The development of France's European position
Headquarters of the SGAE, Paris
SGAE
France takes part in the definition of common policies and rules of Community law in negotiations within the European Union. A number of players ensure that there is a consistent link between the national decision-making system and the EU decision-making system, hence defining the French position.
The President of the French Republic
The President of the Republic defines the broad policy guidelines for France's European policy. He represents France on the European Council, which convenes the Heads of State and Government of the 27 Member States at least four times a year.
The President of the Republic will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from 1 July 2008 to 31 December 2008.
The Prime Minister and the Government
The Prime Minister steers the government's European action. The government implements France's European policy.
The Prime Minister chairs the Interministerial Committee on Europe made up of the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, the Minister for Economic Affairs, Industry and Employment, the Minister of State with responsibility for European Affairs and other government members concerned by the agenda.
The Prime Minister is responsible for interministerial co-ordination to ensure that France speaks with one voice in the EU bodies. Under his authority, the French General Secretariat for European Affairs (FR) (SGAE) co-ordinates the interministerial handling of all European issues except foreign, security and defence policy, which is the responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and the Ministry of Defence. The SGAE's Secretary-General is also Special Adviser on Europe to the Prime Minister. He reports regularly to the Minister of State with responsibility for European Affairs.
The French ministers represent France on the Council of the European Union, where they share the decision-making power with the ministers of the 26 other Member States of the European Union. They sit on the different Council of the European Union configurations in keeping with their respective portfolios.
The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs
The Minister of Foreign and European Affairs is responsible for France's European policy. He represents France and expresses the French position on European issues, especially Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) matters.
The Minister of State with responsibility for European Affairs acts on behalf of the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs in all matters relating to European construction, including institutional issues.
The National Assembly and the Senate
The Maastricht Treaty's creation of the European Union gave the National Assembly and the Senate an important role to play in supervising the European legislative process.
In accordance with the French Constitution, all draft legislative acts must be first examined by the French Parliament before they are passed by the Council of the European Union. To this end, the government sends these documents to the Senate and the National Assembly for the two bodies to adopt resolutions, stating their position where appropriate.
Within the Senate and the National Assembly, the delegations for the European Union form the main watchdog body for the European legislative process and European Union activity as a whole. They also play a key role in keeping the other parliamentary bodies informed. The delegations have 36 members who each sit on one of the six specialised National Assembly standing committees (economic affairs, foreign affairs, finance, legislation, etc.).
The Treaty of Lisbon provides for a substantial strengthening of the national parliaments' prerogatives. In particular, parliaments can send any European institution or group of Member States proposing a draft legislative act a reasoned opinion if they feel that the draft in question does not comply with the principle of subsidiarity. Should a majority of parliaments voice the same opinion, the institution proposing the legislation has to give its reasons for maintaining the draft. The parliaments also have the possibility (via their governments) of bringing an action against an adopted legislative act before the Court of Justice of the European Communities if they feel that it infringes the principle of subsidiarity.
The French General Secretariat for European Affairs
The General Secretariat of the Interministerial Committee for Questions of European Economic Cooperation (SGCI) was set up by French Prime Minister Robert Schuman in 1948 and changed its name to the French General Secretariat for European Affairs (FR) (SGAE) in 2005. Under the authority of the Prime Minister, the SGAE is responsible for interministerial co-ordination and the definition of French positions on most European matters. It is in charge of keeping French Parliament, the French MEPs and the ministries informed. It supervises the application of Community law in France. The SGAE is the guardian of the consistency and unity of the positions expressed by France in the European Union via the Permanent Representation of France to the EU, located in Brussels.
The Permanent Representation of France to the European Union
The Permanent Representation of France to the EU plays a key role in voicing French positions in the European institutions. In addition to ensuring a consistent link between the national and EU decision-making systems, it promotes and defends French positions on all EU policies in the European institutions. It does so by actively taking part in negotiations in the Council of the European Union bodies. In the Council working parties, some one hundred senior advisers from all the ministries associated with EU activities contribute their expertise and defend France's positions. On the Permanent Representatives Committee (Coreper I and II) and the Political and Security Committee (PSC), which meet weekly and twice weekly respectively, the Permanent Representation helps prepare the work of the Council of Ministers of the European Union meetings.
The Permanent Representation also liaises closely with other institutions, in particular the European Parliament and the European Commission, and with all the players involved in the decision-making process: MEPs and national MPs, local authorities, business representatives, unions, associations and NGOs, and also think-tanks and the media. The Permanent Representation keeps French businesses abreast of the European issues on the table and the opportunities offered by the Community programmes. It upholds the place of the French people and the French language in the European institutions. It is in constant touch with the French General Secretariat for European Affairs in Paris, which handles the interministerial aspects of European affairs. A Permanent Representative and a Deputy Permanent Representative of France to the EU sit on Coreper (II and I) as does a Permanent Representative on the Political and Security Committee.
- Updated: 25.06.2008
