Most Western European and Central European countries gradually formed a political and economic community, the European Union, which expanded eastward to include former Soviet-satellite countries.
Banyak negara di Eropa Barat dan Tengah yang perlahan-lahan membentuk suatu komunitas politik dan ekonomi, yaitu Uni Eropa, yang melebar ke timur karena keikutsertaan negara-negara bekas Uni Soviet.