European Union

Frae Wikipedia, the free beuk o knawledge
Circle o 12 gowd starns on a blue backgrund
Banner
Motto: "In Varietate Concordia" (Laitin)
Anthem"Ode tae Joy" (orchestral)
Globe projection wi the European Union in green
CaipitalBrussels (de facto)[1]
Lairgest ceetyParis
Offeecial leids
Offeecial scripts[3]
Releegion
Demonym(s)European[5]
TeepPoleetical an economic union
Member states
GovrenmentSupranaitional an intergovrenmental
Charles Michel
David Sassoli
Ursula von der Leyen
Legislatur
Formation[6]
1 Januar 1958
1 November 1993
1 December 2009
1 Julie 2013
Aurie
• Total
4,475,757 km2 (1,728,099 sq mi) (7t)
• Water (%)
3.08
Population
• 2018 estimate
Increase 512,596,403[7] (3rd)
• Density
117.3/km2 (303.8/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)2019 estimate
• Total
$23.0 trillion[8] (2nt)
• Per capita
$44,854[8]
GDP (nominal)2019 estimate
• Tot
$19.1 trillion[8] (2nt)
• Per capita
$37,360[9]
Gini (2016)positive decrease 30.8[10]
medium
HDI (2017)Increase 0.899[b]
verra heich
CurrencyEuro (EUR; ; in eurozone) an
Time zoneUTC to UTC+2 (WET, CET, EET)
• Summer (DST)
UTC+1 to UTC+3 (WEST, CEST, EEST)
(see an aw Simmer Time in Europe)
Note: wi the exception o the Canary Islands an Madeira, the ootermaist regions observe different time zones nae shawn.[c]
Date formatdd/mm/yyyy (AD/CE)
See an aw: Date an time notation in Europe
Internet TLD.eu[d]
Wabsteid
europa.eu

The European Union (EU) is a group o 27 memmer states that are locatit primarily in Europe.[12][13] The Union wis pitten thegither fir cultural an economic ettils. Monie kintras in the Union bruiks the same siller, the euro.

The EU traces its origins frae the European Coal an Steel Community (ECSC) an the European Economic Community (EEC), formed bi the Inner Sax kintras in 1951 and 1958, respectively. In the intervenin years the commonty an its successors hae grown in size bi the accession o new member states an in pouer bi the addeetion o policy auries tae its remit. The Maastricht Treaty established the European Union unner its current name in 1993.[14] The latest major amendment tae the constitutional basis o the EU, the Treaty o Lisbon, came intae force in 2009.

The EU haes developed a single market throu a standardised seestem o laws that apply in aw member states. Within the Schengen Aurie (which includes 22 EU an 4 non-EU states) passport controls hae been abolished.[15] EU policies aim tae ensur the free movement o fowk, guids, services, an caipital,[16] enact legislation in juistice an home affairs, an maintain common policies on trade,[17] agricultur,[18] fisheries, an regional development.[19]

The monetary union wis established in 1999 and came intae full force in 2002. Hit is currently componed o 18 member states that uise the euro as thair legal tender. Throu the Common Foreign an Security Policy the EU haes developed a role in freemit relations an defence. The union maintains permanent diplomatic missions throughout the warld an represents itself at the Unitit Naitions, the WTO, the G8, an the G-20.

The EU is considered bi mony tae be a potential superpouer. Wi a combined population o ower 500 million indwallers,[7] or 7.3% o the warld population,[20] the EU in 2012 generatit a nominal gross domestic product (GDP) o 16.584 trillion US dollars, constitutin approximately 23% o global nominal GDP an 20% when measured in terms o purchasin pouer parity, which is the lairgest nominal GDP an GDP PPP in the warld.[21] The EU wis the recipient o the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize.[22]

Memmer states[eedit | eedit soorce]

Memmers o the EU:[23]

Yeir o ingang: 1)1958 (founders), 2)1973, 3)1981, 4)1986, 5)1995, 6)2004, 7)2007, 8)2013.

* Eftir the cumin thegither o Germany in 1990, the umwhyl territorie o the GDR jyn'd the European Union.

Croatie wul lyk jyn the EU in 2009, North Macedonie wis makkit a candidate kintra in 2006, an Turkey haes been a canidate kintra in 1999 altho thay didna corrieneuch till 2005.

As o 31st o January 2020 the Uniteet Kinrik isnae longer pairt o the European Union.

Leids o the European Union[eedit | eedit soorce]

Offeicial leids o the European Union[eedit | eedit soorce]

The syn in the ingang o the European Pairliament biggin in Brussels is written in the 20 offeecial leids bruikit in the European Union as o Julie 2006. The offeicial leids o the European Union, as stipulatit in the amendit EEC Council: Regulation Nummer 1 determinin the leids ti be bruikit bi the European Economic Communitie o 1958-04-15,[24] ar: [1] Archived 2006-06-19 at the Wayback Machine

No aw naitional offeicial leids haes bin grantit the status o offeicial leids o the EU. Luxembourgish, an offeecial leid o Luxembourg syn 1984, haesna. Nor haes Turkis, an offeecial leid o Cyprus.

Regional an minoritie leids[eedit | eedit soorce]

Thar's monie mair leids that 's recognised bi the EU (in fak its the Cooncil o Europe, a different organization) as "Regional an Minority Leids". Thir includes the Scots leid an the Scots Gaelic leid as regional leids.

