Portal:European Union

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The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of 27 member states that are located primarily in Europe. The Union has a total area of 4,233,255 km² (1,634,469 sq mi) and an estimated total population of over 449 million. The EU has often been described as a sui generis political entity combining the characteristics of both a federation and a confederation.

Containing 5.8% of the world population in 2020, EU member states generated a nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of around US$16.6 trillion in 2022, constituting approximately one sixth of global nominal GDP. Additionally, all EU states except Bulgaria have a very high Human Development Index according to the United Nations Development Programme. Its cornerstone, the Customs Union, paved the way to establishing an internal single market based on standardised legal framework and legislation that applies in all member states in those matters, and only those matters, where the states have agreed to act as one. EU policies aim to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services and capital within the internal market; enact legislation in justice and home affairs; and maintain common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries and regional development. Passport controls have been abolished for travel within the Schengen Area. The eurozone is a group composed of the 20 EU member states that have fully implemented the economic and monetary union and use the euro currency. Through the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the union has developed a role in external relations and defence. It maintains permanent diplomatic missions throughout the world and represents itself at the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G7 and the G20. Due to its global influence, the European Union has been described by some scholars as an emerging superpower.

In 2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The United Kingdom became the only member state to leave the EU, in 2020; ten countries are aspiring or negotiating to join it. (Full article...)

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The eurozone, officially euro area, refers to a currency union among the European Union member states that have adopted the euro as their sole official currency. The Eurosystem, headed by the European Central Bank, is responsible for monetary policy within the Eurozone.

The Eurozone has 19 members, with a further six states and territories using it as their sole currency. It circulates widely beyond that, and has started to serve as a reserve currency. Based on official estimates of 2007 GDP, the Eurozone is the largest economy in the world.

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Kourion

Photograph credit: Alexander Savin

Kourion is an ancient city-state on the southwestern coast of the island of Cyprus, located near modern Limassol, that existed from antiquity until the Middle Ages. Built in the 12th century BC by Mycenaeans who took part in the Trojan War, Kourion was later controlled by the Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines. The settlement was placed on a 70-metre-high (230 ft) cliff to ensure the safety of its citizens. The modern archaeological site is managed by the Department of Antiquities of Cyprus and includes the ruins of the stadium and the sanctuary of Apollo Hylates. This photograph depicts the ruins of Kourion's agora, a central public space in the city-state.

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Did you know?

...that Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City all mint their own euro coins, with their own national symbols on the back, despite not being EU members?

...that Slovenia joined the Euro on January 1, 2007?

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Selected city

Bucharest is the capital city and industrial and commercial centre of Romania. It is located in the southeast of the country, and lies on the banks of the Dâmboviţa River. By European standards Bucharest is not an old city, its existence first being referred to by scholars as late as 1459. Since then it has gone through a variety of changes, becoming the state capital of Romania in 1862 and steadily consolidating its position as the centre of the Romanian mass media, culture and arts. Its eclectic architecture is a mix of historical, interbellum, Communist-era, and modern. In the period between the two World Wars, the city's elegant architecture and the sophistication of its elite earned Bucharest the nickname of the "Paris of the East" or "Little Paris".

According to the 2011 census, Bucharest proper has a population of 1,883,425. There are approximately 2.3 million inhabitants in the greater metropolitan area. Economically, the city is by far the most prosperous in Romania and is one of the main industrial centres and transportation hubs of Eastern Europe. As the most important city in Romania, Bucharest also has a broad range of educational facilities.

General images

The following are images from various European Union-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1The Frankish Empire at its greatest extent, ca. 814 AD (from History of the European Union)
Image 2A piece from the original manuscript. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 3Signatories of the 2007 declaration in dark blue. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 4Logo of the European Commission (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 5Logo of the European Central Bank (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 6After two devastating world wars, the political climate favoured an international unity that could preserve peace in Europe effectively (Hamburg, after a massive Allied bombing in 1943 in the picture). (from History of the European Union)
Image 71922 European flag of the Paneuropean Union (from History of the European Union)
Image 8Logo of the European Parliament (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 9Konrad Adenauer, Walter Hallstein and Antonio Segni, signing the European customs union and Euratom in Rome in 1957 (from History of the European Union)
Image 10The European Coal and Steel Community's flag. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 11The flag of Europe, emblem of both the Council of Europe and the European Union. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 12José Manuel Barroso President of the European Commission (2004-2014) (from History of the European Union)
Image 13Aristide Briand (from History of the European Union)
Image 14The Schuman Parade in Warsaw has been organised by the Schuman Foundation since 1999 (2008 photograph). (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 15Logo of the Court of Justice of the European Union (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 16Political groups of the European Parliament in the Louise Weiss building after the election 2024:
  Group of the European People's Party (EPP)
  Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D)
  Patriots for Europe (PfE)
  European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR)
  Renew Europe (Renew)
  The Greens–European Free Alliance (Greens/EFA)
  The Left in the European Parliament – GUE/NGL (The Left)
  Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN)
  Non-Inscrits (NI)
  Vacant (1)
(from Politics of the European Union)
Image 17Boris Johnson Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2019 to 2022 (from History of the European Union)
Image 18Logo of the European Council and the Council of the European Union (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 19Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy in the European Union in 2019 (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 20Ursula von der Leyen President of the European Commission
(since 1 December 2019) (from History of the European Union)
Image 21Logo of the European Court of Auditors (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 22Newest state in yellow (from History of the European Union)
Image 23Coins and banknotes of the Euro, the single-currency introduced from 1999 (from History of the European Union)
Image 24Population pyramid of the EU 27 in 2023 (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 25Europa regina in Sebastian Münster's "Cosmographia", 1570 (from History of the European Union)
Image 26The Euro symbol shown as a sculpture outside the European Central Bank (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 27Flag of the Western Union (from History of the European Union)
Image 28A cartogram depicting the population distribution between old EU-27 member states in 2008 (including the UK and excluding Croatia). 57.8% of all citizens of the EU live in the four largest member states: Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 29Hearing of Josep Borrell, High Representative Vice President (from Politics of the European Union)
Image 30Meeting in the Hall of Knights in The Hague, during the Congress of Europe (9 May 1948) (from History of the European Union)
Image 31The fertility rate in the EU was 1.46 in 2022 (Kindergarten in France). (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 32The population density of the EU is 106 people per km². N.B. the light in the North Sea is from oil platforms. (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 33Elaboration by sex (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 34Organigram of the political system. The seven organs of the Union are in blue, national / intergovernmental elements in orange. (from Politics of the European Union)
Image 35Winston Churchill (right, during the Atlantic Conference), consistent advocate of continential European integration, later along with his son-in-law Duncan Sandys (from History of the European Union)
Image 36The ordinary legislative procedure of the European Union (from Politics of the European Union)