This short introductory text de-mystifies the European Union's structures and operation. Blending scholarly expertise and practitioners' experience, the authors introduce and analyse the EU's key actors, processes and developments. Amongst the book's distinctive features are exhibits contrasting how the EU appears on paper (its treaties and formal rules) with how it works in practice. The book also features exhibits comparing the EU with other international bodies and systems of government. This will help students to better understand the EU by underlining how it is like other systems of governance and in what ways it is unique. The book's overall aim is to provide an accessible, lively introduction to how the EU works and why it matters.