The many and varied institutions of Europe can present a confusing and seemingly unending array of unions, councils, commissions, committees, and parliaments. The 25-state European Union may be the best-known governmental entity, but the oldest and largest multinational political institution in Europe is the Council of Europe, which was founded in 1949. This 46-country body includes every European nation (with one exception: Belarus is an applicant country), from Portugal in the west to Russia in the east.
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