The European Union - An Overview.

The European Union (the EU) is the name now commonly given to the formal association of 25 European countries, or Member States, and is used to describe the geographical area covered by those countries as well as the abstract concept of the association. The establishment and operation of the EU is based on inter-governmental treaties by means of which the Member States have granted certain powers and functions to centralised EU institutions of which the most important are the European Commission, the Council, the European Parliament and the two supranational Courts. The distribution of power both between EU institutions and Member State governments and amongst the institutions themselves is still shifting and is the subject of continuing debate.

The European Commission is the central administrative and policy-making body of the EU. It is made up of 25 Commissioners (nominated by the Member States and approved by the European Parliament), one of whom acts as President. The Commission formulates legislative proposals, implements Council decisions, negotiates many international agreements on behalf of the EU and supervises compliance with, and implementation of, EU law by the Member States.

The Council is the EU's principal decision-making body. At the top level it comprises government ministers of all the Member States with responsibility for a particular sector, e.g. transport ministers will convene to discuss proposed legislation on transport. The details of legislation are usually worked out at lower levels by more junior representatives of the Member States, the most important of these being the Committee of Permanent Representatives ("COREPER"). The European Council, a twice-yearly meeting of the heads of state of the Member States, de...

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