Thoroughly revised and updated to include coverage of the huge changes that have taken place in the EU since 2013, including a discussion of the migrant crisis and the UK's decision to leave the Union~Covers the history of the Union since 1946, looking at the various institutions and what they do~Examines the place of the Union on the world stage, in its role as a peace-keeper and in the rise of environmental politics~Considers the future of the Union and the challenges and choices that may lie ahead in the 21st century~Part of the bestselling Very Short Introductions series - over eight million copies sold worldwide