With 27 member countries and a population of over half a billion, the European Union covers a large part of Europe. Since its creation it has worked to bring the prosperity and stability to its citizens. Its policies and actions affect the economy dynamics of the entire world. The Union also aims to be a fair and caring society, committed to promoting economic prosperity by creating jobs and making companies more competitive.

With the main aim of economic prosperity of the region, the Union has been taking actions to break down the barriers between its member states and create single market where goods, people, money and services can move around freely. As a result of this, trade between EU member countries has increased significantly and has made EU into major world trading power. The GDP of EU-27 for 2010 was pegged at US $17,557 billion, while US GDP for the same period was pegged at US $16,228 billion making it the largest economy in the world.

Although EU makes up only 7% of the world population, its trade with rest of the world accounts for one fifth of global imports and exports. Trade between EU countries itself account for 2/3rd of all EU trade. EU is the main exported of the world and the second biggest importer, which justifies why it is termed as the largest trading zone and the biggest trading partner.