Sentence:  ...IN VIEW of further steps to be taken in order to advance European integration,/ HAVE DECIDED to establish a <WSD>European Union</WSD> and to this end have designated as their plenipotentiaries... 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A supranational organisation, consisting of 28 member states, created in the 1950s to bring the nations of Europe into closer economic and political connection.