European Union: Difference between revisions
A list of European cities ranked solely by popuplation within city limits is a misrepresentation of the size of cities. Urban areas should be included too. |
|||
| Line 86: | Line 86: | ||
Since the [[Fall of the Roman Empire]] the ideal of unity has been present in European culture. Since the early modern period, proposals have been made for unions of European [[state]]s in some form, from the 19th century as unions of [[nation-state]]s. The creation of the predecessors to the present European Union was however specific to the years immediately after the [[Second World War]]. |
Since the [[Fall of the Roman Empire]] the ideal of unity has been present in European culture. Since the early modern period, proposals have been made for unions of European [[state]]s in some form, from the 19th century as unions of [[nation-state]]s. The creation of the predecessors to the present European Union was however specific to the years immediately after the [[Second World War]]. |
||
The EU has evolved from a western European trade body into the supranational and intergovernmental body that it is today. After the [[Second World War]], an impetus grew in western Europe for institutional forms of cooperation between states, driven by the determination to rebuild Europe and eliminate the possibility of another [[World War]]. Eastern Europe, on the other hand, was largely within the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[sphere of influence]], and only in the 1990s did the EU see central and eastern European states as potential members. |
The EU has evolved from a western European trade body into the supranational and intergovernmental body that it is today, even though national constituencies have never given politicians a mandate to hollow out the respective national sovereignties. After the [[Second World War]], an impetus grew in western Europe for institutional forms of cooperation between states, driven by the determination to rebuild Europe and eliminate the possibility of another [[World War]]. Eastern Europe, on the other hand, was largely within the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[sphere of influence]], and only in the 1990s did the EU see central and eastern European states as potential members. |
||
In [[1946]] [[Winston Churchill]] called for a "United States of Europe" (though without the inclusion of the UK).<ref>[http://www.winstonchurchill.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=65 Winston Churchill], www.winstonchurchill.org .Accessed January 25, 2007</ref> On [[May 9]] [[1950]], the French foreign minister [[Robert Schuman]] presented a proposal for the joint management of France's and West Germany's coal and steel industries. The proposal, known as the "[[Schuman Declaration]]", envisaged the scheme as "the first concrete step towards a European federation".<ref>[http://europa.eu.int/abc/symbols/9-may/decl_en.htm]</ref> It is considered to be the beginning of the creation of what is now the European Union, and led to the formation of the [[European Coal and Steel Community]] by [[Germany|(West) Germany]], [[France]], [[Italy]] and the [[Benelux]] countries. This was accomplished by the [[Treaty of Paris (1951)|Treaty of Paris]], signed in 1951.<ref>[http://europa.eu/abc/history/index_en.htm History of the European Union], Europa. Accessed January 25, 2007</ref> [[Image:Rometreaty.jpg|thumb|200px|right|The founding nations signing the [[Treaty of Rome]] in 1957]] |
In [[1946]] [[Winston Churchill]] called for a "United States of Europe" (though without the inclusion of the UK).<ref>[http://www.winstonchurchill.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=65 Winston Churchill], www.winstonchurchill.org .Accessed January 25, 2007</ref> On [[May 9]] [[1950]], the French foreign minister [[Robert Schuman]] presented a proposal for the joint management of France's and West Germany's coal and steel industries. The proposal, known as the "[[Schuman Declaration]]", envisaged the scheme as "the first concrete step towards a European federation".<ref>[http://europa.eu.int/abc/symbols/9-may/decl_en.htm]</ref> It is considered to be the beginning of the creation of what is now the European Union, and led to the formation of the [[European Coal and Steel Community]] by [[Germany|(West) Germany]], [[France]], [[Italy]] and the [[Benelux]] countries. This was accomplished by the [[Treaty of Paris (1951)|Treaty of Paris]], signed in 1951.<ref>[http://europa.eu/abc/history/index_en.htm History of the European Union], Europa. Accessed January 25, 2007</ref> [[Image:Rometreaty.jpg|thumb|200px|right|The founding nations signing the [[Treaty of Rome]] in 1957]] |
||
Revision as of 17:06, 21 February 2007
Template:Infobox European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational and intergovernmental union of nation-states[1] in Europe. It was established in 1992 by the Maastricht Treaty, and it is the successor to the six-member European Economic Community founded in 1957. New accessions have raised its membership to 27 member states, and its competences and goals have expanded. The EU is the result of a continuing process of European integration: the end-state of this process is not specified. Eurosceptics fear it will ultimately deprive member states of their sovereignty.
The EU is now the largest political and economic entity on the European continent, with around 493 million people and an estimated GDP of €10,5 trillion.[2] The Union is a customs union and a developing single market, with a common trade policy.[3] It has its own currency, the euro - already adopted by 13 member states. The Union has a Common Agricultural Policy, a Common Fisheries Policy, and a regional Policy to assist poorer regions. It has initiated a Common Foreign and Security Policy, and a limited joint policy on crime.
Important EU institutions and bodies include the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the European Council, the European Central Bank, the European Court of Justice, and the European Parliament. Citizenship of the European Union generally allows citizens to live, travel, work and invest in other member states.[4] EU citizens directly elect the European Parliament, once every five years.
