The Council of the European Union,often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council,and informally known as the Council of Ministers,is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as listed in the Treaty on European Union. It is one of two legislative bodies and together with the European Parliament serves to amend and approve or veto the proposals of the European Commission,which holds the right of initiative.
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union,it adopts European legislation,following a proposal by the European Commission. The Parliament is composed of 720 members (MEPs),after the June 2024 European elections,from a previous 705 MEPs. It represents the second-largest democratic electorate in the world,with an electorate of around 375 million eligible voters in 2024.
The European Council is a collegiate body that defines the overall political direction and priorities of the European Union. The European Council is part of the executive of the European Union (EU),beside the European Commission. It is composed of the heads of state or of government of the EU member states,the President of the European Council,and the President of the European Commission. The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy also takes part in its meetings.
The European Commission (EC) is the primary executive arm 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.
A European commissioner is a member of the 27-member European Commission. Each member within the Commission holds a specific portfolio. The commission is led by the president of the European Commission. In simple terms they are the equivalent of government ministers.
The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission (HR/VP) is the chief co-ordinator and representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) within the European Union (EU). The position is currently held by Josep Borrell Fontelles.
Olli Ilmari Rehn is a Finnish public official who has been serving as governor of the Bank of Finland since 2018. A member of the Centre Party,he previously served as the European Commissioner for Enlargement from 2004 to 2010,European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Euro from 2010 to 2014,and Minister of Economic Affairs in Juha Sipilä's cabinet from 2015 until 2016. Rehn ran for President of Finland as an independent candidate in 2024,but was not elected.
Sophia Helena "Sophie" in 't Veld is a Dutch politician. She was elected as a Member of the European Parliament in 2004,and reelected in 2009,2014 and 2019. She was D66's top candidate for the three elections and was its leader in the European Parliament since her first election.
Othmar Karas is an Austrian politician who served as the First Vice-President of the European Parliament since January 2022,having been a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 1999. He is a member of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP),which in turn affiliates with the European People's Party.
Margrethe Vestager is a Danish politician currently serving as Executive Vice President of the European Commission for A Europe Fit for the Digital Age since December 2019 and European Commissioner for Competition since 2014. Vestager is a member of the Danish Social Liberal Party,and of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE) on the European level.
Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen is a German politician,serving as the 13th president of the European Commission since 2019. She served in the German federal government between 2005 and 2019,holding positions in Angela Merkel's cabinet,most recently as federal minister of defence. She is a member of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its affiliated europarty,the European People's Party (EPP). On 7 March 2024,the EPP elected her as its Spitzenkandidat to lead the campaign for the 2024 European parliament elections. She was re-elected to head the Commission in July 2024.
Jacqueline Kay Swinburne,Baroness Swinburne is a British politician and life peer. She was a member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Wales between 2009 and 2019,representing the Conservative Party,and became a member of the House of Lords in 2023. She was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing and Communities from 1 March 2024 for Baroness Penn as a Minister on Leave.
The history of the European Union between 1993 and 2004 was the period between its creation and the 2004 enlargement. The European Union was created at the dawn of the post–Cold War era and saw a series of successive treaties laying the ground for the euro,foreign policy and future enlargement. Three new member states joined the previous twelve in this period and the European Economic Area extended the reach of the EU's markets to three more.
Jutta Pauliina Urpilainen is a Finnish politician. She was the first female chair of the Social Democratic Party of Finland,which she led from 2008 to 2014. She was the Minister of Finance as well as the Deputy Prime Minister of Finland from 2011 to 2014. Since 1 December 2019,she is the European Commissioner for International Partnerships in the European Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen. She announced her candidacy for the 2024 election for President of Finland in November 2023.
Roberta Metsola is a Maltese politician who has served as the president of the European Parliament since January 2022. She is a member of Malta's Nationalist Party (PN) and the European People's Party (EPP).
Kristalina Ivanova Georgieva-Kinova is a Bulgarian economist serving as the 12th managing director of the International Monetary Fund since 2019,and the first person from an emerging market economy to lead the institution. Born in Sofia,her university education was at London School of Economics (LSE),followed by a return to her native Bulgaria where she witnessed some of the economic hardships of the post-Communist transition. She began her career by teaching economics,becoming a prominent figure in the field.
Maria João RodriguesGOIH is a Portuguese academic and politician who served as Member of the European Parliament. She was Vice-President of the Group of the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) from 2014 until 2019,and since 2017 she is also President of the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS),succeeding Italian politician Massimo d'Alema.
Věra Jourová is a Czech politician and lawyer who has been the Vice President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency since 1 December 2019 and previously served as the European Commissioner for Justice,Consumers and Gender Equality from 2014 to 2019. She served as a Member of the Chamber of Deputies between 2013 and 2014 and as the Czech Minister for Regional Development in 2014.
Miapetra Kumpula-Natri is a Finnish politician who currently serves as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Finland. She is a member of the Social Democratic Party,part of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats. She has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2014.
Eva Konstantinova Maydell is a Bulgarian politician who is a Member of the European Parliament (MEP). A member of the GERB party,she also served as the president of the European Movement International from 2017 to 2023.
Finland 
Finnish Air Force 
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