The European Union has a type of government. It’s called the European Commission. Every one of the 27 EU countries sends a representative to the Commission. A big administration works for the Commission. The Commission and the administration work in the city of Brussels in Belgium.
The European Union has its own parliament. The European Parliament monitors the Commission. The European Parliament takes part in deciding laws for the EU. The Parliament is elected by people from all the EU states. Big states get more representatives. Small states get fewer representatives. The Parliament works in Brussels and in Strasbourg. Strasbourg is a city in France.
Representatives of the 27 states work with the Parliament to make laws. When the representatives of the states work together, it is called a council. When the leaders of the governments come together, it is called the European Council. Different ministers also come to the sittings of the Council. For example the Interior Ministers. Another example is the Foreign Ministers. The Council works in Brussels.
The EU also has a Supreme Court. It is called the European Court of Justice. The European Court of Justice is the most important court for deciding EU rules. It has more authority than the courts of individual countries. The European Court of Justice is based in Luxembourg.
Translation: Cai Nebe.