The Brussels Connection

Abstract

The European Community (EC) comprises three Communities which share the same institutions. Through interaction between the institutions, Community legislation and policy is formed and adopted. The European Commission, for example, is the institution which administers the activities of the European Economic Community (EEC), the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM). All three Communities were established in the 1950’s, as explained in the introduction to this book which charts the steps towards European unity taken since World War II. In one important step, the 1965 Treaty of Brussels merged all the administrative bodies of the three Communities into unified institutions to coordinate the activities of the EC as a whole. The primary objective of the Single European Act, signed in 1986, is to establish significant further progress towards European economic, monetary and political union by the end of 1992. The institutions of the Community are thus committed to bringing measures to complete the Single Market into being by this date. This chapter outlines the work of the main institutions as well as lesser known institutions, such as the European Court of Auditors, whose activities have a bearing on business. Further details of the work of the Community’s institutions are given in a range of publications (See European Community Publications, Part Eight, Chapter 1)