The European Union: Questions and Answers

Kristin Archick
Specialist in European Affairs

Derek E. Mix
Analyst in European Affairs

The European Union (EU) is an economic and political partnership that represents a unique form of cooperation among its 27 sovereign member states. The Union is the latest stage of a process of integration begun after World War II to promote peace, stability, and economic prosperity in Europe. The United States has strongly supported the EU and its progenitors as a means to foster democratic states and robust trading partners. 

The EU has been built through a series of binding treaties and EU member states have committed to a process of integration by harmonizing laws and adopting common policies on an extensive range of issues. For most economic and social issues, EU member states have largely pooled their national sovereignty and EU decision-making has a supranational quality. Decisions in other areas, such as foreign policy, require unanimous consensus among member states. 

EU member states work together through common institutions to set policy and to promote their collective interests. The three main institutions of the EU are the European Commission (essentially the EU's executive), the Council of the European Union (representing the national governments), and the European Parliament (representing the citizens of the EU). The Lisbon Treaty is the EU's latest attempt to reform its institutional arrangements and decision-making procedures in order to enable an enlarged EU to function more effectively. The treaty creates two important new leadership positions in the EU: President of the European Council (held by Herman Van Rompuy) and High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (Catherine Ashton). 

The EU has a strong common trade policy, and a developing Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) for a more united voice in global affairs. It has also been seeking to build a Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) in order to improve its military capabilities and capacity to act independently. Although some shortcomings exist in EU-NATO relations, the two institutions continue to seek a more cooperative and complementary relationship. Over the last decade especially, the EU has also been working to forge common internal security measures in the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) field, including by boosting police and judicial cooperation and enhancing the Union's ability to combat terrorism and other cross-border crimes. 

The United States and the EU share a large, mutually beneficial trade and investment relationship. The global financial crisis and recession has challenged both sides to forge a common response. The United States and EU have a number of lingering trade disputes, but have led the push to liberalize world trade, and have sought to reduce non-tariff and regulatory barriers in the transatlantic marketplace. 

This report provides a summary overview of these issues, many of which may be of interest to the second session of the 111th Congress. For more information, also see CRS Report RS21618, The European Union's Reform Process: The Lisbon Treaty, by Kristin Archick and Derek E. Mix, CRS Report RS21998, The European Parliament, by Kristin Archick and Derek E. Mix, and CRS Report R41088, The European Union: Leadership Changes Resulting from the Lisbon Treaty, by Derek E. Mix.


Date of Report: August 25, 2010
Number of Pages: 13
Order Number: RS21372
Price: $29.95

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