As a result of European integration, institutions have been created that go far beyond previously known forms of cooperation between States. The European Communities may be differentiated from other international organisations by their connecting elements, which are the expression of a particularly high degree of integration and may be summarised with the term “supranationality.” One aspect of this is that in the European Communities, decisions which are binding on the Member States are made by majority. This means that the Members may be bound by law even against their will. Another criterium of supranationality is the direct effect that the European Communities have on individual citizens, i.e., Community law grants rights and imposes obligations not only on the Member States, but on private individuals and companies as well. Meanwhile, European regulations affect virtually all areas of law. As such, the European Union today extends far beyond what was known as an alliance of sovereign States in classic international law. But the European Union is not a State in the traditional sense. The German Constitutional Court has thus characterised it as a Staatenverbund (“union of States”) to express its unique character.
