The paper aims to present the concept of human rights protection in the European Union. To understand the protection of human rights in the European Union, it is first necessary to understand and explain the history of European integration, as well as the circumstances which led to the creation of the European Union. The paper seeks to present the reason for the highly complex, demanding, and longsome process of joining Croatia to the European Union. The head institutions of the European Union are presented, as well as other bodies that complement their work. The human rights system of the European Council was created by the adoption of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees fundamental civil and political rights and makes supervisory institutions. Other human rights issues are dealt with by the European Social Charter, the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, and the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.