Abstract
This chapter discusses how policy decisions are taken in the European Union (EU). The chapter begins with an outline of the ways such power was originally exercised in the EU and discusses the evolution of the formal balance between the EU institutions over time, drawing particular attention to the increasing legislative power of the European Parliament (EP). The chapter then outlines the ways in which the EU has begun to complement these formal decision-making channels with a range of ‘new governance tools’ that act to produce coordinated member state action through iterated processes of standard setting, best practice identification, and knowledge transfer. Particular attention is paid here to the best known of these processes, the Open Method of Coordination. The final part of the chapter assesses current trends in EU decision making after recent EU enlargements and the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon.