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 population of over 449 million as of 2024. 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, accounting for approximately one sixth of global economic output. 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 EU's 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. In 2020, the United Kingdom became the only member state to leave the EU; 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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Christiansborg Palace

Photograph: Julian Herzog

Christiansborg Palace is a building in the Danish capital, Copenhagen. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament, the Office of the Prime Minister, and the Supreme Court. The first castle on the site was Absalon's Castle, built in 1167 by the bishop Absalon and demolished in 1370, after King Valdemar was defeated by the Hanseatic League. By the end of the 14th century Copenhagen Castle was built on the site but that too was demolished in 1731. The first Christiansborg was then built, on the orders of King Christian VI, becoming the largest palace in northern Europe on its completion in 1745. It was destroyed in 1794 by fire, and replaced by the second Christiansborg. That too burned down in 1884, eventually being replaced by the current building, which was built between 1907 and 1928. The modern building is neo-Baroque in style, although the 19th-century neoclassical chapel and the original Baroque riding grounds remain, having survived the fires.

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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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Rome is the capital of Italy and of its region, called Lazio. It is located across the confluence of the Tiber and Aniene rivers. It was once the capital of the Roman Empire, the most powerful, largest and longest lasting empire of classical Western civilization. The Vatican, a sovereign enclave within Rome, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Church and the home of the Pope.

Rome is the largest comune in Italy and it is also one of the largest European capital cities in land area, with an area of 1,285 square kilometers. Within the city limits, the population is about 2.5 million; almost 3.8 million live in the urbanised area of Rome, as represented by the province of Rome, making it second in population to Milan. With a gross domestic product of €97 billion in the year 2005, Rome produced 6.7% of Italy's GDP.

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General images

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

Image 1Newest state in yellow (from History of the European Union)
Image 2After 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 3Winston 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 4The Frankish Empire at its greatest extent, ca. 814 AD (from History of the European Union)
Image 5The Schuman Parade in Warsaw has been organised by the Schuman Foundation since 1999 (2008 photograph). (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 6Population pyramid of the EU 27 in 2023 (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 7Europa regina in Sebastian Münster's "Cosmographia", 1570 (from History of the European Union)
Image 8Political 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 9Logo of the European Commission (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 10José Manuel Barroso President of the European Commission (2004–2014) (from History of the European Union)
Image 11Signatories of the 2007 declaration in dark blue. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 12Aristide Briand (from History of the European Union)
Image 13Organigram 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 14Logo of the European Court of Auditors (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 15Donald Trump President of the United States (from History of the European Union)
Image 161922 European flag of the Paneuropean Union (from History of the European Union)
Image 17Elaboration by sex (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 18Logo of the Court of Justice of the European Union (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 19A piece from the original manuscript. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 20Kaja Kallas, High Representative Vice President (from Politics of the European Union)
Image 21Logo of the European Council and the Council of the European Union (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 22The Euro symbol shown as a sculpture outside the European Central Bank (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 23Percentage 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 24Logo of the European Central Bank (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 25The European Coal and Steel Community's flag. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 26The ordinary legislative procedure of the European Union (from Politics of the European Union)
Image 27Logo of the European Parliament (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 28Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy in the European Union in 2019 (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 29Coins and banknotes of the Euro, the single-currency introduced from 1999 (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 31The fertility rate in the EU was 1.46 in 2022 (Kindergarten in France). (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 32The 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 33Ursula von der Leyen President of the European Commission
(since 1 December 2019) (from History of the European Union)
Image 34Boris Johnson Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2019 to 2022 (from History 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 36The flag of Europe, emblem of both the Council of Europe and the European Union. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 37Mario Draghi (from History of the European Union)
Image 38Flag of the Western Union (from History of the European Union)
Image 39Konrad Adenauer, Walter Hallstein and Antonio Segni, signing the European customs union and Euratom in Rome in 1957 (from History of the European Union)