Decision-Making and Consensus-Building within the Core Institutions

The previous chapter analyzed the process of European decision-making and, in particular, the interaction among the institutions of the EU in this endeavour. In this chapter, we explore the process of decision-making within each individual institution, and consider how this process evolves within the context of, and alongside, the previously discussed interinstitutional relationships. In order to elaborate fully on the specifics of each institution, I also examine the respective internal organization, procedures, and performances. This will highlight how every institution attempts to maximize its real power and influence in the European concert, by making as much use as possible of its formal powers and institutional resources, and also by improving its overall capabilities. Improving its performance involves developing sophisticated means of internal consensus-building, as well as devising specific tactical skills to exercise influence over the other institutions. In this way, we will learn how the institutions use different strategies in their individual struggles for dominance, even as they maintain an overarching consensual spirit that characterizes also the internal relations of the EU institutions.