ABSTRACT
The EU as a political system is a jurisdiction in its own right, with specific institutions, the power to enact legislation binding on all member states and its own symbols (Box 9.1). The founding Treaties defined five European institutions (in the strictest sense), which are described in this chapter: the Council of the European Union; the European Parliament; the European Commission (these first three forming the ‘decision-making’ triangle); the Court of Justice of the European Communities; and the European Court of Auditors. A number of other EU bodies perform specific roles and are briefly introduced in the second part of the chapter: advisory bodies (the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions); financial institutions (the European Investment Bank, the European Investment Fund and the European Central Bank); the European Ombudsman; various support services; and a range of specialised European agencies.
