Understanding the world · Environment & the future

Who really decides in the European Union?

27 countries, one common rulebook: a dive into the most complex machinery in world politics.

Behind the scenes in Brussels4 min read5 partsQuiz of 10 questions
Read in the app Available in 30 languages
Part 1 of 5 · freeIntroduction

The European Union is the most advanced experiment in union between countries in modern history. It turned a continent wrecked by war into one vast shared economic and political space.

Yet the way it works still looks like a black box to the 450 million citizens it covers. Understanding how a decision is born in Brussels makes it much easier to follow the big European debates, from the environment to digital security.

The rest is in the Sophia app.The remaining parts, the open-book quiz and the full glossary. Free to start; Premium unlocks everything.
  1. 2Three powers, none of them in charge alone
  2. 3How a European law is made
  3. 4What the EU can do, and what it cannot
  4. 5An imperfect system, still changing
Open-book quiz10 questions whose answers are in the text.
Glossary7 terms explained in a tap.
30 languagesThe same course, from French to Japanese.