European Union

Abstract

The European Union was established by the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 (OJ C 191 of 29 July 1992). The European Union itself has no legal personality but provides for an institutional framework for the cooperation of its member states on the basis of three pillars. The first and oldest pillar is the European Communities, the second pillar is the European Union Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the third pillar concerns Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters. The two European Communities, EC and EAEC, are international organisations with supranational powers. Currently, the European Unions has 27 member states from Western, Central and Eastern Europe. The joint organ of the European Union is the European Council which comprises the heads of state or government of the Union’ s member states along with the President of the European Commission (Art 4 (2) TEU). Important bodies of the European Communities include the European Parliament, the Commission, the Council, the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Audit.