Conception
Despite the amount of information available about the institutions of the European Union a large number of Citizens feel the EU is not close enough to them and their actual needs and lives.
The institutions of the European Union are the seven principal decision making bodies of the European Union (EU). They are, as listed in Article 13 of the Treaty on European Union:
The European Parliament aims to provide relevant information to Europeans on European Affairs and the role played by the Parliament and, therefore, has supported the idea of creating this platform to connect the real people who are part of the European institutions and the general public.
Europa InSitu is an editorially independent project partially funded by the Parliament through a grant provided by its Directorate General for Information
The project's original idea was created by Spanish interactive marketing agency LogiQo and it is being developed and managed by its parent company Logixell Research Network with assistance from the European Parliament.
The Council of the European Union, referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as listed in the Treaty on European Union. It is one of three legislative bodies and together with the European Parliament serves to amend and approve the proposals of the European Commission. The Council represents the executive governments of the EU's member states and is based in the Europa building in Brussels.
The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. It has an area of 4,475,757 km2 (1,728,099 sq mi) and an estimated population of about 513 million. The EU has developed an internal single market through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states in those matters, and only those matters, where members have agreed to act as one. EU policies aim to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services and capital within the internal market, enact legislation in justice and home affairs and maintain common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries and regional development. For travel within the Schengen Area, passport controls have been abolished. A monetary union was established in 1999 and came into full force in 2002 and is composed of 19 EU member states which use the euro currency.
The European Commission (EC) is an institution of the European Union, responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the EU treaties and managing the day-to-day business of the EU. Commissioners swear an oath at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg City, pledging to respect the treaties and to be completely independent in carrying out their duties during their mandate. Unlike in the Council of the European Union, where members are directly and indirectly elected, and the European Parliament, where members are directly elected, the Commissioners are proposed by the Council of the European Union, on the basis of suggestions made by the national governments, and then appointed by the European Council after the approval of the European Parliament.
The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is the European Union's (EU) assembly of local and regional representatives that provides sub-national authorities with a direct voice within the EU's institutional framework.
The European Court of Auditors(ECA) is the fifth institution of the European Union (EU). It was established in 1975 in Luxembourg.
The European Anti-Fraud Office is a body mandated by the European Union (EU) with protecting the Union's financial interests. It was founded on 28 April 1999, under the European Commission Decision 1999/352. Its tasks are threefold:
The secretariat of the European Parliament is the administrative body of the European Parliament headed by a Secretary-General. It is based in the Kirchberg district of Luxembourg City and around the Brussels-Luxembourg Station in Brussels and employs 4000 officials.
Monica Frassoni is an Italian politician who has been co-chair of the European Green Party since 2009.
European Union culture policies aim to address and promote the cultural dimension of European integration through relevant legislation and government funding. These policies support the development of cultural activity, education or research conducted by private companies, NGO's and individual initiatives based in the EU working in the fields of cinema and audiovisual, publishing, music and crafts.
The European Union has a budget to finance policies carried out at European level.
Europeans United for Democracy - Alliance for a Europe of Democracies, formerly known as EUDemocrats, is a Eurosceptic and self-described Eurorealist alliance of parties and movements from 15 European countries. It operates as a transnational party at the European level, according to Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003. It incorporates members from both the centre-left and the centre-right of the political spectrum.
The Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development is one of the departments of the European Commission. It operates under the authority of the European Commissioner for International Cooperation & Development, Neven Mimica.
ENTSO-E, the European Network of Transmission System Operators, represents 43 electricity transmission system operators (TSOs) from 36 countries across Europe, thus extending beyond EU borders. ENTSO-E was established and given legal mandates by the EU’s Third Package for the Internal energy market in 2009, which aims at further liberalising the gas and electricity markets in the EU.
Intercultural dialogue has long been a principle supported by the European Union and its Institutions. The year 2008 was designated "European Year of Intercultural Dialogue" (EYID) by the European Parliament and the Member States of the European Union. It aimed to draw the attention of people in Europe to the importance of dialogue within diversity and between diverse cultures.
The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) is an independent supervisory authority whose primary objective is to ensure that European institutions and bodies respect the right to privacy and data protection when they process personal data and develop new policies.
A European political foundation, formally a political foundation at European level, informally a Eurofoundation, is a research and advocacy organization close to, but independent from a Europarty. They are funded by the European Parliament. Their purpose is to act as platforms aiming at developing forward-looking ideas and concepts for their respective political family and providing a forum where those ideas can be widely debated. There are nine Eurofoundations as of 16 March 2009.
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) is the institution of the European Union (EU) that encompasses the whole judiciary. Seated in the Kirchberg quarter of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, it consists of two separate courts: the Court of Justice and the General Court. From 2005 to 2016 it also consisted of the Civil Service Tribunal. It has a sui generis court system, meaning "of its own kind", and is a supranational institution.
The House of European History (HEH) is a museum in Brussels, Belgium that focuses on the history of Europe since 1789. It is an initiative by the European Parliament and opened on 6 May 2017. As a cultural institution and exhibition centre, the House of European History intends to promote the understanding of European history and European integration, through a permanent exhibition and temporary and travelling exhibitions.
