LONDON (AP) – European Union leaders are holding a summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday to hammer out a deal designed to keep Britain in the 28-nation bloc. With the stakes high and the issues complex, the AP explains the ins and outs of the UK-EU relationship.
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WHAT IS THE EUROPEAN UNION?
Germany, France and four other nations formed the European Economic Community in 1957, determined to banish forever the bloodshed of two world wars. The grouping became the EU in 1993 and has grown into a 28-nation bloc of more than 500 million people stretching from Ireland to the Aegean Sea, with substantial powers over member states’ laws, economies and social policies. It has its own parliament, central bank and 19 EU members use a common currency, the euro.
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