European Parliament. SIMULATION

1. EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Andújar, March 2012

2. EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT INSTITUTION OF THE EU • The Council of the European Union, which represents the member states. • The European Parliament, which represents the people. It´s directly elected by citizens. • The European Commission, which represents the common interest of the EU.

3. EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: PEOPLE´S VOICE The European Parliament (abbreviated as Europarl or the EP) is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union (EU) that representes the citizens of the Union. It´s elected every five years by the european citizens in European Elections.

4. EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT HISTORY AND SEATS Since the foundation of the Parliament in 1952, it´s powers has been extended several times, the last one by the Lisbon Treaty in 2007.   The institution has three official seats: Brussels (Belgium), Luxembourg and Strasbourg (France).

5. EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT MEMBERS AND GROUPS • 750 Parliamentarians plus its President: • Martin Schulz. From 17 of January of 2012 • Represented groups: • European People's Party • Socialists and Democrats • Liberals and Democrats for Europe • Conservatives and Reformists Group • Greens/European Free Alliance • European United Left • Freedom and Democracy Group

6. EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT EUROPARLAMENTARIAN A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. MEPs,  Eurodeputy or Europarliamentarian They represent directly the European citizens, not its States of origin.

7. EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT FUNCTIONS AND POWERS: • The EP has three key tasks: • • To examine and to adopt the laws of the UE • • To approve the budget of the UE • • To carry out democratic control of the other institutions. • In addition: To give to the approval to international agreements of association and commerce between the UE and other countries.

8. EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ORGANIZATION • The EP is organized by: • Supervising agencies (Presidency, Bureau and the Conference of Presidents) • Support Organs (Secretariat) • Working Organs (Parliamentary committees and Delegations).

9. EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT PRESIDENT The President is in charge of the direction, presiding the deliberations and representing the EP in legal affairs and in all external relations In the parliamentary debates it gives the word and it puts the subjects under vote. It is chosen by absolute majority of the parliamentary Plenary session. Martin Schulz,

10. EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT PRESIDENT The President is elected for a renewable term of two and a half years, i.e. half the lifetime of a Parliament. The President is helped by Quaestors, as well as by fourteen vice-presidents.

11. EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT QUAESTORS Quaestors are five and they are responsible for administrative and financial matters that directly affect Members, for example making general services and equipment available. They can present proposals to modify or rewrite texts on all rules adopted by the Bureau.

12. EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT VICE-PRESIDENTS The 14 vice-presidents are members of the Bureau of the European Parliament. The Bureau is the body that lays down rules for Parliament. It draws up Parliament’s preliminary draft budget and decides all administrative, staff and organizational matters.

13. EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES To just as the parliaments of each country, the deputies of the PE they are distributed in commissions to prepare the works of the plenary sessions. The commissions could be Standing, Special committees or Committees of inquiry

14. EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT • Standing committees: they take care in a permanent way of the subjects of a certain matter; • Special committees: they are created by the Plenary session for concrete circumstances. • Committees of inquiry: they examine bad administration in application of the Right of the EU.

15. EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT STANDING COMMITTEES. WHAT SUBJECTS TREAT? Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Security and Defence, Development, International Trade, Budgets, Budgetary Control, Economic and Monetary Affairs, Employment and Social Affairs, Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, Industry, Research and Energy, Internal Market and Consumer Protection, Transport and Tourism, Regional Development, Agriculture and Rural Development, Fisheries, Culture and Education, Legal Affairs, Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, Constitutional Affairs, Women's Rights and Gender Equality

16. EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT SUPPORT ORGANS. SECRETARIAT The Secretariat it is the main organ of support to the EP. Presided over by the Secretary General it is integrated by more than 4600 civil employees. It has administrative and management tasks and it emphasizes by its gigantic service of translation of the different communitarian languages

17. EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT SIMULATION OF EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT • PRESIDENT (Open sessions, start debates, gives the word and it puts the subjects under vote) • VICE-PRESIDENTS (Helping the president and the same role than the president when he is out) • QUAESTORS(In charge of operative and administrative questions) • SECRETARY GENERAL(Translation and minutes of the simulation) • CULTURE COMMISSION.(Commission in charge of the Election of the Capital of the culture and the proposal to the Cabinet)