The European Union is not a State that intends to replace existing States, nor does it limit its functions into being merely an organisation of international cooperation. In fact, the European Union is a completely new and historically unique structure.

It is more than a confederation of States but is not a federal State. The institutions that were established in the Treaties produce legislation that regulate common interests and have a direct influence in the lives of its citizens.

These institutions work in accordance with the «community method of decision», in acts related to the European Community, also replacing the intergovernmental method within the scope of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and in the area of Justice and Home Affairs (JHA).

The communitarian method is carried out through the main institutions of the community:

• The Council of the European Union, which represents the Governments of the Member-States
• The European Commission, a politically independent body that represents the interests of the Community
• The European Parliament, which represents the citizens of all Member-States
• The Court of Justice, responsible for the execution of the Treaties

In this institutional framework, the Commission has the monopoly of the legislative initiative and the Council decides, most of the times, in conjunction with the European Parliament, being the Court of Justice responsible for the execution of communitarian law, as well as the interpretation and uniform application of the legislation of the Union in all Member-States.

In the intergovernmental method, the monopoly of the Commission's legislative initiative is shared with the Member-States. The interference of the Parliament is more limited and jurisdictional interference from the Court of Justice is not expected.