.eu is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the European Union (EU). Launched 7 December 2005, the domain is available for organisations in and residents of EU member states. The TLD is administered by EURid, a consortium consisting of the national ccTLD registry operators of Belgium, Sweden, Italy and the Czech Republic. Trademark owners were able to submit registrations through a sunrise period, in an effort to prevent cybersquatting. Full registration started on 7 April 2006.

The EU (European Union) is a confederation of 27 European states.

The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union or confederation of 27 member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Economic Community (EEC), formed by six countries in 1958. In the intervening years the EU has grown in size by the accession of new member states and in power by the addition of policy areas to its remit. The Maastricht Treaty established the European Union under its current name in 1993. The latest amendment to the constitutional basis of the EU, the Treaty of Lisbon, came into force in 2009.