With its complicated history of feuding nations and nationalities, it's no simple task for the European Union to address the needs of people in 27 member states.

The European social model that the European Union itself actually exemplifies is more based on an idea of freedom from.

Freedom from hunger, freedom from want, freedom from fear of another war, freedom from an old age.

Hi, I'm Rick Steeves.

Political experts from both sides of the Atlantic help us to understand the European

political model and the issues facing modern Europe in just a moment.

In Paris is home to well over a hundred museums.

We'll look at a few of the less obvious favorites with a local guide including the Klunie Museum, which houses the exquisite Lady with a

unicorn tapestry. It is a museum with a magnificent collection of medieval

artwork. You learn really about the middle edges.

Get better acquainted with Europe today on Travel with Rick Steeves.

It's a crazy complicated continent of different languages and customs, but they're trying to work and live together for a common purpose.

Today on Travel with Rick Steves, we'll sort out how people from Greece to Ireland are organizing their society

within the European Union. And later in the hour we'll take a peek into some of the

less obvious places where you can enjoy the art and romance of Paris.

Imagine 1947 in Europe.

Eurovisioner is sitting in the rubble of a bombed out continent shaking their heads thinking

we've just blown ourselves to bits twice in our own lifetime and they thought we've got to do something

about that. European Visionaries got together after the destruction of World War II and decided we need to

integrate our economies in order not to go to war again.

Since then, Europe has been sort of in an evolution towards Union.

And it's a tough sell because you don't have any meaningful union without talking sovereign

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