Actually, they aren’t. When people talk about “the unelected bureaucrats of Brussels”, they usually mean the European commission. The commission is an organisation like no other: more than a civil service but less than a government. Composed of 28 commissioners – one from each country – the commission drafts, enforces and monitors EU laws. But it does not pass laws.
Correct. The European Commission does those things. It is, perhaps, best understood as the executive branch of the EU.
But there’s also the European Council, made up of the heads of each member state. The Council can take votes, and does, and then can impose things on ALL of the member states as law...it can also delegate certain things back to the European Commission, which can then also be imposed upon the member states uniformly, as law. So actually in certain cases, the European Commission can absolutely do things which have the force of law in member states.
The whole category of law called “regulations” in Eurospeak is the most pernicious, and the most objectionable. It is in this category of law making where the EU imposes its (often bureaucratic) laws on to the member states, and on to the people of Europe....including...how to sort their trash. It’s crazy.
It’s also very confusing, and words are not used with their traditional meanings (such as “European Parliament”).
WARNING TO AMERICAN FREEPERS. I am a British citizen. I have lived in the UK all my life and have been exposed to British tabloid journalism for a very long time. I have qualifications in English and Creative writing and possess a press pass. Please do NOT read the Guardian alone at home.