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In this section you will find information on how the EU works, the main competences of the EU and the origin, development and institutions of the EU.
Some background information is also provided on the EU in the World, the EU and Agriculture, the EU and the Environment, the EU and Climate Change, the EU and crime-fighting, the EU and Energy Security, the EU and Enlargement, the EU and Employment, the EU and Research, the EU and Trade, as well as links to further sources of information. Information on EU Treaties, and the Presidency of the European Council is also provided.
Under Legal Information and EU Law, you can find information on: the Sources of EU law, Citizens' Rights, and the Enforcement of EU Rights.
There is also a useful Links page.
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About the EU
 The European Union (EU) is unique. It is not a federation like the United States. Nor is it simply an organisation for co-operation between governments, like the United Nations. The countries that make up the EU (its ‘Member States’) remain independent sovereign nations but they pool their sovereignty in order to gain a strength and world influence none of them could have on their own.
Pooling sovereignty means, in practice, that the Member States delegate some of their decision-making powers to shared institutions they have created, so that decisions on specific matters of joint interest can be made democratically at European level.
The activities of the European Union are taken forward by a number of bodies - the EU institutions - whose tasks and responsibilities are set out in the Treaties.
The European Council defines the general political direction and priorities of the European Union. With the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon on 1 December 2009, it became an institution. Its President is Herman Van Rompuy. It does not exercise legislative functions. The European Council consists of the Heads of State or Government of the Member States (so Ireland’s representative is Taoiseach Enda Kenny) together with its President and the President of the Commission. The European Council meets in what are known as Summits, usually up to four times a year.
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EU Institutions
The EU's decision-making process in particular involve three main institutions:
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the European Parliament (EP) represents the EU’s citizens. Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are elected every five years by voters right across the 27 Member States of the European Union. The main job of Parliament is to pass European laws on the basis of proposals presented by the European Commission. Parliament shares this responsibility with the Council of the European Union. Parliament and Council also share joint authority for approving the EU’s €130 billion annual budget. Ireland has 12 MEPs out of a total 736, representing the Dublin, East, South, and North-West constituencies;
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the Council of the European Union represents the individual member states. It is the EU’s principal decision-taking body. The Council consists of ministers from the national governments of all the EU countries. Depending on the issue on the agenda, each country will be represented by the minister responsible for that subject (foreign affairs, finance, social affairs, transport, agriculture, etc.).;
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the European Commission seeks to uphold the interests of the Union as a whole. It drafts proposals for new European laws, which it presents to the European Parliament and the Council. It manages the day-to-day business of implementing EU policies and spending EU funds. The Commission also makes sure that everyone abides by the European Treaties and laws. It can act against rule-breakers, taking them to the European Court of Justice if necessary. The Commission consists of 27 men and women — one from each EU country. Its President is José Manuel Barroso. Máire Geoghegan-Quinn is the current Irish Commissioner. She has responsibility for Research, Innovation and Science.
This ‘institutional triangle’ produces the policies and laws that apply throughout the EU. In principle, it is the Commission that proposes new laws, but it is the Parliament and Council that adopt them. The Commission and the Member States then implement them, and the Commission ensures that the laws are properly taken on board.
Two other institutions also have a vital part to play:
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the Court of Justice upholds the rule of European law. It makes sure that EU law is interpreted and applied in the same way in all EU countries, thereby ensuring that the law is equal for everyone. It ensures, for example, that national courts do not give different rulings on the same issue. The Court also makes sure that EU Member States and institutions do what the law requires them to do. The Court is located in Luxembourg and has one judge from each member country. Aindrias Ó Caoimh is the Irish member of the Court of Justice.
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the Court of Auditors checks that the EU’s funds, which come from the taxpayers, are spent legally, economically and for the intended purpose. The Court is based in Luxembourg and has the right to audit any organisation, body or company which handles EU funds. The Court has one member from each EU country; Kevin Cardiff is the Irish member of the Court of Auditors.
The powers and responsibilities of these institutions are laid down in the Treaties, which are the foundation of everything the EU does. They also lay down the rules and procedures that the EU institutions must follow. The Treaties are agreed by the presidents and/or prime ministers of all the EU countries, and ratified by their parliaments.
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Main forms of EU law
The main forms of EU law are directives and regulations:
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Directives are legislative instruments which reconcile the dual objective of both securing the necessary uniformity of Community law and respecting the diversity of national traditions and structures. Directives are binding on Member States as to the result to be achieved but leave it to the respective national authorities to decide how the Community objective set out in the directive is to be incorporated into their domestic legal systems before a specified date. A directive does not acquire legal force and effect until the date for implementation of the directive has expired.
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Regulations are legislative instruments of general application. They apply to abstract rather than individual situations. For example, many regulations apply to operators in the agricultural sector. Regulations are binding in their entirety. This means that a Member State has no power to apply regulations incompletely or to apply only those provisions of which it approves. A regulation is directly applicable, which means that it creates law which takes immediate effect in all the Member States in the same way as a national instrument, without any further action on the part of the national authorities.
The rules and procedures for EU decision-making are laid down in the Treaties. Every proposal for a new European law is based on a specific Treaty article, referred to as the ‘legal basis’ of the proposal. The main procedure is the ordinary legislative procedure involving co-decision between the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament in the adoption of legislation. See here for more information.
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Other EU bodies
In addition to its institutions, the EU has a number of other bodies that play specialised roles:
In addition, specialised agencies have been set up to handle certain technical, scientific or management tasks. One of these agencies, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, is located in Dublin. See here for further information.
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