The Netherlands does business with other European countries, so it is important to cooperate with them as much as possible. The Netherlands was one of the first six members of the European Economic Community (EEC), which is now the European Union (EU).

The Netherlands is a member of the European Union, which is made up of twenty-seven European countries. These countries agree on all kinds of things to make it easier for them to trade with one another. They also cooperate on many other things. For example, the European Union wants all its members to have the same safety rules for toys, so that the same toys can be sold everywhere.