How the European Union works : your guide to the EU institutions.
Date: 2008-04-10
Institutions: Directorate-General for Communication
Subjects: EU institution, operation of the Institutions, user guide

How the European Union works

Your guide 
to the EU institutions

European Union

How the EU works_V5.indd   1
How the EU works_V5.indd   1

5/11/07   14:49:11
5/11/07   14:49:11

You can find this booklet and other short, clear explanations about the EU online at 
ec.europa.eu/publications

European Commission
Directorate-General for Communication
Publications
B-1049 Brussels

Manuscript completed in July 2007
Cover illustration: EC

Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication

Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2007

ISBN 92-79-03653-X

© European Communities, 2007

Reproduction is authorised

Printed in Belgium
PRINTED ON WHITE CHLORINE-FREE PAPER

How the EU works_V5.indd   2
How the EU works_V5.indd   2

5/11/07   14:49:13
5/11/07   14:49:13

How the European Union works

Your guide 
to the EU institutions

How the EU works_V5.indd   3
How the EU works_V5.indd   3

5/11/07   14:49:13
5/11/07   14:49:13

Contents

s
i
b
r
o
C
©

Introducing the European Union  .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .    3

The Treaties .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .    5

How the EU takes decisions   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .    7

The European Parliament: 

voice of the people   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .    11

The Council of the European Union: 

voice of the member states .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .    15

The European Commission: 

promoting the common interest  .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .    21

The Court of Justice: 

upholding the law   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .    26

The European Court of Auditors: 

getting value for your money  .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .    29

The European Economic and Social Committee: 

a bridge to civil society .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .    31

The Committee of the Regions: 

bringing the EU closer to the public   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .    33

The European Investment Bank: 

ﬁ nancing economic development .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .    35

The European Central Bank: 

managing the euro   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .    37

The European Ombudsman: 

investigating your complaints  .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .    39

The European Data Protection Supervisor: 

safeguarding your privacy   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .    41

Agencies .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .    43

How the EU works_V5.indd   4
How the EU works_V5.indd   4

5/11/07   14:49:13
5/11/07   14:49:13

 
s
i
b
r
o
C
©

Introducing the 
European Union

I

N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E

I

E
H
T
G
N
C
U
D
O
R
T
N

I

3

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

The European Union (EU) is a family of demo-
cratic European countries working together 
to improve life for their citizens and to build a 
better world.

Family squabbles and occasional crises are 
what make the news headlines, but away 
from the cameras the EU is actually a remark-
able success story. In just over half a century it 
has delivered peace and prosperity in Europe, 
a single European currency (the euro) and a 
frontier-free  ‘single  market’  where  goods, 
people,  services  and  capital  move  around 
freely.  It  has  become  a  major  trading 
power, and a world leader in ﬁ elds such as 
environmental protection and development 
aid.  No  wonder  it  has  grown  from  six  to 
27  members  and  more  countries  want  to 
join. 

The European Union’s success owes a lot to 
the unusual way in which it works. Unusual 
because the countries that make up the EU 
(its  ‘member  states’)  remain  independent 
sovereign nations but they pool their sover-
eignty in order to gain a strength and world 
inﬂ uence none of them could have on their 
own. This stops short of being a federation, 
like the United States, but is much more than 
an  organisation  for  cooperation  between 
governments, like the United Nations. The 
EU is, in fact, unique. 

Pooling sovereignty means, in practice, that 
the member states delegate some of their 
decision-making powers to shared institu-
tions they have created, so that decisions on 
speciﬁ c matters of joint interest can be made 
democratically at European level.

The three main decision-making institutions 
are the:

   (cid:198) European  Parliament  (EP),  which  rep-
resents the EU’s citizens and is directly 
elected by them;

  (cid:198) Council of the European Union, which rep-
resents the individual member states;

  (cid:198) European Commission,which represents 
the interests of the Union as a whole.

This ‘institutional triangle’ produces the pol-
icies and laws that apply throughout the EU. In 
principle, it is the Commission that proposes 
new laws, but it is the Parliament and Council 
that adopt them. The Commission and the 
member states then implement them, and 
the Commission enforces them. 

The  Court  of  Justice  is  the  ﬁ nal  arbiter  in 
disputes about European law.

The Court of Auditors checks the ﬁ nancing of 
the Union’s activities.

A number of other bodies also have key roles 
in making the EU work. They are the:

  (cid:198) European  Economic  and  Social  Com-
mittee, which represents the economic 
and social components of organised civil 
society;

  (cid:198) Committee of the Regions, which repre-

sents regional and local authorities;

  (cid:198) European 

Investment  Bank,  which 
ﬁ nances investment in economic devel-
opment projects in and outside the EU, 
and  helps  small  businesses  via  the 
European Investment Fund;

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec1:3
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec1:3

5/11/07   14:49:14
5/11/07   14:49:14

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  (cid:198) European Central Bank, which is respon-
sible for European monetary policy;

  (cid:198) European  Ombudsman,  which  investi-
gates complaints about maladministration 
by EU institutions and bodies;

  (cid:198) European  Data  Protection  Supervisor, 
which safeguards the privacy of your per-
sonal data.

In  addition,  specialised  agencies  handle 
certain technical, scientiﬁ c or management 
tasks.

The powers and responsibilities of the EU 
institutions, and the rules and procedures they 
must follow, are laid down in the Treaties on 
which the EU is founded. The Treaties are 
agreed by the presidents and prime ministers 
of all the EU countries and then ratiﬁ ed by 
their parliaments.

The following chapters describe the Treaties, 
the EU institutions and the other bodies and 
agencies, explaining what each entity does 
and how they interact.  

C
E
©

I

N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E

I

E
H
T
G
N
C
U
D
O
R
T
N

I

4

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

The signing ceremony of the six-nation Treaty of Rome in 1957.

s
r
e
t
r
o
p
e
R
©

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec1:4
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec1:4

5/11/07   14:49:17
5/11/07   14:49:17

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
C
E
©

The Treaties

The EU is founded on four Treaties:

  (cid:198) The Treaty establishing the European Coal 
and Steel Community (ECSC), which was 
signed on 18 April 1951 in Paris, came into 
force on 23 July 1952 and expired on 23 
July 2002.

  (cid:198)  The  Treaty  establishing  the  European 
Economic Community (EEC), which was 
signed on 25 March 1957 in Rome and 
came into force on 1 January 1958. It is 
often referred to as ‘the Treaty of Rome’.

  (cid:198) The  Treaty  establishing  the  European 
Atomic  Energy  Community  (Euratom), 
which  was  signed  in  Rome  along  with 
the EEC Treaty.

  (cid:198) The  Treaty  on  European  Union  (EU), 
which  was  signed  in  Maastricht  on 
7  February  1992,  and  came 
into 
force  on  1  November  1993.  It  is  often 
referred  to  as  ‘the  Maastricht  Treaty’.

The  ECSC,  EEC  and  Euratom  Treaties 
created the three ‘European Communities’, 
i.e. the system of joint decision-making on 
coal, steel, nuclear power and other major 
sectors of the member states’ economies. 
The common institutions set up to manage 
this system were merged in 1967, resulting 
in a single Commission and a single Council 
of Ministers. 

The  EEC,  in  addition  to  its  economic  role, 
gradually took on a wide range of responsi-
bilities, including social, environmental and 
regional policies. Since it was no longer a 
purely  economic  community,  the  fourth 

S
E

I
T
A
E
R
T

E
H
T

5

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

Treaty (Maastricht) renamed it simply ‘the 
European  Community’  (EC).  As  the  ECSC 
Treaty approached expiry in 2002, respon-
sibilities for coal and steel were progressively 
merged into other Treaties.

At Maastricht, the member state governments 
also agreed to work together on foreign and 
security policy, and in the area of ‘justice and 
home affairs’. By adding this intergovernmen-
tal cooperation to the existing Community 
system, the Maastricht Treaty created a new 
structure with three ‘pillars’, which is political 
as well as economic. This is the European 
Union (EU).

The  Treaties  are  the  basis  for  everything 
the  EU  does.  They  have  been  amended 
each time new member states have joined. 
From  time  to  time  the  Treaties  have  also 
been  amended  to  reform  the  European 
Union’s institutions and to give it new areas of 

THE EUROPEAN UNION

Community 
domain 
(most 
common 
policy 
areas)

Common 
foreign and 
security 
policy

Police and 
judicial 
cooperation 
in criminal 
matters

THE TREATIES

The European Union is founded on its Treaties. Its three 
‘pillars’ represent different policy areas with different 
decision-making systems.

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec2:5
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec2:5

5/11/07   14:49:18
5/11/07   14:49:18

 
 
 
 
 
 
responsibility. This is always done by a special 
conference of the EU’s national governments 
(an ‘intergovernmental conference’ or IGC). 
Key intergovernmental conferences resulted 
in: 

   (cid:198) The Single European Act (SEA), which was 
signed in February 1986 and came into 
force on 1 July 1987. It amended the EEC 
Treaty and paved the way for completing 
the single market;

   (cid:198) The  Treaty  of  Amsterdam,  which  was 
signed on 2 October 1997 and came into 
force  on  1  May  1999.  It  extended  the 
pooled sovereignty to more areas involving 
more citizens’ rights, and closer interaction 
on social and employment policies;

   (cid:198) The Treaty of Nice, which was signed on 
26  February  2001  and  came  into  force 
on 1 February 2003. It further amended 
the other Treaties, streamlining the EU’s 
decision-making system so it could con-
tinue to work effectively even after further 
enlargements; 

   (cid:198) The draft Constitutional Treaty, which was 
agreed and signed in October 2004, but 
has not come into force, because it was 
not ratiﬁ ed by all EU countries.

   (cid:198) The Reform Treaty, which was agreed in 
principle in 2007, but will not come into 
force until it has been ratiﬁ ed by all mem-
ber states.

C
E
©

S
E

I
T
A
E
R
T

E
H
T

6

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

i

h
c
c
u
Z
/
a
p
d
/
e
c
n
a
i
l
l
a
-
e
r
u
t
c
i
P
©

A clean environment is just one area of many where EU member states have agreed 
that pooling sovereignty makes sense. 

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec2:6
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec2:6

5/11/07   14:49:19
5/11/07   14:49:19

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
C
E
©

1. Codecision

Codecision is the procedure now used for 
most EU law-making. In the codecision pro-
cedure, Parliament shares legislative power 
equally with the Council.

How the EU 
takes decisions

(cid:86)7

If Council and Parliament cannot agree on a 
piece of proposed legislation, there will be 
no new law. The procedure provides for two 
successive ‘readings’ in each institution. If an 
agreement is reached in these readings, the 
law can be passed. If not, it will be put before 
a conciliation committee, composed of equal 
numbers of Council and Parliament represent-
atives. Once this committee has reached an 
agreement, the agreed text is sent again to 
Parliament and the Council so that they can 
ﬁ nally adopt it as law. Conciliation is becom-
ing increasingly rare. Most laws passed in 
codecision are, in fact, adopted either at the 
ﬁ rst or second reading as a result of good 
cooperation between the three institutions.

S
N
O
S
C
E
D
S
E
K
A
T
U
E

E
H
T
W
O
H

I

I

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

The diagram overleaf shows the procedure 
in  greater  detail.  For  further  information, 
go to ec.europa.eu/codecision

Decision-making at European Union level in-
volves various EU institutions, in particular:

  (cid:198) the European Parliament (EP),

  (cid:198) the Council of the European Union, and

  (cid:198) the European Commission.

In general, it is the European Commission 
that proposes new legislation, but it is the 
Council and Parliament that pass the laws. In 
some cases, the Council can act alone. Other 
institutions also have roles to play.

The main forms of EU law are directives and 
regulations. Directives establish a common 
aim for all member states, but leave it to na-
tional authorities to decide on the form and 
method of achieving it. Normally, member 
states are given one to two years to imple-
ment  a  directive.  Regulations  are  directly 
applicable  throughout  the  EU  as  soon  as 
they come into force without further action 
by the member state.

The rules and procedures for EU decision-
making are laid down in the Treaties. Every 
proposal for a new European law must be 
based on a speciﬁ c Treaty article, referred 
to as the ‘legal basis’ of the proposal. This 
determines which legislative procedure must 
be followed. The three main procedures are 
‘codecision’, ‘consultation’ and ‘assent’.

