European Union
(缩略词：EU)
- an economic and political association of certain European countries as a unit with internal free trade and common external tariffs欧洲联盟, 欧盟。
The European Union was created on 1 November 1993, with the coming into force of the Maastricht Treaty. It encompasses the old European Community (EC) together with two intergovernmental 'pillars' for dealing with foreign affairs and with immigration and justice. The terms European Economic Community (EEC) and European Community (EC) continue to be used loosely to refer to what is now the European Union. The European Union consists of 27 member states, 16 of which use the common currency unit, the euro.