How the European Union works : your guide to the EU institutions.
Date: 2013-05-15
Institutions: Directorate-General for Communication
Subjects: EU institution, legislative procedure, operation of the Institutions, public awareness campaign

How the 
European 
Union works

T H E   E U R O P E A N 
U N I O N 
E X P L A I N E D

Your guide 
to the 
EU institutions

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THE EUROPEAN UNION 
EXPLAINED

This publication is a part of a series that explains 
what the EU does in diﬀ erent policy areas, 
why the EU is involved and what the results are.
You can see online which ones are available 
and download them:
europa.eu/pol/index_en.htm

How the European Union works 

Europe 2020 — Europe’s growth strategy
The Founding Fathers of the European Union

Agriculture
Budget
Climate action 
Competition
Consumers
Customs
Culture, audiovisual, sport
Development and cooperation
Digital agenda
Economic and monetary union and the euro
Education, training, youth
Employment and social aﬀ airs
Energy
Enlargement
Enterprise
Environment
Foreign aﬀ airs and security policy
Fight against fraud
Fisheries and maritime aﬀ airs 
Food safety
Humanitarian aid
Internal market
Justice, citizenship, fundamental rights
Migration and asylum
Public health
Regional policy
Research and innovation
Security and home aﬀ airs
Taxation
Trade
Transport

The European Union explained — 
How the European Union works

European Commission
Directorate-General for Communication
Publications
1049 Brussels
BELGIUM

Manuscript completed in July 2012

Cover: © Luis Pedrosa 

40 pp. — 21 × 29.7 cm
ISBN 978-92-79-25553-3 
doi:10.2775/87270

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 
2012

© European Union, 2012
Reproduction is authorised. For any use or reproduction 
of individual photos, permission must be sought directly 
from the copyright holders.

Printed in Germany

Printed on white chlorine-free paper

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T H E   E U R O P E A N 
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How the 
European 
Union works

Your guide 
to the 
EU institutions

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Contents

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

Introducing the European Union: how it works, who does what 

The European Parliament: the voice of the people 

The European Council: setting the strategy 

The Council: the voice of the Member States 

The European Commission: promoting the common interest 

The national parliaments: enforcing subsidiarity 

The Court of Justice: upholding EU law 

The European Central Bank: ensuring price stability 

3

9

12

14

19

23

24

26

The European Court of Auditors: helping to improve EU financial management  29

The European Economic and Social Committee: the voice of civil society 

The Committee of the Regions: the voice of local government 

The European Ombudsman: investigating your complaints 

The European Data Protection Supervisor: protecting your privacy 

The European Investment Bank: investing in the future 

The EU agencies 

31

33

34

35

36                    

38 

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Introducing the European Union 

How it works, who does what

What this publication is about

This publication is a guide on how the European Union 
(EU) works. ‘How the EU works’ means: how decisions 
are taken at EU level and who takes those decisions. 
At the heart of this decision-making process are the EU 
institutions — such as the Parliament, the Council and 
the European Commission — which you may have 
heard of, and there are others. To show how the EU 
works, this publication first explains how EU legislation 
is made. It then gives further insight into each of the 
EU institutions, as well as the agencies and bodies 
supporting them.

The European Union in brief

At the core of the EU are the Member States — 
the 27 countries that belong to the Union — and their 
citizens. The unique feature of the EU is that, although 
these are all sovereign, independent countries, they 
have pooled some of their ‘sovereignty’ in order to gain 
strength and the benefits of size. Pooling sovereignty 
means, in practice, that the Member States delegate 
some of their decision-making powers to the shared 
institutions they have created, so that decisions on 
specific matters of joint interest can be made 
democratically at European level. The EU thus sits 
between the fully federal system found in the United 
States and the loose, intergovernmental cooperation 
system seen in the United Nations.

The EU has achieved much since it was created in 1950. 
It has built a single market for goods and services that 
spans 27 countries with 500 million citizens free to 
move and settle where they wish. It created the single 
currency — the euro — now a major world currency, 
and which makes the single market more efficient. 
It is also the largest supplier of development and 
humanitarian aid programmes in the world. These are 
just a few of the achievements so far. Looking ahead, 
the EU is working to get Europe out of the current 
economic crisis. It is at the forefront of the fight against 
climate change and its consequences; as it plans to 
keep growing, it helps neighbouring countries prepare 
themselves for EU membership; and it is building a 
common foreign policy which will do much to extend 

European values around the world. The success of these 
ambitions depends on the ability to take effective and 
timely decisions and to implement them well.

The EU treaties

The European Union is based on the rule of law. 
This means that every action taken by the EU is 
founded on treaties that have been approved voluntarily 
and democratically by all EU countries. The treaties are 
negotiated and agreed by all the EU Member States and 
then ratified by their parliaments or by referendum. 

The treaties lay down the objectives of the European 
Union, the rules for EU institutions, how decisions are 
made and the relationship between the EU and its 
Member States. They have been amended each time 
new Member States have joined. From time to time, 
they have also been amended to reform the European 
Union’s institutions and to give it new areas of 
responsibility.

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On 9 May 1950, French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman first 
publicly proposed the ideas that led to the European Union. 
So 9 May is celebrated as the EU’s birthday.

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

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date. It is not an EU treaty, but an intergovernmental 
treaty and the intention is to bring it into EU 
law eventually.

The last amending treaty — the Lisbon Treaty — was 
signed in Lisbon on 13 December 2007, and came into 
force on 1 December 2009. Earlier treaties are now 
incorporated into the current consolidated version, 
which comprises the Treaty on European Union and the 
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

The Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance 
in the Economic and Monetary Union is an 
intergovernmental treaty which was signed by all EU 
Member States except the Czech Republic and the 
United Kingdom in March 2012. It is designed to foster 
budgetary discipline, strengthen the coordination of 
economic policies and to improve the governance of the 
euro area. At present 17 EU countries use the euro as 
their currency.

The treaty is often referred to as the ‘fiscal compact’ 
and will enter into force on 1 January 2013 if 
12 members of the euro area have ratified it by this 

The work of the EU is based on the treaties agreed by all the 
member countries — the latest main update was signed in 
Lisbon in 2007.

A history of the EU treaties

When French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman proposed integrating western Europe’s coal and steel 
industries in 1950, his ideas were set out in the Treaty of Paris the following year, and the precursor 
to the EU — the European Coal and Steel Community — was born. Since then, the EU has regularly 
updated and added to the treaties to ensure effective policy and decision-making.

 (cid:88) The Treaty of Paris, establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, was signed in Paris on 

18 April 1951 and entered into force in 1952. It expired in 2002.

 (cid:88) The Treaties of Rome, establishing the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European 

Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), were signed in Rome on 25 March 1957 and came into force 
in 1958.

 (cid:88) The Single European Act (SEA) was signed in February 1986 and came into force in 1987. 

It amended the EEC Treaty and paved the way for completing the single market.

 (cid:88) The Treaty on European Union (EU) — the Maastricht Treaty — was signed in Maastricht on 
7 February 1992 and came into force in 1993. It established the European Union, gave the 
Parliament more say in decision-making and added new policy areas of cooperation.

 (cid:88) The Treaty of Amsterdam was signed on 2 October 1997 and came into force in 1999. 

It amended previous treaties.

 (cid:88) The Treaty of Nice was signed on 26 February 2001 and entered into force in 2003. It streamlined 
the EU institutional system so that it could continue to work effectively after the new wave of 
Member States joined in 2004.

 (cid:88) The Treaty of Lisbon was signed on 13 December 2007 and came into force in 2009. It simplified 
working methods and voting rules, created a President of the European Council and introduced 
new structures with a view to making the EU a stronger actor on the global stage.

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Who takes the decisions?

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

 (cid:88) the European Parliament, which represents the 

EU’s citizens and is directly elected by them;

 (cid:88) the European Council, which consists of the Heads 
of State or Government of the EU Member States;

 (cid:88) the Council, which represents the governments of 

the EU Member States;

 (cid:88) A directive is a law that binds the Member States, 

or a group of Member States, to achieve a particular 
objective. Usually, directives must be transposed into 
national law to become effective. Significantly, 
a directive specifies the result to be achieved: 
it is up to the Member States individually to decide 
how this is done.

 (cid:88) A decision can be addressed to Member States, 

groups of people, or even individuals. It is binding in 
its entirety. Decisions are used, for example, to rule 
on proposed mergers between companies.

 (cid:88) Recommendations and opinions have no 

 (cid:88) the European Commission, which represents the 

binding force.

interests of the EU as a whole.

The European Council defines the general political 
direction and priorities of the EU but it does not exercise 
legislative functions. Generally, it is the European 
Commission that proposes new laws and it is the 
European Parliament and Council that adopt them. 
The Member States and the Commission then 
implement them.

What types of legislation are there?

There are several types of legal acts which are applied 
in different ways:

 (cid:88) A regulation is a law that is applicable and binding 
in all Member States directly. It does not need to be 
passed into national law by the Member States 
although national laws may need to be changed to 
avoid conflicting with the regulation.

How is legislation passed?

Every European law is based on a specific treaty article, 
referred to as the ‘legal basis’ of the legislation. 
This determines which legislative procedure must be 
followed. The treaty sets out the decision-making 
process, including Commission proposals, successive 
readings by the Council and Parliament, and the 
opinions of the advisory bodies. It also lays down when 
unanimity is required, and when a qualified majority is 
sufficient for the Council to adopt legislation.

The great majority of EU legislation is adopted using 
the Ordinary Legislative Procedure. In this 
procedure, the Parliament and the Council share 
legislative power.

The freedom for all citizens to 
travel, live and work in all the 
27 EU countries is one of the 
main achievements of the 
European Union.

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

ORDINARY LEGISLATIVE PROCEDURE

1. Proposal from the Commission

2. Opinions from national parliaments

3. Opinions from the European Economic and Social Committee and/or the Committee of the Regions
(when this is required)

FIRST READING

4. First reading by the European Parliament: Parliament adopts a position (amendments)

5. Commission can amend its proposal

6. First reading by the Council (*)

7. Council approves Parliament’s position.     

The act is adopted 

8. Council and Parliament disagree on amendments.
Council adopts position at first reading

SECOND READING

9. Second reading by the Parliament: Parliament approves the Council’s position at first 
reading — the act is adopted in ‘early second reading’ — or proposes amendments

10. Commission opinion on Parliament’s amendments

11. Second reading by the Council (*)

12. Council approves all Parliament’s amendments to 
the Council’s position at first reading.
The act is adopted

13. Council and Parliament disagree on amendments 
to the Council’s position at first reading

CONCILIATION

14. Conciliation Committee is convened

15. Conciliation Committee agrees on a joint text

16. Parliament and Council agree with the proposal 
from the Conciliation Committee, and
the act is adopted 

17. Parliament and/or Council disagree with the 
proposal from the Conciliation Committee, and
the act is not adopted

(*)  Council adopts its position by a qualified majority (the treaties provide for unanimity in a few exceptional areas). However, if the Council intends to deviate from the 

Commission’s proposal/opinion it adopts its position by unanimity.

