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Viewing cable 09BRUSSELS108, INTRODUCING THE EU IV: THE JUDICIAL, FINANCIAL, SUPERVISORY
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| Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09BRUSSELS108 | 2009-01-27 15:39 | 2011-08-24 01:00 | UNCLASSIFIED | USEU Brussels |
VZCZCXRO6238
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBS #0108/01 0271539
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 271539Z JAN 09 ZDK
FM USEU BRUSSELS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 BRUSSELS 000108
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV EINV EUN PTER KTFN KJUS PTER UNSC IR
SUBJECT: INTRODUCING THE EU IV: THE JUDICIAL, FINANCIAL, SUPERVISORY
AND ADVISORY BODIES
REFS:(A) 2008 BRUSSELS 1790; (B) 2008 BRUSSELS 1825;
(C))2008 BRUSSELS 1880; (D) 2007 BRUSSELS 3488; (E) 2008
BRUSSELS 303; (F) 2008 BRUSSELS 397; (G) 2008 BRUSSELS 812
SUMMARY AND INTRODUCTION
------------------------
¶1. In addition to its core policy and law-making institutions (the
Commission, Council and European Council, and European Parliament -
see REFs B and C), the EU institutional system also includes several
other bodies with judicial, monetary, financial, supervisory or
advisory functions. Among these institutions, which ensure a smooth
functioning of the EU apparatus, are:
-- The Court of Justice of the European Communities, the supreme
judicial institution of the EU. The Court, usually referred to as
the European Court of Justice (ECJ), is assisted by its junior
tribunal, the Court of First Instance (CFI), and a Civil Service
Tribunal. Its basic role is to ensure that EU law is interpreted
and applied uniformly throughout the EU and in conformity with the
treaties;
-- The European Central Bank (ECB), the monetary authority of the
euro area covering the EU countries that have adopted the single
currency;
-- The European Investment Bank (EIB), a major source of financing
for economic development in EU and non-EU countries;
-- The European Court of Auditors, the watchdog of EU finances;
-- The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), an advisory
body and forum for civil society (labor, employers, and various
interests), and the Committee of the Regions (CoR) advising on EU
policies pertaining to regional interests.
¶2. This message - the fourth in a series updating our previous EU
101 cables - is meant to help officers in positions requiring a good
knowledge and understanding of the EU machinery. Other cables in
this series discuss the history of the European Union (REF. A); the
chief political institutions (Commission, Council and Parliament -
REF. B), the Presidency and the European Council (REF. C); the EU
pillar structure and decision-making procedures; the enlargement
process; and EU-U.S. cooperation under the Transatlantic dialogue.
End Summary and Introduction.
THE COURT OF JUSTICE AND ITS JUNIOR TRIBUNALS
---------------------------------------------
¶3. Based in Luxembourg, the Court of Justice of the European
Communities, usually called the European Court of Justice (ECJ), is
the supreme judicial authority of the EU apparatus. It should not
be confused with the International Court of Justice in The Hague or
the European Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg, both of which are
not directly part of the EU institutional system. (Note: If the
Treaty of Lisbon is implemented, the EU as such [which would acquire
a legal personality] will be able to accede to the European
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights. This would help
solve potential problems of conflicting case law between EU and
Council of Europe institutions.)
¶4. The ECJ's basic role is to ensure that EU legislation (the
primary law of the Treaties and secondary legislation set forth by
the institutions) is interpreted and applied uniformly throughout
the EU. The various types of proceedings include ruling on actions
for failure to fulfill obligations, actions for annulment and
failure to act, references for a preliminary ruling, appeals and
reviews. EC case law establishes that the Community must respect
international law in the exercise of its powers. However, recent
court rulings against the EU on enforcement of UN anti-terrorism
sanctions have raised questions about the Court's views on how the
EU gives effect to Security Council Resolutions under Chapter VII of
the Charter of the United Nations.
¶5. The Court mostly rules in disputes between Community
institutions (e.g., Council and Commission), the institutions and
individual Member States, and between Member States. The Court is
assisted by and acts as a court of appeals on points of law from its
junior tribunal, the Court of First Instance (CFI), which was
established in 1989 to relieve the Court of its increasing workload.