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec3:7
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec3:7

5/11/07   14:49:21
5/11/07   14:49:21

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I

I

S
N
O
S
C
E
D
S
E
K
A
T
U
E

E
H
T
W
O
H

8

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

The codecision procedure

1a. ESC opinion,
CoR opinion

1. Proposal from the Commission

2. First reading by the EP    opinion

4. First reading by the Council

3.  Amended proposal
          from the Commission          

5. Council approves all the
EP's amendments

7. EP has approved
the proposal without
amendments

9. Common position
of the Council

10. Communication 
from the Commission 
on common position

6. Council can adopt the
act as amended

8. Council can
adopt the act

11. Second reading by the EP

12. EP approves
common position or
makes no comments

14. EP rejects
common position

16. EP proposes
amendments to
common position

17. Commission
opinion on EP's
amendments

13. Act is deemed to
be adopted

15. Act is deemed not to
be adopted

18. Second reading by the Council

19. Council approves amended common position

(i) by a qualiﬁed majority if 
the Commission has delivered
a positive opinion

(ii) unanimously if the
Commission has delivered
a negative opinion

21. Council does not approve the
amendments to the common position

20. Act adopted as amended

22. Conciliation Committee is convened

23. Conciliation procedure

24. Conciliation Committee agrees on a joint text

25. Parliament and Council adopt the
act concerned in accordance with the
joint text

27. Parliament and
Council do not approve
the joint text

26. Act is adopted

28. Act is not adopted

29. Conciliation Committee does not
agree on a joint text

30. Act is not adopted 

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec3:8
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec3:8

5/11/07   14:49:22
5/11/07   14:49:22

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Three ‘councils’: which is which? 

It’s easy to get confused about which European body is which – especially when very 
different bodies have very similar names, such as these three ‘councils’.

The European Council

  (cid:198) This  means  the  Heads  of  State  or  Government  of  all  the  EU  countries,  plus 
the  President  of  the  European  Commission.  It  depends  on  the  political  sys-
tem  of  each  country  whether  their  participant  is  the  president  and/or  the  prime 
minister.  The  European  Council  meets,  in  principle,  four  times  a  year  to  agree 
overall EU policy and to review progress. It is the highest level policymaking body 
in  the  European  Union,  which  is  why  its  meetings  are  often  called  ‘summits’.

The Council of the European Union

  (cid:198) Formerly known as the Council of Ministers, this institution consists of government 
ministers from all the EU countries. The Council meets regularly to take detailed deci-
sions and to pass EU laws. A fuller description of its work is given later in this booklet.

The Council of Europe

  (cid:198) This is not an EU institution at all. It is an intergovernmental organisation which aims 
(amongst other things) to protect human rights, to promote Europe’s cultural diversity 
and to combat social problems such as racial prejudice and intolerance. It was set 
up in 1949 and one of its early achievements was to draw up the European conven-
tion on Human Rights. To enable citizens to exercise their rights under that conven-
tion, it set up the European Court of Human Rights. The Council of Europe now has 
47 member countries, including all 27 European Union countries, and its headquarters 
is the Palais de l’Europe in Strasbourg (France).

2. Consultation

The consultation procedure is used in areas 
such as agriculture, taxation and competition. 
Based on a proposal from the Commission, 
the Council consults Parliament, the Euro-
pean Economic and Social Committee and 
the Committee of the Regions.

Under the consultation procedure, Parliament 
may: 
• approve the Commission proposal,

If  Parliament  asks  for  amendments,  the 
Commission  will  consider  all  the  changes 
Parliament  suggests.  If  it  accepts  any  of 
these suggestions it will send the Council an 
amended proposal.

The decision ultimately rests with the Council, 
which either adopts the amended proposal or 
amends it further. In this procedure, as in all 
others, if the Council amends a Commission 
proposal it must do so unanimously.

• reject it, or

• ask for amendments.

I

I

S
N
O
S
C
E
D
S
E
K
A
T
U
E

E
H
T
W
O
H

9

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec3:9
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec3:9

5/11/07   14:49:22
5/11/07   14:49:22

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I

I

S
N
O
S
C
E
D
S
E
K
A
T
U
E

E
H
T
W
O
H

10

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

The EU’s interpreters play a vital role in its work.

3. Assent

The assent procedure means that the Council 
has to obtain the European Parliament’s as-
sent before certain very important decisions 
are taken. The procedure is the same as in the 
case of consultation, except that Parliament 
cannot amend a proposal: it must either ac-
cept or reject it. Acceptance (‘assent’) requires 
an absolute majority of the votes cast. 

The  assent  procedure  is  mostly  used  for 
agreements with other countries, including 
the agreements allowing new countries to 
join the EU. 

C
E
©

Who works for the EU institutions?

The civil servants who work for the EU 
institutions come from all EU member 
countries. They cover a wide range of 
activities and skills, from policymakers 
and managers to economists, engineers, 
lawyers, linguists, secretaries and tech-
nical support staff. They must be able 
and willing to work in a multicultural and 
multilingual environment, usually at quite 
a distance from their home country. 

To become an EU civil servant you have 
to pass a tough competitive examination. 
These exams are centrally organised by 
the European Personnel Selection Ofﬁ ce 
(EPSO).

For further information, go to 
europa.eu/epso

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec3:10
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec3:10

5/11/07   14:49:22
5/11/07   14:49:22

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The European 
Parliament:
voice of the people

KEY FACTS 

ROLE // 
NEXT ELECTION // 
MEETINGS // 

ADDRESS // 
TEL. // 
INTERNET // 

Directly elected legislative arm of the EU
June 2009
 Monthly plenary sessions in Strasbourg, additional plenary 
sessions  and  committee  meetings  in  Brussels,  secretariat
in Luxembourg
Plateau du Kirchberg, BP 1601, L-2929 Luxembourg
(352) 4300-1
europarl.europa.eu

Hans-Gert Pöttering was elected President 
of the EP in 2007 and is to hold that post until 
the 2009 elections.

Where is Parliament based?

The European Parliament has three places of 
work: Brussels (Belgium), Luxembourg and 
Strasbourg (France).

Luxembourg is home to the administrative 
ofﬁ ces (the ‘General Secretariat’). Meetings 
of the whole Parliament, known as ‘plenary 
sessions’, take place in Strasbourg and some-
times in Brussels. Committee meetings are 
also held in Brussels.

The European Parliament (EP) is elected by the 
citizens of the European Union to represent 
their interests. Its origins go back to the 1950s 
and the founding Treaties. Since 1979 its mem-
bers have been directly elected by the citizens 
of the EU.

Elections are held every ﬁ ve years, and every 
EU citizen is entitled to vote, and to stand as a 
candidate, wherever they live in the EU. Parlia-
ment thus expresses the democratic will of 
the Union’s nearly 500 million citizens and it 
represents their interests in discussions with 
the other EU institutions. 

The  latest  elections  were  in  June  2004. 
Parliament has 785 members from all 27 EU 
countries. 

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) 
do not sit in national blocks, but in EU-wide 
political groups. Between them, they repre-
sent all views on political issues and European 
integration, from the strongly pro-federalist to 
the openly Eurosceptic.

E
L
P
O
E
P

E
H
T

F
O
E
C
O
V

I

:
T
N
E
M
A

I
L
R
A
P
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E

E
H
T

11
11

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec4:11
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec4:11

5/11/07   14:49:24
5/11/07   14:49:24

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
E
L
P
O
E
P

E
H
T

F
O
E
C
O
V

I

:
T
N
E
M
A

I
L
R
A
P
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E

E
H
T

12

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

Number of seats per political group, as at 1 September 2007

Independence/
Democracy 
(IND/DEM) 24

Alliance of Liberals 
and Democrats for 
Europe (ALDE) 104

European People's Party 
(Christian Democrats) 
and European Democrats 
(EPP-ED) 278

Greens/European Free 
Alliance (Greens/EFA) 42

Socialist Group 
(PES) 216

European United 
Left- Nordic Green 
Left (GUE/NGL) 41

Total: 785

Number of seats per country

Austria 
Belgium 
Bulgaria 
Cyprus 
Czech Republic 
Denmark 
Estonia 
Finland 
France 
Germany 
Greece 
Hungary 
Ireland 
Italy 

18  Latvia 
24  Lithuania 
18  Luxembourg 

6  Malta 

24  Netherlands 
14  Poland 

6  Portugal 
14  Romania  
78  Slovakia 
99  Slovenia 
24  Spain 
24  Sweden 
13  United Kingdom 
78  Total 

Union for Europe of 
the Nations (UEN) 44

Identity, Tradition and 
Sovereignty Group (ITS) 23

Non-attached 
members (NI) 13

9
13
6
5
27
54
24
35
14
7
54
19
78
785

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec4:12
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec4:12

5/11/07   14:49:24
5/11/07   14:49:24

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1.  Passing European laws

The most common procedure for adopting 
(i.e.  passing)  EU  legislation  is  ‘codecision’ 
(see above: ‘How the EU takes decisions’). 
This procedure places the European Parlia-
ment and the Council on an equal footing, 
and it applies to legislation in a wide range 
of ﬁ elds.

In some ﬁ elds (for example agriculture, eco-
nomic  policy,  visas  and  immigration),  the 
Council alone legislates, but it has to consult 
Parliament. In addition, Parliament’s assent is 
required for certain important decisions, such 
as allowing new countries to join the EU.

C
E
©

Parliament  also  provides  impetus  for  new 
legislation by examining the Commission’s 
annual work programme, considering what 
new laws would be appropriate and asking the 
Commission to put forward proposals.

Hans-Gert Pöttering, 
President of the European Parliament.

What does Parliament do?

2.  Democratic supervision

Parliament has three main roles.

1.  Passing European laws — jointly with the 
Council in many policy areas. The fact that 
the EP is directly elected by the citizens 
of the EU helps guarantee the democratic 
legitimacy of European law.

2.  Parliament  exercises  democratic  super-
vision over the other EU institutions, and 
in particular the Commission. It has the 
power to approve or reject the nomination 
of commissioners, and it has the right to 
require the Commission as a whole to step 
down.

3.  The power of the purse. Parliament shares 
with  the  Council  authority  over  the  EU 
budget  and  can  therefore  inﬂ uence  EU 
spending. It adopts or rejects the budget 
in its entirety.

These three roles are described in greater 
detail below.

Parliament exercises democratic supervision 
over the other EU institutions in several ways.

When  a  new  Commission  takes  ofﬁ ce,  its 
members are nominated by the governments 
of the EU countries, but they cannot be appoint-
ed without Parliament’s approval. Parliament 
interviews each of them individually, including 
the prospective Commission President, and 
then votes on whether to approve the Com-
mission as a whole.

Throughout its term of ofﬁ ce, the Commission 
remains politically accountable to Parliament, 
which can pass a ‘motion of censure’ requiring 
the Commission’s mass resignation. 

More generally, Parliament exercises control 
by regularly examining reports sent to it by the 
Commission (the annual general report, reports 
on the implementation of the budget, etc.). 
Moreover, MEPs regularly ask the Commission 
questions which the commissioners are legally 
required to answer.

E
L
P
O
E
P

E
H
T

F
O
E
C
O
V

I

:
T
N
E
M
A

I
L
R
A
P
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E

E
H
T

13

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec4:13
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec4:13

5/11/07   14:49:24
5/11/07   14:49:24

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
E
L
P
O
E
P

E
H
T

F
O
E
C
O
V

I

:
T
N
E
M
A

I
L
R
A
P
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E

E
H
T

14

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

Parliament  also  monitors  the  work  of  the 
Council:  MEPs  regularly  ask  the  Council 
questions, and the President of the Council 
attends the EP’s plenary sessions and takes 
part in important debates.

Parliament  can  exercise  further  democratic 
control by examining petitions from citizens 
and setting up committees of inquiry.

Finally, Parliament provides input to every EU 
summit (the European Council meetings). At 
the opening of each summit, the President of 
Parliament is invited to express Parliament’s 
views and concerns about topical issues and 
the items on the European Council’s agenda.

3.  The power of the purse

The EU’s annual budget is decided jointly by 
Parliament and the Council. Parliament de-
bates it in two successive readings, and the 
budget does not come into force until it has 
been signed by the President of Parliament.

Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control 
monitors how the budget is spent. In addition, 
the Parliament each year decides whether to 
approve the Commission’s handling of the 
budget. This approval process is technically 
known as ‘granting a discharge’.

How is the Parliament’s work 
organised?