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The procedure begins with the Commission. 
When considering launching a proposal for action, 
the Commission often invites views on the topic from 
governments, business, civil society organisations and 
individuals. The opinions collected feed into a 
Commission proposal that is presented to the Council 
and Parliament. The proposal may have been made at 
the invitation of the Council, the European Council, the 
Parliament or European citizens, or it may have been 
made on the Commission’s own initiative.

The Council and the Parliament each read and discuss 
the proposal. If no agreement is reached at the second 
reading, the proposal is put before a ‘conciliation 
committee’ comprising equal numbers of Council and 
Parliament representatives. Commission representatives 
also attend the committee meetings and contribute to 
the discussions. Once the committee has reached an 
agreement, the agreed text is then sent to Parliament 
and the Council for a third reading, so that it can finally 
be adopted as law. In most cases, the Parliament votes 
on proposals by simple majority and the Council by 
qualified majority voting, whereby each Member State 
has a certain number of votes in line with its size and 
population. In some cases, unanimous voting is required 
in the Council.

Special procedures

Special legislative procedures are available depending 
on the subject of the proposal. In the Consultation 
Procedure, the Council is required to consult 
Parliament on a proposal from the Commission, 
but is not required to accept Parliament’s advice. 
This procedure is only applicable in a few areas, 
such as internal market exemptions and competition 
law. In the Consent Procedure, Parliament may accept 
or reject a proposal, but may not propose amendments. 
This procedure can be used when the proposal concerns 
the approval of an international treaty that has been 
negotiated. In addition, there are limited cases where 
the Council and the Commission, or the Commission 
alone, can pass legislation.

Who is consulted, who can object?

In addition to the Commission–Council–Parliament 
triangle, there are a number of advisory bodies that 
must be consulted when proposed legislation involves 
their area of interest. Even if their advice is not taken, 
this contributes to the democratic oversight of EU 
legislation by ensuring that it is subject to the 
widest scrutiny.

These bodies are:

 (cid:88) the European Economic and Social Committee, 

which represents civil society groups such as 
employers, trades unions and social interest groups;

 (cid:88) the Committee of the Regions, which ensures the 
voice of local and regional government, is heard.

In addition, other institutions and bodies may be 
consulted when a proposal falls within their area of 
interest or expertise. For example, the European Central 
Bank would expect to be consulted on proposals 
concerning economic or financial matters.

Citizens’ participation

By means of a ‘European Citizens’ Initiative’, 
1 million EU citizens from at least one quarter of 
the EU Member States may invite the Commission 
to bring forward a legislative proposal on a 
particular issue. The Commission will carefully 
examine all initiatives that fall within the 
framework of its powers and that have been 
supported by 1 million citizens. An audition of the 
initiatives is done in the Parliament. 
Such initiatives may therefore influence the work 
of the EU institutions, as well as the 
public debate.

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Citizens can now propose new laws, by means of the European 
Citizens' Initiative.

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National oversight

National parliaments receive draft legislative acts at 
the same time as the European Parliament and the 
Council. They can give their opinion to ensure that 
decisions are taken at the most appropriate level. EU 
actions are subject to the principle of subsidiarity 
— which means that, except in the areas where it has 
exclusive powers, the Union only acts where action will 
be more effective at EU level than at national level. 
National parliaments therefore monitor the correct 
application of this principle in EU decision-making.

What decisions are taken

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

Fiscal policy — which concerns decisions about 
taxation, spending and borrowing — is the responsibility 
of the 27 Member State governments. So are the 
policies about labour and welfare. However, as fiscal 
decisions taken by one euro area Member State can 
have an impact throughout the euro area, these 
decisions must conform to rules set at EU level. 
Therefore, the coordination of sound public finances 
and structural policies is necessary for the EMU to 
function effectively and to ensure stability and growth. 
In particular, the economic crisis that began in 2008 
highlighted the need to strengthen economic 
governance in the EU and in the euro area, by means of 
inter alia closer policy coordination, monitoring 
and supervision.

The treaties list the policy areas in which the EU can 
take decisions. In some policy areas, the EU has 
exclusive competence, which means that decisions are 
taken at EU level by the Member States meeting in the 
Council and the European Parliament. These policy areas 
cover customs, competition rules, monetary policy for 
the euro area, and the conservation of fish and trade.

The Council monitors Member States’ public finances 
and economic policies and can make recommendations 
to individual EU countries based on proposals from the 
Commission. It may recommend adjustment measures 
and sanction euro area countries that do not take 
corrective measures to reduce excessive deficit and 
debt levels.

In other policy areas, there is shared competence 
between the Union and the Member States. This means 
that if legislation is passed at EU level, then these laws 
have priority. However, if no legislation is adopted at EU 
level, then the individual Member States may legislate at 
national level. Shared competence applies in many policy 
areas, such as the internal market, agriculture, the 
environment, consumer protection and transport.

In all other policy areas the decisions remain with the 
Member States. Thus, if a policy area is not cited in a 
treaty, the Commission cannot propose a law in that 
area. However, in some fields, such as the space sector, 
education, culture and tourism, the Union can support 
Member States’ efforts. And in others, such as overseas 
aid and scientific research, the EU can carry out parallel 
activities, such as humanitarian aid programmes.

Economic coordination

All EU countries are part of the Economic and Monetary 
Union (EMU), meaning that they coordinate their 
economic policymaking and treat economic decisions as 
a matter of common concern. Within the EMU, no 
institution alone is responsible for overall economic 
policy. These responsibilities are divided between the 
Member States and the EU institutions.

Monetary policy — which deals with price stability and 
interest rates — is managed independently by the 
European Central Bank (ECB) in the euro area, i.e. in 
those 17 countries which use the euro as their currency.

The governance of the euro area and major economic 
policy reforms are also discussed in the Euro Summits, 
where Heads of State or Government of euro area 
members meet.

The EU and foreign relations

Relations with countries outside of the EU are under the 
responsibility of the High Representative of the Union 
for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, who is appointed 
by the European Council, but also holds the post of 
European Commission Vice-President. At the level of 
Heads of State or Government, the Union is represented 
by the President of the European Council.

The European External Action Service (EEAS) serves as a 
foreign ministry and diplomatic service for the Union 
under the authority of the High Representative. It is 
composed of expert staff transferred from the Council, 
the Member States and the European Commission.

The Council develops and takes decisions in the field of 
the EU’s foreign and security policy on the basis of 
guidelines set by the European Council. The 
Commission, on the other hand, is responsible for trade 
and funding for non-EU countries, such as humanitarian 
or development aid. The Commission also represents 
the Union in all areas of EU competence outside foreign 
and security policy.

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The European Parliament

The voice of the people

Role: 

Directly elected legislative arm of the EU

Members:  754 Members of the European Parliament

Location:  Strasbourg, Brussels and Luxembourg
 (cid:88) www.europarl.eu

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are 
directly elected by EU citizens to represent their 
interests. Elections are held every five years and all EU 
citizens over 18 years old (16 in Austria) — some 375 
million — are entitled to vote. The Parliament has 754 
MEPs from all 27 Member States.

The official seat of the European Parliament is in 
Strasbourg (France), although the institution has three 
places of work: Strasbourg, Brussels (Belgium) and 
Luxembourg. The main meetings of the whole 
Parliament, known as ‘plenary sessions’, take place in 
Strasbourg 12 times per year. Additional plenary 
sessions are held in Brussels. Committee meetings are 
also held in Brussels.

Composition of the European Parliament

The seats in the European Parliament are allocated 
among the Member States on the basis of their share 
of the EU population.

Croatia will become the 28th Member State of the 
European Union on 1 July 2013. At the moment of 
accession, 12 Croatian members will join the European 
Parliament for the rest of this parliamentary term. For 
the elections to the Parliament in 2014, the total 
number of MEPs will be adjusted to 751.

Most MEPs are associated with a national political party 
in their home country. In the European Parliament the 
national parties group into EU-wide political groupings 
and most MEPs belong to one of these.

NUMBER OF MEPS PER MEMBER STATE IN 2012

Member State

Number of MEPs

Member State

Number of MEPs

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

19 

22 

18 

6 

22 

13

6 

13

74

99 

22 

22 

12 

73 

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Malta

Netherlands

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Slovakia

Slovenia

Spain

Sweden

United Kingdom

TOTAL

9 

12 

6 

6 

26 

51 

22 

33 

13 

8 

54 

20 

73

754

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

NUMBER OF MEPS IN EACH POLITICAL GROUP AS OF APRIL 2012 

Greens/European Free 
Alliance — Greens/EFA
58

Progressive Alliance of Socialists 
and Democrats — S & D 
190

European United Left/Nordic 
Green Left — EUL/NGL
34

Alliance of Liberals and 
Democrats for Europe — ALDE 
85

European People’s Party 
(Christian Democrats) — EPP
271

European Conservatives 
and Reformists — ECR
52

Europe of Freedom 
and Democracy — EFD 
34 

Non-attached members — NI  
30

TOTAL
754

What the European Parliament does

The Parliament has three main roles:

1.   It shares with the Council the power to legislate — to 
pass laws. The fact that it is a directly elected body 
helps guarantee the democratic legitimacy of 
European law.

2.   It exercises democratic supervision over all EU 

institutions, and in particular the Commission. It has 
the power to approve or reject the nomination of the 
President of the Commission and Commissioners, 
and the right to censure the Commission as a whole.

3.   It shares authority with the Council over the EU 

budget and can therefore influence EU spending. At 
the end of the budget procedure, it adopts or rejects 
the budget in its entirety.

These three roles are described in greater detail below.

1.  THE POWER TO LEGISLATE
The most common procedure for adopting EU legislation 
is called the ‘ordinary legislative procedure’ — also 
known as the ‘co-decision procedure’. This places the 
European Parliament and the Council on an equal 
footing, and the laws passed using this procedure are 
joint acts of the Council and Parliament. It applies to the 
majority of EU legislation, covering a wide range of 
fields such as consumer rights, environmental 
protection and transport. Under the ordinary legislative 
procedure the Commission makes a proposal which 
must be adopted both by the Parliament and the 
Council. Parliament’s assent is required for all 

international agreements in fields covered by the 
ordinary legislative procedure.

Parliament must be consulted on a range of other 
proposals, and its approval is required for important 
political or institutional decisions, such as social security 
and protection acts, tax-related provisions in the area of 
energy, and harmonisation of turnover taxes and 
indirect taxation. Parliament also provides the 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.

2.  THE POWER OF SUPERVISION
Parliament exercises democratic supervision over the 
other European institutions. It does so in several ways. 
Firstly, when a new Commission is to be appointed, 
Parliament holds auditions of all the prospective new 
members and President of the Commission (nominated 
by the Member States). They cannot be appointed 
without Parliament’s approval.

Furthermore, the Commission is politically answerable 
to Parliament, which can pass a ‘motion of censure’ 
calling for its mass resignation. More generally, 
Parliament exercises control by regularly examining 
reports sent to it by the Commission and asking written 
and oral questions.

The Commissioners attend plenary sessions of 
Parliament and meetings of the parliamentary 
committees. Similarly, the Parliament holds a regular 
dialogue with the President of the European Central 
Bank on monetary policy.

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Martin Schulz was elected President of 
the European Parliament in 2012.

