European Union | |
---|---|
Motto: "United in Diversity" | |
Anthem: | |
Administrative centre | Brussels |
Official languages | |
Religion (2015) |
|
Demonym(s) | European |
Type | Political and economic union |
Government | Supranational and intergovernmental |
Ursula von der Leyen | |
Roberta Metsola | |
Charles Michel | |
Formation | |
1 January 1958 | |
1 July 1987 | |
1 November 1993 | |
1 December 2009 | |
1 July 2013 | |
31 January 2020 | |
Area | |
• Total | Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1850: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). (7th) |
• Water (%) | 3.08 |
Population | |
• 2020 estimate | 447,206,135 |
• Density | Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1850: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). |
GDP (PPP) | 2020 estimate |
• Total | $20.366 trillion |
• Per capita | $45,541 |
GDP (nominal) | 2020 estimate |
• Total | $16.033 trillion |
• Per capita | $35,851 |
Gini (2018) | ▲ 30.9 medium |
HDI (2017) | 0.899 very high |
Currency | Euro (EUR; €; in eurozone) and 7 others |
Time zone | UTC to UTC+2 (WET, CET, EET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+1 to UTC+3 (WEST, CEST, EEST) |
(Summer Time in Europe) Note: with the exception of the Canary Islands and Madeira, the outermost regions observe different time zones not shown. | |
Date format | dd.mm.yyyy (CE) yyyy-mm-dd Date and time notation in Europe |
Internet TLD | .eu |
Website europa |
The European Union (abbreviation: EU) is a union of 27 member countries in Europe established by the Maastricht Treaty in 1992-1993. It is a sui generis political entity that uses the characteristics of a federation and confederation.
The EU grew out of the European Economic Community (EEC) which was established by the Treaties of Rome in 1957. It has created a common economic area with Europe-wide laws allowing the citizens of EU countries to move and trade in other EU countries almost the same as they do on their own. Nineteen of these countries also share the same type of money: the euro.