What is "staatenverbund"

Staatenverbund is a neologism for a system of multi-level governance in which states work more closely together in a confederation but, unlike a federal state, retain their own sovereignty. The concept is used in Germany to describe the European Union but has no direct equivalent in other languages. In German jurisprudence, a Staatenverbund is a supranational institution that may exercise sovereign acts (laws, coin money, etc.) but may not independently fix areas where it may exercise this power.