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Parliament also monitors the work of the Council: MEPs 
regularly ask the Council written and oral questions, and 
the Council Presidency attends the plenary sessions and 
takes part in important debates. For some policy areas, 
which include common foreign and security policy, the 
Council alone is responsible for decision-making. But 
the Parliament nonetheless works closely with the 
Council in these areas.

Parliament can also exercise democratic control by 
examining petitions from citizens and setting up special 
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 of the European Union. Parliament 
debates it in two successive readings, and it does not 
come into force until it has been signed by the President 
of Parliament.

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

How the Parliament works

Parliament elects its own President for a two-and-a-
half-year term. The President represents the Parliament 
to the other EU institutions as well as to the outside 
world, and is assisted by 14 Vice-Presidents. The 
President of the European Parliament, together with the 
President of the Council, signs all legislative acts once 
they are adopted.

Parliament’s work is divided into two main stages:

 (cid:88) Preparing for the plenary session: this is done by the 

MEPs in the 20 parliamentary committees that 
specialise in particular areas of EU activity. For 
example, the ECON Committee for Economic and 
Monetary Affairs, or the INTA Committee for 
International Trade. The issues for debate are also 
discussed by the political groups.

 (cid:88) The plenary session itself: plenary sessions, attended 
by all MEPs, are normally held in Strasbourg (one 
week per month) and sometimes additional sessions 
are held in Brussels. At plenary sessions, Parliament 
examines proposed legislation and votes on 
amendments before coming to a decision on the text 
as a whole. Other items on the agenda may include 
Council or Commission ‘communications’ or questions 
about what is going on in the EU or in the wider 
world.

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The European Council

Setting the strategy

Role: 

Defines political direction and priorities

Members:   Heads of State or Government from each Member State, the President of the European 

Council and the President of the European Commission

Location:  Brussels
 (cid:88) european-council.europa.eu

The European Council brings together the EU’s top 
political leaders, i.e. Prime Ministers and Presidents 
along with its President and the President of the 
Commission. They meet at least four times a year to 
give the EU as a whole general political direction and 
priorities. The High Representative of the Union for 
Foreign Affairs and Security Policy also takes part in 
the meetings.

What the European Council does

As a summit meeting of the Heads of State or 
Government of all the EU countries, the European 
Council represents the highest level of political 
cooperation between the Member States. At their 
meetings, the leaders decide by consensus on the 
overall direction and priorities of the Union, and provide 
the necessary impetus for its development.

The European Council does not adopt legislation. 
At the end of each meeting it issues ‘conclusions’, 
which reflect the main messages resulting from the 
discussions and take stock of the decisions taken, also 
as regards their follow-up. The conclusions identify 
major issues to be dealt with by the Council, i.e. the 
meetings of ministers. They may also invite the 
European Commission to come forward with proposals 
addressing a particular challenge or opportunity 
facing the Union.

European Council meetings as a rule take place at least 
twice every six months. Additional (extraordinary or 
informal) meetings may be called to address urgent 
issues in need of decisions at the highest level, 
for example in economic affairs or foreign policy.

President of the European Council

The work of the European Council is coordinated by its 
President, who is responsible for convening and chairing 
European Council meetings and driving forward its work.

The European Council President also represents the 
Union to the outside world. Together with the High 
Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and 
Security Policy, he or she represents Union interests in 
foreign affairs and security matters.

The President is elected by the European Council for 
a once-renewable term of two and a half years. 
The Presidency of the European Council is a full-time 
job; the President may not simultaneously hold a 
national office.

How the European Council takes 
its decisions

The European Council takes most of its decisions by 
consensus. In a number of cases, however, qualified 
majority applies, such as the election of its President, 
and the appointment of the Commission and of the High 
Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

When the European Council decides by vote, only the 
Heads of State or Government may cast a vote.

Secretariat

The European Council is assisted by the General 
Secretariat of the Council.

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Euro summit

Outside of the European Council, the Heads of State or 
Government of those countries whose currency is the 
euro also meet at least twice a year, together with the 
President of the European Commission. The President of 
the European Central Bank is also invited to these Euro 
summit meetings. The President of the European 
Parliament may also be invited.

The meetings are an opportunity to discuss the 
governance of the euro area, as well as major economic 
policy reforms. The Euro summit is formally established 
by the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance 
in the Economic and Monetary Union (TSCG) that was 
signed by 25 Member States in 2012 and is expected to 
enter into force in 2013. The President of the Euro 
summit is appointed by the Heads of State or 
Government of euro area members. The appointment 
takes place at the same time as that of the President 
of the European Council, and has the same duration. 
The two positions can be held by the same person.

In some cases, the leaders of the countries which have 
ratified the TSCG but do not use the euro as their 

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Herman Van Rompuy chairs the EU summits as President of 
the European Council.

currency, also take part in Euro Summit discussions. 
When these countries are not eligible to participate, 
the President of the Euro Summit keeps them and the 
other EU Member States closely informed of the 
preparation and outcome of the summits.

A confusion of Councils: which is which?

It is easy to become confused about which European body is which — especially when very different 
bodies have very similar names, such as the following three ‘Councils’.

 (cid:88) The European Council

This means the Heads of State or Government (i.e. Presidents and/or Prime Ministers) of all the EU 
countries, together with its President and the President of the European Commission. It is the highest-
level policymaking body in the European Union, which is why its meetings are often called ‘summits’.

 (cid:88) The Council

Also known as the Council of Ministers, this institution consists of government ministers from all the 
EU countries. The Council meets regularly to take detailed decisions and to pass European laws.

 (cid:88) The Council of Europe

This is not an EU institution at all. It is an intergovernmental organisation which aims to protect 
human rights, democracy and the rule of law. It was set up in 1949 and one of its early achievements 
was to draw up the European Convention on Human Rights. To enable citizens to exercise their rights 
under that Convention it set up the European Court of Human Rights. The Council of Europe now has 
47 Member States, including all EU countries, and its headquarters are in Strasbourg, France.

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The Council

The voice of the Member States

Role: 

Deciding on policies and adopting legislation

Members:  One minister from each Member State

Location:  Brussels and Luxembourg
 (cid:88) consilium.europa.eu

In the Council, ministers of EU Member States meet to 
discuss EU matters, take decisions and pass laws. The 
ministers who attend these meetings have the authority 
to commit their government to the actions agreed in the 
Council meetings.

is to discuss environmental issues, the meeting will be 
attended by the environment minister from each EU 
Member State and is known as the ‘Environment 
Council’; likewise, for the ‘Economic and Financial Affairs 
Council’ or the ‘Competitiveness Council’, and so on.

What the Council does

The Council is an essential EU decision-maker. Its work 
is carried out in Council meetings that are attended by 
one minister from each of the EU’s national 
governments. The purpose of these gatherings is to 
discuss, agree, amend and, finally, adopt legislation; 
coordinate the Member States’ policies; or define the 
EU’s foreign policy.

Which ministers attend which Council meeting depends 
on the subjects on the agenda — this is known as the 
‘configuration’ of the Council. If, for example, the Council 

The Presidency of the Council rotates between the 
Member States every six months. It is not the same as the 
President of the European Council. The responsibility of 
the government holding the Presidency is to organise and 
chair the different Council meetings. By way of exception, 
the Foreign Affairs Council is chaired by the High 
Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, who 
carries out foreign policy on behalf of the Council.

In the interest of continuity of Council business, the 
six-monthly Presidencies work together closely in 
groups of three. These three-Presidency teams (‘trios’) 
draw up a joint programme of Council work over an 
18-month period.

The EU countries have agreed 
on a 'Europe 2020' strategy on 
how to get out of the economic 
crisis with smart, sustainable 
and inclusive growth. Council 
ministers take many decisions in 
order to implement this strategy.

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COUNCIL PRESIDENCIES

Year

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

January–June

July–December

Denmark

Ireland

Greece

Latvia

Cyprus

Lithuania

Italy

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Slovakia

Malta

Estonia

Austria

Finland

United Kingdom

Bulgaria

Romania

Each minister in the Council is empowered to commit 
his or her government. Moreover, each minister in the 
Council is answerable to the elected national 
authorities. This ensures the democratic legitimacy of 
the Council’s decisions.

The Council has five key responsibilities:

1.  To pass European laws. In most fields, it legislates 

jointly with the European Parliament.

2.  To coordinate the Member States’ policies, 

for example, in the economic field.

3.  To develop the EU’s common foreign and security 

policy, based on guidelines set by the 
European Council.

4.  To conclude international agreements between 
the EU and one or more states or international 
organisations.

5.  To adopt the EU’s budget, jointly with the 

European Parliament.

finance ministers who collectively form the Economic 
and Financial Affairs (Ecofin) Council.

3. COMMON FOREIGN AND SECURITY POLICY �CFSP�
The definition and implementation of the EU’s foreign 
and security policy is the exclusive competence of the 
European Council and the Council acting unanimously. 
It is put into effect by the High Representative for 
Foreign Affairs and Security Policy together with the 
Member States, meeting in the Foreign Affairs Council.

4. CONCLUDING INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS
Each year, the Council concludes (i.e. officially 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 specific subjects such as textiles, 
fisheries, science and technology, transport, etc. 
Such agreements are subject to the assent of 
the European Parliament in areas where it has
co-decision powers.

5. APPROVING THE EU BUDGET
The EU’s annual budget is decided jointly by the Council 
and the European Parliament. If the two institutions do 
not agree then conciliation procedures are followed until 
a budget is approved.

There are 10 different Council 
configurations:

Chaired by the High Representative for Foreign 
Affairs and Security Policy:

 (cid:88) Foreign Affairs

Chaired by the Member State holding the 
Presidency of the Council:

 (cid:88) General Affairs

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

 (cid:88) Economic and Financial Affairs

1. LEGISLATION
Much EU legislation is adopted jointly by the Council 
and Parliament. As a general rule, the Council only acts 
on a proposal from the Commission, and the 
Commission normally has responsibility for ensuring 
that EU legislation, once adopted, is correctly applied.

2. COORDINATING THE POLICIES OF MEMBER STATES 
�AN EXAMPLE: ECONOMIC POLICY�
All EU Member States are part of Economic and 
Monetary Union (EMU) even though not all belong to the 
euro area. Under EMU, EU economic policy is based on 
close coordination of national economic policies. 
This coordination is carried out by the economics and 

 (cid:88) Justice and Home Affairs

 (cid:88) Employment, Social Policy, Health and 

Consumer Affairs

 (cid:88) Competitiveness (Internal Market, Industry, 

Research and Space)

 (cid:88) Transport, Telecommunications and Energy

 (cid:88) Agriculture and Fisheries

 (cid:88) Environment

 (cid:88) Education, Youth, Culture and Sport

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How the Council works

All Council discussions and votes on legislative acts 
take place in public. Such meetings can be watched live 
via the Council’s website.

Overall consistency in the work of the different Council 
configurations is ensured by the General Affairs Council, 
which monitors the effective follow-up of European 
Council meetings. It is supported by the Permanent 
Representatives Committee (‘Coreper’ — from the 
French: ‘Comité des Représentants Permanents’).

