The Council of the European Union,often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council,and informally known as the Council of Ministers,is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as listed in the Treaty on European Union. It is one of two legislative bodies and together with the European Parliament serves to amend and approve or veto the proposals of the European Commission,which holds the right of initiative.
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of 27 member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of 4,233,255.3 km2 (1,634,469.0 sq mi) and an estimated total population of about 447 million. The EU has often been described as a sui generis political entity combining the characteristics of both a federation and a confederation.
The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was a European organization created after World War II to regulate the coal and steel industries. It was formally established in 1951 by the Treaty of Paris,signed by Belgium,France,Italy,Luxembourg,the Netherlands,and West Germany. The ECSC was an international organization based on the principle of supranationalism,and started a process of integration which ultimately led to the creation of the European Union.
The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,aiming to foster economic integration among its member states. It was subsequently renamed the European Community (EC) upon becoming integrated into the first pillar of the newly formed European Union in 1993. In the popular language,however,the singular European Community was sometimes inaccuratelly used in the wider sense of the plural European Communities,in spite of the latter designation covering all the three constituent entities of the first pillar.
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government,with 27 members of the Commission headed by a President. It includes an administrative body of about 32,000 European civil servants. The Commission is divided into departments known as Directorates-General (DGs) that can be likened to departments or ministries each headed by a Director-General who is responsible to a Commissioner.
The Treaty of Rome,or EEC Treaty,brought about the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC),the best known of the European Communities (EC). The treaty was signed on 25 March 1957 by Belgium,France,Italy,Luxembourg,the Netherlands and West Germany,and it came into force on 1 January 1958. Originally the "Treaty establishing the European Economic Community",and now continuing under the name "Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union",it remains one of the two most important treaties in what is now the European Union (EU).
The French Fourth Republic was the republican government of France from 27 October 1946 to 4 October 1958,governed by the fourth republican constitution. It was in many ways a revival of the Third Republic that was in place from 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War to 1940 during World War II,and suffered many of the same problems. France adopted the constitution of the Fourth Republic on 13 October 1946.
The General Labour Federation of Belgium is a socialist national trade union federation in Belgium. It was founded in 1945. It is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation and has a membership of 1.5 million. With said membership the ABVV/FGTB is the second largest of the three major trade unions in Belgium,closely following the Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (ACV/CSC) which has 1.6 million members and dwarfing the General Confederation of Liberal Trade Unions of Belgium (ACLVB/CGSLB) which has approximately 300,000 members. During the bulk of its history the ABVV/FGTB remained closely affiliated with the Belgian Socialist Party which was split in 1978 into a Flemish and a Walloon social-democratic party. While remaining formally independent from any political party,the ABVV/FGTB noticed the increasing influence by the marxist Workers' Party of Belgium amongst its active base during the last decade.
The Monnet Authority was the first High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC),between 1952 and 1955. Its president was Jean Monnet of France.
The Mayer Authority was the second High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC),between 1955 and 1958. Its president was RenéMayer of France.
The Finet Authority was the third High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC),between 1958 and 1959. Its president was Paul Finet of Belgium.
The Malvestiti Authority was the fourth High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC),between 1959 and 1963. Its president was Piero Malvestiti of Italy.
The Del Bo Authority was the last High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC),between 1963 and 1967. Its president was Rinaldo Del Bo of Italy. Del Bo was briefly followed by Albert Coppé's interim Authority.
The year 1948 marked the beginning of the institutionalised modern European integration. With the start of the Cold War,the Treaty of Brussels was signed in 1948 establishing the Western Union (WU) as the first organisation. In the same year,the International Authority for the Ruhr and the Organization for European Economic Co-operation,the predecessor of the OECD,were also founded,followed in 1949 by the Council of Europe,and in 1951 by the European Coal and Steel Community,with the ensuing moves to create further communities leading to the Treaty of Rome (1957)
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) is the judicial branch of the European Union (EU). Seated in the Kirchberg quarter of Luxembourg City,Luxembourg,this EU institution consists of two separate courts:the Court of Justice and the General Court. From 2005 to 2016 it also contained the Civil Service Tribunal. It has a sui generis court system,meaning ’of its own kind’,and is a supranational institution.
AndréRenard was a Belgian trade union leader who,in the aftermath of World War II,became an influential figure within the Walloon Movement.
The accession of the United Kingdom to the European Communities (EC) –the collective term for the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC),the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC) –took effect on 1 January 1973. This followed ratification of the Accession treaty which was signed in Brussels on 22 January 1972 by the Conservative prime minister Edward Heath,who had pursued the UK's application to the EEC since the late 1950s. The ECSC and EEC would later be integrated into the European Union under the Maastricht and Lisbon treaties in the early 1990s and mid-2000s.
Léon Daum was a French mining engineer,company director and senior European administrator. He was a member of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community from 1952 to 1959.
