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MOSAIC - The training kit for Euro-Mediterranean youth work

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36<br />

Figure 1.2: <strong>The</strong> member states of the <strong>Euro</strong>pean Union<br />

What makes the EU different from any other regional co-operation scheme is that it<br />

goes beyond a nation state or an international organisation <strong>for</strong> co-operation in any<br />

specific field of activity. It is, sui generis, a supranational construction. Its main characteristic<br />

is that its member states delegate some of their sovereignty to the institutions<br />

created at a supranational level so that decisions on specific matters of joint<br />

interest can be made democratically at <strong>Euro</strong>pean level. Thus, due to this supranational<br />

character, some of the decisions taken by the EU institutions are legally and<br />

equally binding on all its member states. However, this characteristic also rein<strong>for</strong>ces<br />

the principle of subsidiarity, which means that in an area where there is joint competence,<br />

the Union can take action or may leave the matter to the member states. 14 In<br />

contrast, the Council of <strong>Euro</strong>pe is a typical international organisation with a limited<br />

set of competences and effects on its members. It is an intergovernmental plat<strong>for</strong>m,<br />

whereas the EU covers both intergovernmental and supranational policy-making areas<br />

with more visible direct effects on its citizens.<br />

Q: Are the <strong>Euro</strong>pes of the “<strong>Euro</strong>pean Union” and the “Council of <strong>Euro</strong>pe”<br />

the same “<strong>Euro</strong>pes”?<br />

T-Kit No.11 - <strong>MOSAIC</strong> - <strong>The</strong> <strong>training</strong> <strong>kit</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Euro</strong>-<strong>Mediterranean</strong> <strong>youth</strong> <strong>work</strong>

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