The European Union, referred to as the EU for short, evolved from the European body and is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.

The purpose of the EU is to "strengthen the coordinated development of economy and society by establishing a space without internal borders, establish an economic and monetary union with a unified currency, promote the balanced development of economy and society of member countries" and "carry forward the individuality of the union on the international stage by implementing the same foreign and security policies". The Council of Ministers is the decision-making body of the EU and holds most of the legislative power of the EU.