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the people and should promote the interests of EU citizens. The EuropeanCommission (Brussels/Luxembourg/representations across the EU) comprisesEU staff. They make sure that all members act consistently in regional,agricultural, and social policies. By doing so, the European Commissionpromotes the interests of the EU as a whole.The 4 main EU institutions, with their distinct functions, work together closelyto set the EU%u2019s agenda and initiate and coordinate EU law-making. TheEuropean Commission proposes new legislation. In most cases, the EuropeanParliament and the European Council decide on the adoption of the lawproposal. Thus, these three institutions produce the policies and laws that applythroughout the EU. The European Parliament gets the first read of all lawsproposed by the Commission. Its members are elected every five years. TheEuropean Council gets the second read on all laws. It can accept theParliament%u2019s position, thus adopting the law. The council is made up of theUnion%u2019s 27 heads of state, plus a president. In general, the European Councildoes not make laws. However, it can agree on changes to the Treaty on theFunctioning of the EU. Its main role is to determine the EU%u2019s political direction.The work of four main bodies are complemented by other institutions andbodies, which include the Court of Justice of the European Union (Luxembourg),the European Central Bank (Frankfurt), and the European Court of Auditors(Luxembourg). The EU institutions and bodies cooperate extensively with thenetwork of EU agencies and organisations across the European Union. Theprimary function of these bodies and agencies is to translate policies intorealities on the ground.n 1. 1. 5. Legal framework of the European UnionTo launch and grow successful businesses in a dynamic and ever-changingEuropean business environment, it is important to be familiar with the mainfeatures of the European legal environment.The system of European law has evolved from public international law, but itis a separate, autonomous legal order. In one of its first rulings, the Court ofJustice stated that %u201cthe European Economic Community constitutes a new legalorder of international law%u201d (Case 26/62, van Gend & Loos). Although the systemof European law exists simultaneously with the national legal systems ofindividual EU Member States, it is independent from them. The independenceof European law from the national legal systems of the Member States ismanifested in the autonomous interpretation of European law (Case C-236/01,Monsanto Agricoltura Italia et al.). It is therefore necessary to distinguish thesystem of European law from the systems of national law of the EU MemberStates, as well as from the system of public international law. The EU legalsystem is sui generis. It is a special system of law of its own kind which has a131.1 Dynamic European Integration Environment