The European Union (abbreviation: EU) is a confederation of 28 member countries in Europe, started in 1957 as the European Economic Community (EEC). It has created a common economic area with Europe-wide laws allowing people to move and trade in other EU countries almost the same as they do in their own. Nineteen of these countries also share the same type of money: the euro.
The Treaty of Lisbon is the most recent treaty that says how the Union is run. Every member state signed to say that they each agreed with what it says. Most importantly, it says which jobs ('powers') the Union should do for the members and which jobs they should do themselves. The members decide how the Union should act by voting for or against proposals.
The objective of the EU is to bring its member states closer together with respect of human rights and democracy. It does this with a common style of passport, common rules about fair trading with each other, common agreements about law enforcement, and other agreements.

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