(Note: The Court does not have the right to decline to hear a
case. End note.) The CFI usually hears actions brought by Member
States against the Commission and against certain Council acts as
well as actions referred by natural or legal persons against
decisions of the EU bodies. The CFI may annul a Community act or
award compensation for damage. There is also a Civil Service
Tribunal that has first instance jurisdiction on disputes between
the EU bodies and their employees (pay, career progress,
disciplinary measures, social security, etc.). Together, the three
courts form the judicial institution of the Community.
¶6. Other EU bodies and the Member States may seek rulings from the
BRUSSELS 00000108 002 OF 007
Court and sue each other in the ECJ for alleged failures under the
treaties and secondary legislation. This most commonly occurs whenthe Commission, acting as "Guardian of the Treties," files a case
against a Member State for failure to correctly implement a piece of
Community law (after warning the Member State concerned). Any
natural or legal person may file a challenge appealing a Decision by
a Community body or any piece of legislation that is of "direct and
specific concern" within a certain time frame. The Decision or the
piece of legislation may be annulled,e.g. where there is a lack of
competence, an invalid legal basis, a breach of procedural
requirements, or a misuse of power.
¶7. Through its case law, the ECJ has identified an obligation on
administrations and national courts to apply Community law in full
within their sphere of competence and to protect the rights
conferred on citizens by that law (direct application of Community
law). In cases of conflict, the Community law takes precedence over
national laws and the national authorities have an obligation to
repeal the conflicting national provision. The ECJ has played a key
role in the structure of the single market and has contributed to
creating a legal environment for EU citizens by protecting the
rights conferred upon them under the Community legislation. Some
judgments by the Court have major repercussions for the daily life
of EU citizens; e.g., in the fields of free movement of persons,
freedom to provide services, and social rights.
¶8. Parties fined by the Commission in competition (antitrust) cases
(e.g., companies participating in a cartel) or antidumping
procedures may appeal those decisions to the Court. Any alleged
breach of Community law by a Member State may be brought before the
Court, and where a judgment finding such infringement is not
complied with, the Court has the power to order the payment by the
country concerned of a lump sum of a periodic penalty. (There have
been only a few occasions of non-compliance and such fines.)
¶9. Member State courts may, and sometimes must, make a "preliminary
reference" to the ECJ and ask it to clarify an interpretation of the
treaties or other Community law to ascertain whether their national
legislation complies with that law. A reference for a preliminary
ruling may also challenge the validity of any act of Community law.
The ECJ then rules on the law; i.e., declares what the relevant
Community law is. The national court to which the ruling is
addressed must comply with the interpretation by the ECJ in deciding
the dispute before it. The judgment likewise binds national courts
in all Member States facing the same problem. Requests for
preliminary rulings have served to establish major principles of
Community law. A famous 1979 ECJ decision, Cassis de Dijon, set the
principle of "mutual recognition," based on the ruling that "there
is no valid reason why, provided that they have been lawfully
produced and marketed in one of the Member States, alcoholic
beverages should not be introduced into any other Member State."
¶10. The ECJ is currently (beginning of 2000) composed of 27 Judges,
one from each Member State, and eight Advocates General, all
appointed for renewable six-year terms by agreement of the EU
governments. The Judges and Advocates General are selected from
"persons whose independence is beyond doubt" and "who possess the
qualifications required for appointment to the highest judicial
offices in their respective countries or who are judicial experts of
recognized competence." The Judges select their President from
amongst their ranks for a renewable three-year term. The President
directs the Court's work and presides at hearings and deliberations.
The current ECJ President is the Greek Vassilios Skouris. The
Advocates General assist the Court in impartially reviewing the case
material and presenting an "opinion" that the Court is not bound to
follow but that may be used as the basis for its later ruling.
The Court may sit as a full Court (27 judges) in exceptional matters
specified by the underlying Treaty, in a Grand Chamber (13 judges)
when an EU institution or Member State is a party or the case is of
special significance or complexity, or, most frequently, in smaller
Chambers (3 to 5 judges).
