The European Union (EU) is a political and economic partnership that represents a unique form
of cooperation among sovereign countries. The EU is the latest stage in a process of integration
begun after World War II, initially by six Western European countries, to foster interdependence
and make another war in Europe unthinkable. The EU currently consists of 28 member states,
including most of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, and has helped to promote peace,
stability, and economic prosperity throughout the European continent.
The EU has been built through a series of binding treaties. Over the years, EU member states
have sought to harmonize laws and adopt common policies on an increasing number of economic,
social, and political issues. EU member states share a customs union; a single market in which
capital, goods, services, and people move freely; a common trade policy; and a common
agricultural policy. Nineteen EU member states use a common currency (the euro), and 22
member states participate in the Schengen area of free movement in which internal border
controls have been eliminated. In addition, the EU has been developing a Common Foreign and
Security Policy (CFSP), which includes a Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP), and
pursuing cooperation in the area of Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) to forge common internal
security measures. Member states work together through several EU institutions to set policy and
to promote their collective interests.
In recent years, however, the EU has faced a number of internal and external crises. Most notably,
in a June 2016 public referendum, voters in the United Kingdom (UK) backed leaving the EU.
The pending British exit from the EU (dubbed “Brexit”) comes amid multiple other challenges,
including the rise of populist and to some extent anti-EU political parties, concerns about
democratic backsliding in some member states (including Poland and Hungary), ongoing
pressures related to migration, a heightened terrorism threat, and a resurgent Russia.
The United States has supported the European integration project since its inception in the 1950s
as a means to prevent another catastrophic conflict on the European continent and foster
democratic allies and strong trading partners. Today, the United States and the EU have a
dynamic political partnership and share a huge trade and investment relationship. Despite
periodic tensions in U.S.-EU relations over the years, U.S. and EU policymakers alike have
viewed the partnership as serving both sides’ overall strategic and economic interests.
EU leaders are anxious about the Trump Administration’s commitment to the EU project, the
transatlantic partnership, and an open international trading system—especially amid the
Administration’s imposition of tariffs on EU steel and aluminum products since 2018 and the
prospects of future auto tariffs. In July 2018, President Trump reportedly called the EU a “foe” on
trade but the Administration subsequently sought to de-escalate U.S.-EU tensions and signaled its
intention to launch new U.S.-EU trade negotiations. Concerns also linger in Brussels about the
implications of the Trump Administration’s “America First” foreign policy and its positions on a
range of international issues, including Russia, Iran, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, climate
change, and the role of multilateral institutions.
This report serves as a primer on the EU. Despite the UK’s vote to leave the EU, the UK remains
a full member of the bloc until it officially exits the EU (which is scheduled to occur by October
31, 2019, but may be further delayed). As such, this report largely addresses the EU and its
institutions as they currently exist. It also briefly describes U.S.-EU political and economic
relations that may be of interest in the 116th Congress. For more information on the EU project in
the longer term, see CRS Report R44249, The European Union: Ongoing Challenges and Future
Prospects, by Kristin Archick.
