Why the European Union? The EU is a good thing for idealistic, pragmatic and selfish reasons. the idealistic: the EU has helped bring peace and stability to Europe. In a continent where generations fought bloody wars, this is simply a much better way of settling our differences. Of course we still have rows - but around a negotiating table. War between EU countries is now unthinkable.

the pragmatic: we need a structure for finding common solutions to common problems with our neighbouring countries. The EU is where countries of our continent get together to agree (or not) on common policies when they decide that it is mutually beneficial to do so. We are highly interdependent economically and environmentally, and we face common threats and challenges on matters like international crime, terrorism and so on. It makes sense to work together.

the selfish: most of Croatia's exports go to European Union countries. It is in Croatia's interest to be around the table when the rules for that market are adopted. Croatian citizens will become (also) citizens of the EU, allowing freedom to live and work in all EU countries with protected rights.

Why is the EU special? is not a classic international organisation. it has some features of a federation, where Member States pool their sovereignty in limited fields and exercise powers jointly through common institutions. it confers some rights directly on all European citizens. Citizens are represented not only by their governments, but by directly elected parliamentarians. They can adopt laws which are binding across Europe.

What is European Union law? The primary law (the de facto constitution) of the Union is a set of treaties which lay down (and limit ) the field of responsibility of the EU, define its main objectives and set out how its takes decisions. It also lays down certain rights for all EU citizens, such as nondiscrimination on the ground and nationality or gender. It spells out how members of the European institutions are elected or appointed.

Under those treaties, the EU is entitled to adopt secondary legislation. The bulk of such European laws are rules for what is now the world's largest free market. Many are intended to make life easier for business, cutting red tape and bureaucracy. This is done by adopting common standards and rules so that businesses face a single set, rather than 27 or 28 different ones. For instance it is now possible to register a trademark once, valid across Europe, instead of facing 27 different registration procedures, each with forms to fill and and fees to pay.

What is European Union law? Other EU laws are to protect people. For instance, having a common system across Europe for labelling foodstuffs - the famous E numbers on our jars - enables people with allergies to see easily what to avoid. Common Europe-wide laws to protect the environment are more effective as pollution doesn't stop at boundaries. A common competition policy has protected consumers from national monopolies and multinational companies alike, perhaps most visible in the airline market where cheaper flights have enabled millions to enjoy European travel.

How are European Union laws adopted? The EU has a bicameral legislature: a directly elected European Parliament and an indirectly elected Council. The Council is composed of ministers from the governments of the Member States. Both Parliament and Council have to approve proposals for them to become law. Within the Council, a qualified majority (requiring support of a high majority of states and of population) is normally needed. For sensitive matters such as tax or foreign policy, unanimity is needed.

The Parliament and the Council act on the basis of draft proposals put forward by the European Commission. The Commission is the Union's central administration, headed by a team of Commissioners whose role is comparable to ministers in a national context. The President of the Commission is elected by the European Parliament. He agrees with the national governments on who the other Commissioners should be (one per country). The Vice President of the Commission acts as the EU's High Representative for foreign policy (a sort of EU foreign minister).

Is it bureaucratic? No, the European Commission only has the power to propose, and to carry out what has been agreed. All decisions on policy and European legislation are taken by the Council -- composed of the elected governments of the Member States -- and the European Parliament, composed of directly elected MEPs. The administration that serves under the European Commission is actually smaller than that of most medium-sized cities in Europe!

How does the European Parliament work? The European Parliament is directly elected by citizens every five years. It is the world's first experiment in transnational democracy. It contains members from parties that are in government and parties that are in opposition in each and every member state. Members of the European Parliament sit according to their political affinity (Socialist, Liberal, Christian Democrat, Green, Conservative, etc), not in national delegations. The main dividing lines are differences of political viewpoint, not of national viewpoint.

Unlike many national parliaments, where the government can rely on its majority to get its way, in the European Parliament, majorities have to be built issue by issue through explanation and persuasion. There is no inbuilt " governing majority". There is a genuine debate, enriched by the variety of national and cultural perspectives brought by members from so many different countries.