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 European Parliament (Europarl or EP) is the directly elected parliamentary body of the European Union. Together with the Council of the European Union (the Council), it forms the bicameral legislative branch of the Union's institutions and has been described by some one of the most powerful legislatures in the world. The Parliament, together with the Council, form the highest legislative body within the Union. This is only within the competencies of the European Community being limited to specific policy areas, however Union law does override national law. The Parliament is composed of 785 MEPs (Member of the European Parliament) who serve the second largest democratic electorate in the world (after India) and the largest trans-national democratic electorate in the world (492 million).

More selected articles...

edit

Selected picture

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.

More selected pictures

edit

Did you know?

...that Romania and Bulgaria became full members of the European Union on January 1, 2007?

...that the European Union's member states combined represent the world's largest economy by GDP, larger than the United States, the People's Republic of China, and Japan, the seventh largest territory in the world by area and the third largest by population after China and India?

More did you know...

edit

Selected city

Paris is the capital city of France. Situated on the banks of the river Seine in north-central France, it is also the capital of the Île-de-France région, which encompasses Paris and its suburbs. The City of Paris had an estimated mid-2004 population of 2,144,700. The Paris urban area, extending well beyond the city boundaries, has today an estimated population of 9.9 million. The Paris metropolitan area (including satellite towns) stood at 11.5 million in 1999.

It produces more than a quarter of France's wealth, with a GDP of €478.7 billion in 2005. With La Défense, one of the largest business districts in Europe, Paris also hosts the head offices of almost half of the major French companies. Paris is a leading global cultural, business and political centre and has a major international influence in fashion, gastronomy and the arts. It is widely regarded as one of the world's major global cities, with notably the headquarters of many international organisations such as UNESCO, the OECD, the ICC.

Read more...

More selected cities...

General images

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

Image 1The ordinary legislative procedure of the European Union (from Politics of the European Union)
Image 2The flag of Europe, emblem of both the Council of Europe and the European Union. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 3The European Coal and Steel Community's flag. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 4Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy in the European Union in 2019 (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 5Coins and banknotes of the Euro, the single-currency introduced from 1999 (from History of the European Union)
Image 6The 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 7Flag of the Western Union (from History of the European Union)
Image 8Hearing of Josep Borrell, High Representative Vice President (from Politics of the European Union)
Image 9Political 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 10The Euro symbol shown as a sculpture outside the European Central Bank (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 11Newest state in yellow (from History of the European Union)
Image 12Organigram 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 13Logo of the European Central Bank (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 14A piece from the original manuscript. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 15Logo of the European Court of Auditors (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 16The fertility rate in the EU was 1.46 in 2022 (Kindergarten in France). (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 17Boris Johnson Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2019 to 2022 (from History of the European Union)
Image 18The Frankish Empire at its greatest extent, ca. 814 AD (from History of the European Union)
Image 19Aristide Briand (from History of the European Union)
Image 20Elaboration by sex (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 21Logo of the Court of Justice of the European Union (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 22Logo of the European Commission (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 23Logo of the European Parliament (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 241922 European flag of the Paneuropean Union (from History of the European Union)
Image 25Meeting in the Hall of Knights in The Hague, during the Congress of Europe (9 May 1948) (from History of the European Union)
Image 26Konrad Adenauer, Walter Hallstein and Antonio Segni, signing the European customs union and Euratom in Rome in 1957 (from History of the European Union)
Image 27Ursula von der Leyen President of the European Commission
(since 1 December 2019) (from History of the European Union)
Image 28Winston 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 29José Manuel Barroso President of the European Commission (2004-2014) (from History of the European Union)
Image 30Signatories of the 2007 declaration in dark blue. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 31The Schuman Parade in Warsaw has been organised by the Schuman Foundation since 1999 (2008 photograph). (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 32Europa regina in Sebastian Münster's "Cosmographia", 1570 (from History of the European Union)
Image 33Population pyramid of the EU 27 in 2023 (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 34Logo of the European Council and the Council of the European Union (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 35A 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 36After 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)