The European Union (EU) is a political and economic bloc comprising 27 member countries in Europe. Founded in its modern form by the Maastricht Treaty in 1993, it aims to foster economic integration, political cooperation, and social cohesion across the continent. The EU operates a single market with free movement of goods, services, capital, and people, and maintains common policies on trade, agriculture, and regional development. It also issues a shared currency, the euro, used by 20 member states.