INSTITUTIONS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

To ensure decisions on matters of joint interest are made in an efficient and effective manner, the EU member states delegate some of their decision-making powers to shared institutions.

The EU's decision-making process and the co-decision procedure in particular involve three main institutions:

• European Parliament

• Council of the European Union

• European Commission

Two other institutions that play a vital part in the EU include the Court of Justice, which upholds the rule of European law, and the Court of Auditors, which checks the financing of the Union's activities.

In this section, you will find brief descriptions on the responsibilities of these five EU institutions. In addition to these institutions, the EU also has other bodies that play specific roles. To learn more about these other EU bodies, click here.