¶11. The CFI is also composed of 27 Judges (one per Member State)
appointed for renewable six-year terms; however, there are no
permanent Advocates General in the CFI, where the duties of Advocate
General are occasionally performed by one of the Judges. With the
Nice Treaty (in force since 2003), the CFI became the common law
judge for all direct actions (proceedings against EU decisions,
action for failure to act, action for compensation), with the
exception of those attributed to a specialized chamber and those
reserved by the statute to the ECJ. The Nice Treaty introduced
greater flexibility in the allocation of responsibilities between
the ECJ and the CFI by allowing future adjustments to be made
through the Court's statute and decisions by the Council. As a
matter of principle, the ECJ retains competence for failure to
fulfill obligations and for questions referred to the EU judicial
system for a preliminary ruling.
¶12. Despite clear differences between the EU and U.S. judicial
systems, some observers may be tempted to analogize the ECJ to the
Supreme Court and the CFI to our Courts of Appeal. The ECJ was
originally designed on the French model, in which a case proceeds in
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a closed format on written papers and where only oral arguments and
judgments are public.
THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK
-------------------------
¶13. The Frankfurt-based European Central Bank (ECB) was established
on July 1, 1998, with the Dutchman Wim Duisenberg as its first
President. The ECB took over from the European Monetary Institute
as the final institution needed for completion of the European and
Monetary Union (EMU), and presided over the launch of the Euro on
January 1, 1999. The ECB, which was designed on the model of the
German Bundesbank, has the exclusive right to set interest rates and
to issue euro banknotes for the euro area (the sixteen EU countries,
with 325 million people -- so far -- that have adopted the euro; see
REF. A). The primary objective of the ECB's monetary policy is to
maintain price stability. The ECB aims at inflation rates of below,
but close to, 2.0 percent over the medium term. Its operational
independence is enshrined in the Treaty and is second to none,
making it one of the most powerful EU institutions. The ECB just
celebrated the 10th anniversary of its creation and the launch of
the Euro, pointing to its success in maintaining average Eurozone
inflation of just over 2.0 percent for 10 years, despite numerous
global economic shocks and crises.
¶14. The current ECB President is the Frenchman Jean-Claude Trichet.
The President is assisted by a Vice-President (the Greek Lucas
Papademos) and four other members of the Executive Board nominated
by the EU leaders. By a "tacit understanding" of governments, four
of these six seats are currently reserved for the biggest central
banks/countries of the Euro zone (France, Germany, Italy and Spain).
The ECB Presidency is conferred for eight years but the EU leaders
agreed to stagger the terms of the Executive Board members.
Duisenberg's appointment in 1998, however, was based on a backroom
arrangement among leaders, under which the Dutchman would not serve
his full term and retire shortly after the introduction of the euro
notes and coins (beginning of 2002) to leave room for a Frenchman
who would serve a full eight-year term. Duisenberg refused for some
time to recognize the validity of the "political agreement" but
eventually resigned in July, 2003, making room for Trichet, a former
Treasury Director and head of the French Central Bank. Just like
for all words uttered by the chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve
Bank, all pronouncements by the ECB President, including his press
conferences and regular testimonies before the European Parliament,
are carefully monitored by market operators worldwide, especially
for hints of changes in interest rates.
¶15. The ECB together with the national central banks (NCBs) of all
EU Member States -- whether they have adopted the euro or not --
constitute the European System of Central Banks (ESCB). The
"Eurosystem" is the more restrictive term used to refer to the ECB
and the NCBs of the Member States that have adopted the euro as a
single currency. The "Eurosystem" and the ESCB will co-exist as
long as there are EU Member States outside the euro area. The basic
tasks to be carried out by the "Eurosystem" are to define and
implement the monetary policy of the euro area, to conduct
day-to-day operations in the international currency markets, to hold
and manage the official foreign exchange reserves of Member States,
and to promote the "smooth operation" of payment systems in the euro
area. The national banks of the Member States that do not
participate in the euro therefore do not take part in
decision-making concerning the single monetary policy of the euro
area.
¶16. The decision-making bodies of the ESCB are:
-- The six-member Executive Board, essentially the directorate of
the ECB. The Board prepares the meetings of the Governing Council,
implements monetary policy in accordance with the guidelines laid
down by the Governing Council and, in doing so, instructs the NCBs.
-- The Governing Council, made up of the Executive Board of the ECB
plus the governors of the central banks of the countries that have
adopted the euro. The Governing Council formulates the monetary
policy of the euro area, including the setting of key interest rates
and the money supply of reserves in the "Eurosystem," with the
primary objective of maintaining price stability in the area.
