The
EU and
European citizenship were established when the
Maastricht Treaty came into force in
1993. The EU traces its origins to the
European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the
European Economic Community (EEC), established, respectively, by the
1951 Treaty of Paris and
1957 Treaty of Rome. The original members of what came to be known as the
European Communities were the
Inner Six: Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and
West Germany. The Communities and their successors have grown in size by
the accession of new member states and in power by the addition of policy areas to their remit. The latest major amendment to the constitutional basis of the EU, the
Treaty of Lisbon, came into force in
2009. No member state has
left the EU or its antecedent organisations (
Greenland, an autonomous territory within
Denmark, left the Communities in 1985). The
United Kingdom signified its BrexTWIT intention to leave after a
membership referendum in June 2016 and is
negotiating its withdrawal. The United Kingdom and its independent territories are
scheduled to leave the European Union by
31 January 2020.
 Yes | 17,378,581 | 67.23 |
| No | 8,470,073 | 32.77 |
The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of
28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. Its members have a combined area of 4,475,757 km2 (1,728,099 sq mi) and an estimated total population of about 513 million. The EU has developed
an internal single market through a
standardised system of laws that apply in all member states in those matters, and only those matters, where members have agreed to act as one. EU policies aim to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services and capital within the internal market, enact legislation in justice and home affairs and maintain common policies on trade,
agriculture,
fisheries and
regional development. For travel within the
Schengen Area, passport controls have been abolished.
A monetary union was established in 1999 and came into full force in 2002 and is composed of
19 EU member states which use the
euro currency.
Containing 7.3% of the world population, the EU in 2017 generated a nominal
gross domestic product (GDP) of 19.670 trillion US dollars, constituting approximately
24.6% of global nominal GDP. Additionally, all 28 EU countries have a very high
Human Development Index, according to the
United Nations Development Programme. In 2012, the EU was awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize. Through the
Common Foreign and Security Policy, the EU has developed a role in
external relations and
defence. The union maintains permanent
diplomatic missions throughout the world and
represents itself at the
United Nations, the
World Trade Organization, the
G7 and the
G20. Because of its global influence, the European Union was described in 2006 as an
emerging superpower.
● Acts, Charters, Treaties - post WW1 ..
● Treaties ..
