European Union (EU)
Portal of the European Union.

European Commission (EC)

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

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

European Parliament (EP)

The European Parliament co-legislates with Council, its 732 Members, drawn from 25 diferent nationalities, today represent no fewer than 455 million citizens.

Council of the European Union

The Council co-legislates with the European Parliament. It represents the member states, and its meetings are attended by one minister from each of the EU's national governments.

European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is a non-political body that gives representatives of Europe's socio-occupational interest groups, and others, a formal platform to express their views on EU issues. Its opinions are forwarded to the European Parliament the Council and the Commission.

Committee of the Regions (CoR)

Established in 1994, the Committee of the Regions (CoR) is the political assembly that provides local and regional authorities with a voice in the EU policy process.

The Treaties oblige the Commission and Council to consult the Committee of the Regions whenever new proposals are made in areas that have repercussions at regional or local level. The Maastricht Treaty sets out 5 such areas - economic and social cohesion, trans-European infrastructure networks, health, education and culture. The Amsterdam Treaty added another five areas to the list - employment policy, social policy, the environment, vocational training and transport - thus now covering much of the scope of the EU's activity.

The Court of Justice of the European Communities

The Court of Justice is made up of 25 Judges and 8 Advocates-General.

It is the responsibility of the Court of Justice to ensure that the law is observed in the interpretation and application of the Treaties establishing the European Communities and of the provisions laid down by the competent Community institutions.

European Central Bank (ECB)

The ECB is the central bank for Europe's single currency, the euro. The ECB's main task is to maintain the euro's purchasing power and thus price stability in the euro area. The euro area comprises 12 EU countries.

European Investment Bank (EIB)

The European Investment Bank (EIB), the financing institution of the European Union, was created by the Treaty of Rome. The members of the EIB are the Member States of the European Union, who have all subscribed to the Bank's capital.