The European Union (EU) is unique. It is not a federal State like the United States of America because its member countries remain independent sovereign nations. Nor is it a purely intergovernmental organisation like the United Nations because the member countries do pool some of their sovereignty — and thus gain much greater collective strength and influence than they could have acting individually. They pool their sovereignty by taking joint decisions through shared institutions such as the European Parliament, which is elected by the EU citizens, and the Council, which represents national government.
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