-- The General Council, made up of the Governing Council members
plus the Central Bank Governors of the non-euro area countries of
the EU, which performs functions concerning all participants in EMU,
such as the collection of statistical information, the establishment
of rules for standardizing the accounting and reporting of
operations undertaken by the NCBs, the preparation of the ECB's
annual reports, etc.
¶17. Without undermining the primary objective of supporting price
stability, the ESCB must support the "general economic policies" of
the EU and its Member States, as defined in the Treaty. Tensions
occasionally surface in this respect between the ECB and some EU
governments, in particular with members of the "EUROGROUP" panel of
Finance Ministers of the euro area. The Treaty provides that all EU
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Member States (not just participants in the euro area) must regard
their economic policies as "a matter of common interest." Several
coordination instruments have been put in place, including:
-- The Broad Economic Policy Guidelines (BEPG), designed as a
reference tool for the EU and its individual governments in the
conduct of economic policy.
-- The Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) Stability and Growth Pact
(SGP) adopted by EU leaders in 1997, which details standards and
timetables for ensuring a sound management of budgetary policies.
As reformed in March 2005, the Pact still requires Member States to
keep their public deficits under 3.0 percent of GDP and their public
debts under 60 percent of GDP. However, the Pact's rules have been
made more flexible across a range of areas such as conditions for
avoiding an "excessive deficit procedure."
-- The "excessive deficits procedure," involving provisions for the
prevention and correction of budget imbalances with possible
reprimands and sanctions imposed on Member States.
¶18. The above framework created challenges of coordination among
the EU countries and between the governments and the ECB. Each euro
member country had to bring its own fiscal policy in line with these
standards. The governments also had to accept a common monetary
policy, independently conducted by the ECB. They agreed to
macroeconomic surveillance by holding exploratory discussions on
national budget plans and major economic policy initiatives liable
to have a significant impact on the policy mix of the euro area or
the economy of other member countries. The ECB leadership and the
EU Finance ministers hold regular contacts but the issue of policy
coordination remains a matter of debate in the current global
financial and economic turmoil. Under Trichet's leadership,
however, the ECB remains faithful to its Treaty goals and anxious to
demonstrate its independence and expertise to the markets.
¶19. The ECB has been criticized for overly cautious moves on
interest rates in response to the global financial crisis. It has,
however, acted during the crisis to promote new coordination
mechanisms and proposals. In April, 2008, the ECB helped reach
agreement on a new EU-wide memorandum of understanding on
cooperation between supervisory authorities, central banks and
finance ministries in crisis situations. The ECB coordinated
interest rate cuts later in 2008 with the U.S. Federal Reserve and
other major central banks. In January, 2009, ECB Vice President
Papademos proposed that the ECB, together with national central
banks in the Eurozone, become the supervisory authority for major
cross-border banking groups. The European Commission, however,
retains sole rights to propose EU financial regulation, and has yet
to comment on the Papademos proposal.
EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK/EUROPEAN INVESTMENT FUND
--------------------------------------------- ----
¶20. The Luxembourg-based European Investment Bank (EIB) is the EU's
financing institution. The EIB should not be confused with the
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), of which
the U.S. is a member and which is not an EU institution. The EIB's
task is to further the EU's objectives by making long-term financing
available for specific capital projects. The EIB raises substantial
funds on the capital markets which it lends on favorable terms to
projects furthering EU policy objectives. The Bank continuously
adapts its activity to developments in EU policies (e.g., the EU's
response to the current economic slowdown). The EIB enjoys its own
legal personality and financial autonomy within the EU. It operates
in keeping with strict banking practices and in close cooperation
with the wider banking community, both when borrowing on the capital
markets and when financing projects. The EIB's shareholders are the
EU Member States, and its Board of Governors is composed of the EU
Finance Ministers. The current EIB President is the former Belgian
Finance Minister Philippe Maystadt.
¶21. The bank contributes to a closer-knit Europe, particularly in
terms of economic integration and greater economic and social
cohesion; e.g., by fostering the development of less-advanced
regions or improving transport and telecommunications
infrastructures. The bulk of lending goes to intra-EU projects.
The EIB offers various financing facilities, depending on
eligibility and product category, such as loans for small and
medium-sized enterprises, venture capital, direct loans, etc.
