What makes the European Union a highly influential regional organisation?

The EU has economic, political, diplomatic and military influence. The European Union is a highly influential regional organisation because-

• The EU is the worlds biggest economy with a GDP of about 12 trillion dollars (as in 2005) slightly exceeding that of the USA.

• Its currency, Euro, can pose a threat to the dollar.

• The EU has three times larger share of world trade, larger than that of the US and gives it influence over its neighbors and in Asia and Africa.

• It also functions as an important bloc in the international organisations like the WTO(World Trade Organisation).

• Two members of the EU, Britain and France, hold a permanent seat to UN Security Council which gives it a diplomatic edge over the others. With which it has also been able to influence certain US policies like the current US position on Iraq's nuclear programme.

• Regarding the military, the EU’s armed forces altogether are the second largest in the world.

• EU is one of the important sources of space and communication technology.