
The community method (also known as the Union method) refers to decision making processes in the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
(EU) which emphasize the roles of the
supranational decision making bodies such as the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
, the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
and the
Council of the European Union
The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and less formally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven institutions of the European Union (EU) a ...
.
The community method can be contrasted with
intergovernmental decision making processes used in the former second and third pillars of the Union in which the European Commission and European Parliament played less important roles,
and to intergovernmental cooperation outside of the formal EU processes, such as the
Schengen Agreement (1985) before the
Treaty of Amsterdam (1997).
See also
*
Enhanced cooperation
*
European Communities
The European Communities (EC) were three international organizations that were governed by the same set of Institutions of the European Union, institutions. These were the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Atomic Energy Co ...
*
Legislature of the European Union
*
Open method of coordination
*
Three pillars of the European Union
Between 1993 and 2009, the European Union (EU) legally comprised three pillars. This structure was introduced with the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993, and was eventually abandoned on 1 December 2009 upon the entry into force of the Tr ...
References
External links
Community and intergovernmental methods- Europa Glossary
Dispute resolution
European Union constitutional law
Politics of the European Union
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