( abbr EU )
an organization of European states, based in Brussels, which aims to encourage closer cooperation between the members, especially in the areas of economic policy, trade and travel between member countries. The European Economic Community ( EEC ) was established under the Treaty of Rome in 1957 and in 1967 joined two other European organizations to become the European Community ( EC ). Britain joined the EC, often referred to in Britain at the time as the Common Market in 1973. In 1992 the Maastricht Treaty made changes to the Treaty of Rome and established the European Union ( EU ). The number of member states has gradually increased and in 2004 ten new countries, mainly from eastern Europe, joined the EU bringing the total to 25 with two more due to join in 2007. EU institutions include the European Commission which puts forward proposals and carries out decisions of the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament , which meets in Strasbourg, and has 732 members, called MEPs representing the member states. The single European currency became an official currency in 1999 and in 2002 12 European countries, not including Britain, started to use euro coins and bank notes. In Britain some politicians are pro-European and are in favour of closer links with the EU, but there are also the Euro-sceptics , especially the United Kingdom Independence Party ( UKIP ), who believe that the EU has too much control over British affairs.