How the EU works

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The EU’s overall political strategy and legislative process is shared jointly by the following EU institutions: the European Parliament, Council of the European Union, and European Commission. The three main institutions are covered below. The other five institutions are the European Council, the European Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the European Central Bank and the European External Action Service.

Council of the EU

 

The Council of the EU (Council) is the main legislative and decision-making institution in the EU. It represents the interests of the 27 member states. Member State ministers meet in ten different configurations of the Council, each of which deal with specific policy areas. The Justice and Home Affairs Council is the most pertinent for children in migration.

The Presidency of the Council ensures continuity of the EU agenda and Council’s legislative work. A different EU member state takes over the leadership of the Council every 6 months and prepares the work programme. Even though the presidencies are to stay neutral and impartial, as they act as “honest brokers”, they can increase awareness and visibility of specific issues by deciding on the priorities of their agenda. 

The European Commission is the executive body of the EU, consisting of a college of commissioners (currently one from each Member State) as well as a bureaucratic structure supporting their work. The European Commissioners are not meant to represent the interests of their Member States but rather the interests of the EU as a whole. 

The President of the Commission, currently Ursulya van der Leyen, determines the political priorities for its mandate. Every 5 years, at the beginning of a new Commission term, the President of the Commission sets out the priority areas to be focused on during that term. These areas are derived from the Council's strategic agenda and from discussions with the political groups of the European Parliament. The Commission’s priorities for the period of 2019-2024 are available here. Read more on how the priorities are set here.

Directorate Generals (DGs) for different policy areas handle the day-to-day management of the European Commission. Key DGs for children in migration include:

The European Commission also has a Child Rights Coordinator and an inter-service group to coordinate work among the departments of the Commission and provide mechanisms for the consideration of children’s rights in all relevant policies and actions.

The European Commission coordinates an informal Expert Group on the Protection of Children in Migration, bringing together representatives from governments, the Commission and EU agencies. Its primary purpose is to discuss progress in the implementation of the Commission Communication on the protection of children in migration. It is currently supposed to meet twice a year, jointly with the Expert Group on the rights of the child. 

 

European Commission

European Parliament

 

The European Parliament is the only directly elected governance body of the EU and represents the voice of the citizens of the EU. As such, it has an important role to play in monitoring EU policies and in making recommendations to the Council of the EU. 

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are organised – and sit in – political rather than national groups based on party affiliation. They power to amend any European Commission legislative proposal by tabling and voting on amendments both at the committee level and in plenary.Most MEPs will be open to tabling amendments drafted by reputable and trusted external actors (including NGOs) with whom they have been in contact. 

The European Parliament has an Intergroup on Children’s Rights – a cross-party and cross-national group of MEPs - that seeks to mainstream children’s rights and assess the impact of legislative and non-legislative work on children. The rights of children in migration have been one of the priority issues considered by the group.

The European Commission is responsible for developing, proposing, monitoring and upholding laws and policies, and implementing decisions, and includes a Commissioner from each country, appointed by the national government, in charge of a particular policy area at a political level. 

Proposed legislation is negotiated with the Council of Ministers, the Ministers of the national governments, and the European Parliament. 

 

What is the legislative process at EU level?

How can your national advocacy influence the EU level?

 

EU level organisations typically engage most with the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Permanent Representations to the European Union of the EU member state governments, to advocate for and contribute to the development of EU action.

National organisations can target elected representatives in their national and European Parliaments, and their governments, to influence their positions at EU level. You may consider the following actions: 

  • Reach out to MEPs in your country. You can find your MEPs here. 

  • Reach out to your justice, home affairs and children’s ministries to advocate towards your government priorities and challenges that should be discussed at EU level.

  • If you are active in the member state that is about to take over the presidency, you can take steps to encourage the Presidency to prioritise the protection of children in migration Read more.

WATCH THIS SPACE: Updated as of August 2021 

  • Building on the work of the existing informal expert group, a new EU Network for Children’s Rights will be established by the end of 2021. The Network will reinforce the dialogue and mutual learning between the EU and Member States on children’s rights, and support the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the strategy. It will be composed of national representatives, and will include in some of its activities international and non-governmental organisations, representatives of local and regional authorities and children, among others. The Commission will also develop closer collaboration with regional and local authorities, and with other relevant institutions, regional and international organisations, civil society and ombudspersons for children.

  • On 29 June, the Council presidency and European Parliament representatives reached a provisional agreement on an EU asylum agency regulation.The regulation establishing the EU asylum agency aims to improve the application of asylum policy within the EU, by turning the current European asylum support office (EASO) into a fully-fledged agency.