A member state of the European Union is a state that is party to treaties of the European Union (EU) and thereby subject to the privileges and obligations of EU membership. Unlike the membership of an international organisation, EU membership entails each member being placed under binding laws in exchange for representation in the EU's legislative and judicial institutions. On the other hand, EU states retain considerable autonomy compared to the constituent states of a federation (such as a U.S. state), maintaining their national military and foreign policy (where they have not agreed to European action in these areas).

There are twenty-seven EU member states. Six core states founded the EU's predecessor, the European Economic Community, in 1957 and the remaining states joined in subsequent enlargements. Before being allowed to join the EU, a state must fulfil the economic and political conditions generally known as the Copenhagen criteria. These essentially require a candidate to have a democratic, free market government together with the corresponding freedoms and institutions, and respect the rule of law. Enlargement of the Union is contingent upon the agreement of each existing member and the candidate's adoption of all pre-existing EU law.

A member state is a state that is a member of an international organisation.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has members that are sovereign states and members that are not, thus WTO members are not called member states.

Guy Verhofstadt (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɣiː vərˈɦɔfstɑt] ( listen); born Guy Maurice Marie Louise Verhofstadt, 11 April 1953) is a Belgian politician, who served as the 47th Prime Minister of Belgium from 1999 to 2008. Since 2009, he has served as a Member of the European Parliament and leader of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.

Born in 1953 in Dendermonde, he became president of the Flemish Liberal Student's Union (1972–1974) while studying law at the University of Ghent. He quickly became the secretary of Willy De Clercq, who was at that time the president of the Flemish liberal party (Party for Freedom and Progress, PVV). In 1982, at age 29, he became president of the party. In 1985 he was elected into the Chamber of Deputies, and became Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Budget under Prime Minister Wilfried Martens. Because of his economic views and his young age, he became known as "Baby Thatcher". Another nickname from that era is "da joenk", a Brabantian dialect expression meaning "that kid" (in a pejorative sense, referring to his rather iconoclastic and immature style).

John Stuart Agnew (born 30 August 1949 in Norwich) is a Member of the European Parliament for the East of England region for the United Kingdom Independence Party. He was elected in 2009.

He is a Norfolk farmer who formerly represented Norfolk on the NFU Council. He is a long term UKIP member. In the European Parliament he sits on the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development.

He ran for UKIP in the 2001 General Election in Mid Norfolk and in the 2005 General Election in Norfolk North, and stood in Broadland in the 2010 UK general election