances, it can seek to enforce implementation by prosecuting an offending institution or Member State in the Court of Justice. The Commission is also required to advise on matters regarding the treaties, and even volunteers advice where it deems necessary. In order to fulfill this function, the Commission has had to develop a vast network of consultative and advisory bodies and contacts. It continues to take decisions in conjunction with the Council and the EP or, as with the CAP and competition policy, in its own right. The TEU gave it additional initiative authority in the areas of social policy and economic and monetary union (EMU). The Treaty further gave the Commission the right to be fully involved in the work of the tw o intergovernmental pillars that would stand alongside the EC: it can seek to initiate action within these pillars and even propose that some areas of responsibility should be transferred to the EC pillar (Sieberson, 2004, p. 993). The Commission must also carry out the duties and