Wikimedia Atlas of the European Union
History
Since the Fall of the Roman Empire the ideal of unity has been present in European culture. Since the early modern period, proposals have been made for unions of European states in some form, from the 19th century as unions of nation-states. The creation of the predecessors to the present European Union was however specific to the years immediately after the Second World War.
The EU has evolved from a western European trade body into the supranational and intergovernmental body that it is today, even though national constituencies have never given politicians a mandate to hollow out the respective national sovereignties. After the Second World War, an impetus grew in western Europe for institutional forms of cooperation between states, driven by the determination to rebuild Europe and eliminate the possibility of another World War. Eastern Europe, on the other hand, was largely within the Soviet sphere of influence, and only in the 1990s did the EU see central and eastern European states as potential members.
In 1946 Winston Churchill called for a "United States of Europe" (though without the inclusion of the UK).[5] On May 9 1950, the French foreign minister Robert Schuman presented a proposal for the joint management of France's and West Germany's coal and steel industries. The proposal, known as the "Schuman Declaration", envisaged the scheme as "the first concrete step towards a European federation".[6] It is considered to be the beginning of the creation of what is now the European Union, and led to the formation of the European Coal and Steel Community by (West) Germany, France, Italy and the Benelux countries. This was accomplished by the Treaty of Paris, signed in 1951.[7]
The first full customs union - the European Economic Community (the Common Market) - was established by the Treaty of Rome in 1957 and implemented on 1 January 1958. This later changed to the European Community, which is now the "first pillar" of the European Union created by the Maastricht treaty.
On 29 October 2004, EU member state heads of government and state signed the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. This was later ratified by 17 member states. However, in most cases ratification was based on parliamentary action, rather than popular vote, and the process faltered on 29 May 2005 when French voters rejected the constitution 55% to 45%. The French rejection was followed three days later by a Dutch one, in which 62% of voters refused the constitution as well.
Geography
The territory of the European Union is formed by the territory of its member states, and expands with the accession of new members. It covers an area of 4,336,790 square kilometres (1,674,444 sq mi). Extending northeast to Finland, northwest to Ireland and southeast from Cyprus to Portugal in the southwest it represents the seventh largest territory in the world by area. It is estimated that the coastline of the European Union is over 150,000km long.
The EU is not coterminous with Europe: significant parts of the continent (e.g. Switzerland, Norway, European Russia) are outside of the EU. The member states of the EU have land borders with 21 other nations. Several overseas territories and dependencies of various member states are also formally part of the EU (e.g. the Azores, Madeira, French Guiana, Martinique, Guadeloupe or the Canary Islands) while in other cases territories associated with member states are not part of the EU (e.g. Greenland, the Faroe Islands, most territories associated to the United Kingdom, Aruba, the Netherlands Antilles or New Caledonia).
Including overseas territories of member states, the EU includes most types of climate from Arctic to tropical. Meteorological averages for the EU as a whole are therefore not meaningful. The majority of the population live in areas with a Mediterranean climate (southern Europe), a temperate maritime climate (western Europe), or a Warm Summer Continental or Hemiboreal climate (in eastern member states).
Member states
The EU describes itself as "a family of democratic European countries".[8] On 23 July 1952, six founding members formed the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), which was transformed into the European Community, later renamed to European Union, in waves of accession:
a 3 October, 1990, the constituent Länder of former East Germany acceded to the former West Germany, automatically becoming part of the EU.
b Greenland, which was granted home rule by Denmark in 1979, left the European Community in 1985, following a referendum
Politics
Supporters of the European Union argue that the growth of the EU is a force for peace and democracy, and that it did prevent wars among members. However, the causal factors of war and peace are a controversial theoretical issue. Others contend that peace in Europe since World War II is the product of other causes, such as the moderating influence of the United States and the Soviet Union within their respective power blocs, and the mutual external threat for the other bloc/alliance, the need for reconstruction after World War II, and a collective temporary tiring of waging war, and that the dictatorships cited came to an end for entirely different reasons.
The nature and future direction of the European Union itself is the central issue in pan-European politics, and a significant issue in the national politics of the member states. General issues include the ultimate size of the Union, limits on new accession, the pace of new accessions, expansion in membership versus internal integration, a future as a political union versus a future as a free trade zone, the geographical limits of "Europe" for membership purposes, and the values and historical-cultural identity of the Union. Internal structure, procedures and policies are themselves subject to constant political debate. Specific issues at present include the status and future of the constitutional treaty; enlargement on the Balkans and Turkish accession; problems of financial probity and democratic accountability; relative economic viability; revision of the rules of the Stability and Growth Pact; and the Common Agricultural Policy.
