the European Union
noun [singular](abbreviation EU)
an economic and political organization, based in Brussels, that many European countries belong to 欧洲联盟，欧盟（总部设在布鲁塞尔） CultureThe 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 changes were made by the Treaty of Maastricht to the Treaty of Rome and the European Union (EU) was established. The number of member states has gradually increased and by 2013 there were 28. 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 751 members, called MEPs, representing the member states. The single European currency became an official currency in 1999 and 19 EU countries, not including Britain, use Euro coins and banknotes. In 2016 the British government under David Cameron held a referendum to see how much support there was among the British population for belonging to the EU. A small majority of people (51.9%) voted in favour of leaving the EU. The government started the process of withdrawal in March 2017, with the aim of leaving the EU by the end of March 2019.Topics Politicsb1