EU

What Does EU Mean in a Text?

The Quick Answer

EU means "European Union."

More Observations...

What is the EU?

The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union between 27 European countries. It was established as the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1958, to foster economic cooperation between six countries:

Belgium.
Germany.
France.
Italy.
Luxembourg.
The Netherlands.

Since its founding, 22 more countries have joined the EU:

Austria.
Belgium.
Bulgaria.
Croatia.
Cyprus.
Czech Republic.
Denmark.
Estonia.
Finland.
France.
Germany.
Greece.
Hungary.
Ireland.
Italy.
Latvia.
Lithuania.
Luxembourg.
Malta.
Netherlands.
Poland.
Portugal.
Romania.
Slovakia.
Slovenia.
Spain.
Sweden.
United Kingdom (which left in 2020).

Candidate Countries

There are currently five EU candidate countries. These are countries that are in the process of incorporating EU legislation into national law:

Albania.
Montenegro.
North-Macedonia.
Serbia.
Türkiye (formely known as Turkey).

Potential Candidate Countries

Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo are potential candidates for EU membership. These countries do not yet meet the conditions for membership.

EU Flag

The EU flag has 12 stars because, in various traditions, twelve is a symbolic number representing perfection (e.g., it is the number of months in a year and the number of hours on a clock face). The 12 stars in a circle represent unity among the peoples of Europe.

There are 27 countries in the EU, but only 12 stars on the flag.

Image for EU

When I write EU, I mean this:

The EU is an economic and political union between 27 European countries.

Summary of Key Points

"European Union" is, by far, the most common meaning for EU when it is used in a text. (Bear in mind that it could have another meaning if used in a different context.)