"The European Union covers more than 4 million km2 and includes 27 countries. It is a major economic and commercial power. As its membership has grown from 6 to 27 nations, its population has soared to 493 million, the world's third largest after China and India. The European Union is less than half the size of the United States of America, but its population is over 50 % larger. Even with almost half a billion people, the EU still represents only 7% of the world's population, yet it accounts for approximately a fifth of global imports and exports. Based on IMF estimates of 2008 GDP and purchasing power parity among the various currencies, the Eurozone is the second largest economy in the world."�
The cornerstones of the Single Market are often said to be the 'four freedoms' - the free movement of people, goods, services and capital. It helps to create more jobs and increase overall prosperity in the EU.
English: Various Euro bills.
Election results since 1979
Political composition of the 7th parliamentTo make those 'four freedoms' happen the EU needed to remove barriers, which were splitting the Eurozone: Physical barriers (administrative), technical barriers (national standards and regulations), fiscal barriers (different tax rates). "The main problem was the difficulty of reaching agreement about eliminating the many Non Tariff Barriers (NTBs) that hindered free movement. A range of NTBs based on diverse national rules, regulations, taxations and subsides governed the movement of goods, services, capital and labour. Consequently frontier controls where necessary to ensure that cross-frontier trade in goods adhered to the various national requirements. Cross-frontier trade in some service sector was rendered impossible by different national rules and regulations. Capital movements were restricted by capital and exchange controls imposed by some member states. Labour mobility was hampered by differences in professional qualifications, and by labour and social security laws and regulations."...