The European Community was established by the Treaty of Rome, which provided for the setting up of four main institutions:

1. The Council of Ministers.
2. The Commission.
3. The European Parliament
4. The Court of Justice

These institutions are supported by the Court of Auditors, and at present are common to the three European Communities: the European Coal and Steel Community, the European Economic Community and Euratom.

The Council of Ministers

The Council is a forum of representatives of governments of the member states, one from each member government. Usually, governments are represented by their foreign ministers, but this varies according to the subjects under discussion. The presidency is held by each minister of the Council for a period of six months in turn. The main task of the Council is to ensure the realisation of the Treaty of Rome's objectives. Decisions are made by a unanimous vote, a simple majority or by a qualified majority. However, the principle of unanimity on important matters has become the usual practice within the council; majority decisions have been taken only on relatively minor issues.

As the Union's principle legislative and decision making institution, the Council has the power to adopt Union regulations and directives submitted to it by the Commission and discussed by the Parliament.

The European Commission

The 16 Commissioners and the President of the Commission are appointed by unanimous agreement between the member governments for a term of four and two years respectively. In practice, this means that each member state is represented by at least one Commissioner, but not more than two.

Although nominated by their governments, the Commissioners pledge to be completely independent in carrying out their duties and to represent the common interests of the Union. The Commission is responsible to the European Parliament which can pass a vote of censure and force the Commission collectively to resign. The principle of the Commission's independence is well respected by the member governments. The Commission acts by a majority of its members ( at least eight votes in favour). The main task of the Commission is to ensure the proper functioning and development of the Union. In order to carry out this task, the Commission derives its authority from two main sources: one is provided for in the Treaty of Rome and another is confirmed by the Council.

The Commission exercises its power in several ways:

1. The Commission initiates EU policies after consulting the appropriate institutions and interest groups. It then submits proposals to the Council for final approval.
2. The Treaty of Rome also provides the Commission with less subsidiary roles: it supervises the implementation of the Treaty's provisions and the measures taken by the Council; it formulates recommendations or delivers opinions on all matters dealt with in the treaty; and it is also consulted on a number of occasions.
3. The Commission represents the Union, both at Union and external levels, wherever the interests of the latter are affected. The Commission attends the various meetings of the Council and meeting of other Union institutions and committees. It also attends the meetings of the European Council (Heads of State and Government) and Foreign Ministers' meetings within the political cooperation framework whenever the Council is discussing matters related to the Treaty of Rome. The Commission also represents the Union in the CSCE conferences, the Euro-Arab dialogue, the North-South dialogue and in many other international institutions and conferences of an economic nature.
4. In external matters, the Commission negotiates trade agreements between the Union and non-member states or international organisations. Nevertheless, such agreements are subject to the final approval of the Council.
5. Finally, the Commission is responsible for administering EU funds, which since 1975 have been financed entirely from its own resources. It also administers four special funds: the European Social Fund; the European Development Fund, the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund; and the European Regional Fund.

The European Parliament

The European Parliament (EP), which has been directly elected since 1979, consists of 518 members. In 1991, 18 representatives from the former East Germany attended parliamentary debates as observers until parliamentary elections in 1995, when a decision on the number of members of the new EP is to be reached.

The members of the EP take their seats as members of international political groupings rather than as members of national delegations. There are 10 political groupings in the EP, representing the various political tendencies within the parliament.

The EP has 19 committees, each dealing with dealing with particular areas of the Union's activities. In addition, the EP can set up sub-committees, temporary committees or committees of inquiry which examine more specific problems within the EU.

The main responsibilities of the EP are advising on legislation; considering or rejecting the Union's budget; and exercising a measure of democratic control over the Union's institutions.

The Court of Justice

The Court of Justice consists of 13 Judges who are assisted by 6 advocates general. They are appointed by agreement of the member governments for a term of six years.

The Court of Justice is the supreme court of the European Union. Its main task is to ensure compliance with the law in the interpretation and application of the treaties. Therefore the Court has jurisdiction to give legally binding judgements regarding:

1. Interpretation of the treaties.
2. Review of the legality of acts of the Union's institutions in implementing the treaties.

Other Institutions

In addition to these four main Union institutions, there are two important committees which are involved in the Union's activities: the Economic and Social Committee and the Permanent Representatives' Committee. The Union's institutions are also assisted by the Court of Auditors.