The Financial Perspective for 2007–2013 was defined in 2005 when EU members agreed to fix the common budget to 1.045% of the European GDP.[9] UK Prime Minister Tony Blair agreed to review the British rebate, negotiated by Margaret Thatcher in 1984. French President Jacques Chirac declared this increase in the budget will permit Europe to "finance common policies" such as the Common Agricultural Policy or the Research and Technological Development Policy. France's demand to lower the VAT in catering was refused.[10] Controversial issues during budget debates include the British rebate, France's benefits from the Common Agricultural Policy, Germany and the Netherlands' large contributions to the EU budget, reform of the European Regional Development Funds, and the question of whether the European Parliament should continue to meet once a month in Strasbourg.
The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE), commonly referred to as the European Constitution, is an international treaty intended to create a constitution for the European Union. The constitution was rejected by France and the Netherlands, where referenda were held[11] causing other countries to postpone or halt their ratification procedures. The constitution now has an uncertain future.[12][13] As of February 2007, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Romania, Slovenia and Spain have ratified the constitutional treaty. Finland, Germany and Slovakia have completed parliamentray procedures required for ratification. Spain and Luxembourg held referenda, thus in those member states the constitution was ratified by popular vote.[14]
Three pillars
The 'pillar' structure created by the Treaty of Maastricht moved the older policies and activities into the 'first pillar, labeled the 'European Communities'. The more controversial new policy areas - foreign policy, security and defence, asylum and immigration, and judicial co-operation - were moved into two new 'pillars'.
European Economic Community
The most prominent policy goal of the European Union is the development and maintenance of an effective single market. Significant efforts have been made to create harmonised standards designed to bring economic benefits through creating larger, more efficient markets. Since the Treaty of Rome, policies have implemented free trade of goods and services among member states, and continue to do so. This policy goal was further extended to three of the four EFTA states by the European Economic Area, EEA. Common EU competition law restricts anti-competitive activities of companies (through antitrust law and merger control) and member states (through the State Aids regime). The EU promotes free movement of capital between member states (and other EEA states). The members have a common system of indirect taxation, the VAT, as well as common customs duties and excises on various products. They have a common external customs tariff, and a common position in international trade negotiations. Other single-market policies include energy market policy and the European Common Aviation Area. The introduction of the Euro, not yet adopted by all member states, created the Eurozone, a single currency area including 13 member states with more than 300 million people. A second major goal has been the free movement of persons. Citizens of member states can live and work anywhere within the EU with their spouses and children, provided they can support themselves. This has been extended to the other EEA states and Switzerland.
In terms of funding, the two major policies are the Common Agricultural Policy (with the Common Fisheries Policy) and the structural and cohesion funds, which improve infrastructure and assist disadvantaged regions. Together they are known as the cohesion policies. The EU also has funds for emergency financial aid, for instance after natural disasters. The funding extends to programmes in candidate countries and other Eastern European countries, as well as aid to many developing countries, through programmes such as Phare, TACIS, ISPA. The EU also funds research and technological development, through four-year Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development.
In a more political sense, the EU attempts to create - with much controversy - a sense of European citizenship and European political life. That includes freedom for citizens of the EU to vote and to stand as candidates in local government and European Parliament elections in any member state.[15] The European Parliament is now attempting to create pan-European political parties, and almost all members have joined at least a federation of national political parties.
Common Foreign & Security Policy
Defence and security are traditionally matters of national sovereignty. EU policies in this area were established as the second of the three pillars in the Maastricht treaty of 1992. The Common Foreign and Security Policy or CFSP were further defined and broadened in the Amsterdam Treaty of 1997. It superseded the European Political Cooperation. The CFSP acknowledges NATO being responsible for territorial defence of Europe and "peace-making". In 1999 the European Council took over responsibilities for the implementation of peace-keeping missions (EUFOR in Bosnia Herzegovina, Congo) and policing of treaties. The supervision is coordinated by the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana.
The European Security and Defence Policy is an element of the CFSP and stipulated the framing for policies that could deal with humanitarian and rescue tasks, and tasks of combat forces. It includes the creation of a 60,000-member European Rapid Reaction Force for peacekeeping purposes, an EU military staff, a European Defence Agency and an EU satellite centre (for intelligence purposes).
Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters
The third of the three pillars of the European Union is focusing on cooperation in criminal matters, including sharing of intelligence (through Europol and the Schengen Information System), agreement on common definition of criminal offences and expedited extradition procedures. It is the EU instrument of law enforcement and combating racism.
It was created as the Justice and Home Affairs pillar in the Treaty of Maastricht; subsequently the Treaty of Amsterdam transferred the areas of illegal immigration, visas, asylum, and judicial co-operation to the integrated first (European Community) pillar. The term Justice and Home Affairs now covers these integrated fields as well as the intergovernmental third pillar.
Institutions and bodies
The EU has no official capital and its institutions are divided between several cities:
- Brussels — seat of the European Commission (staff of about 23,000) and the Council of Ministers. It is also the venue of the European Parliament's (785 members) committee meetings and mini-sessions and (since 2004) the host city for all European Council summits.
- Strasbourg — seat of the European Parliament and venue of its twelve week-long plenary sessions each year. Strasbourg is also the seat of the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights, which are not bodies of the EU.
- Luxembourg — seat of the European Court of Justice (incorporating the Court of First Instance), the European Court of Auditors, the Secretariat of the European Parliament and the European Investment Bank.
