European Union

Từ điển Oxford Advanced Learner 8th

the ˌEuropean ˈUnion [European Union] BrE NAmE noun singular (abbr.EU)
an economic and political organization, based in Brussels, that many European countries belong to

Culture:
The European Economic Community (EEC) was established under the Treaty of Rome in 1957 and in 1967 joined two other European organizations to become the European Community (EC). Britain joined the EC, often referred to in Britain at the time as the Common Market, in 1973. In 1992 the ↑Maastricht Treaty made changes to the Treaty of Rome and established the European Union (EU). The number of member states has gradually increased and in 2004 ten new countries, mainly from eastern Europe, joined the EU bringing the total to 25, with two more joining in 2007. EU institutions include the ↑European Commission, which puts forward proposals and carries out decisions of the Council of Ministers and the ↑European Parliament, which meets in Strasbourg, and has 732 members, called ↑MEPs, representing the member states. The single European currency became an official currency in 1999 and in 2002, 12 European countries, not including Britain, started to use ↑euro coins and banknotes. In Britain some politicians are pro-European and are in favour of closer links with the EU, but there are also the Euro-sceptics, especially the United Kingdom Independence Party ( ↑UKIP), who believe that the EU has too much control over British affairs.