Darbas:

own initiative and present them to the Commission, Council and Parliament.
How is the Committee's work organised?

Each year the Committee of the Regions holds five plenary sessions, during which its general policy is defined and opinions are adopted.

The members of the Committee are assigned to specialist ‘commissions’ whose job is to prepare the plenary sessions. There are six commissions:
Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy (COTER)
Commission for Economic and Social Policy (ECOS)
Commission for Sustainable1 Development (DEVE)
Commission for Culture and Education (EDUC)
Commission for Constitutional Affairs and European Governance (CONST)
Commission for External Relations (RELEX).
The European Investment Bank (EIB) was set up in 1958 by the Treaty2 of Rome. Its job is to lend money for projects of European interest (such as rail and road links, airports, or environmental schemes), particularly in the less well-off regions, candidate countries and the developing world. It also provides credit for investment by small businesses. Philippe Maystadt, from Belgium, became President of the EIB on 1 January 2000.
What does the Bank do?
The EIB is non-profit-making and gets no money from savings or current accounts. Nor does it use any funds from the EU budget. Instead, the EIB is financed through borrowing on the financial markets and by the Bank’s shareholders – the member states of the European Union. They subscribe jointly to its capital, each country’s contribution reflecting its economic weight within the Union.

This backing by the member states gives the EIB the highest possible credit rating (AAA) on the money markets, where it can therefore raise very large amounts of capital on very competitive terms. This in turn enables the Bank to invest in projects of public interest that would otherwise not get the money - or would have to borrow it more expensively3.

The projects the Bank invests in are carefully selected according to the following criteria:
they must help achieve EU objectives such as making European industries and small businesses more competitive; creating trans-European networks (transport, telecommunications and energy); boosting4 the information technology sector; protecting the natural and urban environments; improving health and education services;
they must chiefly benefit the most disadvantaged regions;
they must help attract other sources of funding.
The EIB also supports sustainable development in the Mediterranean countries, Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific, as well as projects in Latin America and Asia.
________________________________________________________________________________

Sustainable1 – (iš)laikyti, paremti
Treaty2 - sutartis; susitarimas
Expensively3 – brangus
Boost4 – augimas, didėjimas
Finally, the EIB is the majority shareholder1 in the European Investment Fund.
How is the Bank's work organised?
The EIB is an autonomous institution. It makes its own borrowing and lending decisions purely2 on the merits3 of each project and the opportunities offered by the financial markets. Each year, it presents a report on all its activities.

The Bank co-operates with the EU institutions. For example, its representatives may take part in committees of the European Parliament, and the President of the EIB may attend Council meetings.

The Bank’s decisions are taken by the following bodies.
The Board of Governors consists of ministers (normally the Finance Ministers) from all the member states. It defines the Bank’s general lending policy, approves the balance sheet and annual report, authorises the Bank to fund projects outside the EU and decides on capital increases.
The Board of Directors, approves lending and borrowing operations and it makes sure that the EIB is properly managed. It consists of 26 Directors – one nominated by each EU member state and one by the European Commission.
The Management Committee is the Bank’s full-time executive. It handles the EIB’s day-to-day business and it has nine members.
The European Investment Fund (EIF) was set up in 1994 to help small businesses. Its majority shareholder is the European Investment Bank, with which it forms the ‘EIB Group’.
What does the Fund do?
The EIF provides venture capital for small firms (SMEs), particularly new firms and technology-oriented businesses. It also provides guarantees to financial institutions (such as banks) to cover their loans to SMEs.
The EIF is not a lending institution: it does not grant loans4 or subsidies to businesses, nor does it invest directly in any firms. Instead, it works through banks and other financial intermediaries5. It uses either its own funds or those entrusted to it by the EIB or the European Union.
The Fund is active in the member states of the European Union and in Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and three EFTA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway).

The European Central Bank (ECB) was set up in 1998, under the Treaty on European Union, and it is based in Frankfurt (Germany). Its job is to manage the euro – the EU’s single currency. The ECB is also responsible for framing and implementing the EU’s economic and monetary policy.

To carry out its role, the ECB works with the ‘European System of Central Banks’ (ESCB), which covers all 25 EU countries. However, only 12 of these countries have so far adopted the euro. The 12 collectively make up the ‘euro area’ and their central banks, together with the European Central Bank, make up what is called the ‘Eurosystem’.

