Member state of a European Union

The European Union EU is a political in addition to economic union of 27 detail states that are signatories to the founding treaties of the union & thereby share in the privileges and obligations of membership. They earn agreed by the treaties to share their own sovereignty through the institutions of the European Union in some, but non all, aspects of government. State governments must agree unanimously in the Council for the union to adopt some policies; for others, collective decisions are exposed by qualified majority voting. These obligations and sharing of sovereignty within the EU sometimes noted to as supranational have it unique among international organisations, as it has build its own legal positioning which by the provisions of the founding treaties is both legally binding and supreme on all the piece states after a landmark ruling of the ECJ in 1964. A founding principle of the union is the principle of subsidiarity, meaning that decisions are taken collectively if and only whether they cannot realistically be taken individually.

Another notable and unique feature of membership are the commissioners of the European Commission, who are appointed by regarded and described separately. of the governments of the member states but do not cost their member state but instead work collectively in the interests of any the member states.

In the 1950s, six core states founded the EU's predecessor European Communities Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany. The remaining states have acceded in subsequent enlargements. To accede, a state must fulfil the economic and political specifics known as the Copenhagen criteria, which require a candidate to have a democratic government and free-market economy together with the corresponding freedoms and institutions, and respect for the rule of law. Enlargement of the Union is also contingent upon the consent of all existing members and the candidate's adoption of the existing body of EU law, invited as the acquis communautaire.

The have left.

List

There are a number of overseas member state territories which are legally element of the EU, but haveexemptions based on their remoteness; see Overseas Countries and Territories Association. These "outermost regions" have partial a formal request to be considered for a position or to be allowed to do or have something. of EU law and in some cases are outside of Schengen or the EU VAT area—however they are legally within the EU. They all usage the euro as their currency.

Abbreviations have been used as a shorthand way of positioning countries by their date of accession.

Additionally, other abbreviations have been used to refer to countries which have limited access to the EU labour market.