Bodies of the European Union and the Euratom

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The main bodies of the European Union and the Euratom are:

Contents

Apart from them, some several other bodies exist.

Institutions of the EU

The Treaty on European Union in Article 13 lists seven institutions of the European Union, including one which is an international entity (the European Central Bank).

LogoNameTEUSeatMembersChairman
European Parliament logo European Parliament logo.svg
European Parliament logo
The European Parliament 1 Brussels & Strasbourg 705 MEPs Flag of Malta.svg Roberta Metsola
Council of the EU and European Council Council of the EU and European Council.svg
Council of the EU and European Council
The European Council 2 Brussels 27 Heads of State or Government of the Member States

and the President of the Commission

Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Charles Michel
Council of the EU and European Council Council of the EU and European Council.svg
Council of the EU and European Council
The Council of the European Union 3 Brussels 27 ministersBiannual rotation
European Commission.svg
The European Commission 4 Brussels 27 commissioners Flag of Germany.svg Ursula von der Leyen
Official Emblem of the Court of Justice of the European Union (type 3).svg
The Court of Justice of the European Union 5 Luxembourg 27 judges, 11 Advocate-Generals Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Koen Lenaerts
Logo European Central Bank.svg
The European Central Bank 6 Frankfurt am Main Flag of France.svg Christine Lagarde
ECA-logo.svg
The European Court of Auditors 7 Luxembourg 27 members, 1 president Flag of Germany.svg Klaus-Heiner Lehne

International law entities of the EU (other than EBC)

European Investment Bank Group bodies

In addition, the European Investment Bank is the European Union's long-term lending institution. The EIB supports the EU's priority objectives, especially boosting sustainable growth and job creation. The Group also includes the European Investment Fund and the EIB Institute. [1]

European University Institute

European Stability Mechanism

Unified Patent Court

Other treaty-established bodies

Advisory bodies

There are a number of other bodies and agencies of note that are not formal institutions. There are two consultative committees to the EU institutions: the Economic and Social Committee (EESC) advises on economic and social policy (principally relations between workers and employers) being made up of representatives of various industries and work sectors. Its 344 members (with an additional nine members joining following the accession of Croatia to the EU), appointed by the council for four-year terms, are organised into three fairly equal groups representing employers, employees and other various interests; [2] while the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is composed of representative of regional and local authorities who hold an electoral mandate. It advises on regional issues. It has 344 members, organised in political groups, appointed every four years by the council. [3]

European Ombudsman

The European Ombudsman deals with citizens grievances against the Union's institutions and is elected for five-year terms by the Parliament.

Agencies, decentralised independent bodies, corporate bodies and joint undertakings

A number of decentralised, executive and Eurarom agencies, decentralised independent bodies and joint undertakings exist, which are bodies of the EU or Euratom established as juridical persons through secondary EU legislation. These include the European Environment Agency and Europol. [4]

Other bodies and inter-institutional services

There are also three inter-institutional bodies lacking juridical personality: the Publications Office, the oldest one, which publishes and distributes official publications from the European Union bodies; [5] and the two relatively new: the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO), a recruitment body which organises competitions for posts within Union institutions; [6] and the European Administrative School, which provides specific training for the staff of Union institutions. [7]

Another body is the anti-fraud office OLAF whose mission is to protect the financial interests of the European Union. [8]

The European Data Protection Supervisor ensures the institutions respect citizens' privacy rights in relation to data processing. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Union</span> Supranational political and economic union of 27 states

The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of 27 member states that are located primarily in Europe. The Union has a total area of 4,233,255 km2 (1,634,469 sq mi) and an estimated total population of over 448 million. The EU has often been described as a sui generis political entity combining the characteristics of both a federation and a confederation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Economic Community</span> Former international organisation

The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957, aiming to foster economic integration among its member states. It was subsequently renamed the European Community (EC) upon becoming integrated into the first pillar of the newly formed European Union in 1993. In the popular language, however, the singular European Community was sometimes inaccurately used in the wider sense of the plural European Communities, in spite of the latter designation covering all the three constituent entities of the first pillar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Commission</span> Executive branch of the European Union

The European Commission (EC) is part of the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission headed by a President. It includes an administrative body of about 32,000 European civil servants. The commission is divided into departments known as Directorates-General (DGs) that can be likened to departments or ministries each headed by a Director-General who is responsible to a Commissioner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Investment Bank</span> Investment bank of the European Union

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union's investment bank and is owned by the 27 member states. It is the largest multilateral financial institution in the world. The EIB finances and invests both through equity and debt solutions companies and projects that achieve the policy aims of the European Union through loans, equity and guarantees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Ombudsman</span> Ombudsman for the European Union

The European Ombudsman is an inter-institutional body of the European Union that holds the institutions, bodies and agencies of the EU to account, and promotes good administration. The Ombudsman helps people, businesses and organisations facing problems with the EU administration by investigating complaints, as well as by proactively looking into broader systemic issues. The current Ombudsman is Emily O'Reilly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Euratom</span> International organisation

The European Atomic Energy Community is an international organisation established by the Euratom Treaty on 25 March 1957 with the original purpose of creating a specialist market for nuclear power in Europe, by developing nuclear energy and distributing it to its member states while selling the surplus to non-member states. However, over the years its scope has been considerably increased to cover a large variety of areas associated with nuclear power and ionising radiation as diverse as safeguarding of nuclear materials, radiation protection and construction of the International Fusion Reactor ITER.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Communities</span> International organizations governed by the same set of institutions