- Frankfurt — seat of the European Central Bank (Composing the European System of Central Banks)
- The European Council, which is a regular meeting of the 27 head of member states and the European Commission president is sometimes also listed as an institution, although since it lacks its own staff, budget and the legal powers held by the above 5 institutions, it is better described as a "quasi-institution".
There are also two advisory committees to the institutions; Committee of the Regions, advising on regional issues and the Economic and Social Committee, advising on economic and social policy (principally relations between workers and employers).
A number (currently 32) of more specialised agencies of the European Union, usually set up by secondary legislation, which exist to implement particular policies. Examples are the Europol (the European Police Office), the European Environment Agency, the European Aviation Safety Agency or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market, the Political and Security Committee, established in the context of the Common Foreign and Security Policy, monitoring and advising on international issues of global security.
Law
European Union law is the first and only example of a supranational legal framework. According to the European Court of Justice, in one of its earliest cases, it constitutes "a new legal order of international law".[16] Sovereign nation states, by becoming EU members, pool their authority for the mutual social and economic benefit of their peoples. The principle of subsidiarity means that laws are passed at the regional level where they are more effective when member states take action by themselves, while EU law is supreme in its own fields.
The two main treaties which form the basis of EU law are the Treaty of the European Community, or the Treaty of Rome from 1957, and the Treaty of the European Union, or the Maastricht treaty of 1992. The Treaty of Rome is the so called 'first pillar' of the EU. The "European Community" refers to the competence of the EU to act in the social and economic arena. The Maastricht treaty formed the new European Union, and added two further "pillars". These are a common foreign and security policy and justice and home affairs. In both these fields a consensus among member states is needed to act.
EU law covers a range as broad as many member states themselves.[17] Where a conflict arises between EU law and the law of a member state, EU law takes precedence, so that the law of a member state must be disapplied.[18] Both the provisions of the Treaties, and EU regulations are said to have "direct effect" horizontally. This means private citizens can rely on the rights granted to them (and the duties created for them) against one another. For instance, an air hostess may sue her aeroplane company employer for sexual discrimination.[19] The other main legal instrument of the EU, "directives", have direct effect, but only "vertically". Private citizens may not sue one another on the basis of an EU directive, since these are meant to be addressed to the member state. Directives allow some choice for member states in the way they translate a directive into an act of Parliament, or statutory instrument. Once this has happened citizens may rely on the law that has been implemented. They may only sue the government "vertically" for failing to implement a directive correctly. An example of a directive is the Product liability Directive,[20] which makes companies liable for dangerous and defective products that harm consumers.
Foreign relations
In more recent times, the European Union has been extending its influence to the east. It has accepted several new members that were previously behind the Iron Curtain. It is hoped that in a similar fashion to the entry of Spain, Portugal and Greece in the 1980s, membership for these states will help cement economic and political stability.
The EFTA states of Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein are members of the European Economic Area which allows them to participate in most aspects of the EU single market without acceding to the EU. Switzerland, the fourth EFTA state, rejected EEA membership in a referendum; however, it has established close ties to the EU by means of various bilateral treaties.
The European Union also represents its 27 member states in the World Trade Organization (WTO) through its Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson. The latest WTO negotiation round has currently stalled, in part due to the EU's refusal to curtail the agricultural subsidies it distributes through the Common Agricultural Policy without similar action by other developed countries.
The European Union's influential econonomic status and its nation-like characteristics has been acknowledged by the United States' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in their publication, The World Factbook. The EU was included in the Factbook in December 2004.[21]
Enlargement
Since starting with the six states of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1952, there are now 27 member states in the EU. There have been six enlargements, with the largest occurring on May 1, 2004, when 10 states joined, and the most recent on January 1, 2007, when Bulgaria and Romania joined. In order to join the European Union, a state needs to fulfill the economic and political conditions generally known as the Copenhagen criteria (after the Copenhagen summit in June 1993). That basically requires a secular, democratic government, rule of law and corresponding freedoms and institutions. According to the EU Treaty, each current member state and also the European Parliament have to agree to any enlargement.
Turkey is an official candidate to join the European Union; Turkish European ambitions date back to 1963 Ankara Agreements. Turkey started preliminary negotiations on 3 October 2005. However, analysts believe 2015 is the earliest date the country can join the union because of the large number of economic and social reforms it has to complete, and because the 2007–13 budget takes no account of the considerable costs Turkey's accession will involve.[22] The Cyprus dispute and Turkey's geographic setting are open questions, as only 3% of its territory lies on Europe. However, the Copenhagen criteria do not impose strict geographic conditions. There are also worries about Pope Benedict XVI's view about the "European Identity", as in a cultural, continent-based Christianity, historically opposed by the Ottoman Empire, especially since he was designated as Pope.[23]However, he expressed greater support for Turkey's admission following his late-November visit to the country in 2006. Lately, there have been reports on growing differences between the EU and the Turkish government,[24] including a discontent on the side of the Turkish because they feel as though they are capitulating to the demands of the EU while receiving nothing for their efforts.
