European Union
- The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union between 28 European countries. It was created in 1958 as the European Economic Community (EEC), and changed its name to the European Union in 1993.
- EU citizens have freedom of movement in any territory of the EU, meaning they are able to travel to and reside in any other EU member state without a visa.
- Through the EU, the Schengen Area was created in 1995, which established open borders among most EU member states.
- Not all EU member states are part of the Schengen Area. Ireland has chosen not to join, whereas Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, and Romania are legally obliged to join. This means that travellers are not able to visit Ireland on a full Schengen visa.
- Holders of a double or multiple entry Schengen visa may use this visa to enter Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, and Romania. This visa must have already been used to enter a Schengen member state.
The European Union member states are:
| Country | Country Code | |
|---|---|---|
 | Austria | AUT |
 | Belgium | BEL |
 | Bulgaria | BGR |
 | Croatia | HRV |
 | Cyprus | CYP |
 | Czech Republic | CZE |
 | Denmark | DNK |
 | Estonia | EST |
 | Finland | FIN |
 | France | FRA |
 | Germany | D |
 | Greece | GRC |
 | Hungary | HUN |
 | Ireland | IRL |
 | Italy | ITA |
 | Latvia | LVA |
 | Lithuania | LTU |
 | Luxembourg | LUX |
 | Malta | MLT |
 | Netherlands | NLD |
 | Poland | POL |
 | Romania | ROU |
 | Portugal | PRT |
 | Slovakia | SVK |
 | Slovenia | SVN |
 | Spain | ESP |
 | Sweden | SWE |
The European Union
