European Union
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The European Union (EU) / ˌ j ʊ r ə ˈ p iː ə n ˈ j uː n j ə n / is an economic and political union or confederation of 27 member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Economic Community (EEC), formed by six countries in 1958. In the intervening years the EU has grown in size by the accession of new member states, and in power by the addition of policy areas to its remit. The Maastricht Treaty established the European Union under its current name in 1993. The latest amendment to the constitutional basis of the EU, the Treaty of Lisbon, came into force in 2009. The EU operates through a system of supranational independent institutions and intergovernmental negotiated decisions by the member states. Important institutions of the EU include the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the European Council, the Court of Justice of the European Union, and the European Central Bank. The European Parliament is elected every five years by EU citizens. The EU has developed a single market through a standardised system of laws which apply in all member states. Within the Schengen Area (which includes EU and non-EU states) passport controls have been abolished. EU policies aim to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital, enact legislation in justice and home affairs, and maintain common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries and regional development. A monetary union, the eurozone, was established in 1999 and, as of January 2012, is composed of 17 member states. Through the Common Foreign and Security Policy the EU has developed a limited role in external relations and defence. Permanent diplomatic missions have been established around the world and the EU is represented at the United Nations, the WTO, the G8 and the G-20. With a combined population of over 500 million inhabitants, or 7.3% of the world population, the EU generated a nominal GDP of 16,242 billion US dollars in 2010, which represents an estimated 20% of global GDP when measured in terms of purchasing power parity. From Wikipedia under the
GNU Free Documentation License Matching Results for European Union:European Union1996, John Major, EU Beef Ban and the Florence European Council, ... That has enabled the restoration of normal business in the European Union. ... European European (comparative more European, superlative most European) ... Person living or originating from Europe, or sometimes only the European Union. ... Unión Europea European Union [edit] Spanish [edit] Proper noun. Unión Europea f. European Union [edit] See also. UE. Retrieved from "http://en.wiktionary.org ... From Wiktionary under the
GNU Free Documentation License "We do not fear that the operations of time may never bring a united Europe, with a reunited Germany at its centre. We do not know how it will happen, how this unnaturally divided Germany is to become once again. It is obscure to us, and we must take refuge in the belief that history will find ways and means of overcoming the unnatural and restoring the natural: a Germany as a consciously serving member of a Europe united in self-awareness – not as its lord and master... Let us not delude ourselves over the fact that among the difficulties delaying the unification of Europe is a mistrust of the purity of German intentions, a fear by other peoples of Germany and of hegemonic plans that its vital energy may install into it, which in their view it does not conceal very well….It is for the rising German generation, for German youth, to dispel the mistrust, this fear, by rejecting what has long been rejected and clearly and unanimously announcing their desire: not for a German Europe, but for a European Germany."
"We are a very special construction unique in the history of mankind ... Sometimes I like to compare the EU as a creation to the organisation of empire. We have the dimension of empire .. What we have is the first non-imperial empire .. We have 27 countries that fully decided to work together and to pool their sovereignty. I believe it is a great construction and we should be proud of it"
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Computers: Internet: Child Safety Insafe - Site of the European Union's Insafe network, a part of the EU Safer Internet Plus programme. News, press releases and links concerning Internet safety. Arts: Architecture: Education: Academic ... ... An independent institute which provide full-time education at university level, leading to professional qualification in architecture (recognised by the European Union). Regional: Europe: United Kingdom: Society and ... European Union (17) Foreign Policy (3) Freedom of Information (17) Gay Rights (0) GM Food (8) Guns and Gun Control@ (3) Health and Safety (2)
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