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 is often described as a sui generis political entity combining the characteristics of both a federation and a confederation.

Containing 5.5% of the world population in 2023, EU member states generated a nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of around €17.935 trillion in 2024, constituting approximately one sixth of global nominal GDP. 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 Galileo positioning system is a proposed satellite navigation system, to be built by the European Union as an alternative to GPS (which is controlled by the United States military) and the Russian GLONASS. The system should be operational by 2010, two years later than originally anticipated. The first stage of the Galileo program was agreed upon officially on May 26, 2003 by the European Union and the European Space Agency (ESA).

It is named after the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei. The Galileo positioning system should not be referred to as GPS, which refers specifically to the existing United States system, but as "Galileo." Galileo is intended to provide: greater precision to all users, improved coverage of satellite signals at higher latitudes, which northern regions such as Scandinavia will benefit from, a positioning system upon which European nations can rely even in times of war or political disagreement.

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Kourion

Photograph credit: Alexander Savin

Kourion is an ancient city-state on the southwestern coast of the island of Cyprus, located near modern Limassol, that existed from antiquity until the Middle Ages. Built in the 12th century BC by Mycenaeans who took part in the Trojan War, Kourion was later controlled by the Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines. The settlement was placed on a 70-metre-high (230 ft) cliff to ensure the safety of its citizens. The modern archaeological site is managed by the Department of Antiquities of Cyprus and includes the ruins of the stadium and the sanctuary of Apollo Hylates. This photograph depicts the ruins of Kourion's agora, a central public space in the city-state.

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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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Lisbon is the capital and largest city of Portugal. It is the seat of the district of Lisbon and capital of Região Lisboa (Lisbon Region). Lisbon municipality has a population of 564,477, and the Lisbon Metropolitan Area in total has around 2,800,000 inhabitants, the largest urban aglomeration of Portugal. Lisbon Region is the wealthiest region in Portugal and it is well above the European Union's per capita GDP average.

Lisbon hosts two important European Union agencies namely, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). The CPLP (Community of Portuguese Language Countries), is also headquartered in Lisbon.

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General images

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

Image 1The Schuman Parade in Warsaw has been organised by the Schuman Foundation since 1999 (2008 photograph). (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 2The Frankish Empire at its greatest extent, ca. 814 AD (from History of the European Union)
Image 3Logo of the European Court of Auditors (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 4Logo of the European Parliament (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 5Flag of the Western Union (from History of the European Union)
Image 6The Euro symbol shown as a sculpture outside the European Central Bank (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 7A piece from the original manuscript. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 8Logo of the Court of Justice of the European Union (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 9Population pyramid of the EU 27 in 2023 (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 10Kaja Kallas, High Representative Vice President (from Politics of the European Union)
Image 11Signatories of the 2007 declaration in dark blue. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 12Konrad Adenauer, Walter Hallstein and Antonio Segni, signing the European customs union and Euratom in Rome in 1957 (from History of the European Union)
Image 13Winston 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 14Political 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 15The European Coal and Steel Community's flag. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 16Elaboration by sex (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 17Logo of the European Council and the Council of the European Union (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 18Ursula von der Leyen President of the European Commission
(since 1 December 2019) (from History of the European Union)
Image 19Logo of the European Commission (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 20Percentage responding that their country on balance benefited from being a member of the EU at Eurobarometer 2023:

  91–100%

  81–90%

  71–80%

  61–70%

  51–60%

(from Politics of the European Union)
Image 21Boris Johnson Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2019 to 2022 (from History of the European Union)
Image 22Organigram 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 23The ordinary legislative procedure of the European Union (from Politics of the European Union)
Image 24Mario Draghi (from History of the European Union)
Image 25The population density of the EU is 106 people per km². Note that the lights in the North Sea are from oil platforms. (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 26Europa regina in Sebastian Münster's "Cosmographia", 1570 (from History 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 28The flag of Europe, emblem of both the Council of Europe and the European Union. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 291922 European flag of the Paneuropean Union (from History of the European Union)
Image 30Meeting in the Hall of Knights in The Hague, during the Congress of Europe (9 May 1948) (from History of the European Union)
Image 31Newest state in yellow (from History of the European Union)
Image 32Donald Trump President of the United States (from History of the European Union)
Image 33After 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 34A 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 35Coins and banknotes of the Euro, the single-currency introduced from 1999 (from History of the European Union)
Image 36Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy in the European Union in 2019 (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 37José Manuel Barroso President of the European Commission (2004–2014) (from History of the European Union)
Image 38Aristide Briand (from History of the European Union)
Image 39Logo of the European Central Bank (from Symbols of the European Union)