Coreper is composed of the Member States 
governments’ Permanent Representatives to the 
European Union. In Brussels, each EU Member State has 
a team (‘Permanent Representation’) that represents it 
and defends its national interests at EU level. The Head 
of each Representation is, in effect, his or her country’s 
ambassador to the EU. These ambassadors meet 
weekly within the Coreper.

The role of Coreper is to prepare the work of the 
Council, with the exception of agricultural issues which 
are handled by the Special Committee on Agriculture. 
Coreper is assisted by a number of working groups 
made up of officials from the national administrations.

How many votes per country?

Decisions in the Council are taken by vote. At present, 
the Council decides by qualified-majority voting, except 
where the treaties require a different procedure, e.g. a 
unanimous vote in the fields of taxation and foreign 
policy. Under qualified-majority voting, the larger the 
population the more votes a Member State has, 
although this system is adjusted to give proportionally 
more weight to less-populous countries.

When Croatia joins in 2013 it will have seven votes. 
In 2014, the current qualified-majority voting method 
will be replaced by a new one — double majority voting. 
To be passed by the Council, proposed EU laws will then 
require a majority not only of the EU’s member 
countries (55 %) but also of the EU population (65 %). 
This will reflect the legitimacy of the EU as a union of 
both peoples and nations. It will make EU lawmaking 
both more transparent and more effective. And it will be 
accompanied by a new mechanism whereby at least 
four Member States representing at least 35 % of the 
EU population can block a decision. Where this 
mechanism is used, the Council is required to do 
everything in its power to reach a satisfactory solution 
within a reasonable time period.

VOTES PER COUNTRY IN THE COUNCIL

Germany, France, Italy, United Kingdom

Spain, Poland

Romania

Netherlands

Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, 
Portugal

Austria, Bulgaria, Sweden

Denmark, Ireland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Finland

Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Luxembourg, Slovenia

Malta

Total

29

27

14

13

12

10

7

4

3

345

Number of votes required for qualified majority 255

General Secretariat of the Council

The General Secretariat of the Council assists both the 
European Council and its President, and the Council and 
its rotating Presidencies. It is headed by a Secretary-
General appointed by the Council.

What is ‘enhanced cooperation’?

If some Member States want to cooperate 
more closely in policy areas that are not the 
exclusive competence of the EU but they are 
unable to get the agreement of all the other 
Member States, then the ‘enhanced 
cooperation’ mechanism allows them to work 
together. It permits at least nine Member 
States to use the EU institutions to achieve 
closer cooperation. However, there are 
conditions: this cooperation must further the 
objectives of the Union and it must be open to 
all other Member States if they wish to join.

The procedure is being used by a number of 
countries for divorce law, enabling them to find 
a common solution for couples from different 
EU countries wishing to divorce within the EU. 
It is also in place for a unitary patenting 
system that involves most — but not all — 
EU Member States.

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The Eurogroup

All Member States participate in Economic and 
Monetary Union (EMU), meaning they coordinate their 
economic policymaking and treat economic decisions as 
a matter of common concern to all. However, not all 
Member States have joined the euro area and adopted 
the single currency — the euro. Some have chosen not 
to join at present, while others are still preparing their 
economies to meet the criteria for euro area 
membership. Euro area Member States need to 
cooperate closely, and are also subject to the single 
monetary policy run by the European Central Bank. 
Therefore, the euro area Member States require a forum 
to discuss and decide on policies for the euro area. 
This cannot be the Economic and Financial Affairs 
Council (Ecofin) as this comprises all Member States.

The solution is the Eurogroup, which consists of the 
ministers of economy and finance of the euro 
area members.

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New EU rules on economic and financial governance help to 
clean up and strengthen the banking sector.

The Eurogroup acts to promote economic growth and 
financial stability in the euro area by coordinating 
economic policies. As only Ecofin can formally take 
decisions on economic matters, the Eurogroup meets 
informally on the day before Ecofin meetings, roughly 
once a month. The next day, the agreements reached in 
the informal Eurogroup gathering are formally decided 
upon in the Ecofin meeting by the Eurogroup members. 
Only Ecofin ministers representing euro area members 
vote on Eurogroup matters. The Commissioner for 
Economic and Monetary Affairs and the President of the 
European Central Bank also attend Eurogroup meetings.

The members of the Eurogroup elect a President for a 
term of two and a half years. The General Secretariat of 
the Council provides administrative support for 
Eurogroup meetings.

The common foreign and security policy

The European Union is progressively developing a 
common foreign and security policy (CFSP) which is 
subject to different procedures when compared to other 
policy areas. The CFSP is defined and implemented by 
the European Council and the Council working together. 
The Union’s wider international objectives are to 
advance democracy, the rule of law, human rights and 
freedom, and respect for human dignity and the 
principles of equality and solidarity. To achieve these 
objectives the EU develops relations and partnerships 
with other countries and organisations around 
the world.

Responsibilities for the CFSP are as follows:

 (cid:88) The European Council, chaired by the President, 
defines the common foreign and security policy 
taking into account the strategic interests of the 
Union, including matters with defence implications.

 (cid:88) The Council, in particular the Foreign Affairs Council, 

then takes the decisions needed to define and 
implement the CFSP following the European Council 
guidelines. The High Representative for Foreign 
Affairs and Security Policy chairs the meeting of the 
Foreign Affairs Council.

 (cid:88) The High Representative, together with the Member 
States, then puts the CFSP into effect, ensuring its 
implementation is consistent and effective. 
To do this, he or she can call on national and 
Union resources.

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The EU countries’ law enforcers must 
work together to fight international 
crime. 

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The European External Action Service (EEAS) serves as a 
foreign ministry and diplomatic service for the Union. 
The High Representative is head of the service, which is 
composed of expert staff transferred from the Council, 
the Member States and the European Commission. 
The EU has delegations in the majority of countries 
around the world and they are part of the EEAS. 
They work closely on CFSP matters alongside national 
embassies of EU Member States.

Matters of importance to the CFSP can be raised with 
the Council by any Member State or the High 
Representative acting alone or with the Commission. 
Given the often urgent nature of some CFSP issues, 
there are mechanisms in place to ensure decisions can 
be taken quickly. Generally speaking, decisions in this 
area are taken unanimously.

As well as driving forward the CFSP, the High 
Representative also represents the Union’s foreign and 
security policy worldwide, conducting political dialogue 
with third countries and partners and expressing the 
EU’s position in international organisations and 
meetings. At the level of Heads of State or Government, 
the Union is represented by the President of the 
European Council.

One aspect of the CFSP is security and defence 
questions, where the EU is developing a common 
security and defence policy (CSDP). This policy is 
designed to enable EU Member States to undertake 
crisis management operations. These are humanitarian 
and peacemaking or peacekeeping missions, which can 
either be of a military or civilian nature. The Member 
States voluntarily make some of their forces available 
to the EU for such operations. This is always 
coordinated with NATO, whose command structures are 
sometimes used for practical tasks in EU missions. 
A number of permanent EU bodies coordinate this work.

 (cid:88) The Political and Security Committee (PSC) 

monitors the international situation and examines 
the EU’s options for response during a crisis situation 
abroad.

 (cid:88) The European Union Military Committee (EUMC) 
consists of the chief of defence from all EU countries 
and directs EU military activities and provides advice 
on military matters.

 (cid:88) The European Union Military Staff (EUMS) 
is composed of military experts who work at a 
permanent military headquarters in Brussels and 
assist the EUMC.

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The European Commission

Promoting the common interest

Role: 

 Executive arm of the EU that proposes laws, polices agreements and promotes 
the Union

Members:  A college of Commissioners, one from each Member State 

Location:  Brussels
 (cid:88) ec.europa.eu

The Commission is the politically independent 
institution that represents and upholds the interests of 
the EU as a whole. In many areas it is the driving force 
within the EU’s institutional system: it proposes 
legislation, policies and programmes of action and is 
responsible for implementing the decisions of the 
European Parliament and the Council. It also represents 
the Union to the outside world with the exception of the 
common foreign and security policy.

What is the Commission?

The term ‘Commission’ is used in two senses. Firstly, 
it refers to the ‘Members of the Commission’ — i.e. 
the team of men and women appointed by the Member 
States and Parliament to run the institution and take its 
decisions. Secondly, the term ‘Commission’ refers to the 
institution itself and to its staff.

Informally, the Members of the Commission are known 
as ‘Commissioners’. They have all held political 
positions and many have been government ministers, 
but as members of the Commission they are committed 
to acting in the interests of the Union as a whole and 
not taking instructions from national governments.

The Commission has several Vice-Presidents, one of 
whom is also the High Representative for Foreign 
Affairs and Security Policy and thus has a foot in both 
the Council and the Commission camps.

The Commission remains politically answerable to 
Parliament, which has the power to dismiss it by 
adopting a motion of censure. The Commission attends 
all the sessions of Parliament, where it must clarify and 
justify its policies. It also replies regularly to written and 
oral questions posed by Members of Parliament.

José Manuel Barroso heads the EU executive body as 
President of the European Commission. 

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Appointing the Commission

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

 (cid:88) The Member State governments propose a 
new Commission President, who must be 
elected by the European Parliament.

 (cid:88) The proposed Commission President, 
in discussion with the Member State 
governments, chooses the other members 
of the Commission.

The new Parliament then interviews all 
proposed members and gives its opinion on the 
entire ‘College’. If approved, the new 
Commission can officially start work the 
following January. 

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The day-to-day work of the Commission is done by its 
administrative officials, experts, translators, interpreters 
and secretarial staff. Commission officials — like the 
staff of other EU bodies — are recruited via the 
European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO): europa.eu/
epso. They are citizens from every EU country, selected 
by means of open competitive examinations. There are 
approximately 33 000 people working for the 
Commission. That may sound a lot, but in fact it is 
fewer than the number of staff employed by most 
medium-sized city councils in Europe.

What the Commission does

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 European law (jointly with the Court 

of Justice);

4.  to represent the Union around the world.

1.  PROPOSING NEW LEGISLATION
Under the EU Treaty, the Commission has the ‘right of 
initiative’. In other words, the Commission alone is 
responsible for drawing up proposals for new European 
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 
specific countries or industries.

Before making any proposals, the Commission must be 
aware of new situations and problems developing in 
Europe and must consider whether EU legislation is the 
best way to deal with them. That is why the Commission 
is in constant touch with a wide range of interest groups 
and with two advisory bodies — the Economic and Social 
Committee (made up of employers’ and trade union 
representatives) and the Committee of the Regions 
(made up of representatives of local and regional 
authorities). It also seeks the opinions of national 
parliaments, governments and the public at large.

The Commission will propose action at EU level only if 
it considers that a problem cannot be solved more 
efficiently by national, regional or local action. 
This principle of dealing with things at the lowest 
possible level is called the ‘subsidiarity principle’.

If, however, the Commission concludes that EU 
legislation is needed, then it drafts a proposal that it 
believes will deal with the problem effectively and 

satisfy the widest possible range of interests. In order 
to get the technical details correct, the Commission 
consults the experts who make up its various 
committees and expert groups.

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 and the policies and 
programmes adopted by Parliament and the Council. 
Most of the actual work and spending is done by 
national and local authorities but the Commission 
is responsible for supervising it.

