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EU Terms

By EMHRN 15/07/2009 04:06:00

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EU Terms

Association Agreement

An Association Agreement is a treaty between the European Union and a non-EU country that creates a framework for co-operation between them. Areas frequently covered by such agreements include the development of political, trade, social, cultural and security links.

Council of the European Union

It is the Union’s main decision-making institution. It is composed of the ministers of the Members States and thus constitutes the EU institution in which the governments are represented. The Council, together with the European Parliament, acts in a legislative and budgetary capacity. It is also the lead institution for decision-making, on the common foreign and security policy (CFSP), and on the coordination of economic policies (intergovernmental approach).

Each Member State in turn presides over the Council for six months.
More details about the Council...

ENP Action Plans

The central element of the European Neighbourhood Policy is the bilateral ENP Action Plans agreed between the EU and each partner. These set out an agenda of political and economic reforms with short and medium-term priorities. Implementation of the ENP Action Plans (agreed in 2005 with Israel, Jordan, Moldova, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Tunisia and Ukraine, in 2006 with Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, and in 2007 with Egypt and Lebanon) is underway. Implementation is jointly promoted and monitored through sub-Committees.

ENPI - the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument

The European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument – known as the ENPI – is the main financial mechanism through which assistance is given to the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) Partner Countries, as well as Russia. It is the cooperation instrument, managed by EuropeAid, through which decisions taken on a political level are turned into actions on the ground. Operational since January 2007, the ENPI has replaced the MEDA instrument that was supporting the Euro-Med Partnership as well as other financial mechanisms.

European Commission

It is a politically independent collegiate institution which embodies and defends the general interests of the European Union. The Commission’s virtually exclusive right of initiative in the field of legislation makes it the driving force of European integration.

The //Commission// also has powers of implementation, management and control. It is responsible for planning and implementing common policies, executing the budget and managing Community programmes. As “Guardian of the Treaties”, it also ensures that European law is applied.

The Commission is appointed for a five-year term by the Council acting by qualified majority in agreement with the Member States.
More details about the Commission...

European Parliament

The European Parliament is the parliamentary body of the European Union, directly elected by the 435 million EU citizens once every five years. Since 1979, the parliamentarians have been elected by direct universal suffrage and today total 732, distributed between Member States according to the size of their population.

The European Parliament cannot initiate legislation, but it can amend or veto it in many policy areas. In certain other policy areas, it has the right only to be consulted. Parliament also supervises the European Commission; it must approve all appointments to it, and can dismiss it with a vote of censure. It also has the right to control the EU budget.
More details about the Parliament...

European Council

It is the term used to describe the regular meetings of the Heads of State or government of the European Union Member States. Its purpose is to provide the Union with the necessary driving force for its development and to define its general political guidelines. It does not create legislation.

It meets at least twice a year and the president of the European Commission attends as a full member. It is chaired by the Members State holding the presidency of the Council of the European Union in a predetermined order.

European Court of Justice

Formally known as the 'Court of Justice of the European Communities', i.e. the court of the EU, the Court is composed of the same number of judges as there are Member States. At present, it has twenty-five judges assisted by eight advocates-general who are appointed for six years by agreement among the members States.

The ECJ has two principal functions:

. To check whether instruments of the European Institutions and of governments are compatible with the EU Treaties;

. To give rulings, at the request of a national court, on the interpretation or the validity of provision contained in Community law.

The Court is assisted by the Court of First Instance of the European Communities (CFI), which was set up in 1989.

EIDHR - The European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights

The EIDHR is a European Union programme that aims to promote and support human rights and democracy in third countries. Its general objectives are to provide aid to projects in non-member countries and in the EU with the following aims: promoting and defending human rights and fundamental freedoms;

supporting the democratisation process and strengthening the rule of law and good governance;
supporting measures to promote respect for human rights and democratisation by preventing conflict;
supporting the activities of international criminal tribunals and the setting-up of the International Criminal Court.

Source: European Communities

The Barcelona Process

The Barcelona Process refers to the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership established in November 1995 in Barcelona by the governments of 27 countries of the region (known as the Partners *). The partnership was established with the overall objective of turning the Euro-Mediterranean basin into an area of dialogue, exchange and co-operation guaranteeing peace, stability and prosperity.

* The 15 EU member states of the time: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Spain, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, United Kingdom, Sweden.
12 governments from the wider Mediterranean region: Algeria, Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Palestine

To read more,

The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EMP)

The Euro-Mediterranean Conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, held in Barcelona on 27-28 November 1995, marked the starting point of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, a wide framework of political, economic and social relations between the Member States of the European Union and Partners of the Southern Mediterranean.

European Neighbourhood Policy

The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) was developed in the context of the EU’s 2004 enlargement, with the objective of avoiding the emergence of new dividing lines between the enlarged EU and our neighbours and instead strengthening stability, security and well-being for all concerned. It includes strong commitments to promote human rights and democracy.
The aim is to have a ring of countries, sharing EU's democratic ideals and joining them in further integration without necessarily becoming full member states. These countries would then be able to benefit more from an internal market of 450 million people.
More details about the ENP...

MEDA Programmes

An abbreviation of the French mesures d’accompagnement, referring to the most important instrument at the disposal of the EU in its relations with its Mediterranean Partners.
The MEDA programme is the principal financial instrument of the European Union for the implementation of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership and is based on a commitment to human rights as an essential element. The programme offers technical and financial support measures to accompany the reform of economic and social structures in the Mediterranean partners and mitigate the social and environmental consequences of economic development. It is implemented by DG EuropAid.
To read more, "The MEDA Democracy Programme "

Regional Strategy Paper (RSP)

The Regional Strategy Paper (RSP) defines the objectives and priorities of the regional cooperation on the basis of the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) for the period 2007-2013. In this context, it aims to achieve the objectives of the European neighbourhood policy (ENP), which seeks to add a further dimension to the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (Barcelona Processus) to strengthen its impact beyond bilateral relations.

The RSP complements the country strategy papers (CSP) drawn up for Algeria, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria and Tunisia.

Regional Indicative Programme (RIP)

While the Regional Strategy Paper for the Mediterranean region defines the objectives and concrete action programmes for the cooperation between the European Union (EU) and the Mediterranean partner countries, the Regional Strategy Paper (RSP) and the Regional Indicative Programme (RIP) for the period 2007-2013 present the terms for implementation.

Union for the Mediterranean

The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, formerly known as the Barcelona Process, was re-launched in 2008 as the Union for the Mediterranean at the Paris Summit for the Mediterranean in July, with the new network of relations endorsed at the Marseille Meeting of the Euro-Mediterranean Ministers of Foreign Affairs in November. The Partnership now includes all 27 member states of the European Union, along with 16 partners across the Southern Mediterranean and the Middle East. Read more here.