European Union

= EU

The 25 nations that have joined together to form an economic community (EC), with some common monetary, political, and social aspirations. The EU was created in 1993 from the European Community (EC), which itself grew from the European Coal and Steel Community, the European Atomic Energy Community, and the European Economic Community The 12 nations of the EC (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and the UK) were joined by Austria, Sweden, and Finland in 1995 and by (Greek) Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia in May 2004. Its executive body is the European Commission, which was formed in 1967 with the Council of the European Communities. EU policy emerges from a dialogue between the Commission, which initiates and implements the policy, and the Council, which takes the major policy decisions. The European Parliament, formed in 1957, exercises democratic control over policy, and the European Court of Justice imposes the rule of law on the EU, as set out in its various treaties. Although a draft EU Constitution, proposing the creation of an EU president and foreign minister, was published in 2004, its future is now uncertain following rejection by the electorates of France and the Netherlands. See also Single Market; Social Chapter