Parliament’s work is divided into two main 
stages.

  (cid:198) Preparing  for  the  plenary  session. 
MEPs debate the Commission’s proposals 
in committees that specialise in particular 
areas of EU activity and on the basis of a 
report prepared by one of the committee 
members,  the  so-called  ‘rapporteur’. 
The  report  gives  the  background  and 
the  pros  and  cons  of  the  proposal. 
The issues for debate are also discussed 
by the political groups.

u

l
.
a
n
e
.
w
w
w

,
r
o
t
a
g
i
v
A
N
n
a
e
p
o
r
u
E

s
e
i
t
i
n
u
m
m
o
C
n
a
e
p
o
r
u
E
©

A poster calling on Luxembourgers to vote in the first 
direct elections to the European Parliament in 1979.

  (cid:198) The plenary session. Each year, 12 four-
day plenary sessions are held in Strasbourg 
and  six  two-day  sessions  are  held  in 
Brussels. At these sessions, Parliament 
examines proposed legislation and votes 
on amendments before deciding on the 
text as a whole.

Other agenda items may include Commission 
‘communications’ setting out its intentions 
in  a  particular  sphere,  or  questions  to  the 
Commission or Council about what is going 
on in the EU or the wider world.

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec4:14
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec4:14

5/11/07   14:49:26
5/11/07   14:49:26

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
S
E
T
A
T
S

R
E
B
M
E
M
E
H
T

F
O
E
C
O
V

I

:

I

N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E

E
H
T

F
O
L
I
C
N
U
O
C

E
H
T

15

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

The Council of the 
European Union: 
voice of the 
member states

KEY FACTS 

ROLE // 

MEMBERS // 
PRESIDENCY // 
MEETINGS // 

ADDRESS // 
TEL. // 
INTERNET // 

 Legislative (in some ﬁ elds executive) arm of the EU; represents 
the member states.
One minister from each EU country
 Rotates every six months
 In Brussels (Belgium), except in April, June and October 
(Luxembourg).
Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 175, B-1048 Brussels
(32-2) 285 61 11
consilium.europa.eu

The Council is the EU’s main decision-making 
body. Like the European Parliament, the Coun-
cil was set up by the founding Treaties in the 
1950s. It represents the member states, and 
its meetings are attended by one minister from 
each of the EU’s national governments.

Which ministers attend which meeting de-
pends on what subjects are on the agenda. If, 
for example, the Council is to discuss environ-
mental issues, the meeting will be attended 
by the environment minister from each EU 
country and it will be known as the ‘Environ-
ment Council’.

The EU’s relations with the rest of the world 
are  dealt  with  by  the  ‘General  Affairs  and 
External Relations Council’. But this Council 
conﬁ guration also has wider responsibility 
for  general  policy  issues,  so  its  meetings 
are attended by whichever minister or state 
secretary each government chooses.

Altogether there are nine different Council 
conﬁ gurations:

  (cid:198) General  Affairs  and  External  Relations,

  (cid:198) Economic and Financial Affairs (Ecoﬁ n),

   (cid:198) Justice and Home Affairs,

  (cid:198) Employment,  Social  Policy,  Health  and 

Consumer Affairs,

  (cid:198) Competitiveness,

  (cid:198) Transport, Telecommunications and Ener-

gy,

  (cid:198) Agriculture and Fisheries,

  (cid:198) Environment,

  (cid:198) Education, Youth and Culture.

Each minister in the Council is empowered 
to commit his or her government. In other 
words, the minister’s signature is the signa-
ture  of  the  whole  government.  Moreover, 
each minister in the Council is answerable 
to his or her national parliament and to the 

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec5:15
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec5:15

5/11/07   14:49:26
5/11/07   14:49:26

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
S
E
T
A
T
S

R
E
B
M
E
M
E
H
T

F
O
E
C
O
V

I

:

I

N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E

E
H
T

F
O
L
I
C
N
U
O
C

E
H
T

16

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

citizens that parliament represents. Together 
with the European Parliament’s involvement 
in decision-making, this ensures the demo-
cratic legitimacy of the Council’s decisions.

Up to four times a year the presidents and/or 
prime ministers of the EU countries, together 
with the President of the European Commis-
sion, meet as the European Council. These 
‘summit’ meetings set overall EU policy and 
resolve issues that could not be settled at a 
lower level (i.e. by the ministers at normal 
Council meetings). Given the importance of 
European Council discussions, they often go 
on late into the night and attract a lot of media 
attention.

What does the Council do?

The Council has six key responsibilities:

1.  to pass EU laws – jointly with the European 

Parliament in many policy areas.

2.  to  coordinate  the  broad  economic  and 

social policies of the member states.

3.  to  conclude  international  agreements 
between  the  EU  and  other  countries  or 
international organisations.

4.  to approve the EU’s budget, jointly with the 

European Parliament.

5.  to deﬁ ne and implement the EU’s common 
foreign and security policy (CFSP) based on 
guidelines set by the European Council.

6.  to coordinate cooperation between the na-
tional courts and police forces in criminal 
matters.

Most  of  these  responsibilities  relate  to  the 
Community  domain  —  i.e.  areas  of  action 
where the member states have decided to pool 
their sovereignty and delegate decision-making 
powers to the EU institutions. This domain is 
the ‘ﬁ rst pillar’ of the European Union.

However, the last two responsibilities relate 
largely to areas in which the EU countries have 
not delegated their powers but are simply 
working together. This is called intergovern-
mental cooperation and it covers the second 
and third pillars of the European Union.

The Council’s work is described in greater 
detail below.

1. Legislation

The bulk of the Council’s work is in passing 
legislation in areas where the EU has pooled 
its sovereignty. The most common procedure 
for this is ‘codecision’, where EU legislation is 
adopted jointly by the Council and Parliament on 
the basis of a proposal from the Commission. In 
some areas, the Council has the ﬁ nal word but 
only on the basis of a Commission proposal and 
only after having taken into account the views 
of the Commission and the Parliament (see 
above: ‘How the EU takes decisions’). 

2.  Coordinating the policies of 

member states

The EU countries have decided that they want 
an overall economic policy based on close 
coordination between their national economic 
policies. This coordination is carried out by 
the economics and ﬁ nance ministers, who 
collectively form the Economic and Financial 
Affairs (Ecoﬁ n) Council.

They  also  want  to  create  more  jobs  and  to 
improve  their  education,  health  and  social 
protection systems. Although each EU country 
is responsible for its own policy in these areas, 
they can agree on common goals and learn from 
each other’s experience of what works best. 
This process is called the ‘open method of coor-
dination’, and it takes place within the Council.

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec5:16
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec5:16

5/11/07   14:49:26
5/11/07   14:49:26

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
S
E
T
A
T
S

R
E
B
M
E
M
E
H
T

F
O
E
C
O
V

I

:

I

N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E

E
H
T

F
O
L
I
C
N
U
O
C

E
H
T

17

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

C
E
©

Javier Solana, the EU’s foreign policy chief, learns first hand about refugee realities.

3.  Concluding international 

5.  Common foreign and security policy

agreements

Each year, the Council ‘concludes’ (i.e. ofﬁ -
cially signs) a number of agreements between 
the European Union and non-EU countries, 
as well as with international organisations. 
These agreements may cover broad areas 
such as trade, cooperation and development 
or they may deal with speciﬁ c subjects such 
as textiles, ﬁ sheries, science and technology, 
transport, etc.

In addition, the Council may conclude conven-
tions between the EU member states in ﬁ elds 
such as taxation, company law or consular 
protection. Conventions can also deal with 
cooperation on issues of freedom, security 
and justice (see below).

4. Approving the EU budget

The EU’s annual budget is decided jointly by 
the Council and the European Parliament.

The EU countries are working to develop a com-
mon foreign and security policy (CFSP). But 
foreign policy, security and defence are matters 
over which the individual national governments 
retain independent control. However, the EU 
countries  have  recognised  the  advantages 
of working together on these issues, and the 
Council is the main forum in which this ‘inter-
governmental cooperation’ takes place.

This cooperation not only covers defence is-
sues but crisis management tasks, such as 
humanitarian and rescue operations, peace-
keeping and peacemaking in trouble spots. 
The EU countries try to mobilise and coord-
inate military and police forces, so that they 
can be used in coordination with diplomatic 
and economic action. Through these mecha-
nisms, the EU has helped to maintain peace, 
build democracy and spur economic progress 
in places as far apart as Indonesia, the Demo-
cratic Republic of the Congo and the countries 
of south-eastern Europe.

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec5:17
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec5:17

5/11/07   14:49:27
5/11/07   14:49:27

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
6. Freedom, security and justice

EU citizens are free to live and work in which-
ever EU country they choose, so they should 
have equal access to civil justice everywhere 
in the European Union. National courts there-
fore need to work together to ensure, for ex-
ample, that a court judgment delivered in one 
EU country in a divorce or child custody case 
is recognised in all other EU countries.

Freedom of movement within the EU is of 
great beneﬁ t to law-abiding citizens, but it 
is  also  exploited  by  international  criminals 
and terrorists. To tackle cross-border crime 
requires cross-border cooperation between 
the national courts, police forces, customs 
ofﬁ cers and immigration services of all EU 
countries.

They have to ensure, for example:

•  that the EU’s external borders are effectively 

policed;

•  that customs ofﬁ cers and police exchange 
information on the movements of suspected 
drugs trafﬁ ckers or people smugglers;

•  that asylum seekers are assessed and treat-
ed in the same way throughout the EU, so 
as to prevent ‘asylum shopping’.

Issues such as these are dealt with by the 
Justice and Home Affairs Council — i.e. the 
ministers for justice and of the interior. The 
aim is to create a single ‘area of freedom, se-
curity and justice’ within the EU’s borders.

How is the Council’s work 
organised?

The Council presidency

The presidency of the Council rotates every 
six months. In other words, each EU country 
in turn takes charge of the Council agenda 
and chairs all the meetings for a six-month 
period, promoting legislative and political de-
cisions and brokering compromises between 
the member states.

S
E
T
A
T
S

R
E
B
M
E
M
E
H
T

F
O
E
C
O
V

I

:

I

N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E

E
H
T

F
O
L
I
C
N
U
O
C

E
H
T

18

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

Free movement of people and goods within the EU have made customs checks like these 
a thing of the past when travelling in Europe. 

s
r
e
t
u
e
R
©

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec5:18
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec5:18

5/11/07   14:49:27
5/11/07   14:49:27

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   (cid:198) the European Union Military Staff (EUMS), 
composed of military and civilian experts 
seconded to the Council Secretariat by the 
member states;

   (cid:198) the Committee for the Civilian Aspects of 

Crisis Management.

How many votes per country?

Decisions in the Council are taken by vote. 
The bigger the country’s population, the more 
votes it has, but the numbers are weighted in 
favour of the less populous countries:

France, Germany, Italy and the 
United Kingdom 

Poland and Spain 

Romania 

Netherlands 

Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, 
Hungary and Portugal 

Austria, Bulgaria, Sweden  

Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Lithuania 
and Slovakia 

Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Luxembourg 
and Slovenia  

Malta 

Total 

 29

 27

 14

 13

 12

 10

   7

   4

3

345

S
E
T
A
T
S

R
E
B
M
E
M
E
H
T

F
O
E
C
O
V

I

:

I

N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E

E
H
T

F
O
L
I
C
N
U
O
C

E
H
T

19

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

The General Secretariat

The presidency is assisted by the General 
Secretariat, which prepares and ensures the 
smooth functioning of the Council’s work at 
all levels.

In 2004, Javier Solana was reappointed Sec-
retary-General of the Council. He is also High 
Representative for the common foreign and 
security policy (CFSP) and in this capacity 
he helps coordinate the EU’s action on the 
world stage. 

The Secretary-General is assisted by a Deputy 
Secretary-General in charge of managing the 
General Secretariat.

Coreper

In Brussels, each EU country has a permanent 
team (‘representation’) that represents it and 
defends its national interest at EU level. The 
head of each representation is, in effect, that 
country’s ambassador to the EU.

These ambassadors are known as ‘perma-
nent representatives’ and meet weekly within 
the Permanent Representatives Committee 
(Coreper). The role of this committee is to 
prepare the work of the Council, with the ex-
ception of most agricultural issues, which are 
handled by the Special Committee on Agri-
culture. Coreper is assisted by a number of 
working groups, attended by ofﬁ cials from the 
representations or national administrations.

