Structure of the European government has changed significantly. Absolute dominance by a single entity like a king; was the most prevalent form of government in the past. Take example of the kings that ruled France and England, the Czars reigned Russia, the sultans of the Ottoman Empire who guarded the Bosporus and Mongol Khans with their unchallenged control over much of Eastern Europe. The Medieval Venice and ancient Sparta are also worth notable. In-short, many governments come and gone with democratic institutions governing various forms of EU regime today as a result of past democracies!
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The republic
Vast majority of EU governments are republicans where the elected officials are the actual ruling authority of the land. The government of France is a typical case where French populace must elect a president as well as two legislative bodies; National Assembly and the Senate. Prime minister is appointed by the president who’s bestowed with full authority to execute government operations.
The National Assembly however holds the power to annul prime minister’s tenure at any point in time through a no-confidence vote. If this actually happens, president has to elect a new prime minister whereas governments such as those for Estonia and Croatia are much similar.
“Parliamentary Democracy” is an alternate title given to this particular type of government and what’s more significant is not all republic or republicans are exactly the same. For instance, it’s the parliament that appoints prime minster in Finland with no real power given to presidency.
In Moldova, it’s the parliament who elects the prime minister and not the people. The Ukrainian government on the contrary has only one statutory body.
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The federal republic
There’re some European governments like Germany also known as federal republics which is a union of similar entities or states. Governmental powers are shared among the states and federal government. Take example of Germany’s federal government which is quite similar to the parliamentary democracy having a president, chancellor (equivalent to a prime minister) and a bilateral legislature. To protect the rights of German nations however, one of the two judicial chambers are called Bundersat that has the statutory power to veto opposing federal regulation. Some other federal republics are Switzerland and Austria.
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The constitutional monarchy
The UK is an excellent example of a present European government type. Monarch is the leading authority of the government but has no real power as all the political supremacy is vested to the prime minister and the House of Commons which is the elected judicial body. Scandinavian nations also have legitimate dominions and so do Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, the Netherlands and Lichtenstein.
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The socialist republic
Most of the east European nations have socialist republics where communist party is the highest power. Albania strictly adheres to the Marxist ideology dating back to any other European nation. However in 1998, there came a new constitution that made Albania parliamentary democracy; socialist customs have been abandoned gradually.
Conclusion
When apply for EU residency, it’s important to know about the different governments as such can be asked during the initial interviews.
