[pcrh]

The council of ministers (delegates from each member state) can veto any legislation proposed by the commission or parliament.

In Germany, USA, etc, the demos elects the president, in the EU the president is proposed by the council of ministers. EU parliment is not allowed to do likewise.

This way ultimate power lies with the member nations, not in the Brussels hierarchy.

[ginko]

>In Germany ... the demos elects the president

Not exactly. The German Bundespräsident is elected by the Bundestag (although that position is arguably mostly representative anyways).

Even the German chancelor is suggested by the Bundespräsident and then voted in by the Bundestag. Of course it's usually the leader of the largest faction in th last federal election that's suggested, but that's technically not a requirement.

[gmueckl]

Minor correction: The Bundespräsident (President of the Federal Republic) is elected by the Bundesversammlung (Federal Convention), which only exists for this purpose. It consists of the members of the Bundestag and an equal number of members chosen by the states.

It is a quirk of the German constitution that the executive positions in the government are voted on by the legislative branch and not by the people directly. It prevents populists from gaining easy access to important government positions.

[gmueckl]

> This way ultimate power lies with the member nations, not in the Brussels hierarchy.

This is a slight simplification. Only the executive branches of the state governments hold power over all branches of the EU. The legislative branches of the member states get none of that. This imbalance is part of what makes the EU lawmaking such an opaque (and arguably even exploitable) process.

[pcrh]

Perhaps. However, EU legislation only covers a limited number of areas, mostly to do with trade and standards. With a few additional areas such as migration within the EU itself.

That is, it has limited impact on purely national matters, or military or foreign affairs.