Security and defence

The Council is assisted by a separate structure 
in matters of security and defence: 

  (cid:198)  the  Political  and  Security  Committee 
(PSC), which is to this cooperation what 
Coreper is to other types of decision;

  (cid:198)  the European Union Military Committee 
(EUMC), made up of the member states’ 
Chiefs of Defence Staff;

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec5:19
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec5:19

5/11/07   14:49:28
5/11/07   14:49:28

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Qualiﬁ ed majority voting

A qualiﬁ ed majority is reached:

In some particularly sensitive areas such as 
common foreign and security policy, taxation, 
asylum and immigration policy, Council deci-
sions have to be unanimous. In other words, 
each member state has the power of veto in 
these areas.

On most issues, however, the Council takes 
decisions by ‘qualiﬁ ed majority voting’.

•  if  a  majority  of  member  states  (in  some
cases a two-thirds majority) approve and; 

•  if a minimum of 255 votes is cast in favour

— which is 73.9% of the total.

In addition, a member state may ask for con-
ﬁ rmation that the votes in favour represent at 
least 62% of the total population of the Union. 
If this is found not to be the case, the decision 
will not be adopted.

S
E
T
A
T
S

R
E
B
M
E
M
E
H
T

F
O
E
C
O
V

I

:

I

N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E

E
H
T

F
O
L
I
C
N
U
O
C

E
H
T

20

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

n
o
i
s
s
i
M
e
c
i
l

o
P

i

n
o
n
U
n
a
e
p
o
r
u
E
©

The EU helps train and build police forces in troubled regions, stressing the importance of good community relations.

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec5:20
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec5:20

5/11/07   14:49:28
5/11/07   14:49:28

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The European 
Commission: 
promoting the
common interest

KEY FACTS 

ROLE // 
MEMBERS // 
TERM OF OFFICE // 
ADDRESS // 
TEL. // 
INTERNET // 

Executive arm of the EU and initiator of legislative proposals
27: one from each of the member states
 Five years (2004–09)
B-1049 Brussels
(32-2) 299 11 11
ec.europa.eu

T
S
E
R
E
T
N

I

N
O
M
M
O
C

E
H
T
G
N
I
T
O
M
O
R
P

:

I

I

N
O
S
S
M
M
O
C
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E

E
H
T

21

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

The Commission is independent of nation-
al governments. Its job is to represent and 
uphold the interests of the EU as a whole. 
It drafts proposals for new European laws, 
which it presents to the European Parliament 
(EP) and the Council.

It is also the EU’s executive arm — in other 
words, it is responsible for implementing the 
decisions of Parliament and the Council. That 
means managing the day-to-day business of 
the European Union: implementing its poli-
cies, running its programmes and spending 
its funds.

Like the EP and the Council, the European 
Commission was set up in the 1950s under 
the EU’s founding Treaties.

What is the Commission?

The term ‘Commission’ is used in two senses. 
First, it refers to the team of men and wom-
en – one from each EU country – appointed 
to run the institution and take its decisions. 

Secondly, the term ‘Commission’ refers to 
the institution itself and to its staff.

Informally,  the  appointed  members  of  the 
Commission are known as ‘commissioners’. 
They have generally held political positions in 
their countries of origin and many have been 
government ministers, but as members of 
the Commission they are committed to act-
ing in the interests of the Union as a whole 
and  not  taking  instructions  from  national 
governments.

A new Commission is appointed every ﬁ ve 
years, within six months of the elections to 
the European Parliament. The procedure is 
as follows:

•  the member state governments agree to-
gether  on  who  to  designate  as  the  new 
Commission President;

•  the Commission President-designate is then 

approved by Parliament;

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec6:21
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec6:21

5/11/07   14:49:29
5/11/07   14:49:29

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
T
S
E
R
E
T
N

I

N
O
M
M
O
C

E
H
T
G
N
I
T
O
M
O
R
P

:

I

I

N
O
S
S
M
M
O
C
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E

E
H
T

22

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

•  the  Commission  President-designate,  in 
discussion with the member state govern-
ments, chooses the other members of the 
Commission;

•  the new Parliament then interviews each 
commissioner-designate and then gives its 
opinion on the whole team. Once the new 
Commission is approved, it can ofﬁ cially 
start work.

The present Commission’s term of ofﬁ ce runs 
until 31 October 2009. Its President is José 
Manuel Barroso.

The Commission remains politically account-
able to Parliament, which has the power to 
dismiss the whole Commission by adopting 
a motion of censure. Individual members of 
the Commission must resign if asked to do 
so by the President and the other commis-
sioners approve.

The Commission is represented at all sessions 
of Parliament, where it must clarify and justify 
its policies. It also replies regularly to written 
and oral questions posed by MEPs.

Where is the Commission based?

The ‘seat’ of the Commission is in Brussels 
(Belgium), but it also has ofﬁ ces in Luxem-
bourg, representations in all EU countries and 
delegations in many capital cities around the 
world.

What does the Commission do?

The  European  Commission  has  four  main 
roles:

1.  to propose legislation to Parliament and 

the Council;

2.  to manage and implement EU policies and 

the budget;

3.   to enforce EU law (jointly with the Court 

of Justice);

4.   to represent the European Union on the 
international stage, for example by nego-
tiating agreements between the EU and 
other countries.

1.  Proposing new legislation

The day-to-day running of the Commission 
is in the hands of administrative ofﬁ cials, ex-
perts, translators, interpreters and secretarial 
staff. There are approximately 23 000 of these 
European civil servants. That may sound a 
lot, but in fact it is fewer than the number of 
staff employed by a typical medium-sized city 
council in Europe.

The Commission has the ‘right of initiative’. 
In other words, the Commission alone is re-
sponsible for drawing up proposals for new 
EU legislation, which it presents to Parliament 
and the Council. These proposals must aim 
to defend the interests of the Union and its 
citizens, not those of speciﬁ c countries or 
industries.

There is one commissioner for each EU country.

C
E
©

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec6:22
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec6:22

5/11/07   14:49:29
5/11/07   14:49:29

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Before making any proposals, the Commis-
sion must be aware of new situations and 
problems developing in Europe, and it must 
consider whether EU legislation is the best 
way to deal with them. That is why the Com-
mission is in constant touch with a wide range 
of interest groups and with two advisory bod-
ies – the European Economic and Social Com-
mittee and the Committee of the Regions. It 
also takes the opinions of national parliaments 
and governments into account.

The Commission will propose action at EU 
level only if it considers that a problem can-
not be solved more efﬁ ciently by national, 
regional or local action. This approach of deal-
ing with issues at the lowest possible level is 
called the ‘subsidiarity principle’.

If the Commission concludes that EU legisla-
tion is needed, then it drafts a proposal that 
it believes will deal with the problem effect-
ively and satisfy the widest possible range 
of interests. To get the technical details right 
the Commission consults experts, via various 
advisory committees and consultative groups. 
Frequently, it publishes ‘Green’ and ‘White’ 
papers, holds hearings, seeks the views of 
civil society and commissions specialist ex-
pert reports, and often consults the public 
directly before it makes a proposal in order 
to ensure that it has as complete a picture 
as possible.

2.  Implementing EU policies and 

the budget

As the European Union’s executive body, the 
Commission is responsible for managing and 
implementing the EU budget. Most of the 
actual spending is done by national and local 
authorities, but the Commission is respon-
sible for supervising it — under the watchful 
eye of the Court of Auditors. Both institutions 
aim to ensure good ﬁ nancial management. 
Only  if  it  is  satisﬁ ed  with  the  Court  of 
Auditors’ annual report does the European 

T
S
E
R
E
T
N

I

N
O
M
M
O
C

E
H
T
G
N
I
T
O
M
O
R
P

:

I

I

N
O
S
S
M
M
O
C
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E

E
H
T

23

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

The EU funds upgrades to telecommunications 
infrastructure in less prosperous regions of the EU.

C
E
©

Parliament grant the Commission discharge 
for implementing the budget.

The  Commission  also  has  to  implement 
decisions  taken  by  Parliament  and  the 
Council, such as those relating to the common 
agricultural policy, ﬁ sheries, energy, regional 
development, the environment, or youth, and 
educational training and exchange schemes, 
such as the Erasmus programme. It also plays 
a major role in competition policy in order to 
ensure that businesses operate on a level 
playing ﬁ eld. The Commission may prohib-
it mergers between companies if it thinks 
they will lead to unfair competition. The Com-
mission  also  has  to  make  sure  that  EU 
countries do not distort competition through 
excessive subsidies to their industries.

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec6:23
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec6:23

5/11/07   14:49:30
5/11/07   14:49:30

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
T
S
E
R
E
T
N

I

N
O
M
M
O
C

E
H
T
G
N
I
T
O
M
O
R
P

:

I

I

N
O
S
S
M
M
O
C
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E

E
H
T

24

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

3.  Enforcing European law

The  Commission  acts  as  ‘guardian  of  the 
Treaties’. This means that the Commission, 
together with the Court of Justice, is responsi-
ble for making sure EU law is properly applied 
in all the member states.

If it ﬁ nds that an EU country is not applying 
an EU law, it launches a process called the 
‘infringement procedure’. The ﬁ rst step is to 
send the government an ofﬁ cial letter, saying 
why the Commission considers this country 
is infringing EU law and setting it a deadline 
for sending a detailed explanation.

If the member state does not have a satisfac-
tory explanation or put matters right, the Com-
mission will send another letter conﬁ rming 
that EU law has been infringed and setting a 
deadline for it to be corrected. If the member 
state still fails to comply, the Commission 
will refer the matter to the Court of Justice to 
decide. The Court’s judgements are binding 
on the member states and the EU institutions. 
In  cases  where  member  states  continue 
failing  to  adhere  to  a  judgment,  the  Court 
can impose ﬁ nancial sanctions.

4.   Representing the EU on the

international stage

The European Commission is an important 
spokesperson for the European Union on the 
international stage. It is the voice of the EU in 
international forums such as the World Trade 
Organisation,  in  negotiations  on  the  inter-
national  climate  change  agreement,  the 
Kyoto Protocol, and the EU’s important aid 
and  trade  partnership  with  developing 
countries  in  Africa,  the  Caribbean  and  the 
Paciﬁ c, known as the Cotonou Agreement. 

The Commission also speaks and negotiates 
on behalf of the EU in areas where the mem-
ber states have pooled sovereignty. This is 
done on the basis of agreements reached in 
advance with the member states. 

How is the Commission’s work 
organised?

It is up to the Commission President to de-
cide which commissioner will be responsible 
for which policy area, and to reshufﬂ e these 
responsibilities  (if  necessary)  during  the 
Commission’s term of ofﬁ ce.

The  Commission  generally  meets  once  a 
week, usually on Wednesdays, and usually 
in Brussels. Each item on the agenda is pre-
sented by the commissioner responsible for 
that policy area, and the whole team then 
takes a collective decision on it.

The Commission’s staff is organised in de-
partments, known as ‘directorates-general’ 
(DGs) and ‘services’ (such as the Legal Serv-
ice). Each DG is responsible for a particular 
policy area and is headed by a director-general 
who is answerable to one of the commission-
ers. Overall coordination is provided by the 
Secretariat-General, which also manages the 
weekly Commission meetings. It is headed 
by the Secretary General, who is answerable 
directly to the President.

It is the DGs that actually devise and draft 
legislative  proposals,  but  these  proposals 
become  ofﬁ cial  only  when  ‘adopted’  by 
the Commission at its weekly meeting. The 
procedure is roughly as follows.

Suppose, for example, that the Commission 
sees  a  need  for  EU  legislation  to  prevent 
pollution of Europe’s rivers. The Directorate-
General for the Environment will draw up a 
proposal, based on extensive consultations 
with European industry, farming and envir-
onmental  organisations,  and  environment 
ministries in the EU countries. The draft will 
also be discussed with other Commission 
departments with an interest in this topic, 
and checked by the Legal Service and the 
Secretariat-General.

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec6:24
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec6:24

5/11/07   14:49:31
5/11/07   14:49:31

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
T
S
E
R
E
T
N

I

N
O
M
M
O
C

E
H
T
G
N
I
T
O
M
O
R
P

:

I

I

N
O
S
S
M
M
O
C
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E

European Commission President José Manuel Barroso sees for himself the dramatic effects 
climate change is already having on Greenland.

