EUROPEAN UNION







The EU is a unique economic and political partnership between 27 European countries that together cover much of the continent.
The EU was created in the aftermath of the Second World War. The first steps were to foster economic cooperation: the idea being that countries who trade with one another become economically interdependent and so more likely to avoid conflict. The result was the European Economic Community (EEC), created in 1958, and initially increasing economic cooperation between six countries: Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Since then, a huge single market has been created and continues to develop towards its full potential.


Law-making

There are 3 main institutions involved in EU legislation:
  • the European Parliament, which represents the EU’s citizens and is directly elected by them;
  • the Council of the European Union, which represents the governments of the individual member countries. The Presidency of the Council is shared by the member states on a rotating basis.
  • the European Commission, which represents the interests of the Union as a whole.
Together, these three institutions produce through the "Ordinary Legislative Procedure" (ex "co-decision") the policies and laws that apply throughout the EU. In principle, the Commission proposes new laws, and the Parliament and Council adopt them. The Commission and the member countries then implement them, and the Commission ensures that the laws are properly applied and implemented.


Other EU institutions

Two other institutions play vital roles:
The powers and responsibilities of all of these institutions are laid down in the Treaties, which are the foundation of everything the EU does. They also lay down the rules and procedures that the EU institutions must follow. The Treaties are agreed by the presidents and/or prime ministers of all the EU countries, and ratified by their parliaments.







AUSTRIA

Year of EU entry: 1995
Capital city: Vienna
Total area: 83 870 km²
Population: 8.3 million
Currency: Member of the eurozonesince 1999 (€)
Schengen area: Member of theSchengen area since 1995
Read more about Austria

BELGIUM

Year of EU entry: Founding member (1952)
Capital city: Brussels
Total area: 30 528 km²
Population: 10.7 million
Currency: Member of the eurozonesince 1999 (€)
Schengen area: Member of theSchengen area since 1985
Read more about Belgium

BULGARIA

Year of EU entry: 2007
Capital city: Sofia
Total area: 111 910 km²
Population: 7.6 million
Currency: lev (лв)
Schengen area: Not a member ofSchengen
Read more about Bulgaria

CYPRUS

Year of EU entry: 2004
Capital city: Nicosia
Total area: 9 250 km²
Population: 0.8 million
Currency: Member of the eurozonesince 2008 (€)
Schengen area: Not a member ofSchengen
Read more about Cyprus

CZECH REPUBLIC

Year of EU entry: 2004
Capital city: Prague
Total area: 78 866 km²
Population: 10.5 million
Currency: Czech koruna (Kč)
Schengen area: Member of theSchengen area since 2007
Read more about Czech Republic

DENMARK

Year of EU entry: 1973
Capital city: Copenhagen
Total area: 43 094 km²
Population: 5.5 million
Currency: Danish krone (kr.)
Schengen area: Member of theSchengen area since 1996
Read more about Denmark

ESTONIA

Year of EU entry: 2004
Capital city: Tallinn
Total area: 45 000 km²
Population: 1.3 million
Currency: Member of the eurozonesince 2011 (€)
Schengen area: Member of theSchengen area since 2007
Read more about Estonia

FINLAND

Year of EU entry: 1995
Capital city: Helsinki
Total area: 338 000 km²
Population: 5.3 million
Currency: Member of the eurozonesince 1999 (€)
Schengen area: Member of theSchengen area since 1996
Read more about Finland

FRANCE

Year of EU entry: Founding member (1952)
Capital city: Paris
Total area: 550 000 km²
Population: 64.3 million
Currency: Member of the eurozonesince 1999 (€)
Schengen area: Member of theSchengen area since 1985
Read more about France

GERMANY

Year of EU entry: Founding member (1952)
Capital city: Berlin
Total area: 356 854 km²
Population: 82 million
Currency: Member of the eurozonesince 1999 (€)
Schengen area: Member of theSchengen area since 1985
Read more about Germany

GREECE

Year of EU entry: 1981
Capital city: Athens
Total area: 131 957 km²
Population: 11.2 million
Currency: Member of the eurozonesince 2001 (€)
Schengen area: Member of theSchengen area since 1992
Read more about Greece

