LEGAL PROCEDURES FOR EU DECISION-MAKING

Abstract

Decision-making in the European Union involves several different procedures. This means that different institutions play different roles depending on the subject under consideration. Typically, three institutions are mainly involved in decision-making: the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission. However, other institutions and bodies, such as the Court of Auditors, the European Central Bank, the Economic and Financial Committee, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, also play a role in certain specific areas. The different bodies act within the limits of the powers conferred on them by the Treaties. This article examines the institutional and procedural dynamics of EU decision-making. It takes place a decade after the Lisbon Treaty and provides an opportunity to analyse the impact of the institutional and procedural reforms introduced at that time, as well as to examine broader trends in the EU’s institutional architecture: the steady growth of the role of the European Parliament in an increasing number of areas; the shift towards the European Council in the context of managing multiple crises; the European Commission’s desire to be more ‘political’, which received an unexpected boost from Brexit but also a pushback as populism grew across the continent; the slowdown in legislative activity, which undermines the formal decision-making powers of the Council of Ministers, reinforced by procedures that shift responsibility to special committees (e.g. on Article 50 TFEU); and the shift away from law-making towards implementation and operations (e.g. in the area of freedom, security and justice). All institutions have had to contend with geopolitical tensions and the rise of crisis thinking in most policy areas