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The European Union (EU) is a supranational and intergovernmental union of democratic nation-states in Europe. It currently has 27 member states. The EU represents the latest phase of European integration: it was established under that name in 1992 by the Maastricht Treaty. Predecessor entities, with fewer members and more limited in scope, were formed after the Second World War. Since then, membership, competences, tasks, and goals have expanded. The process of integration is open-ended: although the formation of a single state is not an explicit goal of the EU, eurosceptic fears that it will ultimately deprive member states of their sovereignty have made the EU (and its future) a major political issue in itself.
The European Union is the largest political and economic entity on the European continent, with around 500 million people and an estimated GDP of US$14.2 trillion and 30% of world economy. The Union has a single market consisting of a customs union, a currency called the euro (adopted by 13 member states), a Common Agricultural Policy, a common trade policy, and a Common Fisheries Policy.
The Schengen Agreement abolished passport control and customs checks for most member states within EU's internal borders, creating, to some extent, a single area of free movement for EU citizens to live, travel, work and invest. A Common Foreign and Security Policy was established as the second of the three pillars of the European Union.
Important EU institutions include the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the European Council, the European Central Bank, the European Court of Justice, and the European Parliament which is elected every five years. The Council of Europe is a completely separate, distinct and wholly independent organisation (although its name might confusingly indicate otherwise), which operates on an intergovernmental level.