Siller[eedit | eedit soorce]

The creation o a European single siller acame an offeecial objective o the European Economic Community in 1969. Houiver, it wis anly wi the advent o the Maastricht Treaty in 1993 that member states wur legally boond tae stairt the monetary union no later nor 1 Januar 1999. On this date the euro wis duly launched bi eleven o the then 15 member states o the EU. It remained an accoontin currency till 1 Januar 2002, when euro notes an coins wur issued an naitional currencies began tae phase oot in the eurozone, which bi then consisted o 12 member states. The eurozone (constituted bi the EU member states which hae adoptit the euro) haes syne grown tae 18 kintras, the maist recent bein Latvie which jyned on 1 Januar 2014.

Aw ither EU member states, except Denmark are legally boond tae jyn the euro[25] when the convergence criteria are met, houiver anly a few kintras hae set target dates fir accession. Swaden haes circumventit the requirement tae jyn the euro bi nae meetin the membership criteria.[e]

Criticism (Euroscepticism)[eedit | eedit soorce]

A bodie thit is critical o the European Union mey be callit a Eurosceptic. Sic fowk mey oppone membership ootricht (hard Euroscepticism), or juist be critical o wee aspects o the bloc (soft Euroscepticism). Euroscepticism in the Unitit Kinrick is maistlins hard, an can be seen bi the rise o the UK Independence Party (UKIP) an Brexit.[26]

See an aa[eedit | eedit soorce]

Notes[eedit | eedit soorce]

  1. The 24 leids are equally offeecial an acceptit as wirkin leids. Houiver, anerly three o them – Inglish, French an German – hae the heicher status o procedural leids an are uised in the day-tae-day wirkins o the European institutions.[2]
  2. Calculatit uisin UNDP data for the member states wi wechtit population.[11]
  3. Martinique, Guadeloupe (UTC−4); French Guiana (UTC−3); Azores (UTC−1 / UTC); Mayotte (UTC+3); an La Réunion (UTC+4); that, ither than the Azores, dae nae observe DST.
  4. .eu is representative o the hale o the EU; member states an aw hae thair awn TLDs.
  5. In order tae meet the euro convergence criteria it is necessary first tae jyn the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, somethin Swaden haes declined tae dae: "ERM II". Danish Finance Ministry. 20 Mairch 2009. Archived frae the original on 3 Mey 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2009.

References[eedit | eedit soorce]

  1. Cybriwsky, Roman Adrian (2013). Capital Cities around the World: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-61069-248-9. Brussels, the capital of Belgium, is considered to be the de facto capital of the EU
  2. "European Commission – Frequently asked questions on languages in Europe". europa.eu.
  3. Leonard Orban (24 Mey 2007). "Cyrillic, the third official alphabet of the EU, was created by a truly multilingual European" (PDF). europe.eu. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  4. "DISCRIMINATION IN THE EU IN 2015", Special Eurobarometer, 437, European Union: European Commission, 2015, archived frae the original on 17 December 2019, retrieved 15 October 2017 – via GESIS
  5. The New Oxford American Dictionary, Second Edn., Erin McKean (editor), 2051 pages, 2005, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-517077-6.
  6. Current Article 1 of the Treaty on European Union reads: "The Union sall be foondit on the present Treaty an on the Treaty on the Functionin o the European Union. Thae twa Treaties sall hae the same legal vailyie. The Union sall replace an succeed the European Community".
  7. a b "Eurostat – Population on 1 January 2018". European Commission. Retrieved 13 Julie 2018.
  8. a b c "IMF World Economic Outlook Database, October 2018". International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  9. "IMF World Economic Outlook Database, April 2016". International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 17 Apryle 2016.
  10. "Gini coefficient of equivalised disposable income (source: SILC)". Eurostat Data Explorer. Archived frae the original on 4 Mairch 2016. Retrieved 12 Februar 2017.
  11. "Human Development Report 2018 Summary". The United Nations. Retrieved 19 Mairch 2018.
  12. "Basic information on the European Union". European Union. europa.eu. Archived frae the original on 29 September 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
  13. "European". Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved 3 October 2011. 5 b. spec. Designating a developing series of economic and political unions between certain countries of Europe from 1952 onwards, as European Economic Community, European Community, European Union
  14. Craig, Paul (2007). EU Law: Text, Cases and Materials (4th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-19-927389-8. Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); "Treaty of Maastricht on European Union". Activities of the European Union. Europa web portal. Retrieved 20 October 2007.
  15. "Schengen area". Europa web portal. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
  16. European Commission. "The EU Single Market: Fewer barriers, more opportunities". Europa web portal. Retrieved 27 September 2007.
    "Activities of the European Union: Internal Market". Europa web portal. Retrieved 29 Juin 2007.
  17. "Common commercial policy". Europa Glossary. Europa web portal. Archived frae the original on 16 Januar 2009. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
  18. "Agriculture and Fisheries Council". The Council of the European Union. Retrieved 3 Juin 2013.
  19. "Regional Policy Inforegio". Europa web portal. Retrieved 3 Juin 2013.
  20. "European Union reaches 500 Million through Combination of Accessions, Migration and Natural Growth". Vienna Institute of Demography.
  21. "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2013 Edition". International Monetary Fund. October 2013.
  22. "EU collects Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo". British Broadcasting Corporation. 10 December 2012. Retrieved 3 Juin 2013.
  23. "European Countries". Europa web portal. Retrieved 18 September 2010.
  24. Council Regulation (EC) No 1791/2006 of 20 November 2006, Official Journal L 363 of December 12, 2006. Retrieved on 2t Februar, 2007.
  25. Kuchler, Teresa (25 October 2006). "Almunia says 'undesirable' to act on Sweden's euro refusal". EUobserver.com. Retrieved 26 December 2006.
  26. Leconte, Cécile. Understanding euroscepticism. Macmillan international Higher Education, 2010.

Fremmit airtins[eedit | eedit soorce]