Darbas:

Council is the main forum in which this ‘inter-governmental co-operation’ takes place.

To enable it to respond more effectively to international crises, the European Union has created a ‘Rapid Reaction Force’. This is not a European army: the personnel remain members of their national armed forces and under national command, and their role is limited to carrying out humanitarian, rescue, peacekeeping and other crisis management tasks. In 2003, for example, the EU conducted a military operation (code name Artemis) in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and in 2004 it began a peacekeeping operation (code name Althea) in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Council is assisted in such operations by:
• the Political and Security Committee (PSC);
• the European Union Military Committee (EUMC);
• and the European Union Military Staff (EUMS), composed of military experts seconded to the Council Secretariat by the member states.
6. Freedom, security and justice
EU citizens are free to live and work in whichever EU country they choose, so they should have equal access to civil justice everywhere in the European Union. National courts therefore need to work together to ensure, for example, that a court judgement delivered in one EU country in a divorce or child custody5 case is recognised in all other EU countries.
Freedom of movement within the EU is of great benefit to law-abiding citizens, but it is also exploited by international criminals and terrorists. To tackle cross-border crime requires cross-border co-operation between the national courts, police forces, customs officers and immigration services of all EU countries.
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Conclude1 – padaryti išvadą, nuspręsti
Taxation2 – apmkestinimas, mokesčio dydis
Consular3- konsulo, konsulinis
Gain4 – įgyjimas, laimėjimas, pasiekimas, išlošimas
Custody5 - globa


They have to ensure, for example:
• that the EU’s external borders are effectively policed;
• that customs officers and police exchange information on the movements of suspected drugs traffickers or people smugglers1;
• that asylum seekers are assessed and treated in the same way throughout the EU, so as to prevent ‘asylum shopping’.
Issues such as these are dealt with by the Justice and Home Affairs Council – i.e. the Ministers for Justice and of the Interior. The aim is to create a single ‘area of freedom, security and justice’ within the EU’s borders.
How is the Council's work organised?
COREPER
In Brussels, each EU member state has a permanent2 team (‘representation’) that represents it and defends its national interest at EU level. The head of each representation is, in effect, his or her country’s ambassador to the EU.
These ambassadors (known as ‘permanent representatives’) meet weekly within the Permanent Representatives Committee (COREPER). The role of this committee is to prepare the work of the Council, with the exception of most agricultural issues, which are handled by the Special Committee on Agriculture. COREPER is assisted by a number of working groups, made up of officials from the national administrations.
The Council Presidency3
The Presidency of the Council rotates every six months. In other words, each EU country in turn takes charge of the Council agenda and chairs all the meetings for a six-month period, promoting legislative and political decisions and brokering compromises between the member states.If, for example, the Environment Council is scheduled to meet during the second half of 2006 it will be chaired by the Finnish Minister for the Environment, since Finland holds the Council Presidency at that time.

The General Secretariat
The Presidency is assisted by the General Secretariat, which prepares and ensures the smooth4 functioning of the Council's work at all levels.

In 2004, Mr Javier Solana was re-appointed Secretary-General of the Council. He is also High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), and in this capacity he helps coordinate the EU’s action on the world stage. Under the new constitutional treaty5, the High Representative would be replaced by an EU Foreign Affairs Minister.
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Smuggler1 –kontrabandininkas, kontrabandos laivas
Permanant2 – nuolatinis, pastovus, permanentinis,įprastas
Presidency3 – prezidentystė, prezidentavimas
Smooth4 – lygus, plynas, glotnus
Treaty5 – sutartis, susitarimas

The Secretary-General is assisted by a Deputy Secretary-General in charge of managing the General Secretariat.
How many votes per country?
Decisions in the Council are taken by vote. The bigger the country’s population, the more votes it has, but the numbers are weighted in favour of the less populous1 countries:

Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom 29
Spain and Poland 27
Netherlands 13
Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary and Portugal 12
Austria and Sweden 10
Denmark, Ireland, Lithuania, Slovakia and Finland 7
Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Luxembourg and Slovenia 4
Malta 3
TOTAL 321


"Qualified majority voting"
In some particularly2 sensitive areas such as Common Foreign and Security Policy, taxation, asylum3 and immigration policy, Council decisions have to be unanimous. In other words, each member state has the power of veto in these areas.

