The EU has a number of institutions and bodies that play important roles in the day-to-day running of the EU. There are also a host of specialised agencies and decentralised bodies that handle a range of technical, scientific and management tasks.
Read on to learn what they are and what they do.
The European Parliament is made up of directly elected members from each EU country, who debate and amend laws
The European Council is where the EU heads of state and government meet. Chaired by its President, it sets the general political direction of the EU.
The Council of the EU brings together national ministers who adopt laws and coordinate policies in various areas. It is currently chaired by Portugal.
The European Commission proposes laws, upholds EU treaties and takes care of the day-to-day running of the EU.
The European Court of Justice makes sure EU law is applied the same way across the EU.
The ECB takes care of the euro. It aims to keep prices stable and contributes to the safety and soundness of European banks.
The European Court of Auditors is the EU’s external auditor. It acts as the independent guardian of the financial interests of European citizens.
The European External Action Service is the EU's diplomatic service and carries out the EU’s foreign and security policy.
The European Economic and Social Committee is an EU advisory body that issues opinions to the other EU institutions.
The Committee of the Regions represents local and regional authorities across the EU and advises on new laws that have an impact on regions & cities.
The EIB is the EU bank. It finances small and medium-sized enterprises and invests in innovation, infrastructure, climate and the environment.
An independent body that helps people, businesses and organisations by investigating complaints about the EU administration.
The European Data Protection Supervisor ensures that EU institutions and bodies protect personal information when processing data.
The European Data Protection Board provides guidelines and recommendations on how to apply data protections rules in the EU.
The official publisher of the EU institutions, agencies and bodies and a central point of access to official EU information.
EPSO provides high-quality selection procedures to recruit staff for the EU institutions, bodies and agencies.
Eurojust is the EU’s judicial cooperation hub, coordinating the fight against cross-border crimes such as terrorism, drug trafficking and cybercrime.
EPPO is the independent public prosecution office of the EU. It investigates and prosecutes crimes affecting the financial interests of the EU.
Learn about decentralised EU agencies performing technical and scientific tasks that help the EU institutions implement policies and make decisions.