Supranational Definition

A supranational union is an international organization in which the sovereign states have transferred some of their attributes of sovereignty to a central authority. In modern times, the process of European integration has created supranational institutions such as the European Union (EU) and the Council of Europe.

The term ‘supranational’ is sometimes used inconsistently, to refer either to very loose networks such as the Commonwealth of Nations or to tight economic unions such as the EU. The word supranational occurs in everyday parlance much more frequently than does supra-nationalism; one prominent reason for this is that pragmatic politicians prefer it when seeking public approval for contentious plans.