EU Institutions, Policies, Labor, and Sustainability
EU Institutions
The institutions of the European Union are as follows:
- Council of Europe: The EU’s highest political body, composed of Heads of State, members, and the Chairman of the Committee. Its function is to determine the goals and priorities of the EU.
- Council of the EU: Represents member states, integrated by one minister from each country, with a rotating presidency every six months. Its functions include adopting laws and the budget, and developing EU foreign policy.
- European Commission: Represents the interests of the EU. Composed of one commissioner and one president from each member state. Its functions are to propose laws, manage the budget, and oversee European programs.
- European Parliament: Represents EU citizens. Formed by 785 Members of Parliament (MPs), elected by universal suffrage. Its function is to adopt laws and the budget.
- Court of Justice: Formed by one judge from each member state. It ensures that EU legislation is interpreted and applied equally in all states, and resolves disputes concerning EU law.
- Court of Auditors: Integrated by one representative from each member state. It oversees the proper management of the EU budget.
Environmental Policy
Environmental policy starts from the protection of natural spaces:
- Natural Areas Under Threat: Protection is organized through Natura 2000. Each member state proposes a list of places, which, after being approved by the European Commission, allows for their declaration as Zones of Special Conservation.
- Prevention of Environmental Problems: The obligation to include the environmental dimension in all European policies is fulfilled through environmental impact studies.
- Community Environmental Standards: Required for all member states. In case of non-compliance, they can be sanctioned by the European Court of Justice and forced to pay a penalty.
- European Funds for the Environment: Funds destined to guide the prevention and recovery of slowly degraded areas.
Working Conditions
- Labor Legislation: Regulates the rights and duties of workers. It sets minimum conditions that companies must respect.
- Collective Agreements: Regulate the working conditions of a set of workers in a company. They are the result of negotiations between representatives of the employer and the workers. All workers have the right to choose their representatives.
- Labor Contracts: Govern the specific working status of each person in a company.
Two key features characterize today’s labor market:
- The desire to become more competitive is leading to the replacement of temporary contracts with fixed-term, part-time contracts.
- New technologies require the possession of technological and information management skills, accessible from any place.
Solutions to Environmental Problems
Sustainable development is based on the rational exploitation of resources to satisfy present needs and protect the needs of future generations. Protective measures include the creation of protected natural areas, most notably the Biosphere Reserves.
States also create environmental laws, which are very varied, and prohibit harmful emissions, control overexploitation of water, build treatment plants, and repopulate deforested areas.
Several international conferences have been held:
- The Stockholm Conference (Sweden, 1972): The first conference, which created the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
- The Earth Summit (Brazil, 1992): Collected recommendations for preserving the environment in one document.
- The Kyoto Summit (Japan, 1997): Established a protocol to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 5.2% by 2012.
Other important agreements include:
- Montreal Protocol: Against the thinning of the ozone layer, prohibiting products containing CFCs.
- Geneva Convention: Against acid rain.
- Ramsar Convention: For the protection of wetlands.
- UN Convention to Combat Desertification: Against extreme soil erosion.