Institutions of the European Union


The institutions of the European Union are the seven principal decision-making bodies of the European Union and Euratom governed under the Treaties of the European Union and European Union law. They are, as listed in Article 13 of the Treaty on the European Union:
Institutions are distinct from both advisory bodies to the European Union and agencies of the European Union.

History

Most EU institutions were created with the establishment of the European Community in 1958. Much change since then has been in the context of shifting the balance of power away from the council and towards the Parliament. The role of the commission has often been to mediate between the two or tip the balance. However, the commission is becoming more accountable to the Parliament: in 1999 it forced the resignation of the Santer Commission and forced a reshuffle of the proposed Barroso Commission in 2004. The development of the institutions, with incremental changes from treaties and agreements, is testament to the evolution of the Union's structures without one clear "master plan." Some observers like Tom Reid of The Washington Post said of the institutions that "nobody would have deliberately designed a government as complex and as redundant as the EU."

Under the Treaty of Paris">Treaty of Paris (1951)">Treaty of Paris

The first institutions were created at the start of the 1950s with the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community, based on the Schuman declaration, between six states. The ECSC was designed to bring the markets of coal and steel, the materials needed to wage war, under the control of a supranational authority with the aim of encouraging peace and economic development. It established the first institutions. At its core was an independent executive called the "High Authority" with supranational powers over the Community. The laws made by the Authority would be observed by a Court of Justice in order to ensure they were upheld and to arbitrate.
During the negotiations, two supervisory institutions were put forward to counterbalance the power of the High Authority. The "Common Assembly" proposed by Jean Monnet to act as a monitor, counterweight and to add democratic legitimacy was composed of 78 national parliamentarians. The second was the Council of Ministers, pushed by the smaller states also to add an intergovernmental element and harmonise national policies with those of the authority.

Establishment and changes

In 1957 the Treaties of Rome established two similar communities, creating a common market and promoting atomic energy co-operation. The three institutions shared the Court of Justice and the Parliament, however, they had a separate Council and High Authority, which was called the Commission in these Communities. The reason for this is the different relationship between the Commission and Council. At the time the French government was suspicious of the supranational and wanted to limit the powers of the High Authority in the new Communities, giving the council a greater role in checking the executive.
The three communities were later merged in 1967, by the Merger Treaty, into the European Communities. The institutions were carried over from the European Economic Community. Under the Treaties of Rome, the Common Assembly was supposed to become elected. However, this was delayed by the council until 1979. Since then it gained more powers via successive treaties. The Maastricht Treaty also gave further powers to the council by giving it a key role in the two new pillars of the EU which were based on intergovernmental principles.
The 2009 Lisbon Treaty brought nearly all policy areas under the co-decision procedure, hence increasing the power of the Parliament. The rules for the distribution of seats in the parliament were also changed to a formula system. The High Representative merged with the European Commissioner for External Relations and joined the commission. The appointment of the Commission President became dependent upon the last EU elections. The Council of Ministers adopted more qualified majority voting and the European Council was made a distinct institution with a permanent president. The Court of Justice had some minor renaming and adjustments. In addition, the central bank became a full institution.

Overview

Organisational chart

List

There are three political institutions which hold the executive and legislative power of the union. The Council of the European Union represents governments, the parliament represents citizens and the commission represents the European interest. Essentially, the Council of the European Union, parliament or another party place a request for legislation to the commission. The commission then drafts this and presents it to the parliament and the Council of the European Union, where in most cases both must give their assent. Although the exact nature of this depends upon the legislative procedure in use, once it is approved and signed by both bodies it becomes law. The commission's duty is to ensure it is implemented by dealing with the day-to-day running of the Union and taking others to Court if they fail to comply.

European Parliament

The European Parliament shares the legislative and budgetary authority of the Union with the Council of the European Union. Its 705 members are elected every five years by universal suffrage and sit according to political allegiance. They represent nearly 500 million citizens and form the only directly elected body in the Union. Despite forming one of the two legislative chambers of the Union, it has weaker powers than the Council in some sensitive areas, and does not have legislative initiative. It does, however, have powers over the Commission which the Council does not. It has been said that its democratic nature and growing powers have made it one of the most powerful legislatures in the world.
The Parliament's President is Roberta Metsola, who was elected from the Parliament's members in 2022.

European Council

The European Council is the group of heads of state or government of the EU member states. It meets four times a year to define the Union's policy agenda and give impetus to integration. The President of the European Council is the person responsible for chairing and driving forward the work of the institution, which has been described as the highest political body of the European Union.
The current president is António Costa.

Council of the European Union

The Council of the European Union is a body holding legislative and some limited executive powers and is thus the main decision-making body of the Union. Its Presidency rotates between the states every six months, but every three Presidencies now cooperate on a common programme. This body is separate from the European Council, which is a similar body, but is composed of national leaders.
The council is composed of twenty-seven national ministers. However the Council meets in various forms depending upon the topic. For example, if agriculture is being discussed, the council will be composed of each national minister for agriculture. They represent their governments and are accountable to their national political systems. Votes are taken either by majority or unanimity with votes allocated according to population. In these various forms they share the legislative and budgetary power of the Parliament, and also lead the Common Foreign and Security Policy.
The presidency is being held by Denmark since July 2025.

European Commission

The European Commission is the executive arm of the Union. It is a body composed of one appointee from each state, currently twenty-seven, but is designed to be independent of national interests. The body is responsible for drafting all law of the European Union and has the ability to propose new laws. It also deals with the day-to-day running of the Union and has the duty of upholding the law and treaties.
The commission is led by a President who is nominated by the council and approved by Parliament. The remaining 26 Commissioners are nominated by member states, in consultation with the President, and have their portfolios assigned by the President. The Council then adopts this list of nominee-Commissioners. The council's adoption of the commission is not an area which requires the decision to be unanimous; their acceptance is arrived at according to the rules for qualified majority voting. The European Parliament then interviews and casts its vote upon the Commissioners. The interviews of individual nominees are conducted separately, in contrast to Parliament's vote of approval which must be cast on the commission as a whole without the ability to accept or reject individual Commissioners. Once approval has been obtained from the Parliament, the Commissioners can take office. The current President is Ursula von der Leyen ; her commission was elected in 2019.

Court of Justice of the European Union

The Court of Justice of the European Union is the judicial branch of the European Union and is responsible for interpreting EU law and treaties.
The CJUE 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.
The CJEU is located in Luxembourg.

European Central Bank

The European Central Bank is the only one among the 7 institutions that is also an international entity with treaty capability in its own right. It is at the centre of the European System of Central Banks which comprises all EU national banks. The bank is governed by a board of national bank governors and a president. It is also the central bank for the eurozone and thus controls monetary policy in that area with an agenda to maintain price stability.
The ECB is located in Frankfurt.
The current president is Christine Lagarde.