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The forerunner to the European Union was formed by six countries in 1952 and now has 28 members with a combined population of more than 500 million people.
It is set to expand even further, with several countries being considered for membership.

The European Union has its roots in the 1951 agreement by France, Germany and four other countries to pool coal and steel supplies, with the aim of ending "age-old rivalries".

In 1993 EU leaders adopted the so-called Copenhagen criteria setting standards for democracy, human rights, the rule of law, minority protection and civilian control over the military that all candidate states must meet to become members.

The maps below show how the economic bloc has grown over the years.
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The forerunner to the European Union was formed by six countries in 1952 and now has 28 members with a combined population of more than 500 million people. It is set to expand even further, with several countries being considered for membership.

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Creates the currency and controls the international borders work.

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Since Britain's announcement that they will be leaving the EU, they have been making preparations. In the future, within the next two years, it is likely that they will have left.

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EU plans to add members that fill the requirements to join the EU and keep doing what they always do. After the Brexit voting, the UK still needs time to prepare for their absence. For now they are still a full fledged member of EU

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With Britain's announcement that they want to leave there has been actions to prepare. Also for a while the EU has been planning on adding more countries into the union, so it is likely that they will add new members soon.

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Ever since the UK announced that it is leaving the EU they have been preparing for them to leave and planning to add new countries.

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With Britain's Brexit the EU has been shadowed by a bit of doubt with fear of globalization. However, announcements of adding new members and new policies may rejuvenate and will probably continue to allow the EU to operate.