C
E
©

Once the proposal is fully ready, it will be put 
on the agenda of a Commission meeting. If 
at least 14 of the 27 commissioners approve 
the proposal, the Commission will adopt it and 
it will have the whole team’s unconditional 
support. The document will then be sent to 

the Council and the European Parliament for 
them to decide on the proposal. The Commis-
sion may subsequently make amendments 
in the light of the comments from these two 
institutions and then send the proposal back 
for ﬁ nal approval.

E
H
T

25

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec6:25
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec6:25

5/11/07   14:49:31
5/11/07   14:49:31

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
W
A
L

I

E
H
T
G
N
D
L
O
H
P
U

:

E
C

I
T
S
U
J

F
O
T
R
U
O
C
E
H
T

26

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

The Court of Justice: 
upholding the law

KEY FACTS 

To give legal judgments on cases brought before it

ROLE // 
COURT OF JUSTICE //  One judge from each EU country; eight advocates-general
COURT OF FIRST 
INSTANCE // 
CIVIL SERVICE TRIBUNAL //  Seven judges
TERM OF OFFICE // 
ADDRESS // 
TEL. // 
INTERNET // 

Renewable terms of six years
Boulevard Konrad Adenauer, L-2925 Luxembourg
(352) 43 03-1
curia.europa.eu

At least one judge from each EU country (27 in 2007)

The Court of Justice of the European Commu-
nities (often referred to simply as ‘the Court’) 
dates back to the very ﬁ rst of the EU Trea-
ties, the ECSC Treaty of 1952. It is based in 
Luxembourg.

Its job is to make sure that EU legislation is in-
terpreted and applied in the same way in all EU 
countries, so that the law is equal for everyone. 
It ensures, for example, that national courts do 
not give different rulings on the same issue.

The  Court  also  makes  sure  that  EU  mem-
ber states and institutions do what the law 
requires. The Court has the power to settle 
legal disputes between EU member states, EU 
institutions, businesses and individuals.

The Court is composed of one judge per mem-
ber state, so that all 27 of the EU’s national 
legal systems are represented. For the sake 
of efﬁ ciency, however, the Court rarely sits as 
the full court. It usually sits as a ‘Grand Cham-
ber’ of just 13 judges or in chambers of ﬁ ve or 
three judges.

The Court is assisted by eight ‘advocates-
general’. Their role is to present opinions on 
the  cases  brought  before  the  Court.  They 
must do so publicly and impartially.

The judges and advocates-general are people 
whose impartiality is beyond doubt. They have 
the qualiﬁ cations or competence needed for 
appointment to the highest judicial positions 
in their home countries. They are appointed 
to the Court of Justice by joint agreement 
between the governments of the EU member 
states. Each is appointed for a term of six 
years, which may be renewed.

To help the Court of Justice cope with the 
large number of cases brought before it, and 
to  offer  citizens  better  legal  protection,  a 
Court of First Instance was created in 1988. 
This court (which is attached to the Court 
of Justice) is responsible for giving rulings 
on certain kinds of case, particularly actions 
brought  by  private  individuals,  companies 
and some organisations, and cases relating 

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec16:26
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec16:26

5/11/07   14:49:32
5/11/07   14:49:32

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
to competition law. This court also has one 
judge from each EU country.

The European Union Civil Service Tribunal 
adjudicates in disputes between the Euro-
pean Union and its civil service. This tribunal 
is composed of seven judges and is attached 
to the Court of First Instance. 

The Court of Justice, the Court of First Instance 
and the Civil Service Tribunal each have a presi-
dent chosen by their fellow judges to serve 
for a renewable term of three years. Vassilios 
Skouris was elected President of the Court of 
Justice in 2003. Marc Jaeger was appointed 
President of the Court of First Instance in 2007. 
Paul J. Mahoney has been President of the Civil 
Service Tribunal since 2005.

What does the Court do?

The  Court  gives  rulings  on  cases  brought 
before it. The ﬁ ve most common types of 
case are:

1.  references for a preliminary ruling;

2. actions for failure to fulﬁ l an obligation;

3. actions for annulment;

4. actions for failure to act;

5. actions for damages.

They  are  each  described  in  greater  detail 
below.

1.   The preliminary ruling procedure

The national courts in each EU country are re-
sponsible for ensuring that EU law is properly 
applied in that country. But there is a risk that 
courts in different countries might interpret 
EU law in different ways.

To prevent this happening, there is a ‘pre-
liminary ruling procedure’. This means that 
if a national court is in any doubt about the 
interpretation or validity of an EU law it may, 
and sometimes must, ask the Court of Justice 
for advice. This advice is given in the form of 
a ‘preliminary ruling’.

W
A
L

I

E
H
T
G
N
D
L
O
H
P
U

:

E
C

I
T
S
U
J

F
O
T
R
U
O
C

E
H
T

2727

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

Air hostesses have benefited several times from European Court of Justice rulings on equal pay and equal rights.

t
c
e
l
e
s
e
g
a
m

I
/
y
m
a
l
A
©

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec7:27
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec7:27

5/11/07   14:49:33
5/11/07   14:49:33

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
W
A
L

I

E
H
T
G
N
D
L
O
H
P
U

:

E
C

I
T
S
U
J

F
O
T
R
U
O
C

E
H
T

28

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

2.   Actions for failure to fulﬁ l an 

5.  Actions for damages

obligation

The Commission can start these proceedings 
if it has reason to believe that a member state 
is failing to fulﬁ l its obligations under EU law. 
These proceedings may also be started by 
another EU country.

In  either  case,  the  Court  investigates  the 
allegations and gives its judgment. The ac-
cused member state, if it is indeed found to 
be at fault, must set things right at once. If 
the Court ﬁ nds that the member state has not 
complied with its judgment, it may impose a 
ﬁ ne on that country.

3.  Actions for annulment

If any of the member states, the Council, the 
Commission or (under certain conditions) Par-
liament believes that a particular EU law is 
illegal, they may ask the Court to annul it.

These ‘actions for annulment’ can also be used 
by private individuals who want the Court to 
cancel a particular law because it directly and 
adversely affects them as individuals.

If the Court ﬁ nds that the law in question was 
not correctly adopted or is not correctly based 
on the Treaties, it may declare the law null 
and void.

4.  Actions for failure to act

The Treaty requires the European Parliament, 
the Council and the Commission to make cer-
tain decisions under certain circumstances. 
If they fail to do so, the member states, the 
other EU institutions and (under certain con-
ditions) individuals or companies can lodge a 
complaint with the Court so as to have this 
failure to act ofﬁ cially recorded.

Any person or company who has suffered 
damage as a result of the action or inaction 
of the Community or its staff may bring an 
action  seeking  compensation  before  the 
Court of First Instance.

How is the Court’s work 
organised?

Cases are submitted to the registry and a 
speciﬁ c  judge  and  advocate-general  are 
assigned to each case.

The procedure that follows is in two stages: 
ﬁ rst a written and then an oral phase.

At the ﬁ rst stage, all the parties involved sub-
mit written statements and the judge assigned 
to the case draws up a report summarising 
these statements and the legal background 
to the case.

Then comes the second stage — the public 
hearing. Depending on the importance and 
complexity of the case, this hearing can take 
place before a chamber of three, ﬁ ve or 13 
judges, or before the full Court. At the hear-
ing, the parties’ lawyers put their case before 
the judges and the advocate-general, who 
can  question  them.  The  advocate-general 
then gives his or her opinion, after which the 
judges deliberate and deliver their judgment. 
This will not necessarily follow the opinion of 
the advocate-general.

Judgments  of  the  Court  are  decided  by  a 
majority and pronounced at a public hearing. 
Dissenting opinions are not expressed. Deci-
sions are published on the day of delivery.

The procedure in the Court of First Instance 
is similar, except that there is no opinion from 
an advocate-general.

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec7:28
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec7:28

5/11/07   14:49:34
5/11/07   14:49:34

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Y
E
N
O
M
R
U
O
Y
R
O
F

E
U
L
A
V
G
N
I
T
T
E
G

:

S
R
O
T
I
D
U
A
F
O
T
R
U
O
C
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E

E
H
T

29

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

The European Court 
of Auditors: 
getting value for
your money  

KEY FACTS 

ROLE // 
MEMBERS // 
TERM OF OFFICE // 
ADDRESS // 
TEL. // 
INTERNET // 

To check that EU funds are used properly
One from each EU country
Members are appointed for a renewable term of six years
12 rue Alcide de Gasperi, L-1615 Luxembourg
(352) 43 98-1
eca.europa.eu

The Court of Auditors was set up in 1975. It 
is based in Luxembourg. The Court’s job is to 
check that EU funds are managed properly so 
that the citizens of the Union get maximum 
value for money. It has the right to audit any 
person or organisation handling EU funds.

The  Court  has  one  member  from  each  EU 
country, appointed by the Council for a renew-
able term of six years. The members elect one 
of them as President for a renewable term of 
three years. Hubert Weber has been President 
of the Court of Auditors since January 2005.

What does the Court do?

The Court’s main role is to check that the EU 
budget is correctly implemented — in other 
words, that EU income and expenditure is 
obtained, spent and recorded legally and to 
ensure sound ﬁ nancial management. So its 
work helps guarantee that the EU system op-
erates economically, efﬁ ciently, effectively 
and openly.

To carry out its tasks, the Court can investi-
gate the paperwork of any person or organi-
sation handling EU income or expenditure. It 
frequently carries out on-the-spot checks. Its 
ﬁ ndings are written up in reports which bring 
any problems to the attention of the Commis-
sion and EU member state governments.

To do its job effectively, the Court of Auditors 
must remain completely independent of the 
other institutions but at the same time stay in 
constant touch with them.

One of its key functions is to help the Euro-
pean Parliament and the Council by present-
ing  them  every  year  with  an  audit  report 
on  the  previous  ﬁ nancial  year.  Parliament 
examines the Court’s report in detail before 
deciding whether or not to approve the Com-
mission’s handling of the budget. If satisﬁ ed, 
the Court of Auditors also sends the Council 
and Parliament a statement of assurance that 
European citizens’ money has been properly 
used.

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec15:29
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec15:29

5/11/07   14:49:34
5/11/07   14:49:34

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Finally,  the  Court  informs  citizens  of  the 
results of its work through reports on subjects 
of particular interest.

How is the Court’s work 
organised?

The Court of Auditors has approximately 800 
staff, including translators and administrators 
as well as auditors. The auditors are divided 
into ‘audit groups’. They prepare draft reports 
on which the court takes decisions.

The auditors frequently go on tours of inspec-
tion to the other EU institutions, the member 

states and any country that receives aid from 
the EU. Indeed, although the Court’s work 
largely concerns money for which the Com-
mission is responsible, more than 80% of 
EU expenditure is managed by the national 
authorities.

The Court of Auditors has no legal powers of 
its own. If auditors discover fraud or irregulari-
ties they inform OLAF — the European Anti-
Fraud Ofﬁ ce. OLAF is a department of the 
European Commission with a special status 
which ensures total autonomy.

Y
E
N
O
M
R
U
O
Y
R
O
F

E
U
L
A
V
G
N
I
T
T
E
G

:

S
R
O
T
I
D
U
A
F
O
T
R
U
O
C
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E

E
H
T

30

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

Ear tags on cows help EU auditors keep track of where EU money has been spent.  

a
i
d
e
M
s
y
r
a
P

n
a
V
©

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec15:30
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec15:30

5/11/07   14:49:34
5/11/07   14:49:34

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The European Economic 
and Social Committee:  
voice of civil society

I

Y
T
E
C
O
S

L
I

V

I

C

F
O
E
C
O
V

I

:

E
E
T
T
I
M
M
O
C

L
A

I

C
O
S
D
N
A

I

C
M
O
N
O
C
E
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E

E
H
T

31
31

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

KEY FACTS 

ROLE // 
MEMBERS // 
TERM OF OFFICE // 
MEETINGS // 
ADDRESS // 
TEL. // 
INTERNET // 

Represents organised civil society
344
Four years
Brussels, monthly
Rue Belliard 99, B-1040 Brussels
(32-2) 546 90 11
eesc.europa.eu

Founded in 1957 under the Treaty of Rome, 
the European Economic and Social Commit-
tee (EESC) has 344 members. The number 
from each EU country roughly reﬂ ects the size 
of its population. The numbers per country 
are as follows:

France, Germany, Italy and the 
United Kingdom 

Poland and Spain 

Romania 

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, 
Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, 
the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden 

Denmark, Finland, Ireland,
Lithuania and Slovakia 

Estonia, Latvia and Slovenia 

Cyprus and Luxembourg 

Malta 

Total 

24

 21

 15

 12

 9

7

 6

5

344

The EESC is a consultative body that gives 
representatives of Europe’s interest groups, 
such  as  employer  organisations  and  trade
unions,  and  other  ‘organised  civil  society’ 
bodies,  such  as  consumer  associations, 
a  formal  platform  to  express  their  points 
of view on EU issues.

