What is so unique about the European Union?

The EU system is inherently evolutionary. It was designed to allow for the gradual development of European unification and has not yet achieved its final form.

The EU is a unique, treaty-based, institutional framework that defines and manages economic and political cooperation among its 15 European member countries.The governing system of the EU differs from all previous national and international models. Unlike the United States, the EU is founded on international treaties among sovereign nations rather than a Constitution. The power to enact laws that are directly binding on all EU citzens throughout the EU territory also distinguishes the Union from international organizations.

The Union has been described as a supranational entity. The member states have relinquished part of their national sovereignity to the EU institutions. The member states work together, in their collective interest, through the joint administration of their sovereign powers. The Union also operates according to the principle of ?subsidiarity?, which characterizes most federal systems. Under this principle, the Union is granted jurisdiction only for those policies that cannot be handled effectively at lower levels of government, i.e., national, regional, or local.

Although the US federal model continues to inspire the search for political unity, Europe is constructing its own model for unification, ensuring respect for its richest asset - the historical, cultural and linguistic diversity of the European nations.

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