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The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of27 member states, located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on1 November1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community. With almost500 million citizens, the EU combined generates an estimated30% share (US$18.4 trillion in2008) of the nominal gross world product.
Members: Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden United Kingdom
The European Union (EU) is a politico-economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. The EU operates through a system of supranational institutions and intergovernmental-negotiated decisions by the member states. The institutions are: the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the European Council, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Central Bank, the European Court of Auditors, and the European Parliament. The European Parliament is elected every five years by EU citizens.
The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Economic Community (EEC), formed by the Inner Six countries in1951 and1958, respectively. In the intervening years, the community and its successors have grown in size by the accession of new member states and in power by the addition of policy areas to its remit. The Maastricht Treaty established the European Union under its current name in1993 and introduced European citizenship. The latest major amendment to the constitutional basis of the EU, the Treaty of Lisbon, came into force in2009.
The EU has developed a single market through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states. Within the Schengen Area, passport controls have been abolished. EU policies aim to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital, enact legislation in justice and home affairs, and maintain common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries, and regional development.
The monetary union was established in1999 and came into full force in2002. It is currently composed of19 member states that use the euro as their legal tender. Through the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the EU has developed a role in external relations and defence. The union maintains permanent diplomatic missions throughout the world and represents itself at the United Nations, the WTO, the G8, and the G-20.
With a combined population of over500 million inhabitants, or7.3% of the world population, the EU in2014 generated a nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of18.495 trillion US dollars, constituting approximately24% of global nominal GDP and17% when measured in terms of purchasing power parity. As of2014 the EU has the largest economy in the world, generating a GDP bigger than any other economic union or country. Additionally,26 out of28 EU countries have a very high Human Development Index, according to the UNDP. In2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
When elsewhere nations are fighting to divide apart in favour of evil, Europeans decided to unite against evil. Is it not peace loving.
Thank God Nations are getting united when some desires to divide.
What is the EU? I think it's a good idea - a common market, with a common currency on a continent that has known many conflicts, but is now uniting.
Agreed to all experts..................................
I guess, one should say it all began in1948 with the treaty of Brussels and grew into the EU as we know it these days ....
In1957, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany signed the Treaty of Rome, which created the European Economic Community (EEC) and established a customs union. They also signed another pact creating the European Union; in1973 the UK, Ireland, Greenland (which left later on over fishing rights) and Denmark joined ... This has been the start of countries uniting ..
No more boarders between the countries ... therefore no long waits to go to your favorite vacation destinations ... these days there are28 countries in the EU and a common currency is in place in most countries (exception is the UK they still have the Pound).
All through there is a EU Parliament with the seat in Brussels, each of the EU member country remain their own sovereign country
The EU is designed to derive the same benefits that the American states gained by joining together to become the United States of America: A stronger defense, improved economy by eliminating tariffs between states, a common currency, a common federal government, etc. These are all things which the EU has brought to Europe or is trying to bring to Europe.
he European Union (EU) is a politico-economic union of28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. The EU operates through a system of supranational institutions and intergovernmental-negotiated decisions by the member states.
The EU is unlike anything else—it isn’t a government, an association of states, or an international organization. Rather, the28 Member States have relinquished part of their sovereignty to EU institutions, with many decisions made at the European level.
The European Union has delivered more than60 years of peace, stability, and prosperity in Europe, helped raise our citizens’ living standards, launched a single European currency (the euro), and is progressively building a single Europe-wide free market for goods, services, people, and capital.
We are engaged in rebuilding lives and communities in areas of conflict such as Afghanistan. We support efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East, promote sound environmental practices, and contribute to global efforts to control nuclear proliferation. European judicial, law enforcement, and security officials cooperate with the US and other partners to combat terrorism and transnational crime.
The EU and our Member States are the largest providers of official development assistance around the world, and we are involved in other areas that support development and reduce poverty, such as peacekeeping, election observing, and providing humanitarian and reconstruction aid in the wake of natural disasters and conflict.
Agree wit all expert
thank you
The EU up to the time (1958-onward) it was a common market (EEC) it was a reasonable success; to date since it became an economic and political "dream" it has demonstrated its shortcoming on economic policies implementation in order to stimulate economic growth of the member states. The European Central bank is just another financial institution playing the usual financial "mambo jambo" with no eyes on the actual impact of policies on the real economy; they took most of the countries monetary sovereignty away and they cant manage it.
The whole establishment at Brussels is to say at least, a bunch of unaccountable shady individuals; not a real example of super-partes democratic organization.
Obviously I'm not a big fan of the whole thing, however as an executive I tend to think in terms of results and in this ares they qualify by themselves.