Croatia is an official candidate country to join and started accession negotiations in October 2005. In June 2006, the EU officials projected that the accession of Croatia would likely happen in 2009. The closure of negotiations for all chapters of the acquis communautaire is expected towards the end of 2008, with the signing of the Accession treaty and membership happening either in January or May 2009.
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is the latest country to be given official candidate status, as of December 2005.[25] Issues to be resolved include the controversy with Greece over use of the name Macedonia , and the country's poor relations with Bulgaria. Greece has clearly stated that it will veto the Republic's accession unless the name dispute is resolved.
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia are officially recognised as potential candidates. In Norway and Switzerland, however, application for membership was rejected by referendum. Iceland is also often touted as potential applicant but is opposed to the EU's Common Fisheries Policy.
Economy
| >$30,000 >$25,000 | >$20,000 >$15,000 | >$10,000 |
Considered as a single entity, the European Union has the largest economy in the world, with a GDP of 13.4 trillion USD (2005) using Purchasing power parity (PPP). The EU economy has grown at around 2% per annum so far this century. In 2006, it is estimated 3.5 million jobs were created in the Eurozone. Germany, the largest economy in the EU, grew 2.7% in 2006 and is expected to grow at around 2% in 2007. The EU's rate of growth is expected to increase — growth for 2007 is expected to be at 2.7% — especially as new member states are poorer than the EU average, and have the capacity to grow at a higher rate.
EU member states have agreed on a programme called the Lisbon Strategy which aims at making "the EU the world's most dynamic and competitive economy" by 2010.[26] The strategy documents do not indicate how relative success or failure will be measured.
Demographics
The population of the European Union is that of its member states, and changes with each accession (or, more rarely, secession). Each change in membership also affects demographic averages such as life expectancy and fertility rate. The total population of all member countries is approximately 493 million inhabitants as of January 2007. Expected short-term accessions (Croatia) will not substantially increase this figure. Growth in the short term is expected to come from net migration, since deaths will probably outnumber births from around 2010. After 2025, this negative natural increase will probably exceed net immigration, and (discounting new accessions) population is expected to decline gradually.[27]
Largest cities
The European Union is home to more global cities than any other region in the world. Over 16 cities with populations over one million inhabitants, counted in its city proper. Densely populated regions that have no single core but have emerged from the connection of several cites and are now encompassing large metropolitan areas are Rhine-Ruhr app. 10.5 mil. (Cologne, Dortmund, et al.), Randstad app. 7 mil. (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague et al.), Frankfurt Rhine Main Area app. 4 mil. (Frankfurt, Wiesbaden et al.) and the Upper Silesian Industry Area app. 3.5 mil. (Katowice, Sosnowiec et al.).[28]
| City proper | Population City limits in millions |
Density per km² |
Urban area | Population Urban area in millions |
Metro area | Population Metro area in millions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London, UK | 7.5 | 4,761 | Paris, France | 10.1 | London, UK | 12.5 |
| Berlin, Germany | 3.4 | 3,815 | London, UK | 8.5 | Paris, France | 11.7 |
| Madrid, Spain | 3.1 | 1,985 | Madrid, Spain | 5.5 | Rhine-Ruhr, Germany | 10.2 |
| Rome, Italy | 2.5 | 5,198 | Ruhr, Germany | 5.3 | Randstad, Netherlands | 7.0 |
| Paris, France | 2.2 | 24,672 | Barcelona, Spain | 4.5 | Madrid, Spain | 5.8 |
| Bucharest, Romania | 1.9 | 9,131 | Milan, Italy | 3.8 | Barcelona, Spain | 5.3 |
| Hamburg, Germany | 1.8 | 2,310 | Berlin, Germany | 3.7 | Milan, Italy | 4.3 |
| Warsaw, Poland | 1.7 | 3,258 | Rotterdam–The Hague, Netherlands | 3.3 | Berlin, Germany | 4.3 |
| Budapest, Hungary | 1,7 | 3,570 | Athens, Greece | 3.2 | Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Germany | 4.1 |
| Vienna, Austria | 1.7 | 3,931 | Naples, Italy | 2.9 | Athens, Greece | 3.9 |
|
Religion
The significant religious diversity to be found amongst the populations of EU members reflects their diverse history and culture, and the wider European culture of which they are a part. A nominal majority professes Christianity, predominantly Roman Catholicism, Protestantism and Eastern Orthodoxy. Despite this, not all populations have Christian majorities. In the Czech Republic and Estonia, for example, a majority has no religious affiliation.
The recent influx of immigrants to the affluent EU nations has brought in various religions of their native homelands, including Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, the Baha'i faith and Sikhism. Judaism has had a long history in Europe and has coexisted with the native populations for centuries, despite centuries of discrimination against Jewish people and several attendant periods of persecution or genocide by European rulers. As the Christian churches have historically wielded much power in Europe, reaction to this has allowed secularism to plant deep roots on European soil which has contributed to the rise in atheism and agnosticism.
