The European Union is a tricky web of institutions and consulting bodies that would be difficult for the unfamiliar student to navigate. Therefore, before we begin our formal class on “The Politics of the European Integration,” Maastricht University took us on a ten day study tour around Western Europe to see the European government first hand.

And it’s complicated. For someone who has been diligently paying attention to governmental structure from an American point of view, our first few discussions of the European Union were disorienting. But, I can honestly say that if I needed to write a ten page paper on supernational political governance structure and functioning representation, I would be able to use the European Union as an example.

The EU is different from most international political organizations in that it effectively regulates and enforces its treaties. The United Nations, for example, lacks any power other than political pressure through sanctions to enforce the rules its member states sign on to. For example, the UN considers access to education to be a fundamental human right, but I have several friends who did not attend college because it was too expensive. Clearly turning education into a privilege goes against the United Nations’ declaration of education as a right, but America still sits on the security council. That would not happen in the European Union.

There are seven main institutions that make up the EU, but our class visited organizations that didn’t belong to the EU as well. We started in Luxembourg, made our way to Strasbourg, Paris, Bruges, and finally to Brussels. Our trip made geographic sense, but the schedule of visits was not the most conducive to understanding the EU, so I will describe our visits out of order to make some sense of the organization.

The EU has what is known as a cooperative process of passing legislation. Much like our bicameral legislative branch, this means that it takes more than one body to agree to pass legislation. In fact, the EU uses three institutions officially to make a new law.

Lets look at it schoolhouse rock style: how a bill becomes a law. Only one institution has the right of initiation, meaning that they can draft a new bill. Though the European Commission is mainly the executive branch in terms of enforcing and implementing legislation, they are the only institution allowed to present a new piece of legislation. 

After careful consideration and consultation (we’ll talk more about that later), the Commission sends the new bill to the European Parliament.  The Parliament is the only institution whose members are directly elected rather than appointed by member states. They amend the bill and send it over to the European Council, which is made of ministers from the member states.

They have to come to agreement down to the exact wording of the contents of the bill. Their differing membership creates a check and balance between national interests of member states and overall European interests. If they both agree, the bill is passed into European law.

They are mandated to consult two committees, the European Economic and Social committee, made of employers, employees, and experts, as well as the Committee of Regions. The Committee of Regions represents what we would understand as State and Local governments in the member states. These differing points of view ensure that the passed legislation is informed by a diverse representation of the whole European citizenry.

Whew. And that was only five of our eleven visits! We visited the European Court of Justice, who fines countries for breaking European law as well. My personal favorite visit was the Court of Auditors, who triple check all expenditures and actions to inform the EU how to adapt its practices. We also visited the European Ombudsman who fields complaints about maladministration.

Outside of the European Union, we saw the Council of Europe and its main institution, the European Court of Human Rights. We actually got to see  a trial between five governments and a Bosnian citizen who claimed that the state run banks refused to return a deposit he’d made right before Yugoslavia fell. We didn’t get to see a decision happen yet though; it was said that a ruling could take up to three months!

The most unusual visit was to the Organization on Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris. The organization is a politically neutral economic powerhouse who has statistics and models for just about any potential policy to ever be created. Their opinion is highly valued by most international organizations.

Outside of the “study” part of the study tour, our group had a great time traveling around. It was fascinating to attempt a European lifestyle from an American point of view. For example, an average sit down dinner rarely took fewer than two hours. Our first experience with this was stressful, because we are used to quick service and little down time. However, by the end of the trip we learned how to relax, sip our wine, and really enjoy each others’ company long after we’d finished eating.

I really enjoyed my experience because  I’d only been to Paris out of all the visits. Traveling to new places is always top on my list of favorite places, and Western Europe did not disappoint. Speaking of new places, I’m currently on a train by myself to Copenhagen! I’m hoping to explore the city and meet new people for the weekend, and maybe I’ll even take a day trip to Southern Sweden. I’m already excited for the next big adventure.