Portal:European Union

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

Introduction

Portal subpages

Main page Institutions Competences Structural evolution Member states

Welcome to the European Union Portal!

Shortcut

P:EU

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...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

edit

Selected article

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.

More selected articles...

edit

Selected picture

SS. Cyril and Methodius National Library

Photo: Plamen Agov

The SS. Cyril and Methodius National Library is the national library of Bulgaria. Founded on 4 April 1878, it was named after Saints Cyril and Methodius, who are credited with the creation of the Cyrillic script used in Bulgarian. The building pictured was finished in 1953.

More selected pictures

edit

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?

More did you know...

edit

Selected city

Copenhagen is the capital of Denmark and the country's largest city (metropolitan population 1,211,542 (2006)). It is also the name of the adjacent county. Copenhagen is the seat of the national parliament, the government, and the monarchy.

The original designation for the city, from which the contemporary Danish name is derived, was Kjøbmandehavn, "merchants' harbor". The English name for the city is derived from its German name, Kopenhagen. The element hafnium is named after the city's Latin name, Hafnia.

Copenhagen was founded around year 1000 by Sweyn I Forkbeard and his son Canute the Great. It was only a fishing village by the name of "Havn" (harbour) until the middle of the 12th century when it grew in importance after coming into the possession of the Bishop Absalon, who fortified it in 1167. The excellent harbour encouraged Copenhagen's growth until it became an important centre of commerce. It was repeatedly attacked by the Hanseatic League as the Germans took notice. In 1254, it received its charter as a city under Bishop Jakob Erlandsen.

Read more...

More selected cities...

General images

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

Image 1Europa regina in Sebastian Münster's "Cosmographia", 1570 (from History of the European Union)
Image 2Konrad Adenauer, Walter Hallstein and Antonio Segni, signing the European customs union and Euratom in Rome in 1957 (from History of the European Union)
Image 3The flag of Europe, emblem of both the Council of Europe and the European Union. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 4The Frankish Empire at its greatest extent, ca. 814 AD (from History of the European Union)
Image 5After 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 6Logo of the European Parliament (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 7Aristide Briand (from History of the European Union)
Image 8José Manuel Barroso President of the European Commission (2004-2014) (from History of the European Union)
Image 9Population pyramid of the EU 27 in 2023 (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 10Logo of the European Court of Auditors (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 11Winston 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 12Logo of the European Council and the Council of the European Union (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 13Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy in the European Union in 2019 (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 14The Euro symbol shown as a sculpture outside the European Central Bank (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 15Flag of the Western Union (from History of the European Union)
Image 16Coins and banknotes of the Euro, the single-currency introduced from 1999 (from History of the European Union)
Image 171922 European flag of the Paneuropean Union (from History of the European Union)
Image 18The Schuman Parade in Warsaw has been organised by the Schuman Foundation since 1999 (2008 photograph). (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 19The ordinary legislative procedure of the European Union (from Politics of the European Union)
Image 20Logo of the European Commission (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 21A piece from the original manuscript. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 22The fertility rate in the EU was 1.46 in 2022 (Kindergarten in France). (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 23Signatories of the 2007 declaration in dark blue. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 24The European Coal and Steel Community's flag. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 25A 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 26Newest state in yellow (from History of the European Union)
Image 27Meeting in the Hall of Knights in The Hague, during the Congress of Europe (9 May 1948) (from History of the European Union)
Image 28Ursula von der Leyen President of the European Commission
(since 1 December 2019) (from History of the European Union)
Image 29Boris Johnson Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2019 to 2022 (from History of the European Union)
Image 30Political 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 31Logo of the European Central Bank (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 32Logo of the Court of Justice of the European Union (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 33Elaboration by sex (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 34The 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 35Hearing of Josep Borrell, High Representative Vice President (from Politics of the European Union)
Image 36Organigram of the political system. The seven organs of the Union are in blue, national / intergovernmental elements in orange. (from Politics of the European Union)