The Commission handles the budget under the watchful 
eye of the Court of Auditors. Both institutions aim to 
ensure good financial management. Only if it is 
satisfied with the Court of Auditors’ annual report does 
the European Parliament grant the Commission 
discharge for implementing the budget.

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Innovation and research is one of the ways to achieve new 
jobs and growth in Europe. 

Building the European Research Area

Through the Directorate-General for Research, 
the Commission develops EU policies in the field 
of research and technological development and 
contributes to the international competitiveness 
of European industry. The Commission’s 
Research and Technological Development 
Framework Programme injects tens of billions of 
euro into multidisciplinary cooperative scientific 
research across the EU and is a key contributor 
to creating a borderless research area 
throughout Europe.

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3.  ENFORCING EUROPEAN LAW
The Commission acts as ‘guardian of the treaties’. 
This means that, together with the Court of Justice, 
it is responsible for making sure EU law is properly 
applied in all the Member States. If it finds that any EU 
country is not applying a Union law, and therefore not 
meeting its legal obligations, the Commission takes 
steps to put the situation right.

external action the Commission plays the leading role 
— in particular in the areas of trade policy and 
humanitarian aid. In these areas, the European 
Commission acts as an important spokesperson for the 
European Union on the international stage. It enables 
the 27 Member States to speak with one voice in 
international forums such as the World Trade 
Organisation.

First, it launches a legal process called the ‘infringement 
procedure’. This involves sending the government an 
official letter explaining why the Commission considers 
this country is infringing EU law, and setting it a 
deadline for sending the Commission a detailed reply. 
If this procedure fails to correct matters, the 
Commission then refers the issue to the Court of 
Justice, which has the power to impose penalties. The 
Court’s judgments are binding on the Member States 
and the EU institutions.

4.   REPRESENTING THE EU ON THE INTERNATIONAL 

STAGE

The High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security 
Policy is a Vice-President of the Commission and has 
responsibility for external affairs. In matters concerning 
foreign affairs and security, the High Representative 
works with the Council. However, in other areas of 

Reaching out to those in need

The Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection 
department of the European Commission 
(ECHO) was established in 1992. Humanitarian 
action now occupies a key position in the 
European Union’s external activities — indeed, 
the EU is the world’s main player in this field.

Some 150 million people are helped each year 
through EU humanitarian aid funding. This aid 
is delivered via 200 partners such as aid 
charities and UN agencies. Assistance is based 
on the humanitarian principles of non-
discrimination and impartiality.

Catherine Ashton is the EU's foreign 
policy chief and coordinates the EU's 
actions towards the rest of the world. 

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It is the DGs that actually devise and draft the 
Commission’s legislative proposals, but these proposals 
only become official when ‘adopted’ by the College 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 and farmers, with environment 
ministries in the Member States and with environmental 
organisations. Many proposals are also open to public 
consultation, enabling individuals to provide views in a 
personal capacity, or on behalf of an organisation.

The proposed legislation will then be discussed with all 
relevant Commission departments and amended if 
necessary. It will then be checked by the Legal Service.

Once the proposal is complete, the Secretary-General 
will put it on the agenda for a forthcoming Commission 
meeting. At this meeting, the Environment 
Commissioner will explain to his or her colleagues why 
this legislation is being proposed, and they will then 
discuss it. If there is agreement, the College will adopt 
the proposal and the document will be sent to Council 
and the European Parliament for their consideration.

However, if there is disagreement among the 
Commissioners, the President may ask them to vote on 
it. If the majority is in favour, the proposal will be 
adopted. Thereafter it will have the support of all the 
Commission members.

How the Commission works

It is up to the Commission President to decide which 
Commissioner will be responsible for which policy area, 
and to reshuffle these responsibilities (if necessary) 
during the Commission’s term of office. The President is 
also entitled to demand a Commissioner’s resignation. 
The team of 27 Commissioners (also known as ‘the 
College’) meets once a week, usually on Wednesdays in 
Brussels. Each item on the agenda is presented by the 
Commissioner responsible for that policy area, and the 
College takes a collective decision on it.

The Commission’s staff is organised into departments, 
known as directorates-general (DGs) and services 
(such as the Legal Service). Each DG is responsible for 
a particular policy area — for example, the Trade 
DG and the Competition DG — and is headed by 
a Director-General who is answerable to one of 
the Commissioners.

Eurostat: collecting Europe’s data

Eurostat is the Statistical Office of the 
European Union and part of the Commission. 
Its task is to provide the EU with statistics at 
European level that enable comparisons to be 
made between countries and regions. This is a 
key task. Democratic societies do not function 
properly without a solid basis of reliable and 
objective statistics.

Eurostat statistics can answer many questions: 
is unemployment up or down? Are there more 
CO2 emissions compared to 10 years ago? How 
many women go to work? How is your country’s 
economy performing compared to that of other 
EU Member States?

 (cid:88) epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu

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The national parliaments

Enforcing subsidiarity

Role: 

To participate alongside the European institutions in the work of the Union

Members:  Members of national parliaments 

Location:  All EU Member States

The EU institutions are encouraging the national 
parliaments to become more involved in the activities 
of the European Union. Since 2006, the Commission has 
been transmitting to national parliaments all new 
legislative proposals, and has replied to their opinions. 
With the Lisbon Treaty from 2009, the rights and duties 
of national parliaments within the EU are clearly set. 
National parliaments are now more able to express 
their views on draft legislative acts as well as on other 
matters which may be of particular interest to them.

The greatest innovation is the new power to enforce 
subsidiarity. EU actions are subject to the principle of 
subsidiarity. This means that the Union only acts where 
action will be more effective at EU level than at 
national level. Where the treaties have given exclusive 
powers to the EU, this is considered to be the case, but 
otherwise it is a judgment that is made for each new 
law. Correct application of this principle in EU decision-
making is monitored by national parliaments.

To enable parliaments to carry out subsidiarity checks, 
the Commission sends draft legislation to national 
parliaments at the same time as it forwards it to the 
Union legislator (i.e. the European Parliament and 
the Council).

Any national parliament may then give a reasoned 
opinion if it considers that the proposal in question 
does not comply with the principle of subsidiarity. 
Depending on the number of reasoned opinions issued 
by national parliaments, the Commission may have to 
re-examine its proposal and decide whether to 
maintain, adjust or withdraw it. This is referred to as the 
yellow and orange card procedure. In the case of the 
ordinary legislative procedure, if a majority of national 
parliaments give a reasoned opinion, and provided that 
the Commission decides to maintain its proposal, it will 
have to explain its reasons, and it will be for the 
European Parliament and the Council to decide whether 
or not to continue the legislative procedure.

National parliaments are also directly involved with the 
implementation of EU legislation. EU directives are 
addressed to national authorities, who must take action 
to make them part of national law. The directives lay 
down certain end results that must be achieved in every 
Member State by a specified date. National authorities 
have to adapt their laws to meet these goals, but are 
free to decide how to do so. Directives are used to bring 
different national laws into line with each other, and are 
particularly common in matters affecting the operation 
of the single market (e.g. product safety standards).

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The Court of Justice

Upholding EU law

Role: 

To give legal judgments on cases brought before it

Court of Justice: 

One Judge from each EU Member State; eight Advocates General

General Court: 

One Judge from each EU Member State

Civil Service Tribunal:  Seven Judges

Location: 
 (cid:88) curia.europa.eu

Luxembourg

The Court of Justice of the European Union (the Court) 
ensures that EU legislation is interpreted and applied in 
the same way in each Member State. In other words, 
that it is always identical for all parties and in all 
circumstances. To this end, the Court checks the legality 
of the actions of the EU institutions, ensures the 
Member States comply with their obligations, and 
interprets EU law at the request of national courts.

The Court has the power to settle legal disputes 
between Member States, EU institutions, businesses and 
individuals. To cope with the many thousands of cases 
it receives, it is divided into two main bodies: the Court 
of Justice, which deals with requests for preliminary 
rulings from national courts, certain actions for 
annulment and appeals, and the General Court, which 
rules on all actions for annulment, brought by private 
individuals and companies and some such actions 
brought by Member States.

A specialised tribunal, the Civil Service Tribunal, also 
adjudicates in disputes between the EU and its civil 
servants.

What the Court does

The Court gives rulings on cases brought before it. 
The four most common types of case are listed below.

1.  THE PRELIMINARY RULING
The courts in each EU Member State are responsible for 
ensuring that EU law is properly applied in that country. 
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 binding ‘preliminary 
ruling’. This ruling is an important channel for citizens, 
through their national courts, to establish how far EU 
laws affect them.

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

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The General Court is also composed of 27 Judges, 
appointed by the Member States for six-year terms. 
The Judges of the General Court also elect a President 
among themselves for a three-year term. This Court sits 
in Chambers of three or five Judges (sometimes a 
single Judge) to hold hearings. Around 80 % of General 
Court cases are heard by three Judges. A Grand 
Chamber of 13 Judges, or a full Chamber of 27, 
may meet if the complexity or importance of the 
case justifies this.

All cases are submitted to the Registry at the Court and 
a specific Judge and Advocate General are assigned. 
After submission, there are two steps: first, a written 
stage and then an oral stage. In the first stage, all the 
parties involved submit written statements and the 
Judge assigned to the case draws up a report 
summarising these statements and the legal 
background to the case. This report is discussed at the 
Court’s General Meeting which decides the judicial 
formation that will hear the case and whether oral 
arguments are necessary. Then comes the second stage 
— the public hearing — where the lawyers put their 
case before the Judges and the Advocate General, who 
can question them. After the oral hearing, the Advocate 
General assigned to the case draws up his or her 
opinion. In the light of this opinion, the Judge draws up 
a draft ruling which is submitted to the other Judges for 
examination. The Judges then deliberate and deliver 
their judgment. Judgments of the Court are decided by 
a majority and pronounced at a public hearing. In most 
instances the text is available in all official languages 
of the EU on the same day. Dissenting opinions are 
not expressed.

Not all cases follow this standard procedure. When the 
urgency of a case so dictates, simplified and expedited 
procedures exist which allow the Court to rule within 
approximately three months.

2.  INFRINGEMENT PROCEEDINGS
The Commission, or (in some rare cases) a Member 
State, can initiate these proceedings if it has reason to 
believe that a certain Member State is failing to fulfil 
its obligations under EU law. The Court investigates the 
allegations and gives its judgment. If found to be at 
fault, the accused Member State must set things right 
without delay to avoid the fines the Court can apply.

3. PROCEEDINGS FOR ANNULMENT
If any of the Member States, the Council, Commission 
or (under certain conditions) Parliament, believes that a 
particular EU law is illegal they may ask the Court to 
annul it. These ‘proceedings for annulment’ can also be 
used by private individuals who want the Court to annul 
a particular law because it directly and adversely 
affects them as individuals.

4.  PROCEEDINGS FOR FAILURE TO ACT
The treaty requires the European Parliament, the 
Council and the Commission to make certain decisions 
under certain circumstances. If they fail to do so, the 
Member States, other EU institutions and (under certain 
conditions) individuals or companies can lodge a 
complaint with the Court so as to have this violation 
officially recorded.

