Or the European Council?

或是歐盟高峰會？

Or what about the European Parliament?

或是歐洲議會？

Yes, the EU is a very complex system.

沒錯，歐洲聯盟是個複雜的系統。

So complicated that even former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, reportedly once

複雜到曾有報導提到前美國國務卿亨利・季辛吉

asked “Who do I call, if I want to call Europe?”

問：「如果我想要打給歐洲，我要打給誰？」

As the name suggests, the European Union is a political and economic union of 28 European countries.

如同名稱所示，歐洲聯盟是由 28 個歐洲國家所組成的政治經濟聯盟。

The genesis of the EU can be traced to the aftermath of the two world wars, which were

歐盟的成立可以溯源至二次世界大戰後，當時

responsible for millions of deaths and a devastated European economy.

導致高達百萬的傷亡人數以及歐洲經濟的崩毀。

In 1958, six founding countries, Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg

1958 年比利時、德國、法國、義大利、盧森堡

and the Netherlands, came together to form the European Economic Community.

以及荷蘭六個國家一同成立歐洲經濟共同體。

The idea was that with increased economic cooperation, they would be less likely

最初的想法是增強經濟合作來降低

to be drawn into a conflict.

發生衝突的可能性。

What started as a purely economic partnership has evolved over the past 60 years into other

一開始單純的經濟夥伴關係在過去 60 年轉變為

policy areas too. These include security, climate, and foreign relations.

政治夥伴關係。這包含了國土安全、國情以及外交關係。

To represent this broader remit, the European Economic Community became

為了宣示這些職權的擴展，歐洲經濟共同體

the European Union in 1993.

在 1993 年改為歐洲聯盟。

So, how does the EU work?

那麼歐洲聯盟如何運作？

Well, one big thing to note is that there is no single leader of the European Union.

其中一個需要注意的重點是歐洲聯盟沒有單一的領導人。

Instead, its responsibilities are spread across seven institutions, but we're going to focus

相反地，歐盟的責任分散至七個機構，但我們要討論的

on the three main ones: The European Commission,

是三個主要的機構：歐盟委員會、

the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union.

歐洲議會以及歐洲理事會。

Let's start with the European Commission.

我們先從歐盟委員會開始。

This is the engine room of the EU - the executive body that proposes new laws.

它是歐盟的引擎室—起草新法律的執行主體。

Every member state has its own commissioner but they're supposed to be politically independent,

每個會員國都有自己的理事代表，但他們應該保持政治中立，

bound by a promise to represent the interests of the EU before their home countries.

並受到歐盟利益優先於他們祖國的承諾限制。

Each commissioner is in charge of a specific portfolio - similar to a government's cabinet of ministers.

每位理事負責特定的職務內容—類似政府的內閣部長。

This institution is based in the Belgian capital, Brussels.

這個機構設於比利時首都布魯塞爾。

Now, the European Parliament.

接下來，歐洲議會。

It is based here in Brussels but also in the French city of Strasbourg, where its members

它設立於布魯塞爾但同時也設立於法國城市斯特拉斯堡，在那裏它的成員

meet 12 times per year. This is where lawmakers vote on laws.

每年開 12 次會議。這是立法者針對法律進行投票的地方。

Presently, it has 751 Members of the European Parliament, or MEPs, from 28 member states.

現在共有 751 位來自 28 個會員國的歐洲議會成員，也稱為 MEP。

However, with the U.K.'s departure from the EU, that number is set to come down to 705.

然而，由於英國脫歐，這個數字預計會下降至 705 位。

Importantly, this is the only European institution that directly represents EU citizens.

重點是，這是歐盟機構中唯一直接代表歐盟公民的。

Every five years, citizens elect their representatives to the European Parliament.

歐盟公民每五年選出他們的歐洲議會代表。

Finally, let's look at the Council of the European Union.

最後，我們來看歐洲理事會。

It's made of ministers from the different EU member states.

它由各歐盟會員國的部長組成。

Ministers with similar roles, whether it be overseeing finance, education or defense,

職務內容相似的部長們，不論是監督財務、教育或國防，

meet regularly to discuss, amend and adopt laws.

定期聚會以便討論、修正或通過法律。

The Council of the European Union, together with the European Parliament, are the

歐洲理事會以及歐洲議會是

main decision-making bodies of the EU.

主要決策者—組成歐盟的主體。

But don't confuse the Council of the European Union with the European Council.

但不要把歐洲理事會和歐洲高峰會搞混了。

The leaders of the EU also meet in this building for quarterly summits.

歐盟的領導人們也會在此進行每季高峰會。

Discussions here often happen at the highest level, which is why you'll see heads of

這時的討論通常都是最高層級的，所以你會看到各國的國家領導人

state like the chancellor of Germany and president of France meeting up in Brussels.

像是德國總理和法國總統在布魯塞爾開會。

Other important European bodies include the European Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors

其他重要的歐盟機構有歐洲法院、歐洲審計院

and the European Central Bank.

以及歐洲中央銀行。

Based in Luxembourg, the ECJ ensures European law is interpreted and applied in the same

歐洲法院設立於盧森堡，它負責解釋歐洲法律及其在全歐洲的

way across the EU. Kind of like the U.S. Supreme Court.

實行狀況。有點像美國的最高法院。

Also in Luxembourg is the Court of Auditors.

歐洲審計院也設立於盧森堡。

It acts like the union's CFO, responsible for looking after the Community budget.

它就像是歐盟的財務長，負責監督歐盟的預算。

And then there is the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, which sets monetary policy in the eurozone.

還有位在法蘭克福的歐洲中央銀行，它負責歐元區的貨幣政策。

Yes, that's right. The eurozone, not the EU.

沒錯，是歐元區，而非歐盟。

This is another important distinction.

這是另一個重要的特徵。

Currently, only 19 of the 28 EU member states form the eurozone, while the remaining nine

目前 28 個會員國中只有 19 個國家是歐元區，其他 9 個國家

are still using their own national currencies.

仍繼續使用自己的貨幣。

The EU is a complex political arrangement.

歐盟是個複雜的政治組織。

Critics say it will not survive due to the many differences of opinion between and within each country.

評論家認為歐盟沒辦法運作太久，因為各國的意見分歧太多。

And with tens of thousands of people across dozens of nationalities working for the EU,

並且歐盟內部有個一大群來自十幾個國家的人們在工作，

its institutions have also been criticized for its bureaucracies and complexities, saying

歐盟機構的官僚文化和複雜度也飽受批評，一般認為

it makes it hard to get things done.

這些因素導致事情很難做好。

At the same time, this arrangement has lasted more than 60 years and has so far achieved

與此同時，這個組織已經運作超過 60 年，並且目前已達成

its main aim: avoiding war between the neighboring countries.

它的主要目標：避免鄰近國家之間發生戰爭。