This lecture is aimed at students with little prior knowledge about the European Union. After an overview of European integration from the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC, 1951) to today’s European Union, the EU’s main institutions and political stakeholders will be examined. How are the European commission, the European Council, the European Parliament or the European Court of Justice set up? What are their powers and competences, and what is the process of creating European policies and laws? The lecture will then address the workings of the European Union considering specific policy fields like foreign policy, security policy or agriculture policy, as well as the handling of specific problem situations like the financial crisis or the refugee crisis, before finally looking at various options for future developments.