On most issues, however, the Council takes decisions by ‘qualified majority voting’ (QMV).

A qualified majority is reached
• if a majority of member states (in some cases a two-thirds majority) approve AND
• if a minimum of 232 votes is cast4 in favour – which is 72.3% of the total.
In addition, a member state may ask for confirmation that the votes in favour represent at least 62% of the total population of the Union. If this is found not to be the case, the decision will not be adopted.

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Populous1 – gausus gyventojų, tankiai gyvenamas
Particularly2 –ypač,ypatingai, labai
Asylum3 – prieglobstis, prieglauda, slėptuvė
Cast4 – rizika, mesti, išmesti
The Commission is independent of national governments. Its job is to represent and uphold the interests of the EU as a whole. It drafts1 proposals for new European laws, which it presents to the European Parliament and the Council.

It is also the EU’s executive arm – in other words, it is responsible for implementing2 the decisions of Parliament and the Council. That means managing the day-to-day business of the European Union: implementing its policies, running its programmes and spending its funds.
Like the Parliament and Council, the European Commission was set up in the 1950s under the EU’s founding treaties.
What is the Commission?
The term ‘Commission’ is used in two senses. First, it refers to the team of men and women – one from each EU country – appointed to run the institution and take its decisions. Secondly, the term ‘Commission’ refers to the institution itself and to its staff.

Informally, the appointed Members of the Commission are known as ‘commissioners’. They have all held political positions in their countries of origin and many have been government ministers, but as Members of the Commission they are committed to acting in the interests of the Union as a whole and not taking instructions from national governments.

A new Commission is appointed every five years, within six months of the elections3 to the European Parliament. The procedure is as follows:
• The member state governments agree together on who to designate4 as the new Commission President.
• The Commission President-designate is then approved by Parliament.
• The Commission President-designate, in discussion with the member state governments, chooses the other Members of the Commission.
• The new Parliament then interviews each Member and gives its opinion on the whole team. Once it is approved, the new Commission can officially start work.

The present Commission’s term of office runs until 31 October 2009. Its President is José Manuel Barroso, from Portugal.

The Commission remains5 politically accountable6 to Parliament, which has the power to dismiss the whole Commission by adopting a motion of censure. Individual members of the Commission must resign7 if asked to do so by the President, provided the other commissioners approve.
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Draft1 – metmenys, apmatai, planas
Implement2 – įrankis, priemonė, reikmenys
Election3 – rinkimai, išrinkimas
Designate4 – paskirtas, bet dar nepradėjęs eiti pareigų
Remain5 – pasilikti, išlikti
Accountable6 – atsakingas, atskaitingas
Resign7 – atsisakyti, atsistatydinti, atsižadėti

The Commission attends all the sessions of Parliament, where it must clarify and justify its policies. It also replies regularly to written and oral questions posed by MEPs.
The day-to-day running of the Commission is done by its administrative officials, experts, translators, interpreters and secretarial staff. There are approximately 25 000 of these European civil servants. That may sound a lot, but in fact it is fewer than the number of staff employed by a typical medium-sized city council in Europe.
Where is the Commission based?
The ‘seat’ of the Commission is in Brussels (Belgium), but it also has offices in Luxembourg, representations in all EU countries and delegations in many capital cities around the world.
What does the Commission do?
The European Commission has four main roles:
1. to propose legislation to Parliament and the Council;
2. to manage and implement EU policies and the budget;
3. to enforce1 European law (jointly with the Court of Justice);
4. to represent the European Union on the international stage, for example by negotiating agreements between the EU and other countries.
1. Proposing new legislation
The Commission has the ‘right of initiative2’. In other words, the Commission alone is responsible for drawing up proposals for new European legislation, which it presents to Parliament and the Council. These proposals must aim to defend the interests of the Union and its citizens, not those of specific countries or industries.
Before making any proposals, the Commission must be aware3 of new situations and problems developing in Europe and it must consider whether EU legislation is the best way to deal with them. That is why the Commission is in constant touch with a wide range of interest groups and with two advisory4 bodies – the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. It also seeks5 the opinions of national parliaments and governments.
The Commission will propose action at EU level only if it considers that a