The EU is a secular institution, and God was not mentioned in its proposed constitution, despite pressure from the churches. Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel has promised the Pope that she will use Germany's EU presidency to try to include a reference to Christianity and God in a revived constitution. However, this has provoked opposition, not the least in the German press.[29]
Education and science
The European Commission initiated the ERASMUS programme for higher education. It was established in 1987 and forms a major part of the EU Socrates II programme. Its name is an abbreviation of "European Region Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students" and has been inspired by the life of Desiderius Erasmus. It was incorporated into the Socrates programme when that programme was established in 1995. The Socrates programme ended in 1999 and was replaced with the Socrates II programme in 2000. Other educational programmes include Leonardo (secondary schools), Grundtvig (adult learning) and Arion (teaching decision-makers).
The aim of ERASMUS is to encourage and support academic mobility of higher education students and teachers within the European Union, the European Economic Area countries of Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein as well as the candidate country Turkey. 2,199 higher education institutions are participating in ERASMUS across the 31 countries involved in the Socrates programme. 1.4 million students have already taken part.[30]
Member states of the EU are, along with other European nations and several international NGOs, signatories to the Bologna process. This is an attempt to create a European higher education area, by making academic degree standards and quality assurance standards more comparable and compatible throughout Europe. It is named after the place it was proposed, the University of Bologna with the signing, in 1999, of the Bologna declaration by ministers of education from 29 European countries in the Italian city of Bologna. Governmental meetings have been held in Prague (2001), Berlin (2003) and Bergen (2005); the next meeting will take place in London in Spring 2007.
The Galileo positioning system (or simply 'Galileo'), is a proposed Global Navigation Satellite System, to be built by the European Union and launched by the European Space Agency (ESA). The current project plan has the system as operational by 2010. Several other nations are joining the project co financing the development such as China, Israel, India, Marocco or South Korea. ESA is a non-EU organisation and its membership includes non-EU countries such as Switzerland and Norway. Both countries are, however, within the EFTA. There are ties between those organisations, with various agreements in place and being worked on, to establish the legal status of ESA with regard to the EU.[31] There are common goals between ESA and the EU, and ESA has an EU liaison office in Brussels.
Culture, identity and values
 |
Supporters of European integration often appeal to a European historical narrative, typically including Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, the feudalism of the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Age of Enlightenment, 19th century Liberalism and (sometimes) negative elements such as the World Wars. This history is assumed to be the source of European values. The status of Christianity as 'European heritage' is controversial, and has consequences for the accession of Turkey to the European Union. The European Convention rejected inclusion of a reference in the proposed European Constitution to Christianity and/or God. The text finally adopted in the Preamble reads:
- DRAWING INSPIRATION from the cultural, religious and humanist inheritance of Europe, from which have developed the universal values of the inviolable and inalienable rights of the human person, freedom, democracy, equality and the rule of law,...
Attitudes and values of the EU population are very diverse, influenced by social class, religion, level of education, and ethnicity, and they are not necessarily either European or national in character. The interests of member states are mainly economic and political in nature.
There is no single culture or lifestyle common to the entire EU population. Some are local, national or regional. There are aspects of popular culture which can be found all over the EU, such as football, but none are limited to the EU (they may be equally influential in non-member states in Europe, and some are global).
Cultural policies
The member states have been traditionally reluctant to lose control of cultural policy, given the central role of culture in national identity. Cultural cooperation between member states has become a community competency since its inclusion in 1992 in the Maastricht Treaty. Actions taken in the cultural area by the European Union include the Culture 2000 7-year programme, the European Capital of Culture programme, the European Cultural Month event, the Media Plus programme, experimental actions and the awarding of various grants.
The European Union gave grants to 233 cultural projects in 2004 and launched a webportal dedicated to Europe and Culture, responding to the European Council's expressed desire to see the Commission and the member states "promote the networking of cultural information to enable all citizens to access European cultural content by the most advanced technological means."
Sport
Sport, including spectator sports, is popular in the EU-countries: most popular is football. Cycling, tennis, and field hockey are also sports widely watched and played in the EU countries. Other sports are favourites in fewer countries, such as ice hockey, rugby, handball, and motorsports; and several sports are unique to one or a few countries (e.g. cricket-UK, korfball-Netherlands and Belgium).
Although it recently launched an anti-doping convention, the European Union plays a minor and mostly indirect role in sport policy. Sport is normally considered to be outside the competences conferred by the member states to the European Union. Sport is also organized nationally, on a European continental level (which is not the same as the level of the European Union), or globally. The European Union does not have specific sport policies. The role of the EU could increase, if (for example) the European Constitution were to be ratified.
Other policies of the EU can have an impact on sports though, as famously exemplified by the Bosman ruling, which, among other things, prohibited national football leagues from imposing quotas on foreign players from other EU states. This ruling subsequently forced UEFA to modify the rules for all its European members. The Bosman ruling also gave all EU players the right of free transfer after expiration of their contracts.
