The European Union is unique for several reasons: one of the most significant reasons is that “democracy in the EU comes from the member states
rather than the Union itself (Rumford, 2002, 215). Hence, the European Union should be understood as a unique political system because it (1) “governs
without government” but also because (2) it has a democratic tradition running through many of its member states. Democracy is fundamental to the applicant countries and is championed as a part of European identity (Rumford, 2002, 209-210). The European Union is also different from other regional organizations in that in some issue areas, such as trade and the economy, it has a supranational character. Put differently, decisions taken at the union’s headquarters in Brussels in these issue areas are binding for all member
states. However, in some issue areas -- security and defense, notably -- the European Union does not have any supranational power but acts as a
regional organization. In other words, currently the European Union is not a federal institution.