The European Union claims European integration has delivered half a century of stability, peace and economic prosperity. It has helped to raise standards of living, built an internal market, launched the euro and strengthened the Union's voice in the world.

The last 50 years have indeed witnessed one of the best periods of prosperity in European history, and the EU has facts on its side to make such a claim.
The European Union was set up after the 2nd World War. The process of European integration was launched on 9 May 1950 when France officially proposed to create 'the first concrete foundation of a European federation'. Six countries (Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) joined from the very beginning. Today, after four waves of accessions (1973: Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom; 1981: Greece; 1986: Spain and Portugal; 1995: Austria, Finland and Sweden) the EU has 15 Member States and is preparing for the accession of 13 eastern and southern European countries from 2004 onwards.

The European Union is based on the rule of law and democracy. It is neither a new State replacing existing ones nor is it comparable to other international organisations. Its Member States delegate sovereignty to common institutions representing the interests of the Union as a whole on questions of joint interest. All decisions and procedures are derived from the basic treaties ratified by the Member States.

The principal objectives of the Union are:

• Establish European citizenship (Fundamental rights; Freedom of movement; Civil and political rights);
• Ensure freedom, security and justice (Cooperation in the field of Justice and Home Affairs);
• Promote economic and social progress (Single market; Euro, the common currency; Job creation; Regional development; Environmental protection);
• Assert Europe's role in the world (Common foreign and security; The European Union in the world).

The EU is run by five institutions, each playing a specific role:

• European Parliament (elected by the peoples of the Member States);
• Council of the Union (composed of the governments of the Member States);
• European Commission (driving force and executive body);
• Court of Justice (compliance with the law);
• Court of Auditors (sound and lawful management of the EU budget).

Five further bodies are part of the institutional system:

• European Economic and Social Committee (expresses the opinions of organised civil society on economic and social issues);
• Committee of the Regions (expresses the opinions of regional and local authorities on regional policy, environment, and education);
• European Ombudsman (deals with complaints from citizens concerning maladministration by an EU institution or body);
• European Investment Bank (contributes to EU objectives by financing public and private long-term investments);
• European Central Bank (responsible for monetary policy and foreign exchange operations).

A number of agencies and bodies complete the system.

How the EU works

The European Union is built on an institutional system which is the only one of its kind in the world.

The Member States delegate sovereignty for certain matters to independent institutions which represent the interests of the Union as a whole, its member countries and its citizens. The Commission traditionally upholds the interests of the Union as a whole, while each national government is represented within the Council, and the European Parliament is directly elected by citizens. Democracy and the rule of law are therefore the cornerstones of the structure.

This "institutional triangle" of Commission, Council and Parliament is flanked by two more institutions - the Court of Justice and the Court of Auditors - and five other European bodies. In addition thirteen specialised agencies have been set up to handle certain essentially technical, scientific, or management tasks.

European Parliament

Elected every five years by direct universal suffrage, the European Parliament is the expression of the democratic will of the Union's 374 million citizens. Brought together within pan-European political groups, the major political parties operating in the Member States are represented.

Parliament has three essential functions:

1. It shares with the Council the power to legislate, i.e. to adopt European laws (directives, regulations, decisions). Its involvement in the legislative process helps to guarantee the democratic legitimacy of the texts adopted;
2. It shares budgetary authority with the Council, and can therefore influence EU spending. At the end of the procedure, it adopts the budget in its entirety;
3. It exercises democratic supervision over the Commission. It approves the nomination of Commissioners and has the right to censure the Commission. It also exercises political supervision over all the institutions.

Council of the European Union

The Council is the EU's main decision-making body. It is the embodiment of the Member States, whose representatives it brings together regularly at ministerial level.

According to the matters on the agenda, the Council meets in different compositions: foreign affairs, finance, education, telecommunications, etc.

The Council has a number of key responsibilities:

1. It is the Union's legislative body; for a wide range of EU issues, it exercises that legislative power in co-decision with the European Parliament;
2. It coordinates the broad economic policies of the Member States;
3. It concludes, on behalf of the EU, international agreements with one or more States or international organisations;
4. It shares budgetary authority with Parliament;
5. It takes the decisions necessary for framing and implementing the common foreign and security policy, on the basis of general guidelines established by the European Council;
6. It coordinates the activities of Member States and adopts measures in the field of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters.

N.B. Do not confuse the Council of the EU with the European Council. The latter is the high-level meeting of the leaders of EU member states.

European Commission

The European Commission embodies and upholds the general interest of the Union. The President and Members of the Commission are appointed by the Member States after they have been approved by the European Parliament.

The Commission is the driving force in the Union's institutional system:

1. It has the right to initiate draft legislation and therefore presents legislative proposals to Parliament and the Council;
2. As the Union's executive body, it is responsible for implementing the European legislation (directives, regulations, decisions), budget and programmes adopted by Parliament and the Council;
3. It acts as guardian of the Treaties and, together with the Court of Justice, ensures that Community law is properly applied;
4. It represents the Union on the international stage and negotiates international agreements, chiefly in the field of trade and cooperation.

Sources: Europa Server