Languages
The European Union has 23 official and working languages:[32] Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Irish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish and Swedish. German is the most widely spoken mother tongue followed by English, French, and Italian. English is by far the most spoken foreign language, to the extent that it is arguably in the process of establishing itself as the unofficial lingua franca of the Union. French and German follow next. 56% of EU citizens are able to hold a conversation in one language apart from their mother tongue.[33] All EU official languages belong to the Indo-European language family, except Estonian, Finnish, and Hungarian, which belong to the Finno-Ugric language family, and except Maltese, which is a Semitic language. All EU official languages are written in the latin alphabet, except Bulgarian, written in Cyrillic, and Greek, written in Greek alphabet.[34]
The EU provides interpretation, translation and publication services in its official languages, but only legislation and important documents are produced in all 23 official languages· other documents are translated only into the languages needed. For internal purposes the EU institutions make their own language arrangements. The European Commission, for example, conducts its internal business in English, French and German, and goes fully multilingual only for public information and communication purposes. The European Parliament, on the other hand, has members who need working documents in their own languages, so its document flow is fully multilingual from the outset.[35] In the EU, language policy is the responsibility of member states, but EU institutions, based on the "principle of subsidiarity", promote the teaching and dissemination of the languages of the member states,[36][37] through a number of programmes, most prominently Lifelong learning Programme 2007-2013.
There are about 150 regional and minority languages, spoken by up to 50 million people.[34] Catalan, Galician and Basque, though not official languages, can be used in the communication of the citizens with the Council of the European Union, the Commission, the Economic and Social Committee, the European Parliament and the European Ombudsman, as well as in the workings of the Committee of the Regions.[38] Though regional and minorities languages can benefit from EU programmes, protection of linguistic rights is a matter for the member states.
A wide variety of languages from other parts of the world are spoken by immigrant communities in EU countries. Maghreb Arabic, Urdu, Bengali, Hindi and Balkan languages are spoken in many parts of the EU. Many older immigrant communities are bilingual in the local language and in that of their community. Migrant languages are not given formal status or recognition in the EU or in the EU countries and they are not covered by EU language-teaching programmes.[34]
Infrastructure and energy
The EU has a policy to improve cross-border infrastructure, see Trans-European Networks.
The European Union has legislated in the area of energy policy for many years, and evolved out of the European Coal and Steel Community. The concept of introducing a mandatory and comprehensive European energy policy was approved at the meeting of the European Council on October 27, 2005 in London.
The EU currently imports 82% of its oil and 57% of its gas, making it the world's leading importer of these fuels.[39]
See also
Footnotes
- ^ Vivien Schmidt, 2004. "...the EU is best understood as a regional union of nation-states in which the creative tension between the Union and its member-states ensures both ever- increasing regional integration and ever-continuing national differentiation." EUSA Review Forum: Is the EU Democratic,and Does it Matter? EUSA Review, Winter 2004, p. 3. ISSN 1535-7031 . See also Alan S. Milward, 2005. The European Rescue of the Nation State. 2nd edition. London, Routledge.
- ^ Eurostat News Release 23/2007, 19 February 2007
- ^ EU and US Perspectives on China’s Compliance with Transparency, SSRN, by Paolo Farah, Accessed January 25, 2007
- ^ The Schengen Agreement abolished passport control and customs checks for most member states within EU's internal borders. See Abolition of internal borders and creation of a single EU external frontier", Europa. (Accessed January 24, 2007)
- ^ Winston Churchill, www.winstonchurchill.org .Accessed January 25, 2007
- ^ [1]
- ^ History of the European Union, Europa. Accessed January 25, 2007
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
panoramawas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Template:PDFlink, Council of the European Union, 17 December 2005. Accessed January 25, 2007
- ^ "Poles block EU deal on lower VAT", Times Online, 31 January 2006. Accessed January 24, 2007
- ^ "Varied reasons behind Dutch 'No'", BBC News Online, 1 June 2005. Accessed January 24, 2007
- ^ "Q&A: EU constitution's future", BBC News Online, 10 May 2006. Accessed January 24, 2007
- ^ "EU admits constitution is on ice", BBC News Online, 21 September 2005. Accessed January 24, 2007
- ^ "EU constitution: Where member states stand", BBC News Online, 9 May 2006. Accessed January 24, 2007
- ^ European citizenship, Europa. Accessed January 24, 2007
- ^ Van Gend en Loos v. Nederlanse Administratie Der Belastingen, EU-LEX, Accessed January 25, 2007
- ^ see Article 3 TEU for a list
- ^ in general, see C 6/64, Falminio Costa v. ENEL [1964] ECR 585, 593; in the U.K. see, Factortame Ltd. v Secretary of State for Transport (No. 2) [1991] 1 AC 603; in Germany see Solange II (Re Wuensche Handelsgesellschaft, BVerfG decision of 22 Oct. 1986 [1987] 3 CMLR 225,265); in Italy see Frontini v. Ministero delle Finanze [1974] 2 CMLR 372; in France see, Raoul George Nicolo [1990] 1 CMLR 173
- ^ under Art. 141 TEC, C-43/75 Defrenne v. Sabena [1976] ECR 455
- ^ 85/374/EEC
- ^ Directorate of Intelligence (2004-12-16). "CIA - The World Factbook 2004: What's new (mirror)". Retrieved 2007-02-14.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Q&A: Turkey's EU entry talks", BBC News Online, 4 October 2005. Accessed January 24, 2007
- ^ Magister, Sandro"Europe is Christian, but Turkey's Crescent Moon Shines in its Skies", Chiesa Espress, 15 October 2004.