How the Court works

The Court of Justice is composed of 27 Judges, one 
from each Member State, so that all the EU national 
legal systems are represented. The Court is assisted by 
eight ‘Advocates General’ who present reasoned 
opinions on the cases brought before the Court. 
They must do so publicly and impartially. The Judges 
and Advocates General are either former members of 
the highest national courts or highly competent lawyers 
who can be relied on to show impartiality. They are 
appointed by joint agreement of the Member State 
governments. Each is appointed for a term of six years. 
The Judges of the Court select a President who serves 
for three years. The Court of Justice can sit as a full 
Court, a Grand Chamber of 13 Judges, or Chambers of 
five or three Judges, depending on the complexity and 
importance of the case. Nearly 60 % of cases are heard 
by Chambers of five Judges and around 25 % by 
Chambers of three Judges.

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The European Central Bank

Ensuring price stability

Role: 

To manage the euro and euro area monetary policy

Members:  Euro area national central banks

Location:  Frankfurt am Main, Germany
 (cid:88) www.ecb.europa.eu

Mario Draghi has been 
President of the European 
Central Bank since 2011.

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The purpose of the European Central Bank (ECB) is to 
maintain monetary stability in the euro area by 
ensuring low and stable consumer price inflation. Stable 
prices and low price inflation are considered vital for 
sustained economic growth as they encourage 
enterprises to invest and create more jobs — thus 
raising living standards for Europeans. The ECB is an 
independent institution and takes its decisions without 
seeking or taking instructions from governments or 
other EU institutions.

What the ECB does

The ECB was set up in 1998, when the euro was 
introduced, to manage monetary policy in the euro area. 
The primary objective of the ECB is to maintain price 
stability. This is defined as a consumer price inflation 
rate of less than, but close to, 2 % per annum. The ECB 
also acts to support employment and sustainable 
economic growth in the Union.

How does the ECB manage price stability?

The ECB sets the interest rates for lending to 
commercial banks, which influences the price and 
the amount of money in the economy — and 
thus the inflation rate. For example, when money 
is in plentiful supply, consumer price inflation 
rate may rise, making goods and services more 
expensive. In response, the ECB can raise the 
cost of borrowing by increasing the interest rate 
on its loans to commercial banks — which 
reduces the supply of money and leads to 
downward pressure on prices. Likewise, when 
there is a need to stimulate economic activity, 
the ECB can reduce the interest rate it charges, 
to encourage borrowing and investment.

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To carry out its lending operations, the ECB holds and 
manages the official foreign reserves of the euro area 
members. Other tasks include conducting foreign 
exchange operations, promoting efficient payment 
systems in support of the single market, approving the 
production of euro banknotes by the euro area 
members, and collating relevant statistical data from 
the national central banks. The President of the ECB 
represents it at relevant high-level EU and 
international meetings.

How the ECB works

The European Central Bank is an institution of Economic 
and Monetary Union (EMU) to which all EU Member 
States belong. Joining the euro area and adopting the 
single currency — the euro — is the final phase of 
EMU. Not all EU Member States belong to the euro area: 
some are still preparing their economies to join, and 
others have opt-outs. The ECB stands at the core of the 
European System of Central Banks, which brings 
together the ECB and the national central banks of all 
EU Member States. The organisation of the ECB reflects 
this situation in its three main groupings.

 (cid:88) The General Council of the European System of 
Central Banks comprises the governors of the 
27 national central banks, together with the 
ECB President and Vice-President.

 (cid:88) The Executive Board of the ECB consists of the 
President, the Vice-President and four other 
members — all appointed by the European Council, 
acting by a qualified majority, for eight-year terms of 
office. The Executive Board is responsible for 
implementing monetary policy, the bank’s day-to-day 
operations, preparing Governing Council meetings as 
well as exercising certain powers delegated to it by 
the Governing Council.

 (cid:88) The Governing Council of the ECB comprises the six 

members of the ECB Executive Board and the 
Governors of the national central banks of the 
17 euro area members: together they form the 
Eurosystem. The Governing Council is the main 
decision-taking body of the ECB and meets twice a 
month. As a rule, at its first meeting each month, 
the Governing Council assesses economic and 
monetary developments and takes its monthly 
monetary policy decisions. At its second meeting, 
the Council mainly discusses issues related to other 
tasks and responsibilities of the ECB.

EU Member States using the euro as of 2012

AT:   Austria
BE:   Belgium
CY:   Cyprus
DE:   Germany
EE:   Estonia
EL:   Greece

ES:   Spain
FI:   Finland
FR:   France
IE:   Ireland
Italy
IT:  
LU:   Luxembourg

MT:  Malta
NL:   Netherlands
PT:   Portugal
SI:   Slovenia
SK:   Slovakia

EU Member States not using the euro

BG:   Bulgaria
CZ:   Czech Republic
DK:  Denmark
HU:  Hungary

LT:   Lithuania
LV:   Latvia
PL:   Poland
RO:   Romania

SE:   Sweden
UK:   United 

  Kingdom

PT

ES

IE

UK

NL

BE

LU

FR

DK

DE

IT

Açores (PT)

Madeira (PT)

Canarias (ES)

Guyane
(FR)

Guadeloupe (FR)

Martinique (FR)

Réunion (FR)

CY

FI

EE

LV

LT

RO

BG

EL

PL

SK

HU

SE

CZ

AT

SI

MT

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Economic governance: Who does what?

The Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) is a core element of European integration and all EU 
Member States are part of it. Fiscal policy (tax and spending) remains in the hands of individual 
national governments, as do policies about labour and welfare. However, the coordination of sound 
public finances and structural policies is vital for EMU to function effectively. The responsibilities are 
shared between the Member States and EU institutions as follows:

 (cid:88) The European Council sets the main policy orientations.

 (cid:88) The Council coordinates EU economic policymaking and takes decisions which can bind individual 

EU Member States.

 (cid:88) The EU Member States set their national budgets within agreed limits for deficit and debt, and 

determine their own structural policies involving labour, pensions, welfare and markets.

 (cid:88) The euro area countries coordinate policies of common interest for the euro area at the level of 
heads of state or government in the ‘Euro summit’ and at the level of finance ministers in the 
‘Eurogroup’.

 (cid:88) The European Central Bank sets monetary policy for the euro area, with price stability as the 

prime objective.

 (cid:88) The European Commission monitors what the EU Member States are doing and issues policy 

recommendations.

 (cid:88) The European Parliament shares the job of formulating legislation with the Council and exercises 

democratic oversight of the economic governance process.

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The European Court of Auditors

Helping to improve EU ﬁ nancial management

Role: 

 To check that EU funds are collected and used correctly, and help improve EU financial 
management

Members:  One from each EU Member State

Location:  Luxembourg
 (cid:88) eca.europa.eu

The European Court of Auditors (ECA) is the independent 
external audit institution of the European Union. 
It checks that the Union’s income has been received 
correctly, that its expenditure has been incurred in a 
legal and regular manner, and that financial 
management has been sound. It performs its tasks 
independently from the other EU institutions and 
governments. In doing so, it contributes to improving 
the management of European Union funds in the 
interests of its citizens.

What the European Court 
of Auditors does

The European Court of Auditors’ main role is to check 
that the EU budget is correctly implemented — in other 
words, that EU income and expenditure is legal and 
regular, and financial management is sound. This work 
helps to ensure that the EU is managed efficiently and 
effectively. To carry out its tasks, the ECA undertakes 
detailed audits of EU income or expenditure at all levels 
of the administration of EU funds. It carries out on-the-

spot checks at the organisations managing the funds, or 
the beneficiaries receiving them, both in the EU Member 
States and in other countries. Its findings are published 
in annual and specific reports, which draw the attention 
of the Commission and the Member States to errors 
and weaknesses found, and make recommendations for 
improvement.

Another key function is for the European Court of 
Auditors to help the budgetary authority (the European 
Parliament and the Council) by providing them with an 
annual report on the implementation of the EU budget 
for the previous financial year. The ECA’s findings and 
conclusions in this report play an important role in 
Parliament’s discharge decision on the Commission’s 
handling of the budget.

The European Court of Auditors also gives its opinion on 
new or revised EU regulations with financial impact at 
the request by the other EU institutions. The ECA can 
also issue position papers on other issues on its 
own initiative.

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

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How the European Court 
of Auditors works

The European Court of Auditors operates as a collegiate 
body of 27 Members, one from each EU country. 
The Members are appointed by the Council, after 
consultation with the European Parliament, for a 
renewable term of six years. They are chosen for their 
competence and independence, and work full-time for 
the ECA. They elect one of their number as President 
for a term of three years.

To be effective, the Court of Auditors — like any other 
supreme audit institution — must remain independent 
of the institutions and bodies it audits. The ECA is free 
to: select its audit topics, the specific scope and 
approach to be followed; decide how and when to 
present the results of its selected audits; and choose 
the publicity to be given to its reports and opinions. 
These are important elements of independence.

The European Court of Auditors is divided into 
chambers, which prepare the reports and opinions for 
adoption by the ECA. The chambers are supported by 
highly qualified staff originating from all Member 
States. The auditors frequently audit in the other 
EU institutions, the Member States and other 
beneficiary countries. The ECA also cooperates closely 
with supreme audit institutions in the Member States. 
Indeed, although the ECA’s work largely concerns the 
EU budget — for which the Commission retains overall 
responsibility — in practice, management of over 
80 % of expenditure is shared with national authorities.

The European Court of Auditors has no judicial powers 
but through its work brings irregularities, weaknesses 
and cases of suspected fraud to the attention of the 
EU bodies responsible for taking action, including the 
European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). Since its creation in 
1977, the ECA has made a significant impact on the 
financial management of the EU budget through its 
objective reports and opinions. In doing so, it has 
fulfilled its role of independent guardian of the 
financial interests of the citizens of the Union.

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The European Economic and 
Social Committee

The voice of civil society

Role: 

To represent organised civil society

Members:  344 from all EU Member States

Location:  Brussels
 (cid:88) eesc.europa.eu

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is 
an advisory body of the European Union. It is made up 
of representatives of organisations of employers, of the 
employed and of other civil society representatives, 
notably in socioeconomic, civic, professional and cultural 
areas. Representing the general interest, the Committee 
delivers opinions to the Commission, the Council and the 
European Parliament. The members of the EESC are not 
bound by any mandatory instructions and work in the 
Union’s general interest. The EESC thus acts as a bridge 
between the aforementioned EU institutions and 
EU citizens, promoting a more participatory, 
more inclusive and therefore more democratic society 
in the European Union.

What the EESC does

This Committee fulfils three key missions:

 (cid:88) helping to ensure that European policies and 

legislation tie in better with economic, social and 
civic circumstances on the ground, by assisting the 
European Parliament, Council and European 
Commission, making use of EESC members’ 
experience and representativeness, dialogue and 
efforts to secure consensus serving the 
general interest;

 (cid:88) promoting the development of a more participatory 
European Union which is more in touch with popular 
opinion, by acting as an institutional forum 
representing, informing, expressing the views of and 
securing dialogue with organised civil society;

 (cid:88) promoting the values on which European integration 
is founded and advancing, in Europe and across the 
world, the cause of democracy and participatory 
democracy, as well as the role of civil society 
organisations.

