The European 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" (orchestral)
The European Union in the European continent
The European Union and its outermost regions
Capital	Brussels (de facto) 50°51′N 4°21′E / 50.850°N 4.350°E / 50.850; 4.350
Largest cities	London and Paris
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
Semi-official languages	5 languages Basque Catalan Galician Scottish Gaelic Welsh
Religion	72% Christian 23% Irreligious 2% Muslim 3% other faiths (2012)
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 Commission	Jean-Claude Juncker
• President of the European Council	Donald Tusk
• President of the European Parliament	Antonio Tajani
Legislature	Council of the EU European Parliament
Formation
• Treaty of Rome	1 January 1958
• Treaty of Maastricht	1 November 1993
• Last polity admitted	1 July 2013
Area
• Total	4,475,757 km2 (1,728,099 sq mi)
• Water (%)	3.08
Population
• 2016 estimate	510,056,011
• Density	116.4/km2 (301.5/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	2016 estimate
• Total	$19,973 trillion (2nd)
• Per capita	$39,212
GDP (nominal)	2016 estimate
• Total	$16,518 trillion (2nd)
• Per capita	$32,384
Gini (2015)	31 medium
HDI (2014)	0.865 very high
Currency	Euro (€; EUR; Eurozone) 10 others Lev (BGN; Bulgaria) Koruna (CZK; Czech Republic) Krone (DKK; Denmark) Pound sterling (GBP; UK) Pound (GIP; Gibraltar) Kuna (HRK; Croatia) Forint (HUF; Hungary) Złoty (PLN; Poland) Leu (RON; Romania) Krona (SEK; Sweden)
Time zone	WET (UTC) CET (UTC+1) EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	WEST (UTC+1) CEST (UTC+2) EEST (UTC+3)
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy
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 operates through a hybrid system of supranational and intergovernmental decision-making. The seven principal decision-making bodies—known as the institutions of the European Union—are the European Council, the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament, the European Commission, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Central Bank, and the European Court of Auditors.