ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author provides the essential aspects of the European Union (EU) system. He presents the various institutions and the original way in which they relate to each other. The author describes in some detail the composition, procedures, tasks and competences of each and four of these institutions that form the backbone of the system merit fuller treatment. The institutional set-up of the EU is rather original. The five most important institutions of the EU are the Council, the Commission, the Parliament, the Court of Justice and the European Council. The author aims to indicate the different legal forms in use, the diversity of the decision-making processes to initiate new or adapt existing EU regulation. He turns their attention to the financial resources and describes the structure of expenditure and receipts and the way budgetary powers are executed.
