European Union

The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 27 member states with a combined population of some 447 million. The goals of the bloc are essentially to promote stability in western Europe and so break the cycle of wars that have enveloped the continent for thousands of years. Well, so far, apart from a few flare-ups in the Balkans after the break-up of the Soviet Union, it's not looking too bad assuming Russia and the new divorcee the UK behave themselves.