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The European Parliament exercises democratic control over the full range of Community activities. Appointment procedures enable Parliament to exercise its supervisory powers over certain European institutions.
The procedure to nominate the President of the Commission has been modified by the Amsterdam, Nice and Lisbon Treaties. These treaties have given Parliament more weight by giving it powers of investiture in the procedure to appoint the Commission. The appointment of the President of the Commission is governed by Article 17(7) TEU. The candidate for the President of the Commission is proposed by the European Council, which is acting by qualified majority and must take into account the result of the elections to the European Parliament. This candidate shall then be elected by the European Parliament by a majority of its members.
All Members of the Commission are approved by Parliament by simple majority, after hearings of each Commissioner before the committees responsible. At the end of the process, the Council appoints the Commission as a whole by qualified majority.
According to Article 17(8) TEU and Article 234 TFEU, the European Parliament has the power to adopt a motion of censure against the Commission as a whole. The power of censure means Parliament can exert democratic control in the European Union. To be admissible, a motion of censure must be tabled by at least one tenth of the MEPs. It must state the reasons for the motion.
During the Commission’s term of office, Parliament has the power to dismiss the Commission by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast, representing a majority of the component Members of Parliament.
Members of the Court of Auditors are chosen from former or present members of national external audit bodies or because they have particular qualifications for the task.
Members of the Court of Auditors are appointed for six years by the Council of the European Union acting by qualified majority, after consultation of the European Parliament.
If Parliament’s opinion on a particular candidate is negative, the President of Parliament asks the Council to withdraw the nomination and submit a new one.
The European Central Bank is the supreme decision-making body that defines European monetary policy and establishes interest rates.
The Executive Board consists of the President, a Vice-President and four other members, appointed by the European Council, acting by qualified majority, from among persons of recognised standing and professional experience in monetary or banking matters. They are appointed for a non-renewable term of eight years.
The members of the Executive Board are appointed following a recommendation by the Council of the European Union and after a consultation of the European Parliament and the European Central Bank’s Governing Council.
The office of Ombudsman was introduced by the Treaty of Maastricht to provide greater democracy and administrative transparency. After each election of the European Parliament, the Ombudsman is appointed by MEPs by a majority of the votes cast in a secret ballot, for the duration of the parliamentary term.
The Ombudsman acts completely independently and impartially. He cannot exercise any other professional activity, paid or otherwise, during his term of office. His task is to consider complaints from any EU citizen or any natural or legal person residing in or having his registered office in an EU Member State concerning maladministration by the Union institutions or bodies.
On the Ombudsman’s initiative, Parliament has adopted the European Code of Good Administrative Behaviour, which informs the public of what they are entitled to expect from EU administration and informs officials how they should behave in their relations with the public.