Europe

There are some similarities between the US and Europe.

The President of Europe is Jose Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Commission. He has been in power since 11/22/2004. The European Commission is located in Brussels, which could be considered the capital of Europe. However, the President is elected by the European Parliament instead of by popular vote.

The European Parliament is the counterpart of the House of Representatives. It meets in Strausbourg, France.

The European Council is the equivalent of the Senate, and it meets in Brussels. However, instead of having elected representatives, it is made up of the heads of state or government of the EU member states. The European Council of Ministers aka the Council of the European Union is made up of ministers who deal with specialized issues. For example, if they are dealing with agriculture policy, the ministers of agriculture meet to discuss it.

The European Court of Justice is the equivalent of the Supreme Court, and it meets in Luxembourg. It is made up of 27 judges. Most decisions are made by chambers made up of three or five judges. The language used is French.

The European Central Bank is the equivalent of the Federal Reserve, and it is based in Frankfurt, Germany. Its president is Jean-Claude Trichet.

The European Defense Agency is the equivalent of the Pentagon. However, it has a budget of only about 30 million Euros/year as opposed to the $600 billion annual budget of the U.S. military. In practice, NATO handles the security of Europe.