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EU Presidents – who does what?
EU Presidents – who does what?
The 3 main institutions of the EU are each headed by a president:
- President of the European Parliament
- President of the European Council
- President of the European Commission
- Presidency of the Council of the EU
European Parliament president – Martin Schulz
Term: August 2014 - January 2017
Elected by: Members of the European Parliament
Role:
- Ensures parliamentary procedures are properly followed
- Oversees Parliament's various activities and committees
- Represents Parliament in all legal matters and in its international relations
- Gives final assent to the EU budget
More on the President of the European Parliament's job
More on the European Parliament
European Council president – Donald Tusk
Term: December 2014 - May 2017
Appointed by: national leaders (heads of state or government of EU countries).
Role:
- Leads the European Council's work in setting the EU's general political direction and priorities – in cooperation with the Commission
- Promotes cohesion and consensus within the European Council
- Represents the EU externally on foreign and security issues
More on the President of the European Council's job
More on the European Council
European Commission president – Jean-Claude Juncker
Term: November 2014 - October 2019
Appointed by: national leaders (heads of state or government of EU countries), with the approval of the European Parliament.
Role:
- Gives political guidance to the Commission
- Calls and chairs meetings of the college of the Commissioners
- Leads the Commission's work in implementing EU policies
- Takes part in G7 meetings
- Contributes to major debates both in the European Parliament and between EU governments in the Council of the European Union
More on the Commission President's job
More on the European Commission
More on how Commissioners are appointed
Presidency of the Council of the EU
The Council of the EU - where national ministers discuss EU legislation - doesn't have a permanent, single-person president. Its work is led by the country holding the Council presidency, which rotates every 6 months. For example, representatives from the presidency country chair its meetings.
EU Presidents – who does what?
EU Commission presidency: choosing from a legion of super candidates
Through its Spitzenkandidaten process, Europe has brought EU Commission presidency elections out from behind closed doors, placing power in the hands of citizens.