Outside the EU, the EIB is used to implement the financial protocols
of agreements concluded by the EU with third countries, including EU
candidates, countries of the Western Balkans, Ukraine, EUROMED
partners, African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, as well as Asian
and Latin American countries.
¶22. The European Investment Fund (EIF) is the EU's specialized
financial institution for small or medium-sized enterprises, SMEs).
The EIF makes venture capital investments with a view to supporting
the emergence of a performing and homogenous European venture
capital market and facilitating SME access to debt finance. EIF's
shareholders are the EIB, the EU represented by the Commission, and
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a number of European banks and financial institutions from the
public and private sector. The EIF carries out its venture capital
and guarantee activities using either its own funds or funds
entrusted by mandates. The EIF acts independently and, uniquely for
a body of the EU system, acts commercially under market conditions,
with a statutory obligation to target appropriate returns for its
shareholders.
THE EU COURT OF AUDITORS
------------------------
¶23. Similar to the U.S. General Accountability Office in function,
the Luxembourg-based Court of Auditors is responsible for the audit
of EU finances. It contributes to improving EU financial management
and acts as the independent guardian of the financial interests of
the EU. The institution was established in the 1970s, after Member
States began transferring part of their national VAT receipts to the
EU. The 27-member Court of Auditors (one member per Member State)
has a staff of several hundreds and extensive powers to examine the
legality and regularity of receipts and expenditure of EU finances.
The President (currently the Portuguese Vtor Manuel da Silva
Caldeira) supervises the performance of the Court's work and ensures
liaison with the other EU bodies. The Court's annual reports are a
source of pressure on bodies with administrative responsibility and
sometimes uncover cases of corruption in EU governments and
institutions. They provide a basis for the annual budgetary
discharge procedure involving the European Parliament and Council.
¶24. In order to strengthen the means of preventing and combating
fraud and other illegal activities at the expense of the financial
and economic interests of the Community and the EU budget, the
Commission established within itself in 1999 the European Anti-Fraud
Office (OLAF), which was given responsibility for conducting
administrative anti-fraud investigations. While it has an
individual independent status for the investigative function, OLAF
is also part of the Commission, currently under the responsibility
of Vice-President Siim Kallas in charge of Administrative Affairs,
Audit and Anti-Fraud.
EUROPEAN OMBUDSMAN
------------------
¶25. The European Ombudsman (currently the Greek Nikiforos
Diamandouros) investigates complaints about maladministration in the
EU institutions and bodies. Any EU citizen or resident in a Member
State can file a complaint to the Ombudsman. Businesses,
associations or other bodies with a registered office in the EU may
also complain. Elected by the European Parliament, the Ombudsman is
completely independent and impartial and can also launch inquiries
on his own initiative. The Ombudsman may simply need to inform the
institution concerned about a complaint for it to resolve the
problem. If the case is not solved satisfactorily, the Ombudsman
tries to find a friendly solution that puts right the case of
maladministration and satisfies the complainant. If the attempt at
conciliation fails, the Ombudsman can make recommendations to solve
the case. If the institution does not accept his recommendations,
he can report the case to the European Parliament.
EUROPEAN DATA PROTECTION SUPERVISOR
-----------------------------------
¶26. The European Data Protection Supervisor (currently the
Dutchman Peter Hustinx) and his Assistant constitute an independent
supervisory authority appointed by the EU Council and European
Parliament to protect personal data and privacy and to promote good
practice in the EU institutions and bodies. They do so by
monitoring the administration's processing of personal data,
advising on policies and legislation that affect privacy, and
cooperating with similar authorities to ensure consistency in
personal data protection. Hustinx was just reappointed by the
Council and Parliament to another five-year term.
THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE
------------------------------------------
¶27. The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is a
non-political, consultative body offering economic and social
components of the EU civil society a platform to voice their views
on EU issues. Its members (currently numbering 334) are divided
into three groups representing employers, workers, and other
interests such as farming, commerce, transport, crafts, consumers,
and SMEs. Their basic task is to produce opinions of interest to
the Commission, Council and European Parliament in economic and
social sector-related areas, including agriculture, the single
market, transport, social policy, and the environment. In some
areas, consultation of the EESC is mandatory; in other cases it is
optional. The EESC may also issue opinions on its own initiative.