The Committee shall be consulted by the European 
Parliament, by the Council or by the Commission in 
many fields foreseen by the treaties. These domains 
have been progressively extended, so that the scope of 
the EESC’s action has been further widened. In addition 
to the range of compulsory consultation, the Committee 
may issue opinions on its own initiative in cases in 
which it considers that such action is important to 
defend the interests of civil society. The EESC delivers 
around 170 opinions on a yearly basis, of which roughly 
15 % are issued on its own initiative.

A key feature of the EESC’s work is the drive to build 
consensus between its members who represent a wide 
range of interest groups — for example, between 
members of employers’ groups and those who 
represent workers’ organisations. The Committee is well 
positioned to advise on the impact of proposed new 
laws on the ground — on people’s lives — and how 
legislation can be adapted to gather wide public 
support. Boosting transparency in EU decision-making 
and building close links with national civil society 
organisations are also important elements of the 
Committee’s work.

How the EESC works

The 344 members of the EESC are nominated for a 
five-year renewable term by their governments and 
appointed by the Council of the European Union. 
Members are drawn from Europe’s different economic 
and social interest groups and, once appointed, they 
work independently of their governments. The members 
of the Committee are organised internally into three 
groups: employers, employees and other interests. 
The EESC elects its President and two Vice-Presidents 
for a term of two and a half years. EESC members meet 
nine times a year in plenary sessions in Brussels where 
opinions are approved by simple majority voting. 

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

The planning of energy supplies 
is of concern to all Europeans 
– as well as to the civil society 
organisations in the Economic 
and Social Committee.

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Preparation for these plenary sessions is done by six 
thematic sections headed by Committee members and 
supported by the Committee’s Brussels-based 
Secretariat-General. The thematic sections and 
commissions are:

The EESC tracks the progress of long-term EU 
strategies through the so-called observatories and a 
steering committee that monitor their implementation 
and impact at grass-roots level. These entities are:

 (cid:88) the Sustainable Development Observatory;

 (cid:88) the section for economic and monetary union and 

economic and social cohesion (ECO);

 (cid:88) the Labour Market Observatory;

 (cid:88) the section for the single market, production and 

 (cid:88) the Single Market Observatory;

consumption (INT);

 (cid:88) the Europe 2020 Steering Committee.

 (cid:88) the section for transport, energy, infrastructure and 

the information society (TEN);

 (cid:88) the section for employment, social affairs and 

citizenship (SOC);

 (cid:88) the section for agriculture, rural development and the 

environment (NAT);

 (cid:88) the section for external relations (REX);

 (cid:88) the Consultative Committee on Industrial Change 

(CCMI).

Relations with economic and social 
councils

The EESC maintains regular links with regional and 
national economic and social councils throughout the 
European Union. These links mainly involve exchanges 
of information and joint discussions every year on 
specific issues.

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The Committee of the Regions

The voice of local government

Role: 

To represent Europe’s cities and regions

Members:  344 from all EU Member States

Location:  Brussels
 (cid:88) cor.europa.eu

The Committee of the Regions (CoR) is an advisory body 
composed of representatives of Europe’s regional and 
local authorities. It gives the regions of Europe a say in EU 
policymaking and checks that regional and local identities, 
competences and needs are respected. The Council and 
the Commission must consult the CoR on matters that 
concern local and regional government, such as regional 
policy, the environment, education and transport.

What the Committee of the 
Regions does

As around three quarters of EU legislation is 
implemented at local or regional level, it makes sense 
for local and regional representatives to have a say in 
the development of new EU laws. By involving the 
elected local representatives, who are perhaps closest 
to Europe’s citizens and their concerns, the CoR is a 
force for a more democratic and accountable EU.

The Commission and the European Parliament are 
obliged to consult the CoR on legislative proposals in 
policy areas that directly affect local and regional 
authorities — for example, civil protection, climate 
change and energy. Once the CoR receives a legislative 
proposal, the members discuss it in plenary session, 
adopt it by a majority vote and issue an opinion. 
Importantly, the Commission and the Parliament are not 
obliged to follow the advice of the CoR, but they are 
obliged to consult it. If the appropriate mandatory 
consultation in the legislative process has been ignored, 
the CoR has the right to bring actions before the Court 
of Justice. The CoR can also, on its own initiative, offer 
opinions on topical issues.

How the CoR works

The Committee members are elected municipal or 
regional politicians, representing the entire range of 
local and regional government activities in the EU. 
They may be regional presidents, regional 
parliamentarians, town councillors or mayors of large 
cities. They all have to hold a political office in their 
home country. EU governments nominate them, 
but they work with complete political independence. 
The Council appoints them for five years, and they may 
be reappointed. The CoR appoints a President from 
among its members, for a term of two and a half years.

CoR members live and work in their home regions. 
They meet in Brussels five times a year in plenary sessions, 
during which policy is defined and opinions are adopted. Six 
specialist commissions, made up of CoR members and 
covering different policy areas, prepare the plenary sessions:

 (cid:88) Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy (COTER);

 (cid:88) Commission for Economic and Social Policy (ECOS);

 (cid:88) Commission for Education, Youth and Research 

(EDUC);

 (cid:88) Commission for Environment, Climate Change and 

Energy (ENVE);

 (cid:88) Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional 

and External Affairs (CIVEX);

 (cid:88) Commission for Natural Resources (NAT).

CoR members are also grouped into national 
delegations, one for each Member State. Interregional 
groups also exist to promote cross-border cooperation. 
In addition, there are four political groupings.

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34

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

The European Ombudsman

Investigating your complaints

Role: 

To investigate maladministration

Location:  Strasbourg 
 (cid:88) ombudsman.europa.eu

The European Ombudsman investigates complaints 
about cases of poor or failed administration 
(maladministration) by the EU institutions. 
The Ombudsman receives and investigates complaints 
from EU citizens, residents, businesses and institutions.

What the Ombudsman does

The Ombudsman is elected by the European Parliament 
for a renewable term of five years. By receiving and 
investigating complaints, the Ombudsman helps to 
uncover maladministration in the European institutions 
and other EU bodies — in other words, cases where an 
EU institution fails to do something it should have done, 
or does it in the wrong way, or does something that 
ought not to be done. Examples of 
maladministration include:

Often, the Ombudsman may simply need to inform the 
institution concerned about a complaint in order for it 
to  resolve the problem. If the case is not resolved 
satisfactorily during the course of his inquiries, 
the Ombudsman will try, if possible, to find an 
amicable solution which puts right the case of 
maladministration and satisfies the complainant. 
If this fails, the Ombudsman can make 
recommendations to solve the case. If the institution 
concerned does not accept his recommendations, he 
can make a special report to the European Parliament.

The Ombudsman’s website has a practical guide on how 
to lodge a complaint.

 (cid:88) unfairness;

 (cid:88) discrimination;

 (cid:88) abuse of power;

 (cid:88) lack or refusal of information;

 (cid:88) unnecessary delay;

 (cid:88) incorrect procedures.

Any citizen or resident of an EU Member State can 
make a complaint to the Ombudsman, as can any 
association or business. The Ombudsman only deals 
with EU institutions and bodies, not with complaints 
against national, regional or local government 
authorities or institutions. He operates completely 
independently and impartially and does not request 
or accept instructions from any government 
or organisation.

In his role as Ombudsman, Nikiforos Diamandouros examines 
complaints of poor or failed administration in the EU system. 

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The European Data Protection Supervisor

Protecting your privacy

Role: 

To protect citizens’ personal data processed by the EU institutions and bodies

How the EDPS works

For everyday operations, the EDPS comprises two 
entities. Supervision and Enforcement evaluates data 
protection compliance by the EU institutions and bodies. 
Policy and Consultation advises the EU legislator on 
data protection issues in a range of policy areas and in 
proposals for new legislation. The EDPS also monitors 
new technologies that may have an impact on 
data protection.

Anyone who considers that his or her rights have been 
infringed when an EU institution or body has processed 
data relating to him or her can complain to the 
European Data Protection Supervisor. The complaint 
must be lodged using a complaint submission form 
available on the EDPS website.

Location:  Brussels
 (cid:88) edps.europa.eu

In the course of their work, the European institutions 
may store and process personal information on EU 
citizens and residents in electronic, written or visual 
format. The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) 
is charged with protecting this personal data and 
people’s privacy, and with promoting good practice in 
this field among the EU institutions and bodies.

What the European Data Protection 
Supervisor does

Strict European regulations govern EU institutions’ use 
of citizens’ personal data — such as names, addresses, 
health data or employment history — and protection of 
this information is a fundamental right. Each EU 
institution has a data protection officer who ensures 
that certain obligations are respected — for example, 
that data can only be processed for specific and 
legitimate reasons. Furthermore, the person whose data 
is being processed has certain enforceable rights, such 
as the right to correct the data. The job of the EDPS is 
to supervise the data protection activities and systems 
of the EU institutions and to ensure they comply with 
best practice. The EDPS also deals with complaints and 
conducts inquiries. Other tasks include:

 (cid:88) monitoring the EU administration’s processing of 

personal data;

 (cid:88) advising on policies and legislation that affect 

privacy;

 (cid:88) cooperating with similar authorities in the Member 

States to ensure consistent data protection.

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

The European Investment Bank

Investing in the future

Role: 

To make long-term finance available for investments in EU-related projects

Shareholders: 

The EU Member States 

Board of Directors:  One from each Member State plus the European Commission

Location: 
 (cid:88) www.eib.org

Luxembourg

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the Bank of the 
European Union. It is owned by the Member States and 
its mission is to lend money for investments that 
support the Union’s objectives — for example, in the 
fields of energy and transport networks, environmental 
sustainability and innovation. The EIB’s focus is on 
increasing Europe’s jobs and growth potential, 
supporting climate action, and supporting the EU’s 
policies beyond its borders.

institutions that on-lend the EIB funds to small and 
medium-sized enterprises or smaller projects 
undertaken by public sector borrowers.

Within the EU, the EIB has six priorities for its lending 
activities:

 (cid:88) improving cohesion and convergence between 

EU countries and regions;

What the EIB does

The EIB is the largest multilateral borrower and lender, 
providing finance and expertise for sound and 
sustainable investment projects, mostly in the EU. 
France’s Viaduc de Millau and TGV lines, flood protection 
in Venice, wind farms in the United Kingdom, 
Scandinavia’s Oresund bridge, the Athens metro, 
the clean-up of the Baltic Sea are but a few of the 
thousands of projects financed by the EIB over the years.

The EIB does not use money from the EU budget. 
Instead, it finances itself by issuing bonds on world 
financial markets. In 2011, the EIB lent € 61 billion for 
450 large projects in 78 countries — € 54 billion in the 
EU Member States and € 7 billion outside the EU with a 
focus on the pre-accession countries, Europe’s southern 
and eastern neighbours, Africa, the Caribbean and the 
Pacific, as well as Latin America and Asia.

