Introduction

Abstract

This book sets out to explain why the EU decision-making system is as it is and to give an objective overview of the main ways in which the EU operates. It describes concisely how EU laws emerge from interaction between the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council; how these basic rules are adapted and applied by the Commission through delegated and implementing acts; how implementation on the ground involves a host of other actors, public and private, including standardisation bodies, EU agencies and international organisations; how the EU countries, and especially the 19 members of the eurozone, have been struggling to improve their collective capacities for economic governance under the pressure of the crises; and how the EU is trying to consolidate a common approach in foreign policy and security affairs.