How the EU Works: A Guide to Europe's Most Complex Institution

The four main institutions

The European Parliament is directly elected by EU citizens every five years, with seats allocated by population. It co-legislates with the Council of the EU, amends the EU budget, and scrutinises the European Commission. The Council of the EU comprises ministers from member state governments, meeting in different configurations depending on the policy area (environment ministers for environmental legislation, finance ministers for economic legislation). The European Commission is the executive arm: it proposes legislation, implements decisions, manages the budget and enforces EU law. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) interprets EU law and resolves disputes.

How decisions are made

Most EU legislation requires agreement between the European Parliament and the Council through the ordinary legislative procedure. The Commission proposes; the Parliament and Council negotiate in trilogues (informal three-way meetings); the agreed text is then formally adopted. This process typically takes two to four years for major legislation. Certain sensitive areas require unanimity in the Council — giving each member state an effective veto.

What the EU can and cannot do

EU competences (areas where it has authority) include: the single market and free movement, trade policy, competition law, monetary policy (for eurozone members), agriculture and fisheries, and environmental and consumer protection. Member states retain full sovereignty over defence and military affairs, direct taxation, social security and healthcare systems, and constitutional and criminal law.

Criticisms and defences

Critics argue the EU is undemocratic (the Commission, which holds most executive power, is appointed not elected), slow and bureaucratic, and has concentrated too much power in Brussels. Defenders argue its democratic structures are more complex but no less legitimate than national ones, that shared rules enable the world's largest single market, and that supranational rules provide protections that individual member states might not maintain under domestic political pressure.