A Brief Guide to the European Union and Its Legislative Processes, June 2011 – “The EU, created by the Treaty of Maastricht1, is a union of 27 independent states. It was founded to enhance political, economic and social cooperation. Its origins date back to the 1950s and the establishment of three organisations:

• European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) established by the Treaty of Paris
• European Economic Community (EEC) and European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) established by the Treaties of Rome
  Under the Treaty of Maastricht, these three organisations (collectively, under the Treaty of Brussels4, the ‘European Communities’) were brought together to comprise the first of three conceptual pillars, which together formed the EU.

• The Treaty also renamed the EEC the ‘European Community’ (EC), reflecting the determination of the Member States to expand the European Communities’ powers to non-economic domains.”