Institutions

The EU has three institutions that matter to you when lobbying the EU: The European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council of the European Union.

The European Commission

What is it?

The Commission acts as both the Government and Civil Service of the EU.

What does it do

The European Commission represents the interests of the European Union itself. They are in charge of Drafting, implementing and enforcing EU laws.

The European Parliament

What is it?

The European Parliament is the legislative body of the EU. It brings together over 500 directly elected representatives commonly called MEPs or Members of European Parliament).

What does it do?

The European Parliament represents Citizens, and proposes changes to the draft laws written by the European Commission. It then negotiates a common set of changes to the law with the Council of the European Union, and votes either to adopt or reject the law with these changes.

The Council of the European Union

What is it?

The Council of the European Union, often just called “The Council”, is the second legislative body of the EU. It brings together representatives from EU countries’ governments (one vote per country). It is comparable to a senate.

What does it do?

The Council of the European Union represents the interests the Countries that are members of the EU. It proposes changes to the draft laws written by the European Commission. It then negotiates a common set of changes to the law with the European Parliament, and votes either to adopt or reject the law with these changes.