In 1957, the European Economic Community (European Common Market) was formed, which in 1992 changed its name to the European Union. Currently, the EU has 27 member states, 15 of which use a common currency, the Euro.

The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 27 member states which are located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht in 1993 upon the foundations of the European Communities.With over 500 million citizens, the EU generated an estimated 28% share (US$ 16.5 trillion) of the nominal and about 21% (US$14.8 trillion) of the PPP gross world product in 2009.