The EIB is AAA rated. The EIB usually lends up to 
50 % of the project costs. Acting as a catalyst, 
it leverages co-funding from other sources. For loans 
above € 25 million, the EIB lends directly to public and 
private sector bodies, such as governments and 
enterprises. For smaller loans, the EIB makes credit 
lines available to commercial banks and other financial 

 (cid:88) supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs);

 (cid:88) protecting and improving the environment and 

sustainable communities;

 (cid:88) implementing the knowledge economy;

 (cid:88) helping the development of Trans-European 
Networks for transport and energy (TENs);

 (cid:88) building sustainable, competitive and secure 

energy supplies.

How the EIB works

The EIB is an autonomous institution that makes its 
own borrowing and lending decisions on the merits of 
each project and the opportunities offered by the 
financial markets. The Bank cooperates with the other 
EU institutions, especially the European Commission, 
the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers.

The EIB’s decisions are taken by the following bodies:

 (cid:88) The Board of Governors consists of ministers 

(normally the finance ministers) from all the Member 
States. It defines the Bank’s general lending policy.

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The construction of new railway lines is among the type of projects that may benefit from loans from the 
European Investment Bank. 

 (cid:88) The Board of Directors, chaired by the President of 
the Bank, comprises 28 members, 27 appointed by 
the Member States and one by the European 
Commission. It approves lending and borrowing 
operations.

 (cid:88) The Management Committee is the Bank’s full-time 
executive body. It handles the EIB’s day-to-day 
business.

The European Investment Fund

The EIB is the majority shareholder in the European Investment Fund (EIF), which finances investment in 
small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which comprise 99 % of EU companies and employ over 
100 million Europeans. SMEs often find it difficult to get the funding they need to invest and grow. This is 
especially true for start-ups and small companies with innovative products or services — exactly those 
entrepreneurial SMEs that the EU wants to encourage. The EIF meets these needs through venture 
capital and risk finance instruments — amounting to several billion euro annually — partly offered in 
partnership with the European Commission, commercial banks and other lenders.

 (cid:88) www.eif.org

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38

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

The EU agencies

There are a number of specialised European Union 
agencies which offer information or advice to the EU 
institutions, the Member States and citizens. Each of 
these agencies has a specific technical, scientific or 
managerial task. EU agencies can be grouped into 
several categories.

 (cid:88) Decentralised agencies

Agencies are bodies governed by European public 
law, but they are distinct from the EU Institutions 
(Council, Parliament, Commission, etc.) and have their 
own legal personality. They have offices in different 
cities all over Europe, which is why they are often 
referred to as ‘decentralised’. They may deal with 
tasks of a legal and scientific nature. Examples are 
the Plant Variety Office, in Angers in France, which 
establishes rights to new plant varieties, or the 
Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Addiction, in Lisbon 
in Portugal, which analyses and disseminates 
information on drugs and drug addiction.

Three supervisory bodies help to enforce rules for 
financial institutions and thereby preserve the 
stability of Europe’s financial system. They are the 
European Banking Authority, the European Insurance 
and Occupational Pensions Authority, and the 
European Securities and Markets Regulator.

Other agencies help the EU Member States to 
cooperate in the fight against organised international 
crime. An example is Europol, based in The Hague in 

the Netherlands, which provides a platform for law 
enforcement officers from the EU countries to work 
together. They help each other to identify and track 
the most dangerous criminal and terrorist networks 
in Europe.

Three agencies carry out very specific tasks within 
the framework of the European Union’s common 
foreign and security policy. The European Union 
Satellite Centre, in Torrejón de Ardoz in Spain, is 
such an agency; it uses information from earth-
observation satellites in support of EU decision-
making in foreign and security matters.

 (cid:88) Euratom agencies and bodies

These bodies works within the framework of the 
European Atomic Energy Community Treaty 
(Euratom) to coordinate research in the EU countries 
on the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to ensure 
that the supply of atomic energy is both sufficient 
and secure.

 (cid:88) Executive agencies 

Executive agencies ensure practical management of 
EU programmes, for example treatment of 
applications for grants from the EU budget. They are 
set up for a fixed period of time and they have to be 
located in the same place as the European 
Commission: Brussels or Luxembourg. One example 
is the European Research Council, which funds basic 
research by groups of EU scientists.

The safety of our food needs 
to be controlled all over Europe 
— coordinating this work is a 
typical task for an EU agency.  

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Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators 
(ACER)

European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT)

Body of European Regulators for Electronic 
Communications (BEREC)

Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO)

European Insurance and Occupational Pensions 
Authority (EIOPA)

European Joint Undertaking for ITER and the 
Development of Fusion Energy (Fusion for Energy)

Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency 
(EACEA)

European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA)

Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation 
(EACI)

Euratom Supply Agency (ESA)

European Agency for the Management of Operational 
Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member 
States of the European Union (Frontex)

European Agency for the operational management of 
large-scale IT systems in the area of freedom, 
security and justice (IT Agency)

European Agency for Safety and Health at Work 
(EU-OSHA)

European Asylum Support Office (EASO)

European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)

European Banking Authority (EBA)

European Medicines Agency (EMA)

European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug 
Addiction (EMCDDA)

European Network and Information Security Agency 
(ENISA)

European Police College (CEPOL)

European Police Office (Europol)

European Railway Agency (ERA)

European Research Council Executive Agency (ERCEA)

European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)

European Training Foundation (ETF)

European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA)

European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS)

European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control 
(ECDC)

European Union Satellite Centre (EUSC)

European Centre for the Development of Vocational 
Training (Cedefop)

The European Union’s Judicial Cooperation Unit 
(Eurojust)

European Chemicals Agency (ECHA)

Executive Agency for Health and Consumers (EAHC)

European Defence Agency (EDA)

European Environment Agency (EEA)

European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA)

European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)

Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market 
(Trade Marks and Designs) (OHIM)

Research Executive Agency (REA)

Trans-European Transport Network Executive Agency 
(TEN-T EA)

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

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

European GNSS Agency (GSA)

European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE)

All EU agencies can be found via 
 (cid:88) europa.eu/agencies/index_en.htm

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Getting in touch with the EU

  ONLINE
 Information in all the official languages of the European Union is available on the Europa 
website: europa.eu

  IN PERSON
 All over Europe there are hundreds of local EU information centres. 
 You can find the address of the centre nearest you at: europedirect.europa.eu

  ON THE PHONE OR BY MAIL
 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 (certain mobile telephone 
operators do not allow access to 00 800 numbers or may charge for these calls), or by 
payphone from outside the EU: +32 22999696, or by e-mail via europedirect.europa.eu

(cid:138)

  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:

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
REPRESENTATIONS

Representation in Ireland
European Union House
18 Dawson Street
Dublin 2
IRELAND
Tel. +353 16341111
Internet: ec.europa.eu/ireland
E-mail: eu-ie-info-request@ec.europa.eu

Representation in the United Kingdom
Europe House
32 Smith Square
London SW1P 3EU
UNITED KINGDOM
Tel. +44 2079731992
Internet: ec.europa.eu/uk

Representation in Wales
2 Caspian Point, Caspian Way
Cardiff CF10 4QQ
UNITED KINGDOM
Tel. +44 2920895020
Internet: ec.europa.eu/uk

Representation in Scotland
9 Alva Street
Edinburgh EH2 4PH
UNITED KINGDOM
Tel. +44 1312252058
Internet: ec.europa.eu/uk

Representation in Northern Ireland
74–76 Dublin Road
Belfast BT2 7HP
UNITED KINGDOM
Tel. +44 2890240708
Internet: ec.europa.eu/uk

Delegations in the United States
2175 K Street, NW
Washington DC 20037
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Tel. +1 2123713804
Internet: eurunion.org

222 East 41st Street, 20th floor
New York, NY 10017
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Tel. +1 2123713804
Internet: eurunion.org

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
OFFICES

Office in Ireland
43 Molesworth Street
Dublin 2
IRELAND
Tel. +353 16057900
Internet: europarl.ie
E-mail: epdublin@europarl.europa.eu

United Kingdom Office
Europe House
32 Smith Square
London SW1P 3EU
UNITED KINGDOM
Tel. +44 2072274300
Internet: europarl.org.uk
E-mail: eplondon@europarl.europa.eu

Office in Scotland
The Tun, 4 Jackson’s Entry
Holyrood Road
Edinburgh EH8 8PJ
UNITED KINGDOM
Tel. +44 1315577866
Internet: 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 Union also has 
delegations in other parts of the world.

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The European Union

0

500 km

Reykjavík

Ísland

Norge

Oslo

Sverige
Stockholm

United Kingdom

Éire
Ireland

Baile Átha Cliath
Dublin

Danmark
København

London

Nederland
Amsterdam

België

Brussel
Bruxelles
Belgique

Berlin

Deutschland

Paris

Luxembourg
Luxembourg

Praha
(cid:253)eská
republika

Suomi
Finland

Helsinki
Helsingfors

Tallinn
Eesti

R(cid:431)ga

Latvija

Lietuva
Vilnius

R.

Minsk

Belarus'

Warszawa

Polska

Kyïv

Ukra(cid:640)na

France

Portugal

Lisboa

Madrid

España

Andorra

Liechtenstein

Wien

Schweiz
Bern

Suisse

Svizzera

Budapest
Magyarország

Moldova
Chi(cid:250)in(cid:259)u

Slovensko

Bratislava

Österreich
Slovenija
Ljubljana

Zagreb
Hrvatska

Monaco

San Marino

Bosna i
Hercegovina

Sarajevo

Beograd

Srbija

Italia
Roma

Città del
Vaticano

Crna
Gora

Podgorica

Priština

Kosovo

* UNSCR 1244

Skopje

P.J.R.M.

Tiranë
Shqipëria

România

Bucure(cid:250)ti

(cid:571)(cid:628)(cid:613)(cid:605)(cid:602)(cid:618)(cid:610)(cid:633)
Bulgaria
(cid:587)(cid:616)(cid:622)(cid:610)(cid:633)
Sofia

Ankara

Türkiye

(cid:508)(cid:540)(cid:540)(cid:528)(cid:303)(cid:302)
Ellada

(cid:505)(cid:537)(cid:530)(cid:542)(cid:302)(cid:538)
Athinai

Açores (PT)

Madeira (PT)

Canarias (ES)

Paramaribo

Suriname

Guyane
(FR)

Brasil

Rossija

Moskva

Guadeloupe (FR)

Martinique (FR)

Réunion (FR)

Qazaqstan

Sakartvelo

Tbilisi

Az(cid:1317)rbaycan
Ha(cid:640)astan

Yerevan

(Az(cid:1317)r.)
Iran

Rabat

El Maghreb

Alger

El Djazâir

Tunis

Tounis

Malta

Valletta

(cid:512)(cid:554)(cid:652)(cid:545)(cid:544)(cid:546)
Kypros
Kibris

(cid:513)(cid:304)(cid:547)(cid:539)(cid:550)(cid:305)(cid:531)(cid:302)
Lefkosia
Lefkosa

Souriya

Iraq

Libnan

Beyrouth

Dimashq

Member States of the European Union (2012)
Member States of the European Union (2011)

Candidate and potential candidate countries
Candidate countries

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2
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2
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3
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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 
European Council and the Council, which both represent 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.

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