Internationalism and visions of European unity had existed since well before the 19th century, but gained particularly as a reaction to World War I and its aftermath. In this light the first advances for the idea of European i… See more

The European Union operates through a hybrid system of supranational and intergovernmental decision-making, and according to the principle of conferral (which says that it should act only within the limits of the comp… See more

Through successive enlargements, the EU and its predecessors have grown from the six founding states of the EEC to 27 members. Countries accede to the union by becoming a party to the founding treaties, thereby su… See more

The EU's member states cover an area of 4,233,262 square kilometres (1,634,472 sq mi), and therefore a large part of the European continent. The EU's highest peak is Mont Blanc in the Graian Alps, 4,810.45 metres (15,… See more

The gross domestic product (GDP), a measure of economic activity, of EU member states was US$16.64 trillion in 2022, around 16.6 percent of the world GDP. There is a significant variation in GDP per c… See more