Observations: The
European Union or
EU is an intergovernmental and supranational
union of 25 European countries, known as member states. The
European Union was established under that name in 1992 by the Treaty on
European Union (the
Maastricht Treaty). However, many aspects of the Union existed before that date through a series of predecessor relationships, dating back to 1951. The
European Union's activities cover all areas of public policy, from health and economic policy to foreign affairs and defence.