The European Union is an 1) of most of the states of western Europe that works toward and oversees the 2) and political integration of these states. The European Union consists of the European Community. The original 3) of the EEC were Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. Denmark, Ireland, and the 4) Kingdom joined in 1973. Greece was admitted in 1981. Portugal and Spain entered in 1986. The 5) East Germany entered as 6) of re unified Germany in 1990. Greenland, a 7) state of Den mark that had been brought into the EC when under full Danish rule, withdrew in 1985. The Maastricht Treaty paved the 8)_ for other European 9) to join the EU. Austria, Finland, and Sweden - all members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) became 10) of the EU in 1995.