HUNGARY

Year of EU entry: 2004
Capital city: Budapest
Total area: 93 000 km²
Population: 10 million
Currency: forint (Ft)
Schengen area: Member of theSchengen area since 2007
Read more about Hungary

IRELAND

Year of EU entry: 1973
Capital city: Dublin
Total area: 70 000 km²
Population: 4.5 million
Currency: Member of the eurozonesince 1999 (€)
Schengen area: Not a member ofSchengen
Read more about Ireland

ITALY

Year of EU entry: Founding member (1952)
Capital city: Rome
Total area: 301 263 km²
Population: 60 million
Currency: Member of the eurozonesince 1999 (€)
Schengen area: Member of theSchengen area since 1990
Read more about Italy

LATVIA

Year of EU entry: 2004
Capital city: Riga
Total area: 65 000 km²
Population: 2.3 million
Currency: lats (Ls)
Schengen area: Member of theSchengen area since 2007
Read more about Latvia

LITHUANIA

Year of EU entry: 2004
Capital city: Vilnius
Total area: 65 000 km²
Population: 3.3 million
Currency: litas (Lt)
Schengen area: Member of theSchengen area since 2007
Read more about Lithuania

LUXEMBOURG

Year of EU entry: Founding member (1952)
Capital city: Luxembourg
Total area: 2 586 km²
Population: 0.5 million
Currency: Member of the eurozonesince 1999 (€)
Schengen area: Member of theSchengen area since 1985
Read more about Luxembourg

MALTA

Year of EU entry: 2004
Capital city: Valletta
Total area: 316 km²
Population: 0.4 million
Currency: Member of the eurozonesince 2008 (€)
Schengen area: Member of theSchengen area since 2007
Read more about Malta

NETHERLANDS

Year of EU entry: Founding member (1952)
Capital city: Amsterdam
Total area: 41 526 km²
Population: 16.4 million
Currency: Member of the eurozonesince 1999 (€)
Schengen area: Member of theSchengen area since 1985
Read more about the Netherlands

POLAND

Year of EU entry: 2004
Capital city: Warsaw
Total area: 312 679 km²
Population: 38.1 million
Currency: Zloty (zł)
Schengen area: Member of theSchengen area since 2007
Read more about Poland

PORTUGAL

Year of EU entry: 1986
Capital city: Lisbon
Total area: 92 072 km²
Population: 10.6 million
Currency: Member of the eurozonesince 1999 (€)
Schengen area: Member of theSchengen area since 1991
Read more about Portugal

ROMANIA

Year of EU entry: 2007
Capital city: Bucharest
Total area: 237 500 km²
Population: 21.5 million
Currency: Romanian leu
Schengen area: Not a member ofSchengen
Read more about Romania

SLOVAKIA

Year of EU entry: 2004
Capital city: Bratislava
Total area: 48 845 km²
Population: 5.4 million
Currency: Member of the eurozonesince 2009 (€)
Schengen area: Member of theSchengen area since 2007
Read more about Slovakia

SLOVENIA

Year of EU entry: 2004
Capital city: Ljubljana
Total area: 20 273 km²
Population: 2 million
Currency: Member of the eurozonesince 2007 (€)
Schengen area: Member of theSchengen area since 2007
Read more about Slovenia

SPAIN

Year of EU entry: 1986
Capital city: Madrid
Total area: 504 782 km²
Population: 45.8 million
Currency: Member of the eurozonesince 1999 (€)
Schengen area: Member of theSchengen area since 1991
Read more about Spain

SWEDEN

Year of EU entry: 1995
Capital city: Stockholm
Total area: 449 964 km²
Population: 9.2 million
Currency: krona (kr)
Schengen area: Member of theSchengen area since 1996
Read more about Sweden

UNITED KINGDOM

Year of EU entry: 1973
Capital city: London
Total area: 244 820 km²
Population: 61.7 million
Currency: pound sterling (£)
Schengen area: Not a member ofSchengen
Read more about the United Kingdom





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