The ECB works in complete independence. Neither the ECB, the national central banks of the Eurosystem, nor any member of their decision-making bodies can ask for or accept instructions from any other body. The EU institutions and member state governments must respect this principle and must not seek to influence6 the ECB or the national central banks.

________________________________________________________________________________
Shareholder1 – akcininkas, akcijų turėtojas; pajininkas
Purely2 – visiškai, grynai; tiktai, išimtinai
Merit3 - vertingumas, gerumas; privalumas, nuopelnas
Loan4 - (pa)skolinimas; skolintas daiktas, paskola
Intermediary5 - tarpininkas
Influence6 – įtaka, poveikis

The ECB, working closely with the national central banks, prepares and implements the decisions taken by the Eurosystem’s decision-making bodies - the Governing Council, the Executive Board and the General Council.

Jean-Claude Trichet, from France, became President of the ECB in November 2003.
What does the Bank do?
One of the ECB’s main tasks is to maintain1 price stability in the euro area, so that the euro’s purchasing power is not eroded2 by inflation. The ECB aims to ensure that the year-on-year increase in consumer prices is less than 2%.

It does this in two ways:
First, by controlling the money supply. If the money supply is excessive compared to the supply of goods and services, inflation will result.
Second, by monitoring price trends and assessing the risk they pose to price stability in the euro area.
Controlling the money supply involves, amongst other things, setting interest rates throughout the euro area. This is perhaps the Bank’s best-known activity.
How is the Bank's work organised?

The European Central Bank’s work is organised via the following decision-making bodies.


The Executive Board
This comprises the President of the ECB, the Vice-President and four other members, all appointed by common agreement of the presidents or prime ministers of the euro area countries. The Executive Board members are appointed for a non-renewable term of eight years.

The Executive Board is responsible for implementing monetary policy, as defined by the Governing Council, and for giving instructions to the national central banks. It also prepares the Governing Council meetings and is responsible for the day-to-day management of the ECB.


The Governing Council
The Governing Council is the European Central Bank's highest decision-making body. It comprises the six members of the Executive Board and the governors of the 12 central banks of the euro zone. It is chaired by the President of the ECB. Its primary mission is to define the monetary policy of the euro zone, and, in particular, to fix the interest rates3 at which the commercial banks can obtain4 money from the Central Bank.


The General Council
The General Council is the ECB’s third decision-making body. It comprises the ECB’s President and the Vice-President and the governors of the national central banks of all 25 EU member states. The General Council contributes to the ECB's advisory and coordination work and helps prepare for the future enlargement5 of the euro zone.
________________________________________________________________________________
Maintain1 - palaikyti; (pa)remti
Erode2 – ėsti, graužti
Rate3 – tempas, greitis; dažnis, dažnumas
Obtain4 - (iš)gauti, į(si)gyti; pasiekti
Enlargement5 - didinimas; didėjimas; iš(si)plėtimas

The position of European Ombudsman1 was created by the Treaty on European Union (Maastricht, 1992). The Ombudsman acts as an intermediary between the citizen and the EU authorities. He is entitled to receive and investigate complaints from EU citizens, businesses and organsations, and from anyone residing or having their registered office in an EU country.
The Ombudsman is elected by the European Parliament for a renewable term of five years, which corresponds to Parliament's legislative term. Nikiforos Diamandouros, the former national ombudsman of Greece, took up the post of European Ombudsman in April 2003 and was re-elected in January 2005 for a five-year term.
What does the Ombudsman do?

He helps to uncover2 ‘maladministration’ in the European Union institutions and bodies. ‘Maladministration’ means poor or failed administration – in other words, when an institution fails to act in accordance with the law, or fails to respect the principles of good administration, or violates human rights. Some examples are:
unfairness,
discrimination,
abuse of power,
lack or refusal3 of information,
unnecessary delay,
incorrect procedures.
The Ombudsman carries out investigations following a complaint or on his own initiative. He operates completely independently and impartially. He does not request or accept instructions from any government or organisation.
How do I complain to the Ombudsman?

If you want to complain about maladministration by an EU institution or body, the first thing to do is contact that institution or body through the usual administrative channels and try to get them to put the situation right.

If that approach fails, you can complain to the European Ombudsman.

You must make your complaint to the Ombudsman within two years of the date on which you became