The dilemmas associated with the development of the EU institutional system

The European Union was established in 1993 on the grounds of the Communities existing since the 1950s. During the past 60 years, the EU has formed a cohesive whole, constituting a combination of law, institutions and politics. The Member States are connected not only by common institutions, but also by over 20 000 legal acts that have different impact on the lives of 500 million citizens. The legal and institutional system of the Union is also of great importance in terms of the relations with the world, because, as a sum of member states, has been an economic power and an important model of socio-cultural potential. The aim of this study is to analyze the principles and the mechanisms of the EU institutional system currently in function as well as to identify those principles and mechanisms, which arouse the most controversy and constitute the subject of the discussion on the need to carry out the necessary changes.