Which are the EU institutions?

There are five EU institutions, each playing a specific role:

> European Parliament (elected by the peoples of the Member States); 
> Council of the European Union (representing the governments of the Member States); 
> European Commission (driving force and executive body); 
> Court of Justice (ensuring compliance with the law); 
> Court of Auditors (controlling sound and lawful management of the EU budget).

These are flanked by five other important bodies:
> European Economic and Social Committee (expresses the opinions of organised civil society on economic and social issues); 
> Committee of the Regions (expresses the opinions of regional and local authorities); 
> European Central Bank (responsible for monetary policy and managing the euro); 
> European Ombudsman (deals with citizens' complaints about maladministration by any EU institution or body); 
> European Investment Bank (helps achieve EU objectives by financing investment projects);