European Economic Union

European Union Bulgarian: Европейски съюз Croatian: Europska unija Czech: Evropská unie Danish: Den Europæiske Union Dutch: Europese Unie Estonian: Euroopa Liit Finnish: Euroopan unioni French: Union européenne German: Europäische Union Greek: Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση Hungarian: Európai Unió Irish: An tAontas Eorpach Italian: Unione europea Latvian: Eiropas Savienība Lithuanian: Europos Sąjunga Maltese: Unjoni Ewropea Polish: Unia Europejska Portuguese: União Europeia Romanian: Uniunea Europeană Slovak: Európska únia Slovene: Evropska unija Spanish: Unión Europea Swedish: Europeiska unionen
Flag
Motto: "In Varietate Concordia" (Latin) "United in Diversity"
Anthem: "Ode to Joy" (instrumental)
Location of the  European Union
Location of the European Union, its outermost regions, and the overseas countries and territories
Capital	Brussels (de facto) 50°51′N 4°21′E / 50.850°N 4.350°E / 50.850; 4.350
Largest cities	Paris and London
Official languages	24 languages Bulgarian Croatian Czech Danish Dutch English Estonian Finnish French German Greek Hungarian Irish Italian Latvian Lithuanian Maltese Polish Portuguese Romanian Slovak Slovene Spanish Swedish
Official scripts	Latin, Greek and Cyrillic
Religion (2012)	48% Roman Catholic 23% irreligious 12% Protestant 8% Eastern Orthodox 4% other Christian 2% Muslim 3% other faiths
Demonym	European
Type	Political and economic union
Member states	28 states Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden United Kingdom
Leaders
• President of the European Parliament	Antonio Tajani
• President of the European Council	Donald Tusk
• President of the European Commission	Jean-Claude Juncker
Legislature	Council of the EU European Parliament
Formation
• Treaty of Rome	1 January 1958
• Treaty of Maastricht	1 November 1993
• Treaty of Lisbon	1 December 2009
• Last polity admitted	1 July 2013
Area
• Total	4,475,757 km2 (1,728,099 sq mi)
• Water (%)	3.08
Population
• 2017 estimate	511,805,088
• Density	116.8/km2 (302.5/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	2017 estimate
• Total	$20.745 trillion (2nd)
• Per capita	$40,610
GDP (nominal)	2016 estimate
• Total	$16.518 trillion (2nd)
• Per capita	$32,384
Gini (2015)	31 medium
HDI (2017)	0.874 very high
Currency	Euro (EUR; €; Eurozone) 10 others Lev (BGN; Bulgaria) Koruna (CZK; Czech Republic) Krone (DKK; Denmark) Pound sterling (GBP; United Kingdom) Pound (GIP; Gibraltar) Kuna (HRK; Croatia) Forint (HUF; Hungary) Złoty (PLN; Poland) Leu (RON; Romania) Krona (SEK; Sweden)
Time zone	WET, CET, EET (UTC to +2)
• Summer (DST)	DST (UTC+1 to +3)
	Note: with the exception of Madeira, the outermost regions observe different time zones not shown.
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy (AD) Date and time notation in Europe
Internet TLD	.eu
Website europa.eu

The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. It has an area of 4,475,757 km² (1,728,099 sq mi), and an estimated population of over 510 million. The EU has developed an internal single market through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states. 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. 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.

The EU traces its origins from 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 its successors have grown in size by the accession of new member states and in power by the addition of policy areas to its remit. While no member state has left the EU or its antecedent organisations, the United Kingdom enacted the result of a membership referendum in June 2016 and is currently negotiating its withdrawal. The Maastricht Treaty established the European Union in 1993 and introduced European citizenship. The latest major amendment to the constitutional basis of the EU, the Treaty of Lisbon, came into force in 2009.