The EU is an economic and political community of 27 member states, located primarily in Europe. Since 1957, the EU has grown through the acceptance of new member states. The 1993 Maastricht Treaty established the EU’s present legal framework. The 2007 Treaty of Lisbon will amend existing treaties by its 2008 ratification process, and is intended to be in force in January 2009.

By creating a system of laws in all member states, the EU guarantees freedom of movement of goods, people and services in a single market entity, as well as maintain a common trade policy, including agricultural, fisheries and regional development policies. In 1999, the EU introduced the euro as its currency, which has been adopted by 15 member states. The EU is regulated by the European Parliament, European Commission, European Council, European Court of Justice and European Central Bank. The Council, composed of 27 commissioners, one from each country, serves as the EU’s executive arm, responsible for the day-to-day activities of the EU. The president of the EU, and all commissioners, are nominated by the Council. Twenty-one EU countries are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as well.

The EU presently comprises Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK. Potential candidates for EU membership include Turkey, Croatia, Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway have elected not to join the EU but have partially committed themselves to the EU’s economy and regulations. Switzerland also has similar ties through bilateral treaties.

The EU consists of three ‘pillar’ areas of responsibility, including the original policies of the European Community, the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the Justice and Home Affairs department, which was changed to the Police and Juridical Co-operation in Criminal Matters by the Amsterdam and Nice Treaties. The second and third pillars are known as intergovernmental pillars. The institutions of the Parliament, the Commission and the Court of Justice play lesser roles than the Council of Ministers and the European Council. Most of the activities of the EU are recognised under the first pillar, Community.