Text 3. European community

The European Union (EU) is a supranational and intergovernmental union of 27 states with its total population about 500 million people. There are 23 official and working languages within the Union. Citizens of EU member states are also EU citizens: they directly elect the European Parliament, once every five years. They can live, travel, work, and invest in other member states (with some restrictions on new member states). Passport control and customs checks at most internal borders were abolished by the Schengen Agreement.

The European Union is governed by a number of institutions, these primarily being the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the European Court of Justice, and the European Parliament.

The European Commission acts as an executive or Civil Service. It is currently composed of one member from each state and is responsible for drafting all proposed law, a duty on which it maintains a monopoly in order to co-ordinate European Law. It also controls some agencies and the day-to-day running of the Union. Its president is nominated by the European Council then elected by the Parliament.

The Council of the European Union (also known as the Council of Ministers) forms one half of the Union's legislative branch (the other being the Parliament). It is composed of the respective national ministers. The body's presidency rotates between the member-states every 6 months, though the current president member-state cooperates with the previous and future president member-state, to provide continuity.

The European Parliament is the only Union body composed of officials directly elected on European issues. Every 5 years citizens in all member-states vote for 751 «MEPs» who form the second half of the Union's legislative branch. Seats are distributed among the European Union member states based on their respective populations. Its members sit according to political groups rather than nationality and its president is elected by its members.

The judicial branch of the Union consists primarily of the European Court of Justice composed of one judge nominated by each member-state with the president elected from among those nominees. Below the Court of Justice there is a lower court called the Court of First Instance created to lift some of the work load of the Court of Justice. There is also the European Court of Auditors which monitors the Union's accounts.

There is no official European capital, with institutions spread across a number of cities. However, Brussels is often considered the de facto capital as it hosts most of the primary institutions, including the Commission and the Council. The Parliament also has its second seat in the city. Strasbourg is the official seat of the European Parliament, meeting there for twelve week-long plenary sessions each year. Luxembourg City plays host to the Secretariat of the European Parliament as well as the European Court of Justice, the Court of First Instance and the European Court of Auditors.

EU law covers only member states themselves. Where a conflict arises between EU law and the law of a member state, EU law takes precedence, so that the law of a member state must lose effect. Both the provisions of the Treaties, and EU regulations are said to have «direct effect» horizontally.

The other main legal instrument of the EU, «directives», have direct effect, but only «vertically». Private citizens may not sue one another on the basis of EU directives, since these are meant to be addressed to the member state. Directives allow some choice for member states in the way they translate a directive into national law. Once this has happened citizens may rely on the law that has been implemented. They may only sue the government «vertically» for failing to implement a directive correctly.

Exercises:

Соотнесите английские словосочетания к их русскому переводу, пользуясь текстом и электронным словарем.

1) Supranational 1. чередовать(ся); сменять(ся) по очереди

2) customs check 2. преследовать судом; подавать в суд, возбуждать иск

3) internal borders 3. обеспечивать преемственность

4) Schengen Agreement 4. наднациональный

5) European Court 5. кандидат на должность; номинант, of Justice (ECJ) претендент

6) Civil Service 6. таможенный досмотр

7) Presidency 7. принимать гостей, выступать в роли принимающей стороны

8) Rotate 8. внутренние границы

9) provide continuity 9. пленум; пленарное заседание

10) nominee 10. Шенгенский договор, 1985 (Соглашение «О постепенной отмене проверок на общих границах»; подписано в городке Шенген (Люксембург)