The book is to help Americans better understand the European Union, its values and priorities, and our shared responsibility to work together for a better world.

Editor’s Notes

Ten new Member States. A robust security structure. New programs to promote development and stabilization. A leading role in theglobal effort to combat terrorism. These are among the many recent or ongoing changesto the European Union described in this guideas the EU extends its social and economic agenda into the 21st century to promotedemocracy and stability in Europe and aroundthe world.

This  “Guide for Americans”  covers all aspects of the European Union, from its initial incarnation as the European Coal and Steel Community created by six nations in 1951, to the formal creation of the Union in 1993 with the implementation of the Maastricht Treatyon European Union, to the most recent developments, including the admission of 10 new Member States in 2004.The term “European Union” (EU) is used in this brochure whenever appropriate.

Other terms, such as “European Community” (EC)and “European Coal and Steel Community” (ECSC), are used when the historical contextis appropriate or to describe the statutory functions of bodies that still have legal identities within the EU.All information regarding EU institutions,policies, and programs is the most recent available at the time of publication. Forupdated information, please consult the European Commission’s Washington Delegation website (http://www.eurunion.org ).

Please refer to the annexes at the end of this guide for a chronology. Where possible, all financial amountsappear in U.S. dollars and are converted from euros using the appropriate annual dollar to euro exchange rate. Multiyear periods are calculated using an average of the appropriate annual exchange rates.

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