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Portal:European Union

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Introduction

  Welcome to the European Union Portal!

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...)

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).

Selected picture

Keizersgracht
The Keizersgracht ("Emperor's Canal" in Dutch), the widest of the three major canals of Amsterdam, at dusk. Located in the city centre, it is named after Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor. The more than one hundred kilometers of canals in Amsterdam, about 90 islands and 1,500 bridges have led the city to being termed the "Venice of the North".

Did you know?

...that France possesses the largest exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the world?

...that Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City all mint their own euro coins, with their own national symbols on the back?

...that Turkey's two most famous weightlifters, Naim Suleymanoglu and Halil Mutlu are only two of four weightlifters in the world to have won 3 gold medals in 3 olympics?

Selected city

Dublin

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.

General images

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

Topics

 Members by political system
 European Parliament
 European Commission

 List of European Union member states by political system
 Sakharov Prize

 European Union Portal

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