What has the European Union done?

After World War II, many countries in Europe decide to cooperate to rebuild their economies and prevent future wars. In 1951, six countries reach an agreement for trading coal and steel. This economic union grows, and gradually becomes political. In 1993, this union of European countries officially becomes the European Union, or… EU. As of 2022, the EU brings together 27 member countries across the European continent into a single economic and a political union.

Since its formation, what has the EU done? When it comes to the economy, the EU treats all its member states as one large internal market. Goods, services, and money can flow freely from country to country without the sending or receiving country paying the other one any fees, or duties. This is known as a single market. The EU has created the world’s largest single market area, comprising all the members of the EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.

It brings together more than 24 million companies, and allows EU citizens to enjoy a large range of products. The single market has strict rules on things like employment, health, and the environment. Think: laws about equal pay for equal work, rules around food labelling, bans on harmful additives in food, bans on certain single-use plastics, and more. The EU ensures that all producers in member countries follow the same standards. In addition to goods, services, and money, people also have freedom of movement within the EU.

All EU citizens have the right to study, work, or retire in another EU country. What’s more, every EU country must treat EU citizens in exactly the same way as its own citizens in matters of employment, social security, and tax. The EU has allowed millions of its citizens to experience life in other countries. But that's not the end of the EU's achievements! In 2012, the EU won the Nobel Peace Prize for advancing peace, democracy, and human rights in Europe.

There has been no armed conflict between European Union member countries since 1945. How did the EU accomplish this? One explanation may be that the single market makes cooperation and collaboration among its members absolutely necessary. The single market means that member countries need to get along in order for their economies to function. Has the EU done anything for the rest of the world?

Yes! Every year, the EU helps over 120 million people globally who are experiencing disaster or conflict. It provides food, shelter, healthcare and clean water. This makes the EU, collectively, the biggest donor for international aid in the world. The EU is also concerned with environmental issues.

Environmental and climate problems are not limited to one country or region, so an important part of the EU's work is to help solve global environmental problems. The EU acts on behalf of its members to set up important international environmental and climate agreements. The European Green Deal, for example, aims to make the EU the first continent to balance the carbon dioxide they release into the atmosphere with the amount they remove by 2050. To summarise, in its first three decades, the EU has... created the world's biggest single market; given hundreds of millions of people the freedom to live, study, and work abroad; won the Nobel Peace Prize; and taken action against climate change.

What will it do for future generations?