Bodies of the European Union and Euratom

The EIB supports the EU's priority objectives, especially boosting sustainable growth and job creation.

Its 344 members (with an additional nine members joining following the accession of Croatia to the EU), appointed by the council for four-year terms, are organised into three fairly equal groups representing employers, employees and other various interests;[2] while the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is composed of representative of regional and local authorities who hold an electoral mandate.

[3] The European Ombudsman deals with citizens grievances against the Union's institutions and is elected for five-year terms by the Parliament.

[4] There are also three inter-institutional bodies lacking juridical personality: the Publications Office, the oldest one, which publishes and distributes official publications from the European Union bodies;[5] and the two relatively new: the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO), a recruitment body which organises competitions for posts within Union institutions;[6] and the European Administrative School, which provides specific training for the staff of Union institutions.

[7] Another body is the anti-fraud office OLAF whose mission is to protect the financial interests of the European Union.