European Union (EU):

What is today known as the European union (EU) was originally established as the European Economic Community (EEC) on 25 March, 1957 by the Treaty of Rome agreed to by the governments of Belgium, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Luxemburg and the Netherlands. The EEC came into operation on January 1958, and was renamed the EU in November 1993. By 2006, the membership has increased to 25 including the United Kingdom, Denmark, Ireland, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Austria and Finland that joined between 1973 and 1995.

The economic objectives of the EU include the following:

i. To promote free trade between member countries through the removal of tariffs and other non-tariff barriers to free trade.

ii. To harmonize trade policies of members by ensuring that members impose tariffs on import from non member countries at the same rate.

iii. To guarantee common internal price levels and promote stabilizations of farmers' incomes by penalizing imported food items through a Common Agricultural Policies (CAP).

iv. To encourage free movement of factors of production, especially labour and capital, within the community.

v. To harmonize the tax systems of member countries with a view to removing any hidden barriers to trade.

vi. To integrate the monetary systems of member countries so as to facilitate the expansion of bilateral trades between member countries.

vii. To promote common regional policy through the establishment of a regional development fund. The EU is to ensure that no member nation is left to suffer economic depression.

viii. To develop common transport policy.

ix. To create new world economic order and agreement with developing countries.

A number of institutions, organizations and funds were established as well as common economic policies adopted to promote the realization of the above objectives.