European Commission has three distinct functions: initiating proposals for legislation, guardian of the Treaties, and the manager and executor of Union policies and of international trade relationships.  This link will take you to a page, on the EU-LDC site, listing the home page of all directorates-general and services of the Commission.

European Parliament is the directly-elected democratic expression of the political will of the peoples of the European Union, the largest multinational Parliament in the world.  

Council of the European Union is usually known as the Council of Ministers, and has no equivalent anywhere in the world. Here, the Member States legislate for the Union, set its political objectives, coordinate their national policies and resolve differences between themselves and with other institutions.

Court of Justice provides the judicial safeguards necessary to ensure that the law is observed in the interpretation and application of the Treaties and, generally in all of the activities of the Union.

European Court of Auditors is the taxpayers' representative, responsible for checking that the European Union spends its money according to its budgetary rules and regulations and for the purposes for which it is intended.

European Investment Bank is the European Union's financing loans for capital investment promoting the Union's balanced economic development and integration.

European Central Bank (ECB) has been created to generate and control the european currency: The EURO. the site contains information on the bank, its monetary policy and the currency

Economic and Social Committee. In accordance with the Treaties, the Committee advises the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament. The opinions which it delivers (either in response to a referral or on its own initiative) are drawn up by representatives of the various categories ofeconomic and social activity in the European Union.

Committee of the Regions is the European Union's youngest institution whose birth reflects Member States' strong desire not only to respect regional and local identities and prerogatives but also to involve them in the development and implementation of EU policies.

European Ombudsman. Every citizen of each Member State is both a national and a European citizen. One of his/her rights as a European citizen is to apply to the European Ombudsman if he/she is a victim of an act of "maladministration" by the EU institutions or bodies.