The European Communities (EC) were three international organizations that were governed by the same set of institutions. These were the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Atomic Energy Community, and the European Economic Community (EEC), the last of which was renamed the European Community (EC) in 1993 by the Maastricht Treaty establishing the European Union. The European Union was established at that time more as a concept rather than an entity, while the Communities remained the actual subjects of international law impersonating the rather abstract Union, becoming at the same time its first pillar. In the popular language, however, the singular European Community was sometimes inaccurately used interchangeably with the plural phrase, in the sense of referring to all three entities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of the European Union</span> Overview of and topical guide to the European Union

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the European Union:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agencies of the European Union</span> Distinct body of the European Union

The agencies of the European Union are bodies of the European Union and the Euratom established as juridical persons through secondary EU legislation and tasked with a specific narrow field of work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Institutions of the European Union</span> Decision-making bodies of the European Union

The institutions of the European Union are the seven principal decision-making bodies of the European Union and the Euratom. They are, as listed in Article 13 of the Treaty on European Union:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economy of the European Union</span>

The economy of the European Union is the joint economy of the member states of the European Union (EU). It is the second largest economy in the world in nominal terms, after the United States, and the third largest at purchasing power parity (PPP), after China and the US. The European Union's GDP is estimated to be $19.35 trillion (nominal) in 2024 or $26.64 trillion (PPP), representing around one-sixth of the global economy. Germany has the biggest national GDP of all EU countries, followed by France and Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regional policy of the European Union</span> Regional policy of the EU

The Regional Policy of the European Union (EU), also referred as Cohesion Policy, is a policy with the stated aim of improving the economic well-being of regions in the European Union and also to avoid regional disparities. More than one third of the EU's budget is devoted to this policy, which aims to remove economic, social and territorial disparities across the EU, restructure declining industrial areas and diversify rural areas which have declining agriculture. In doing so, EU regional policy is geared towards making regions more competitive, fostering economic growth and creating new jobs. The policy also has a role to play in wider challenges for the future, including climate change, energy supply and globalisation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internal Audit Service (European Commission)</span>

The Internal Audit Service or IAS is a Directorate-General (DG) of the European Commission that was established in 2001 to provide an increased accountability of the Commission.

The seven institutions of the European Union (EU) are seated in four different cities, which are Brussels (Belgium), Frankfurt am Main (Germany), Luxembourg (Luxembourg) and Strasbourg (France), rather than being concentrated in a single capital city. All four were chosen, among various reasons, for their location halfway between France and Germany, the countries whose rivalry led to two World Wars and whose reconciliation paved the way for European integration. The EU agencies and other bodies are located all across the union, but usually not fixed in the treaties. The Hague is the only exception, as the fixed seat of the Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol). Luxembourg City is the EU capital that can lay claim to having the most of the seven EU institutions based wholly or partly upon its territory, with only the European Council and European Central Bank not having a presence in the city. Over the years, Brussels has become the EU's political hub, with the College of the Commissioners – the European Commission's politically accountable executive – and the European Council both meeting at their Brussels-based headquarters, and the European Parliament and Council of the EU holding the majority of their meetings annually within the city. This has led media to describe it as the de facto "capital of the EU".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital Requirements Directives</span>

The Capital Requirements Directives (CRD) for the financial services industry have introduced a supervisory framework in the European Union which reflects the Basel II and Basel III rules on capital measurement and capital standards.

European Union (EU) concepts, acronyms, and jargon are a terminology set that has developed as a form of shorthand, to quickly express a (formal) EU process, an (informal) institutional working practice, or an EU body, function or decision, and which is commonly understood among EU officials or external people who regularly deal with EU institutions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community</span> ECSC institution

The High Authority was the executive branch of the former European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). It was created in 1951 and disbanded in 1967 when it was merged into the European Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treaty of Lisbon</span> 2007 treaty amending the constitutional basis of the European Union

The Treaty of Lisbon is an international agreement that amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by all EU member states on 13 December 2007, entered into force on 1 December 2009. It amends the Maastricht Treaty (1992), known in updated form as the Treaty on European Union (2007) or TEU, as well as the Treaty of Rome (1957), known in updated form as the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (2007) or TFEU. It also amends the attached treaty protocols as well as the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Area of freedom, security and justice</span> EUs home affairs and justice policies

The area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) of the European Union (EU) is a policy domain concerning home affairs and migration, justice as well as fundamental rights, developed to address the challenges posed to internal security by collateral effects of the free movement of people and goods in the absence of border controls or customs inspection throughout the Schengen Area, as well as to safeguard adherence to the common European values through ensuring that the fundamental rights of people are respected across the EU.

References

  1. "About the EIB". European Investment Bank . Retrieved 2 August 2007.
  2. "The European Economic and Social Committee". Europa (web portal). Archived from the original on 25 June 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2007.
  3. "Presentation / Role". Europa (web portal). Archived from the original on 9 June 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2007.
  4. "Agencies of the EU". Europa (webportal). Retrieved 2 August 2007.
  5. "Activities". Europa (web portal). Archived from the original on 2007-09-09. Retrieved 2 August 2007.
  6. "European Personnel Selection Office". Europa (web portal). Retrieved 2 August 2007.
  7. "Welcome to the eas". Europa (web portal). Retrieved 2 August 2007.
  8. "OLAF". Europa (web portal). Retrieved 2 August 2007.
  9. "Welcome to the home page of the European Data Protection Supervisor". Europa (web portal). Archived from the original on 9 July 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2007.

See also