Its opinions (about 170 a year) bear no legal value in the Community
decision-making process. The EESC, currently chaired by the Italian
Mario Sepi, also acts as a forum for the single market and has been
trying to gain more visibility by hosting events aimed at bringing
the EU closer to the people.
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THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS
----------------------------
¶28. The Committee of the Regions (CoR) was established under the
Maastricht Treaty as another consultative body to advise the
Commission, Council and Parliament on EU policies or matters
involving specific regional interests such as education, public
health, the EU structural funds or the trans-European transport,
telecommunications and energy networks. The CoR currently has 334
members, all elected members or key players in the local or regional
authorities of their home region. The CoR holds five plenary
sessions a year to adopt its opinions and resolutions on topical
political issues. Its current President is the Belgian Luc Van den
Brande.
EU AGENCIES
-----------
¶29. A series of decentralized agencies have been established to
assist the Community ("first pillar") in the formulation and
evaluation of its policies. Those agencies, which are distinct from
the EU institutions (Council, Parliament, Commission, etc.) are
normally set up by an act of secondary legislation to accomplish a
specific technical, scientific or managerial task. The following
are currently meeting that definition, even though differing terms
are used to designate them:
-The Community Fisheries Control Agency (located in
Vigo, Spain);
-The Community Plant Variety Office (Angers,
France);
-The European Agency for Reconstruction (assistance
to Western Balkans, Thessaloniki, Greece);
-The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (Bilbao, Spain)
-The European Agency for the Management of
Operational Cooperation at the EU External
Borders (FRONTEX, Warsaw, Poland);
-The European Aviation Safety Agency (Cologne,
Germany);
-The European Center for Disease Prevention and
Control (Solna, Sweden);
-The European Center for the Development of
Vocational Training (Thessaloniki, Greece);
-The European Chemicals Agency (Helsinki, Finland);
-The European Environment Agency (Copenhagen,
Denmark);
-The European Food Safety Authority (Parma, Italy);
-The European Foundation for the Improvement of
Living and Working Conditions (Dublin, Ireland);
-The European Fundamental Rights Agency (Vienna,
Austria);
-The European GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite
Systems) Supervisory Authority (Brussels, Belgium);
-The European Institute for Gender Equality (under
preparation);
-The European Undertaking for ITER and the
Development of Fusion Energy (Barcelona, Spain);
-The European Maritime Safety Agency (Lisbon,
Portugal);
-The European Medicines Agency (London, UK);
-The European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug
Addiction (Lisbon, Portugal)
-The European Network and Information Security
Agency (Heraklion, Greece)
-The European Railway Agency (Valenciennes, France);
-The European Training Foundation (Torino, Italy);
-The office for Harmonization in the Internal Market
(Trade Marks and Designs, Alicante, Spain);
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-The Translation Center for the Bodies of the EU
(Luxembourg).
¶30. Some agencies have also been set up to carry out specific
technical, scientific and management tasks within the framework of
the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP - the EU's "second
pillar"):
-The European Defense Agency (EDA): to support the
Member States and Council in improving European
defense capabilities and to sustain and develop the
European Security and Defense Policy (Brussels);
-The European Union Satellite Center (formerly a WEU
Agency, Torrejon, Spain);
-The European Institute for Strategic Studies
(Paris).
¶31. Other agencies assist the Member States in their cooperation in
the fight against terrorism and organized crime ("third pillar"):
-CEPOL: European College bringing together senior
police officers to encourage cross-border cooperation (located in
Hampshire, UK);
-EUROPOL, the European Police Office, collecting and providing
analysis of Europe-wide criminal intelligence (located in The
Hague, Netherlands);
-EUROJUST, European body for the enhancement of
judicial cooperation and coordination (EU
Prosecutors Office, The Hague).
COMMENT
-------
¶32. The strength and independence of the many "non-political" EU
institutions, especially the ECJ and ECB, should not be
underestimated. Some critics of the ECJ perceive it as
power-grabbing and lacking legitimacy, while the ECB has been blamed
for its excessive focus on monetary stability (which is in line with
its Treaty-enshrined mandate). EU Member States might occasionally
grumble at the terms dictated by these institutions, but in practice
they respect their crucial role in EU governance.
MURRAY