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 448 million. The EU has often been described as a sui generis political entity (without precedent or comparison) 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 European Commission forms part of the executive branch of the European Union. It is one of the Union's three main political Institutions. It is a cabinet government of 27 Commissioners led by a Commission President. The current President is Ursula von der Leyen, who leads the von der Leyen Commission and assumed office in 2019. It is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union.

The Commission is based in the Berlaymont building in Brussels and is supported by an administrative body of about 23,000 European civil servants divided into departments called Directorate-General. The term "Commission" can either mean the entire administrative body of the Commission or just the college of 27 Commissioners. Its internal working languages are English, French and German.

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Photo credit: David Marcu
Ciucaș Peak in Romania

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Did you know?

...that within the Eurozone the European Central Bank has the exclusive authority to set monetary policy?

...that Greenland and United Kingdom are the only countries to ever leave the European Union?

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Selected city

Ljubljana is the capital and largest city in Slovenia. The city of Ljubljana is the cultural, scientific, economic, political and administrative center of Slovenia. It is situated in central Slovenia, between the Alps and the Mediterranean. The city is divided into several quarters, formerly municipalities, the main ones being Šiška, Bežigrad, Vič, Moste, and Center, which also correspond to the main electoral constituencies of the city.

Its transport connections, concentration of industry, scientific and research institutions and industrial tradition underlie its leading economic position. Ljubljana is the seat of the central government, administrative bodies and all government ministries. It is also the seat of Parliament and the Office of the President of Slovenia.

General images

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

Image 1The fertility rate in the EU was 1.46 in 2022 (Kindergarten in France). (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 2Logo of the European Central Bank (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 3Population pyramid of the EU 27 in 2023 (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 4Logo of the European Parliament (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 5The ordinary legislative procedure of the European Union (from Politics of the European Union)
Image 6Flag of the Western Union (from History of the European Union)
Image 7Logo of the Court of Justice of the European Union (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 8The Schuman Parade in Warsaw has been organised by the Schuman Foundation since 1999 (2008 photograph). (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 9Organigram 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 10Ursula von der Leyen President of the European Commission
(since 1 December 2019) (from History of the European Union)
Image 11After 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 12A piece from the original manuscript. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 13A 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 14Logo of the European Commission (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 15Europa regina in Sebastian Münster's "Cosmographia", 1570 (from History of the European Union)
Image 161922 European flag of the Paneuropean Union (from History of the European Union)
Image 17The European Coal and Steel Community's flag. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 18Meeting in the Hall of Knights in The Hague, during the Congress of Europe (9 May 1948) (from History of the European Union)
Image 19The Euro symbol shown as a sculpture outside the European Central Bank (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 20Hearing of Josep Borrell, High Representative Vice President (from Politics of the European Union)
Image 21The Frankish Empire at its greatest extent, ca. 814 AD (from History of the European Union)
Image 22Elaboration by sex (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 23Logo of the European Council and the Council of the European Union (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 24Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy in the European Union in 2019 (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 25José Manuel Barroso President of the European Commission (2004-2014) (from History of the European Union)
Image 26Logo of the European Court of Auditors (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 27Aristide Briand (from History of the European Union)
Image 28Political groups of the European Parliament in the Louise Weiss building after the election 2014:
  Group of the European People's Party (EPP)
  Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D)
  Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE)
  European Greens–European Free Alliance (Greens/EFA)
  European United Left–Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL)
  European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR)
  Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD)
  Non-Inscrits (NI)
(from Politics of the European Union)
Image 29Konrad Adenauer, Walter Hallstein and Antonio Segni, signing the European customs union and Euratom in Rome in 1957 (from History of the European Union)
Image 30Coins and banknotes of the Euro, the single-currency introduced from 1999 (from History of the European Union)
Image 31The population density of the EU is 106 people per km². N.B. the light in the North Sea, as well as much of Norway, is from Routine flaring not human habitation. (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 32Boris Johnson Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2019 to 2022 (from History of the European Union)
Image 33The flag of Europe, emblem of both the Council of Europe and the European Union. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 34Newest state in yellow (from History 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 36Signatories of the 2007 declaration in dark blue. (from Symbols of the European Union)