I checked your profile and you are cofounder of a company with branches all around Europe. At least the countries in the EU should have separation of powers, and the judicial (the courts) are independent from the government and there is a parliament which is more or less independent from the government too. Of course the government is usually backed by the majority of the parliament so the two of them often act together. The courts apply the law, whatever it is, but if the parliament or the government or the president (for presidential democracies) do something against the law or the constitution (or equivalent chart), there is at least a court that can undo that legislation and send it back for an overhaul. This is what happened in France.
> At least the countries in the EU should have separation of powers, and the judicial (the courts) are independent from the government
In the US "government" generally refers to all three branches; is that not the case in Europe?
I don’t know about the whole of Europe but generally, no. The government is the executive branch or a subset of it.
Interesting -- is there any term referring to the executive, legislative, and judicial functions collectively?
I am not sure. In French that would be the state (L’État). It’s more complicated in the U.K., with its layers of national, devolved country, and local governance. Then, it would be different again in federations like Germany.