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The European Union (EU) was established in 1993 as a voluntary union of 15 Western European nations. EU members include Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden.
The EU has its own flag, anthem, and day of celebration, known as Europe Day (May 9). Citizens of EU countries hold burgundy-colored EU passports, which enable them to enter all member countries without visas. Europeans from member countries are also able to work anywhere in the EU without having to apply for work permits.
Efforts to unite Europe began after World War II,
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in the hope that closer coordination among the European nations would prevent the outbreak of another world war. In 1958 the European Economic Community was established. Its goal was to create a common market within which people, goods, services, and capital could move freely, without tariffs or regulations. In 1991 the Treaty of Maastricht was signed. That treaty established the provisions for the eventual integration of domestic, judicial, foreign, and security policies within Europe. In 1993 the dream of a single European economy finally became a reality, when the European Union came into being, uniting 345 million people in a common market.
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