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 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...)

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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.

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Vaxholm Fortress

Photograph credit: Arild Vågen

Vaxholm Fortress is a historic fortification on the island of Vaxholmen in the Stockholm archipelago just east of the Swedish town of Vaxholm. The first structure, a wooden blockhouse, was constructed by King Gustav I in 1548 as a defensive structure and customs post at this strategic site on the sea approach to Stockholm. It was replaced by a round stone tower during John III's reign. The present buildings date to 1833; their design was inspired by ideas on fortifications propounded by French engineers the marquis de Montalembert and Lazare Carnot. The fortress has been listed as a state monument since 1935 and now houses the Vaxholm Fortress Museum.

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Did you know?

...that the President of Ireland, who serves as head of state, is elected for a seven year term and can be re-elected only once?

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

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Dublin is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Ireland, located near the midpoint of Ireland's east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and forms the centre of the Dublin Region. Originally founded as a centre of Viking settlement, the city has been Ireland's capital city since mediæval times. The population within the city was 505,739 at the census of 2006. Beyond this, at the same census the Dublin Region population was 1,186,159, whilst the Greater Dublin Area had a figure of 1,661,185.

In a 2003 European wide survey by the BBC, questioning 11,200 residents of 112 urban and rural areas, Dublin was found to be the best capital city in Europe to live in, and the Republic of Ireland was judged to be the most content country in Europe. A person from Dublin is known as a Dubliner or colloquially as a Dub. Dublin is a major European cultural centre and the origin of many prominent literary figures including Jonathan Swift, Bram Stoker, Oscar Wilde, William Butler Yeats, James Joyce, George Bernard Shaw, Seán O'Casey, and Samuel Beckett.

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General images

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

Image 1After 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 2Signatories of the 2007 declaration in dark blue. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 3The Frankish Empire at its greatest extent, ca. 814 AD (from History of the European Union)
Image 4Political 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 5Elaboration by sex (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 6Logo of the European Court of Auditors (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 7José Manuel Barroso President of the European Commission (2004-2014) (from History of the European Union)
Image 8Population pyramid of the EU 27 in 2023 (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 9Newest state in yellow (from History of the European Union)
Image 10A 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 11The Schuman Parade in Warsaw has been organised by the Schuman Foundation since 1999 (2008 photograph). (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 12A piece from the original manuscript. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 13The ordinary legislative procedure of the European Union (from Politics of the European Union)
Image 14Europa regina in Sebastian Münster's "Cosmographia", 1570 (from History of the European Union)
Image 15Hearing of Josep Borrell, High Representative Vice President (from Politics of the European Union)
Image 16The Euro symbol shown as a sculpture outside the European Central Bank (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 17Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy in the European Union in 2019 (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 18Boris Johnson Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2019 to 2022 (from History of the European Union)
Image 19The 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 20Organigram 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 21The flag of Europe, emblem of both the Council of Europe and the European Union. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 22Winston 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 23Aristide Briand (from History of the European Union)
Image 24The fertility rate in the EU was 1.46 in 2022 (Kindergarten in France). (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 25Logo of the European Commission (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 26Ursula von der Leyen President of the European Commission
(since 1 December 2019) (from History of the European Union)
Image 27Logo of the European Parliament (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 28Flag of the Western Union (from History of the European Union)
Image 29Logo of the Court of Justice of the European Union (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 30Logo of the European Council and the Council of the European Union (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 31Konrad Adenauer, Walter Hallstein and Antonio Segni, signing the European customs union and Euratom in Rome in 1957 (from History of the European Union)
Image 32Meeting in the Hall of Knights in The Hague, during the Congress of Europe (9 May 1948) (from History of the European Union)
Image 33The European Coal and Steel Community's flag. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 34Logo of the European Central Bank (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 351922 European flag of the Paneuropean Union (from History of the European Union)
Image 36Coins and banknotes of the Euro, the single-currency introduced from 1999 (from History of the European Union)