When several states join together to form one larger state, and give up a part of their independence to do so, they create a federal state. A federal state differs from a confederation by having a head of state and a central government. The Federal Republic of Germany is a federal state. The federal president and the federal government have their seat in Berlin. They represent the federal state (or "federation”). In the various component states of Germany, called "Bundesländer”, there are "Land” (regional) governments. The government of North Rhine-Westphalia, for example, has its seat in Düsseldorf. The different governmental responsibilities in a federal state, administration and legislation, are divided up between the federal government and the governments of the various component states.
Germany’s neighbours, Austria and Switzerland, are federal states, as are Canada and the USA. Because the European Union is neither a simple confederation of states, nor a proper federal state, the German Federal Constitutional Court has ruled that it is to be called a "Staatenverbund”(roughly: "association of states”).