The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of (as of June 2020) 27 member states in Europe. The EU functions as a multi-national government, with regulatory authority, a common citizenship and border, and a common foreign and security policy.

The EU government consists of seven principal entities: The European Commission, which executes regulations and promulgates proposed legislation; the European Parliament, which votes on proposed legislation; the European Council, through which the heads of the 27 EU governments consult together; the Council of Ministers, through which the ministers of issue responsibility of the 27 EU governments consult together; the European Central Bank, which governs the Euro currency common to 19 members of the EU (as of June 2020); the European Court of Auditors, which audits the EU budget; and the Court of Justice of the European Union, the supreme tribunal for interpreting EU law.

Following the departure of the United Kingdom (Brexit) at the end of January 2020, the European Union member states are (in alphabetical order) Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden.