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 flag of Portugal consists of a rectangle vertically divided into green, at the hoist, and red, at the fly, with the minor version of the national coat of arms (armillary sphere and Portuguese shield) centered over the boundary between the colors. It was officially adopted on 30 June 1911, replacing the flag used under the constitutional monarchy, after it was chosen among several proposals by a special commission, whose members included Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro, João Chagas and Abel Botelho.

The current flag represents a sweeping change in the evolution of the Portuguese flag, which was always intimately associated with the royal arms. Since the country's foundation, the national flag developed from King Afonso I's blue-cross-on-white armorial square banner to the liberal monarchy's royal arms over a blue-and-white rectangle. In between, major changes associated with important political events contributed to the evolution of the national shield into its current design.

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Lietava Castle

Photograph credit: Vladimír Ruček

Lietava Castle is an extensive ruined castle in the Súľov Mountains of northern Slovakia. It was built some time in the 13th century, most likely as an administrative and military centre. It occupies a strategic position alongside the Amber Road, a trade route along which amber and other goods were transported southwards from the Baltic Sea. Originally a four-storey tower, it was expanded and reconstructed under a succession of owners, before being abandoned in the seventeenth century. The ruins contain handsome fireplaces, wall inscriptions, coats of arms, and renaissance portals, which attest to its previous grandeur.

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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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Nicosia

Nicosia, known locally as Lefkosia is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. Nicosia is located at 35°10' north, 33°21' east (35.1667, 33.35). Located on the Pedieos river and situated roughly in the centre of the island, it is the seat of government as well as the main business centre. Nicosia is the center and capital of an administrative district (Nicosia District), and after the fall of the Berlin Wall, it is currently the only divided capital city in the world, with the northern (Turkish) and southern (Greek) portions divided by the "Green Line", a demilitarized zone maintained by the United Nations. The 1974 Turkish invasion and occupation of 36 percent of the island's territory literally cut the capital in half. The population of the part of the city under the control of the Republic of Cyprus is 206,200 (end of 2001).

Nicosia is a modern, dynamic capital with lots of shops, restaurants and entertainment.The city is a trade center and manufactures textiles, leather, pottery, plastic, and other products. Copper mines are nearby. Nicosia is the seat of the University of Cyprus (UCY) and of all the colleges and institutes of Republic of Cyprus.

General images

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

Image 11922 European flag of the Paneuropean Union (from History of the European Union)
Image 2Boris Johnson Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2019 to 2022 (from History of the European Union)
Image 3Hearing of Josep Borrell, High Representative Vice President (from Politics of the European Union)
Image 4Aristide Briand (from History of the European Union)
Image 5Meeting in the Hall of Knights in The Hague, during the Congress of Europe (9 May 1948) (from History of the European Union)
Image 6Signatories of the 2007 declaration in dark blue. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 7Newest state in yellow (from History of the European Union)
Image 8Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy in the European Union in 2019 (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 9Flag of the Western Union (from History of the European Union)
Image 10The Euro symbol shown as a sculpture outside the European Central Bank (from Symbols 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 12Population pyramid of the EU 27 in 2023 (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 13Logo of the European Council and the Council of the European Union (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 14The ordinary legislative procedure of the European Union (from Politics of the European Union)
Image 15The European Coal and Steel Community's flag. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 16Konrad Adenauer, Walter Hallstein and Antonio Segni, signing the European customs union and Euratom in Rome in 1957 (from History of the European Union)
Image 17The 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 18Logo of the European Court of Auditors (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 19Europa regina in Sebastian Münster's "Cosmographia", 1570 (from History of the European Union)
Image 20Political 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 21Winston Churchill (right, during the Atlantic Conference), consistent advocate of continential European integration, later along with his sun-in-law Duncan Sandys (from History of the European Union)
Image 22The flag of Europe, emblem of both the Council of Europe and the European Union. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 23Ursula von der Leyen President of the European Commission
(since 1 December 2019) (from History of the European Union)
Image 24Logo of the European Central Bank (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 26Organigram 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 27The fertility rate in the EU was 1.46 in 2022 (Kindergarten in France). (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 28Logo of the European Parliament (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 29The Schuman Parade in Warsaw has been organised by the Schuman Foundation since 1999 (2008 photograph). (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 30Logo of the Court of Justice of the European Union (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 31Logo of the European Commission (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 32Elaboration by sex (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 33José Manuel Barroso President of the European Commission (2004-2014) (from History of the European Union)
Image 34The Frankish Empire at its greatest extent, ca. 814 AD (from History of the European Union)
Image 35Coins and banknotes of the Euro, the single-currency introduced from 1999 (from History of the European Union)
Image 36A piece from the original manuscript. (from Symbols of the European Union)