- ^ "Pulling the rug out from under?", The Economist, Accessed January 24, 2007
- ^ Template:PDFlink, Europa-Enlargement. Accessed January 24, 2007
- ^ The Education and Training Contribution to the Lisbon Strategy, European Commission. Accessed January 24, 2007
- ^ Template:PDFlink, Accessed January 24, 2007
- ^ Indicators for larger urban zones 1999 - 2003, Eurostat. Accessed January 25, 2007
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5337166.stm
- ^ "Table 8: Actual Number of ERASMUS Students by Country of Home institution 1987/88-2004/05" (PDF). Accessed January 24, 2007
- ^ ESA information on its relationship to the EU. [2]
- ^ Council Regulation (EC) No 1791/2006 of 20 November 2006, Official Journal L 363 of December 12, 2006. Retrieved on February 2, 2007.
- ^ European Commission, Template:PDFlink, European Commission website (published online only). See also the Template:PDFlink of this survey. Retrieved February 3, 2007.
- ^ a b c European Commission, Template:PDFlink, Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2004. ISBN 92-894-7759-8. Retrieved on February 3, 2007.
- ^ Europa:Languages and Europe. FAQ: Is every document generated by the EU translated into all the official languages?, Europa portal. Retrieved on February 3, 2007.
- ^ Consolidated version of the Treaty establishing the European Community, Articles 149 to 150, Official Journal C 321E of 29 December 2006. Retrieved on February 1, 2007.
- ^ European Parliament Fact Sheets: 4.16.3. Language policy, European Parliament website. Retrieved on February 3, 2007.
- ^ Mercator Newsletter - n. 29, Mercator Network - Legislation, November 2006. Retrieved on February 2, 2007.
- ^ 'Low-carbon economy' proposed for Europe, www.msnbc.msn.com . Accessed January 24, 2007
References
- EU Law, Text, Cases and Materials, by Paul Craig and Grainne De Burca, 3rd ed., (Oxford University Press 2003) ISBN 0198765096
- The Economist Guide to the European Union (Profile Books 2005) ISBN 978-1-86197-930-8
- Guide to European Policies by Nicholas Moussis (European Study Service, 2005 — 11th ed.) ISBN 978-2-930119-40-3
- Europe Recast: A History of European Union by Desmond Dinan (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004) ISBN 978-0-333-98734-6
- Understanding the European Union 3rd ed by John McCormick (Palgrave Macmillan, 2005) ISBN 978-1-4039-4451-1
- The Institutions of the European Union edited by John Peterson, Michael Shackleton, 2nd edition (Oxford University Press, 2006) ISBN 0198700520
- The Government and Politics of the European Union by Neill Nugent (Palgrave Macmillan, 2002) ISBN 978-0-333-98461-1
- The European Union: A Very Short Introduction by John Pinder (Oxford, 2001) ISBN 978-0-19-285375-2
- The United States of Europe: The New Superpower and the end of American Supremacy by T.R. Reid (Penguin Press, 2004) ISBN 978-1-59420-033-5
- This Blessed Plot: Britain and Europe from Churchill to Blair by Hugo Young (Macmillan, 1998) ISBN 978-0-333-57992-3
- The European Dream: How Europe's Vision of the Future Is Quietly Eclipsing the American Dream by Jeremy Rifkin (Jeremy P. Tarcher, 2004) ISBN 978-1-58542-345-3
- The Great Deception: The Secret History of the European Union by Christopher Booker, Richard North (Continuum International Publishing Group — Academi, 2003) ISBN 978-0-8264-7105-5
- Template:PDFlink by Hans Köchler, Singapore Yearbook of International Law, Vol. 9 (2005), Accessed January 25, 2007
External links
Definitions from Wiktionary
Media from Commons
News from Wikinews
Quotations from Wikiquote
Texts from Wikisource
Textbooks from Wikibooks
Resources from Wikiversity
- Europa.eu — official EU web portal
|
|
|
Member states of the European Union | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
This article may meet Wikipedia's criteria for speedy deletion as a dependent page of a page which has never existed or has been deleted. This does not include pages which are useful to the project such as user subpages and talk pages, talk page archives, information for a future article, redirects that can be retargeted to existing pages, etc. See CSD G8.
If this article does not meet the criteria for speedy deletion, please remove this notice. Administrators: check links, talk, history (last), and logs before deletion. This page was last edited by 82.156.49.1 (contribs | logs) at 17:06, 21 February 2007 (UTC) (17 years ago) |
| System | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Issues | |||
| Agreements |
| ||
| Ministerial Conferences | |||
| People | |||
| Members |
| ||
| |||
Template:Link FA Template:Link FA Template:Link FA Template:Link FA Template:Link FA Template:Link FA