The European Union: Life in the UK test revision

Before Brexit the EU had 28 members. When the UK left in January 2020, that number dropped to 27. The handbook lists all of them, from Austria to Croatia. Do not mix this up with the Council of Europe, a separate body which has 47 member countries, including the UK.

Test Trap. the EU (27 members, makes laws) is often confused with the Council of Europe (47 members, human rights, cannot make laws). The UK left the EU but is still in the Council of Europe.

Why it matters: Test Trap: the EU's 27 members are often confused with the Council of Europe's 47.

Memory hook: Twenty-eight minus one Britain equals twenty-seven.

Official handbook: Chapter 5, section 5.7, page 91

Six western European countries wanted closer economic ties after the Second World War. They put their agreement in writing in Rome, and the treaty took the city's name. That agreement created the EEC, the organisation we now know as the EU. The name of the treaty is asked often.

Why it matters: Frequently tested; the EEC, the Treaty of Rome and 1957 usually appear together.

Memory hook: All roads lead to Rome, and so did the EEC: the founding treaty was signed there.

Official handbook: Chapter 5, section 5.7, page 91

The date matters because it places the birth of the EEC in the 1950s, just over a decade after the Second World War ended. Western Europe was rebuilding and wanted to bind its economies together to keep the peace. The UK was not part of this first step and did not join until much later.

Why it matters: The year 1957 is often tested and can be confused with 1973, the year the UK joined.

Memory hook: Fifty-seven for the founders' pen: the Treaty of Rome was signed in '57.

Official handbook: Chapter 5, section 5.7, page 91

The EEC began small. Six neighbouring countries in western Europe signed the Treaty of Rome in 1957 to create it. Over the following decades many more countries joined, and today the EU has 27 members. Knowing the starting number helps you see how much the organisation grew before the UK's departure.

Why it matters: Tests like to contrast the six founders with the 27 members the EU has now.

Memory hook: Six signatures in Rome: picture six pens on one table in 1957.

Official handbook: Chapter 5, section 5.7, page 91

The founders were a tight group of neighbours: France, Germany and Italy, plus the three small Benelux countries of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. All six are in western Europe. The UK was not among them, having decided at first not to join, and did not become a member until 1973.

Why it matters: People assume the UK was a founder. It was not, and the question expects you to know that.

Memory hook: Think 'BFG' plus 'ILN': Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands.

Official handbook: Chapter 5, section 5.7, page 91