The European Union, how it works

The European Union, how it works

European Union – Who decides and how?

During the 2019 election campaign for the European Parliament, it was striking how little citizens know about the European decision-making process and how caricaturistically it is portrayed by most media and – with varying intensity depending on the aim of the political programs – also by the political parties. Despite accessible resources for journalists and political parties, including current and former MEPs, disinformation about an EU Commission has been pervasive and ubiquitous.

As trite as it may sound, a union (here between states in Europe) always consists of independent parts, otherwise one would speak of a nation or a federation.

The formulation, definition and adoption of the Lisbon Treaty depends on each member state of the European Union. Independent political forces at both ends of the political spectrum are looking for “freedom of action”, less for the nation than for themselves, in order to make electoral gifts for the elections after next.

The steps are simple: make irresponsible and unaffordable populist proposals for the next elections. This impossible realization does not matter because its authors bear no responsibility.

The rules that define the way decisions are made have been unanimously adopted by all member states, old and new. This includes every member state with the constitutional bodies foreseen in European affairs.

The populists of the extreme right or the extreme left, who are de facto seeking a major gain in power for their movements and not for the citizens, often propagate the danger of a homogeneous superpower in Brussels that is trying to crush the nations. So let’s play with the electoral computer to “crush” the small nations:

Another untruth is that of the takeover by the European institutions. The role of the parliaments of the member states in European decisions speaks a different language,

even the accusation of the “European ivory tower” is not tenable if one takes into account MEPs’ links to their political parties in their home countries and their co-operation with the parliaments in their national home states.

The 2024 European elections: in the coming months

Given the falsehoods already spread during the campaign for the 2019 European elections, we can expect to see more anti-European propaganda on electronic networks, often mislabeled as “social networks”, giving them a positive connotation that is not justified by either the content or the method of communication. –

In preparation for the next European elections in 2024, we publish here the polls for the different member states and background information by comparing the national programs with the internal programs of the political groups in the European Parliament.

The European Parliament: electoral procedures

The 2024 European Parliament election.

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The European Union, how it works