The members are nominated by the EU gov-
ernments but they work in complete political 
independence. They are appointed for four 
years, and may be reappointed.

The Committee meets in plenary assembly, 
and its discussions are prepared by six sub-
committees known as ‘sections’, each dealing 
with particular policy areas. It elects its Presi-
dent and two Vice-Presidents for a two-year 
term. Dimitris Dimitriadis became President 
of the EESC in October 2006.

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec8:31
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec8:31

5/11/07   14:49:36
5/11/07   14:49:36

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
What does the EESC do?

Who are the EESC’s members?

The European Economic and Social Commit-
tee has three main roles:

•  to advise the European Parliament, Council 
of the European Union and the European 
Commission, either at their request or on 
the Committee’s own initiative;

•  to encourage civil society to become more 

involved in EU policymaking;

•  to bolster the role of civil society in non-
EU countries and to help set up advisory 
structures.

The  Committee’s  opinions  are  forwarded 
to the larger institutions — the Council, the 
Commission and the European Parliament. 
It  must  be  consulted  before  decisions  are 
taken on economic and social, regional and 
environment policy. It thus has a key role to 
play in the Union’s decision-making process. 
The EESC is a bridge between the Union and 
its citizens, promoting a more participatory, 
more inclusive and therefore more democratic 
society in Europe.

Working mostly in their countries of origin the 
members of the Committee form three groups 
that represent employers, employees, and vari-
ous other economic and social interests.

The Employers’ Group has members from pri-
vate and public sectors of industry, small and 
medium-sized businesses, chambers of com-
merce, wholesale and retail trade, banking and 
insurance, transport and agriculture.

The  Employees’  Group  represents  all  cat-
egories of employees, from manual to execu-
tive. Its members come from national trade 
union organisations.

The Various Interests Group represents non-
governmental organisations (NGOs), farm-
ers’ organisations, small businesses, crafts 
and professions, cooperatives and non-proﬁ t 
associations, consumer and environmental 
organisations,  the  scientiﬁ c  and  academic 
communities, and associations that represent 
the family and the disabled.

I

Y
T
E
C
O
S

L
I

V

I

C

F
O
E
C
O
V

I

:

E
E
T
T
I
M
M
O
C

L
A

I

C
O
S
D
N
A

I

C
M
O
N
O
C
E
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E

E
H
T

32

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

Organisations representing the interests of the family are among the many groups in society whose voice is 
expressed through the EESC.

a
i
d
e
M
s
y
r
a
P

n
a
V
©

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec8:32
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec8:32

5/11/07   14:49:36
5/11/07   14:49:36

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
T
N
E
M
N
R
E
V
O
G
L
A
C
O
L
D
N
A
L
A
N
O
G
E
R
F
O
E
C
O
V

I

I

:

I

S
N
O
G
E
R
E
H
T
F
O
E
E
T
T
I
M
M
O
C
E
H
T

33
33

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

The Committee 
of the Regions: 
voice of regional 
and local government

KEY FACTS 

ROLE // 
MEMBERS // 
TERM OF OFFICE // 
MEETINGS // 
ADDRESS // 
TEL. // 
INTERNET // 

Represents regional and local authorities
344
Four years
Brussels, ﬁ ve plenary sessions per year
Rue Belliard 101, B-1040 Brussels
(32-2) 282 22 11
cor.europa.eu

Set up in 1994 under the Treaty on European 
Union, the Committee of the Regions (CoR) 
has 344 members. The number from each EU 
country approximately reﬂ ects its population 
size, as follows:

France, Germany, Italy and 
the United Kingdom  

Poland and Spain 

Romania 

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, 
Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, 
the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden 

Denmark, Ireland, Lithuania, 
Slovakia and Finland 

Estonia, Latvia and Slovenia 

Cyprus and Luxembourg 

Malta 

Total 

24

 21

15

 12

9

 7

6

5

344

It is an advisory body composed of repre-
sentatives  of  Europe’s  regional  and  local 
authorities.  The  CoR  has  to  be  consulted 
before  EU  decisions  are  taken  on  matters 
such  as  regional  policy,  the  environment, 
culture, education and transport — all of which 
concern local and regional government.

The members of the Committee are elected 
members of, or key players, in local or region-
al authorities in their home region. They are 
nominated to the Committee by the national 
governments and appointed by the Council 
of the European Union for four years. They 
may be reappointed. Each country chooses 
its  members  in  its  own  way,  but  the  mix 
must reﬂ ect political and geographical bal-
ances. If they lose their electoral mandate at 
home, they will have to stand down from the 
Committee.

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec9:33
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec9:33

5/11/07   14:49:38
5/11/07   14:49:38

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
There are four political groups: the European 
People’s Party, the Party of the European So-
cialists, the Alliance of Liberals and Demo-
crats for Europe, and the Union for Europe of 
the Nations–European Alliance. 

The President of the CoR is elected for a two-
year term from among its members. Michel 
Delebarre was elected President in 2006. 

What does the Committee do?

The role of the Committee of the Regions is 
to put forward the local and regional points 
of view on EU legislation. It does so by is-
suing reports, or ‘opinions’, on Commission 
proposals.

The Commission and the Council must con-
sult the CoR before EU decisions are taken 
on matters that concern local and regional 
government. This can be employment policy, 

the environment, education, culture, voca-
tional training and youth, energy, transport, 
telecommunications, and public health. 

This list is not exhaustive. The Commission, 
the Council and the European Parliament are 
free to consult the CoR on other issues. For 
its part, the Committee can adopt opinions 
on its own initiative and present them to the 
Commission, Council and Parliament.

How is the Committee’s work 
organised?

Each year the Committee of the Regions holds 
ﬁ ve plenary sessions, during which its general 
policy is deﬁ ned and opinions are adopted.

There are six ‘commissions’ to consider dif-
ferent policy areas and prepare the opinions 
to be debated in the plenary sessions.

T
N
E
M
N
R
E
V
O
G
L
A
C
O
L
D
N
A
L
A
N
O
G
E
R
F
O
E
C
O
V

I

I

:

S
N
O
G
E
R

I

E
H
T

F
O
E
E
T
T
I
M
M
O
C

E
H
T

34

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

Access to vocational training and lifelong learning across Europe is a primary concern of the 
Committee of the Regions.

x
o
b
r
e
d

l
i

B
©

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec9:34
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec9:34

5/11/07   14:49:38
5/11/07   14:49:38

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I

T
N
E
M
P
O
L
E
V
E
D
C
M
O
N
O
C
E
G
N
C
N
A
N
I
F

I

:

K
N
A
B
T
N
E
M
T
S
E
V
N

I

N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E

E
H
T

35

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

The European 
Investment Bank: 
ﬁ nancing economic 
development

KEY FACTS 

ROLE // 
MEMBERS // 

ADDRESS // 
TEL. // 
INTERNET // 

Finances economic development
The EU member states
Board of Directors 28, Management Committee 9
 100, Boulevard Konrad Adenauer, L-2950 Luxembourg
(352) 43 79-1
www.eib.org

The European Investment Bank (EIB) was set 
up in 1958 by the Treaty of Rome. Its main 
role is to lend money for projects of European 
interest, such as rail and road links, airports, 
or environmental schemes. It also provides ﬁ -
nance for small business investment in the EU 
and for economic development in candidate 
countries and the developing world. 

Philippe Maystadt became President of the 
EIB in January 2000.

on the capital markets, where it can therefore 
raise very large amounts of capital on very 
competitive terms. This in turn enables the 
bank to invest in projects of public interest 
that would otherwise not get the money — or 
would have to borrow it more expensively.

The projects in which the Bank invests are 
carefully selected. 

Its priorities in the EU are to support:

• cohesion and convergence, 

What does the Bank do?

• small and medium-sized enterprises, 

The EIB is a non-proﬁ t-making, self-ﬁ nancing 
institution, independent of the EU budget. It 
is ﬁ nanced through borrowing on the ﬁ nan-
cial markets. The Bank’s shareholders — the 
member  states  of  the  European  Union  — 
subscribe jointly to its capital, each country’s 
contribution reﬂ ecting its economic weight 
within the Union.

This backing by the member states gives the 
EIB the highest possible credit rating (AAA) 

• environmental sustainability, 

• innovation,

•  development of trans-European transport 

networks, and 

•   sustainable, competitive and secure energy. 

Outside the EU, the EIB supports EU develop-
ment and cooperation policies in candidate 
and potential candidate countries, countries 
around  the  Mediterranean  and  in  eastern 

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec10:35
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec10:35

5/11/07   14:49:40
5/11/07   14:49:40

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I

T
N
E
M
P
O
L
E
V
E
D
C
M
O
N
O
C
E
G
N
C
N
A
N
I
F

I

:

K
N
A
B
T
N
E
M
T
S
E
V
N

I

N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E

E
H
T

36

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

The Bank’s decisions are taken by the follow-
ing bodies.

  (cid:198) The  Board  of  Governors  consists  of 
ministers (normally the ﬁ nance ministers) 
from all the member states. It deﬁ nes the 
Bank’s general lending policy, approves 
the  balance  sheet  and  annual  report, 
authorises  the  Bank  to  fund  projects 
outside  the  EU  and  decides  on  capital 
increases.

  (cid:198) The Board of Directors approves lending 
and borrowing operations and it makes 
sure that the EIB is properly managed. It 
consists of 28 directors — one nominated 
by each EU member state and one by the 
European Commission.

  (cid:198) The  Management  Committee  is  the 
Bank’s full-time executive. It handles the 
EIB’s  day-to-day  business.  It  has  nine 
members.

Europe (including Russia) which are covered 
by the EU’s neighbourhood policy, and coun-
tries in Africa, the Caribbean, the Paciﬁ c, Asia 
and Latin America. Lending to these countries 
focuses on: 

• private sector development, 

• infrastructure development, 

• security of energy supplies, and

• environmental sustainability. 

Finally,  the  EIB  is  majority  shareholder  in 
the European Investment Fund, with which 
it forms the ‘EIB Group’. The Fund invests 
in venture capital and provides guarantees 
for small and medium-sized enterprises. It 
does not lend directly to businesses or invest 
directly in ﬁ rms. Instead, it works through 
banks  and  other  ﬁ nancial  intermediaries, 
providing them with guarantees to cover their 
loans to small businesses.

The Fund is active in the member states of 
the European Union and in countries which 
are candidates for membership. 

How is the Bank’s work 
organised?

The EIB is an autonomous institution. It makes 
its own borrowing and lending decisions on 
the merits of each project and the opportun-
ities offered by the ﬁ nancial markets. Each 
year, it presents a report on all its activities.

The Bank cooperates with the EU institutions. 
For example, its representatives take part in 
committees of the European Parliament, and 
the President of the EIB attends the Council 
meetings when the economics and ﬁ nance 
ministers of the EU countries meet.

a
g
l
e
B
©

The European Investment Bank has lent the Czech 
Republic money towards better flood protection.

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec10:36
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec10:36

5/11/07   14:49:40
5/11/07   14:49:40

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The European 
Central Bank:
managing the euro

KEY FACTS 

ROLE // 

MEMBERS // 

ADDRESS // 
TEL. // 
INTERNET // 

 To maintain price stability in the euro area and to conduct 
monetary policy 
Governing Council 19, General Council 29, 
Executive Board 6
Kaiserstrasse 29, D-60311 Frankfurt am Main
(49) 691 34 40
www.ecb.eu

The European Central Bank (ECB) was set up 
in 1998. It is based in Frankfurt (Germany). Its 
job is to manage the euro — the EU’s single 
currency, and to safeguard price stability for 
the more than two-thirds of the EU’s citizens 
who use the euro. The ECB is also responsible 
for framing and implementing the monetary 
policy of the euro area. 

To carry out its role, the ECB works with the 
‘European System of Central Banks’ (ESCB). 
Countries which have so far adopted the euro 
collectively make up the ‘euro area’. The cen-
tral banks of these countries, together with 
the European Central Bank, make up what is 
called the ‘Eurosystem’.

