How the EU works: Commission, Parliament and Council explained

By Omid Jamshidi · Published 19 October 2026 · 6 min read

Who does what in the European Union – the Commission, the European Parliament, the Council and the European Council – how an EU law is made, and how to read EU news without mixing up the institutions.

"Brussels has decided" is one of the most common phrases in European news – and one of the least precise. Behind it there are several institutions with very different roles, and a decision by one of them is often only one step in a longer process. This guide explains who does what in the European Union, how an EU law comes about and how to read EU news without mixing up the players.

The European Union in brief

The European Union is a union of 27 member states that have agreed to make certain decisions together – on the single market, trade, competition, agriculture, the environment and much more. In other areas, such as most of taxation, defence or education, the member states keep the main say. Most EU countries also share a common currency, the euro, whose monetary policy is run by the European Central Bank in Frankfurt.

The EU is not a state, but it is more than an ordinary international organisation: its laws apply directly in the member states or must be turned into national law.

The European Commission: proposing and enforcing

The Commission, based in Brussels, is often called the EU's executive. It has one member from each country, the commissioners, each responsible for a policy area, led by the Commission President.

Its most important power: as a rule, only the Commission can propose new EU laws. It also manages the EU budget, negotiates trade agreements on behalf of the EU and checks whether member states apply EU law. If they do not, it can take them to the Court of Justice.

The commissioners do not represent their home countries; they are meant to act in the interest of the EU as a whole.

The European Parliament: the citizens' chamber

The European Parliament is the only EU institution directly elected by citizens, every five years. Its members sit in political groups by party family, not by country. Its plenary sessions take place mainly in Strasbourg, its committees meet in Brussels.

Together with the Council, the Parliament adopts most EU laws and the EU budget. It must also approve the Commission President and the Commission as a whole, and it can force the Commission to resign through a vote of no confidence.

The Council of the EU: the governments

The Council of the European Union – often simply called "the Council" – brings together ministers from the governments of the member states. Which ministers attend depends on the topic: agriculture ministers for farming policy, finance ministers for economic questions, and so on. The presidency of the Council rotates between the member states every six months.

The Council is the second chamber of EU legislation. Many decisions are taken by qualified majority: at least 55 percent of member states, representing at least 65 percent of the EU population, must agree. In sensitive areas such as foreign policy or taxation, unanimity is required, so a single country can block a decision.

The European Council: the summits

The European Council is easily confused with the Council of the EU, but it is something else: the heads of state or government of the member states, together with its own president and the Commission President. It meets at summits several times a year.

The European Council does not make laws. It sets the political direction, takes decisions on major questions – for example on enlargement or responses to crises – and nominates candidates for top posts. Headlines such as "EU leaders agree" usually refer to it.

How an EU law is made

Most EU laws follow the ordinary legislative procedure:

1. The Commission proposes a law.
2. The Parliament and the Council each discuss it and adopt their own positions, often with many amendments.
3. If their positions differ, representatives of both meet with the Commission in informal negotiations, called trilogues, to find a compromise.
4. The Parliament and the Council formally adopt the agreed text.
5. The law is published and comes into force.

This takes months, often years. News about a "deal" frequently refers to step 3 – a provisional political agreement that still has to be formally confirmed.

There are two main types of EU law. A regulation applies directly in all member states, like a national law. A directive sets a goal that each country must achieve through its own laws by a deadline, which is why the same directive can look slightly different from country to country.

Other institutions you will meet in the news

• The Court of Justice of the EU in Luxembourg ensures that EU law is interpreted and applied in the same way everywhere and settles disputes between EU institutions and member states.
• The European Central Bank in Frankfurt sets interest rates for the countries that use the euro.
• The Court of Auditors checks how EU money is spent.

Not part of the EU: the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, a separate organisation with more members than the EU that focuses on human rights, and its European Court of Human Rights. News reports sometimes confuse the two courts.

How to read EU news

• Which institution? "Brussels" can mean the Commission, the Council, the Parliament or all of them together. Check who actually decided.
• Which stage? A proposal, a Parliament vote, a provisional agreement and a law in force are very different things.
• When does it apply? Many rules only take effect years after they are adopted, and directives still have to be turned into national law.
• Whose view? National governments often present EU decisions very differently at home. Comparing reports from several countries – for example in the German, Spanish and UK editions of this site – shows these differences quickly; our guide on why the same story looks different in other languages explains why.

The latest international headlines are in the World section of Omid57.info. For original documents, the EU's own website european-union.europa.eu explains the institutions, and EUR-Lex publishes the full texts of EU law.

Conclusion

The EU is less mysterious than its headlines suggest. The Commission proposes and enforces, the Parliament and the Council decide together, the European Council sets the direction and the Court of Justice makes sure the rules are applied. Knowing who does what turns "Brussels has decided" into a question you can answer: who decided, at which stage – and what happens next?