European Union institutions

The EU has seven institutions, each of them with its specific role. These institutions are the European Council, the European Commission, the Council of the European Union or Council of Ministers, the European Parliament, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the Court of Auditors and the European Central Bank.

In the EU's unique institutional set-up:

• the EU's broad priorities are set by the European Council, which brings together national and EU-level leaders
• directly elected MEPs represent European citizens in the European Parliament
• the interests of the EU as a whole are promoted by the European Commission, whose members are appointed by national governments
• governments defend their own countries' national interests in the Council of the European Union.

Five further important bodies support the work of the institutions: the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions which are advisory bodies, the European Investment Bank, the European Ombudsman and the European Data Protection Supervisor.

In addition, a host of specialised agencies handle a range of technical, scientific and management tasks. The agencies operate in different EU member states. The European Chemicals Agency is located in Helsinki, Finland.