The ECB works in complete independence. 
Neither the ECB, the national central banks 
of the ESCB, nor any member of their de-
cision-making bodies can ask for or accept 
instructions  from  any  other  body.  The  EU 
institutions and the governments of the EU 
countries must respect this principle and must 

not seek to inﬂ uence the ECB or the national 
central banks.

Jean-Claude Trichet became President of the 
ECB in November 2003.

What does the Bank do?

One of the ECB’s main tasks is to maintain 
price stability in the euro area, so that the euro’s 
purchasing power is not eroded by inﬂ ation. 
The ECB aims to ensure that the year-on-year 
increase in consumer prices is less than, but 
close to, 2% over the medium term.

It does this by setting benchmark interest 
rates based on the analysis of economic and 
monetary  developments.  It  raises  interest 
rates if it wants to curb inﬂ ation, and low-
ers  them  if  it  thinks  the  risk  of  inﬂ ation  is 
limited.

O
R
U
E

I

E
H
T
G
N
G
A
N
A
M

:

K
N
A
B

L
A
R
T
N
E
C
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E

E
H
T

37

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec11:37
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec11:37

5/11/07   14:49:42
5/11/07   14:49:42

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
How is the Bank’s work 
organised?

The Executive Board of the ECB is responsible 
for implementing monetary policy, as deﬁ ned 
by the Governing Council (see below), and 
for giving instructions to the national central 
banks. It also prepares the Governing Council 
meetings and is responsible for the day-to-day 
management of the ECB.

It comprises the President of the ECB, the 
Vice-President and four other members, all 
appointed  by  common  agreement  of  the 
presidents  or  prime  ministers  of  the  euro 
area countries. The Executive Board mem-
bers  are  appointed  for  a  non-renewable 
term of eight years.

The Governing Council is the European Cen-
tral Bank’s highest decision-making body. It 
comprises the six members of the Executive 
Board and the governors of the central banks 
of the euro area. It is chaired by the President 
of the ECB. Its primary mission is to deﬁ ne 
the monetary policy of the euro area, and, in 
particular, to ﬁ x the interest rates at which 
commercial banks can obtain money from 
the ECB.

The General Council comprises the ECB’s 
President  and  the  Vice-President  and  the 
governors of the national central banks of all 
27 EU member states. The General Council 
contributes  to  the  ECB’s  advisory  and  co-
ordination  work  and  helps  prepare  for  the 
further enlargement of the euro area.

O
R
U
E

I

E
H
T
G
N
G
A
N
A
M

:

K
N
A
B

L
A
R
T
N
E
C
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E

E
H
T

38

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

EU countries using the euro from January 2008: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, 
Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain.

EU countries not using the euro: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, 
Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec11:38
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec11:38

5/11/07   14:49:42
5/11/07   14:49:42

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I

S
T
N
A
L
P
M
O
C

R
U
O
Y
G
N
I
T
A
G
I
T
S
E
V
N

I

:

N
A
M
S
D
U
B
M
O
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E

E
H
T

39

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

The European 
Ombudsman: 
investigating your 
complaints

KEY FACTS 

ROLE // 
TERM OF OFFICE // 
ADDRESS // 

TEL. // 
INTERNET // 

To uncover cases of maladministration and propose solutions
Five years, renewable
 1, Avenue du Président Robert Schuman, BP 403
F-67001 Strasbourg
(33) 388 17 23 13
ombudsman.europa.eu

The position of European Ombudsman was 
created by the Treaty on European Union in 
1992. The Ombudsman acts as an intermedi-
ary between the citizen and the EU author-
ities. He is entitled to receive and investigate 
complaints  from  EU  citizens,  businesses 
and organisations, and from anyone resid-
ing or having their registered ofﬁ ce in an EU 
country.

The Ombudsman is elected by the European 
Parliament for a renewable term of ﬁ ve years, 
which corresponds to Parliament’s legisla-
tive term. Nikiforos Diamandouros took up 
the post of European Ombudsman in April 
2003 and was re-elected in January 2005 for 
a ﬁ ve-year term.

What does the Ombudsman do?

He investigates maladministration in the Euro-
pean Union institutions and bodies. Maladmin-
istration means poor or failed administration 
– in other words, when an institution fails to 

act in accordance with the law, or fails to re-
spect the principles of good administration, or 
violates human rights. Some examples are:

• unfairness,

• discrimination,

• abuse of power,

• lack or refusal of information,

• unnecessary delay,

• incorrect procedures.

The Ombudsman carries out investigations 
following a complaint or on his own initia-
tive. He operates completely independent-
ly  and  impartially.  He  does  not  request  or 
accept instructions from any government or 
organisation.

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec12:39
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec12:39

5/11/07   14:49:45
5/11/07   14:49:45

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
How do I complain to the 
Ombudsman?

If you want to complain about maladminis-
tration by an EU institution or body, the ﬁ rst 
thing to do is contact that institution or body 
through the usual administrative channels and 
try to get them to put the situation right.

If that approach fails, you can complain to the 
European Ombudsman.

You must make your complaint to the Om-
budsman  within  two  years  of  the  date 
on which you became aware of the act of 
maladministration.  You  must  clearly  state 
who you are, which institution or body you 
are complaining about, and what problem you 
are complaining about. You may ask for the 
complaint to remain conﬁ dential.

For  practical  guidance  on  making  your 
complaint, go to the Ombudsman’s website: 
ombudsman.europa.eu

What result can I expect?

If  the  Ombudsman  cannot  deal  with  your 
complaint — for example, if it has already 
been the subject of a court case — he will do 
his best to advise you which other body may 
be able to help. 

To resolve your problem, the Ombudsman 
may simply need to inform the institution or 
body concerned. If the problem is not cleared 
up during his inquiries, the Ombudsman will 
try to ﬁ nd a friendly solution which puts the 
matter right and satisﬁ es you.

If  this  fails,  the  Ombudsman  can  make 
recommendations  to  resolve  the  issue.  If 
the  institution  concerned  does  not  accept 
his recommendations, he can make a spe-
cial  report  to  the  European  Parliament 
so that it can take whatever political action 
is necessary.

Every year, the Ombudsman presents the 
European Parliament with a report on all his 
work.

I

S
T
N
A
L
P
M
O
C

R
U
O
Y
G
N
I
T
A
G
I
T
S
E
V
N

I

:

N
A
M
S
D
U
B
M
O
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E

E
H
T

40

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

If your file is not getting the right attention, the Ombudsman is there to help.

a
i
d
e
M
s
y
r
a
P

n
a
V
©

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec12:40
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec12:40

5/11/07   14:49:45
5/11/07   14:49:45

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Y
C
A
V

I

R
P
R
U
O
Y
G
N
D
R
A
U
G
E
F
A
S

I

:

R
O
S

I

V
R
E
P
U
S
N
O
I
T
C
E
T
O
R
P
A
T
A
D
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E

E
H
T

41

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

The European Data 
Protection Supervisor:
safeguarding your 
privacy

KEY FACTS 

ROLE // 
TERM OF OFFICE // 
ADDRESS // 
TEL. // 
INTERNET // 

To protect personal data processed by the EU institutions
Five years, renewable
Rue Wiertz 60, MO 63, B-1047 Brussels
(32-2) 283 19 00
edps.europa.eu

The  position  of  European  Data  Protection 
Supervisor (EDPS) was created in 2001. The 
responsibilities of the EDPS are to make sure 
that the EU institutions and bodies respect 
the right to privacy when processing personal 
data.

What does the EDPS do?

When EU institutions and bodies process per-
sonal data about an identiﬁ able person, they 
must respect that person’s right to privacy. 
The EDPS makes sure they do.

‘Processing’ covers activities such as collect-
ing data, recording and storing them, retriev-
ing them for consultation, sending them or 
making them available to other people, and 
also blocking, erasing or destroying them.

There are strict privacy rules governing these 
activities. For example, EU institutions and 
bodies are, in general, not allowed to pro-
cess personal data that reveal your racial or 
ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or 

x
o
b
r
e
d

l
i

B
©

The EDPS checks that there are no abuses of personal 
privacy rights when illegal immigrants and asylum 
seekers have their fingerprints taken.

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec13:41
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec13:41

5/11/07   14:49:46
5/11/07   14:49:46

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
philosophical  beliefs  or  trade  union  mem-
bership. 

The EDPS works with the data protection 
ofﬁ cers  in  each  EU  institution  or  body  to 
ensure that the privacy rules are applied.

The EDPS gives advice on all matters that 
concern the processing of personal data — 
both on processing done by the EU institu-
tions and bodies, and on proposals for new 
legislation. It cooperates with national protec-
tion authorities in the EU countries, as well as 
with other actors in this ﬁ eld.

In 2004, Peter Johan Hustinx was appointed 
as European Data Protection Supervisor.

How can the EDPS help you?

If you have reason to believe that your right to 
privacy has been infringed by an EU institution 
or body, you should ﬁ rstly address the people 
responsible for the processing. If you are not 
satisﬁ ed with the outcome, you should con-
tact the relevant data protection ofﬁ cer (the 
names can be found on the EDPS website).

You can also complain to the European Data 
Protection Supervisor, who will investigate 
your complaint and let you know the outcome 
as soon as possible. The EDPS can, for exam-
ple, order the institution or body concerned to 
correct, block, erase or destroy personal data 
that have been unlawfully processed.

If you disagree with his decision, you may take 
the matter to the Court of Justice.

C
E
©

Y
C
A
V

I

R
P
R
U
O
Y
G
N
D
R
A
U
G
E
F
A
S

I

:

R
O
S

I

V
R
E
P
U
S
N
O
I
T
C
E
T
O
R
P
A
T
A
D
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E

E
H
T

42

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec13:42
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec13:42

5/11/07   14:49:47
5/11/07   14:49:47

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
C
E
©

Agencies

An agency is not an EU institution: it is a 
body set up by a speciﬁ c piece of EU leg-
islation to carry out a particular task. Not 
all EU agencies have the word ‘agency’ 
in their ofﬁ cial title: they may instead be 
called, for example, a centre, foundation, 
institute, or ofﬁ ce.

Community Fisheries Control Agency 
(CFCA)

Location: Vigo, Spain 
(provisional headquarters: Brussels, Belgium), 
ec.europa.eu/cfca/index_en.htm

This agency promotes and coordinates effective 
and uniform compliance with the rules of the 
common ﬁ sheries policy, in particular the 
protection of ﬁ sh stocks.

Community Plant Variety Ofﬁ ce 
(CPVO) 

Location: Angers, France 
www.cpvo.europa.eu

The CPVO administers a system of plant variety 
rights, equivalent to a patent for new plant 
varieties. These are protected for 25 or 30 years 
depending on the type of plant.

Education, Audiovisual and Culture 
Executive Agency (EACEA)

Location: Brussels, Belgium 
eacea.ec.europa.eu

This agency manages the practical aspects of the 
EU programmes which provide funding for youth, 
student and teacher programmes, and cultural 
and media activities.

Eurojust 

Location: The Hague, Netherlands 
eurojust.europa.eu

Eurojust helps investigators and prosecutors 
across the EU work together in ﬁ ghting cross-
border crime. It plays a key role in the exchange of 
information and extradition.

European Agency for the Management 
of Operational Coordination at the 
External Borders of the Member States 
of the EU (Frontex)

Location: Warsaw, Poland 
frontex.europa.eu

Frontex assists the EU countries in implementing 
EU rules on external border controls consistently 
and in returning illegal immigrants to their 
countries of origin. 

European Agency for Reconstruction 
(EAR)

Location: Thessaloniki, Greece 
ear.europa.eu

The EAR manages EU programmes for providing 
assistance with reconstruction, and economic and 
social development, to war-damaged countries in 
the Balkan region. 

European Agency for Safety and 
Health at Work (OSHA)

Location: Bilbao, Spain 
osha.europa.eu

This agency pools and raises awareness of 
knowledge and information on health and safety 
at work, with an emphasis on creating a culture of 
effective prevention. 

