Institutions of the European Union - Definition and Overview

This article or section should be merged with List of European Union-related topics

The European Union has several institutions:

• The European Parliament
• The European Council
• The Council of the European Union (or 'Council of Ministers')
• The European Commission
• The European Court of Justice (incorporating the Court of First Instance)
• The European Court of Auditors

There are several financial bodies:

• European Central Bank (which alongside the national Central Banks, composes the European System of Central Banks)
• European Investment Bank (including the European Investment Fund)

The treaties have also established several advisory committees to the institutions:

• Committee of the Regions, advising on regional issues.
• Economic and Social Committee, advising on economic and social (principally relations between workers and employers)
• Political and Security Committee, established in the context of the Common Foreign and Security Policy, monitoring and advising on international issues of global security.

There is also a great number of bodies which were established by secondary legislation (i.e. not by the treaties) in order to implement particular policies. These are the agencies of the European Union. Some of these are the European Environment Agency, the European Aviation Safety Agency and the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market. In the context of the third pillar (Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters), Europol and Eurojust have been created.

Lastly, the European Ombudsman watches for abuses of power by EU institutions.

external link

• The UK Committee on European Scrutiny about the EU institutions and proposed changes (http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200102/cmselect/cmeuleg/152-xxxiii/15207.htm)