EU
The European Union is probably the most successful economic and political regional integration group of the present day. The current EU was built on the base set by the European Coal and Steel Community and the later European Economic Community, which were established after the Second World War. The pillars of the EU are the common market with the free movement of labour, goods, services and capital, and the existence of a single EU currency and the Schengen area without internal borders. Currently the EU counts 27 member states. Meanwhile Albania, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey have a candidate status. Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo are aspirants to this status.