I
I

S
S
E
E
C
C
N
N
E
E
G
G
A
A

43

I
I

S
S
K
K
R
R
O
O
W
W
N
N
O
O
N
N
U
U
N
N
A
A
E
E
P
P
O
O
R
R
U
U
E
E
E
E
H
H
T
T
W
W
O
O
H
H

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec14:43
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec14:43

5/11/07   14:49:48
5/11/07   14:49:48

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
European Aviation Safety Agency 
(EASA)

Location: Cologne, Germany 
easa.europa.eu

The EASA promotes the highest possible 
standards of safety and environmental protection 
in EU civil aviation, and provides certiﬁ cation for 
planes and components.

European Centre for the Development 
of Vocational Training (Cedefop)

Location: Thessaloniki, Greece 
cedefop.europa.eu

The centre promotes the development of 
vocational education and training. It is a centre of 
expertise for the dissemination of knowledge and 
support for policymaking.

European Centre for Disease 
Prevention and Control (ECDC)

Location: Stockholm, Sweden 
ecdc.europa.eu

European Environment Agency (EEA)

Location: Copenhagen, Denmark 
eea.europa.eu

The EEA provides policymakers and the public 
with information to help promote sustainable 
development and improvements in Europe’s 
environment.

European Food Safety Authority 
(EFSA)

Location: Parma, Italy 
efsa.europa.eu

The authority provides the Commission and the 
public with independent scientiﬁ c advice on food 
safety and risks in the food chain ‘from farm to 
fork’.

European Foundation for the 
Improvement of Living and Working 
Conditions (Eurofound)

Location: Dublin, Ireland 
eurofound.europa.eu

ECDC identiﬁ es, assesses and provides 
information on current and emerging threats to 
human health from infectious diseases, such as 
inﬂ uenza, SARS and HIV/AIDS. 

The foundation is a hub of information on social 
policy issues, including employment and living 
conditions, industrial relations and partnership, 
and social cohesion.

European Chemicals Agency (ECHA)

Location: Helsinki, Finland 
ec.europa.eu/echa

The agency manages the technical, scientiﬁ c 
and administrative aspects of REACH, the EU 
registration system for chemicals.

European Defence Agency (EDA)

Location: Brussels, Belgium 
eda.europa.eu

The EDA helps promote coherence in place 
of fragmentation in Europe’s defence and 
security capabilities, including in armaments and 
equipment, research and operations.

European Global Navigation Satellite 
System Supervisory Authority (GSA)

Location: Brussels, Belgium (provisional 
headquarters) 
ec.europa.eu/transport/gsa

This agency manages Europe’s satellite navigation 
programmes (notably Galileo and EGNOS), which 
are giving Europe its own capability and the latest 
technology in this ﬁ eld.

European Institute for Gender Equality

Location: Vilnius, Lithuania 

This new institute promotes gender equality, 
including gender mainstreaming, and supports 
the ﬁ ght against discrimination.

I

S
E
C
N
E
G
A

44

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec14:44
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec14:44

5/11/07   14:49:49
5/11/07   14:49:49

 
 
 
 
European Maritime Safety Agency 
(EMSA)

Location: Lisbon, Portugal 
emsa.europa.eu

EMSA provides the Commission and the EU 
countries with technical and scientiﬁ c advice on 
how to improve safety and security at sea and 
prevent marine pollution.

European Medicines Agency (EMEA)

Location: London, United Kingdom 
emea.europa.eu

EMEA advises the Commission when human 
and veterinary medicines are ready to be put on 
the EU market. It monitors adverse effects, and 
provides scientiﬁ c advice.

European Police Ofﬁ ce (Europol)

Location: The Hague, Netherlands
www.europol.europa.eu

Europol aims at improving the effectiveness and 
cooperation of law enforcement authorities in the 
EU countries in their ﬁ ght against international 
organised crime.

European Railway Agency (ERA)

Location: Lille/Valenciennes, France 
www.era.europa.eu

This agency works on common approaches 
to railway safety and common standards for 
interoperability of railways to pave the way for a 
fully integrated EU network.

European Training Foundation (ETF)

European Monitoring Centre for Drugs 
and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA)

Location: Turin, Italy 
etf.europa.eu

Location: Lisbon, Portugal 
emcdda.europa.eu

The centre is a source of objective, reliable 
and comparable information on drugs and drug 
addiction in order to help policymakers identify 
common problems and goals.

European Network and Information 
Security Agency (ENISA)

Location: Heraklion (Crete), Greece
enisa.europa.eu

ENISA helps ensure that information networks 
and the data they carry are secure by collecting 
information, analysing risks, raising awareness and 
promoting best practice.

European Police College (CEPOL)

Location: Bramshill, United Kingdom 
cepol.net

The college trains senior EU police ofﬁ cials and 
prepares training programmes for middle-ranking 
ofﬁ cers, with a particular emphasis on combating 
cross-border crime.

The ETF helps improve vocational training in 
non-EU countries, mainly around the 
Mediterranean, in eastern Europe and in Russia. 

European Union Agency for 
Fundamental Rights (FRA)

Location: Vienna, Austria 
fra.europa.eu

This agency collects and disseminates objective, 
and comparable information on fundamental 
rights matters, and advises on how to promote 
these rights. This can be in relation to racism and 
xenophobia but also other fundamental rights. 

European Union Institute for Security 
Studies (EUISS)

Location: Paris, France 
www.iss-eu.org

The institute aims to help create a common 
European security culture, to enrich the strategic 
debate, and systematically to promote the security 
interests of the Union.

I
I

S
S
E
E
C
C
N
N
E
E
G
G
A
A

45

I
I

S
S
K
K
R
R
O
O
W
W
N
N
O
O
N
N
U
U
N
N
A
A
E
E
P
P
O
O
R
R
U
U
E
E
E
E
H
H
T
T
W
W
O
O
H
H

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec14:45
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec14:45

5/11/07   14:49:49
5/11/07   14:49:49

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
European Union Satellite Centre 
(EUSC)

Location: Torrejón de Ardoz, Spain 
www.eusc.europa.eu

The centre collects and analyses data and images 
from earth observation satellites in support of 
EU foreign and security policy priorities and 
humanitarian activities.

Executive Agency for the Public Health 
Programme (PHEA)

Location: Luxembourg 

ec.europa.eu/phea

PHEA manages the practicalities of EU funding 
programmes for public health projects, and feeds 
the results back to public-health stakeholders and 
policymakers.

Ofﬁ ce for Harmonisation in the Internal 
Market (Trade Marks and Designs) 
(OHIM) 

Location: Alicante, Spain 
www.oami.europa.eu 

The ofﬁ ce registers trade marks and designs. 
These are then valid across the EU. This system 
exists side-by-side with the individual EU countries’ 
domestic registration systems. 

Translation Centre for the Bodies of 
the European Union (CDT)

Location: Luxembourg 
cdt.europa.eu

The centre provides translation services for the 
specialised agencies of the EU. 

I

S
E
C
N
E
G
A

46

I

S
K
R
O
W
N
O
N
U
N
A
E
P
O
R
U
E
E
H
T
W
O
H

The European Aviation Safety Agency is working to make flying ever safer and environmentally sustainable.

a
i
d
e
M
s
y
r
a
P

n
a
V
©

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec14:46
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec14:46

5/11/07   14:49:49
5/11/07   14:49:49

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
European Commission

How the European Union works
Your guide to the EU institutions

Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities

2007 — 46 pp. — 16.2 x 22.9 cm

ISBN 92-79-03653-X

The European Union (EU) is unique. It is not a federal state like the United States of America because its member 
countries remain independent sovereign nations. Nor is it a purely intergovernmental organisation like the United 
Nations because the member countries do pool some of their sovereignty — and thus gain much greater collective 
strength and influence than they could have acting individually. 

They pool their sovereignty by taking joint decisions through shared institutions such as the European Parliament, 
which is elected by the EU citizens, and the Council, which represents national governments. They decide on the 
basis of proposals from the European Commission, which represents the interests of the EU as a whole. But what 
does each of these institutions do? How do they work together? Who is responsible for what?

This booklet sets out the answers in clear and simple language. It also gives a brief overview of the agencies and 
other bodies that are involved in the European Union’s work. The aim is to provide you with a helpful guide to EU 
decision-making.

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec14:47
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec14:47

5/11/07   14:49:51
5/11/07   14:49:51

Other information about the European Union

Go online
Information in all the official languages of the European Union and 
opportunities to tell us what you think are at: europa.eu

Visit us
All over Europe there are hundreds of local EU information centres. You 
can find the address of the centre nearest you on this website:
europedirect.europa.eu

Call or write to us
EUROPE DIRECT is a service which answers your questions about the 
European Union. You can contact this service by freephone:
00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (or by payphone from outside the EU: (32-2) 299 
96 96), or by electronic mail via: europedirect.europa.eu 

Read about Europe
Publications about the EU are only a click away on the EU Bookshop 
website: bookshop.europa.eu

You can also obtain information and booklets in English 
about the European Union from:lileo

EUROPEAN COMMISSION REPRESENTATIONS

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT OFFICES

Representation in Ireland
18 Dawson Street
Dublin 2
Tel. (353-1) 634 11 11
Fax (353-1) 634 11 12
Internet: ec.europa.eu/ireland/
E-mail: eu-ie-info-request@ec.europa.eu

Representation in Northern Ireland
Windsor House
9/15 Bedford Street
Belfast BT2 7EG
Tel. (44-28) 90 24 07 08
Fax (44-28) 90 24 82 41
Internet: ec.europa.eu/uk

Representation in the United States
2300 M Street, NW – 3rd floor
Washington DC 20037
Tel. (202) 862 95 00
Fax (202) 429 17 66
Internet: eurunion.org

222 East 41st Street, 20th floor
New York, NY 10017
Tel. (212) 371 38 04
Fax (212) 688 10 13
Internet: eurunion.org

Representation in the United Kingdom
8 Storey’s Gate
London SW1P 3AT
Tel. (44-20) 79 73 19 92
Fax (44-20) 79 73 19 00/10
Internet: ec.europa.eu/uk

Representation in Wales
2 Caspian Point
Caspian Way
Cardiff CF10 4QQ
Tel. (44-29) 20 89 50 20
Fax (44-29) 20 89 50 35
Internet: ec.europa.eu/uk

Representation in Scotland
9 Alva Street 
Edinburgh EH2 4PH
Tel. (44-131) 225 20 58
Fax (44-131) 226 41 05
Internet: ec.europa.eu/uk

Office in Ireland
European Union House
43 Molesworth Street
Dublin 2
Tel. (353-1) 605 79 00 
Fax (353-1) 605 79 99
Internet: europarl.ie
E-mail: epdublin@europarl.europa.eu

United Kingdom Office
2 Queen Anne’s Gate
London SW1H 9AA
Tel. (44-20) 72 27 43 00
Fax (44-20) 72 27 43 02
Internet: www.europarl.org.uk
E-mail: eplondon@europarl.europa.eu

Office in Scotland
The Tun
4 Jackson’s Entry
Holyrood Road
Edinburgh EH8 8PJ
Tel. (44-131) 557 78 66
Fax (44-131) 557 49 77
Internet: www.europarl.org.uk
E-mail: epedinburgh@europarl.europa.eu

There are European Commission and Parliament representations and offices in all the countries of the 
European Union. The European Commission also has delegations in other parts of the world.

May 2007

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec14:48
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec14:48

5/11/07   15:13:08
5/11/07   15:13:08

The European Union 

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec14:49
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec14:49

5/11/07   14:49:51
5/11/07   14:49:51

How the European Union works
Your guide to the EU institutions

N
A

-

A
K

-
0
6
-
4
8
2
-

E
N

-

C

EN

The European Union (EU) is unique. It is not a federal State like the United States of 
America because its member countries remain independent sovereign nations. Nor is 
it a purely intergovernmental organisation like the United Nations because the member 
countries do pool some of their sovereignty — and thus gain much greater collective 
strength and inﬂ uence than they could have acting individually. 

They pool their sovereignty by taking joint decisions through shared institutions such 
as the European Parliament, which is elected by EU citizens, and the Council, which 
represents national governments. They decide on the basis of proposals from the 
European Commission, which represents the interests of the EU as a whole. But what 
does each of these institutions do? How do they work together? Who is responsible 
for what?

This booklet sets out the answers in clear and simple language. It also gives a brief 
overview of the agencies and other bodies that are involved in the European Union’s 
work. The aim is to provide you with a helpful guide to EU decision-making.

ISBN 92-79-03653-X

9 279036

537151

How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec14:50
How the EU works_V5.indd   Sec14:50

5/11/07   14:49:52
5/11/07   14:49:52