Portal:European Union

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Flag of Europe.svg   Welcome to the European Union Portal!
Shortcut:
Raptus Europae.png
EU Member States' CoA Series- Austria.svg
Royal Arms of Belgium.svg
Insigne Bulgaricum.svg
EU Member States' CoA Series- Croatia.svg
Lesser coat of arms of Cyprus.svg
Small coat of arms of the Czech Republic.svg
National Coat of arms of Denmark no crown.svg
Insigne Estonicum.svg
Coat of Arms of Finland Alternative style.svg
Arms of France (UN variant).svg
Coat of arms of Germany.svg
Lesser coat of arms of Greece.svg
Arms of Hungary.svg
Coat of arms of Ireland.svg
CoA Marina Mercantile.svg
Lesser coat of arms of Latvia (escutcheon).svg
Coat of arms of Lithuania.svg
Arms of Luxembourg.svg
Arms of Malta.svg
Arms of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.svg
Herb Polski.svg
Shield of the Kingdom of Portugal (1481-1910).png
Coat of arms of Romania.svg
Coat of arms of Slovakia.svg
Coat of arms of Slovenia.svg
File-Arms of Spain (corrections of heraldist requests).svg
Armoiries Suède moderne.svg
Arms of the United Kingdom.svg

The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 28 member states that are primarily located in Europe. The EU operates through a system of supranational independent institutions and intergovernmental negotiated decisions by the member states. Institutions of the EU include the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the European Council, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Central Bank, the Court of Auditors, and the European Parliament. The European Parliament is elected every five years by EU citizens.

The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Economic Community (EEC), formed by the Inner Six countries in 1951 and 1958, respectively. In the intervening years, the community and its successors have grown in size by the accession of new member states and in power by the addition of policy areas to its remit. The Maastricht Treaty established the European Union under its current name in 1993. The latest major amendment to the constitutional basis of the EU, the Treaty of Lisbon, came into force in 2009.

Main page Institutions Competences Structural evolution Member states Categories

Selected articleedit
Scottish Parliament detail.jpg

The Scottish Parliament Building is the home of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, within the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Edinburgh. Construction on the building commenced in June 1999 and the Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) held their first debate in the new Parliament on Tuesday, 7 September 2004. The formal opening by Queen Elizabeth II took place on 9 October 2004. Enric Miralles, the Catalan architect who designed the building, died during the course of its construction.

From the outset, the building and its construction proved to be highly controversial. The choice of location, architect, design and construction company were all criticised by politicians, the media and the Scottish public. When it finally opened in 2004, the building was over three years late with an estimated final cost of £431m, higher than initial costings of between £10m and £40m. The building was welcomed by architectural academics and critics. The building conceives a poetic union between the Scottish landscape, its people, its culture and the city of Edinburgh. This approach won the parliament numerous awards including the 2005 Stirling Prize and has been described as "a tour de force of arts and crafts and quality without parallel in the last 100 years of British architecture".

Selected cityedit
Insigne Amstelodamensis.svg

Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands, lies on the banks of two bodies of water, the IJ bay and the Amstel river. Founded in the late 12th century as a small fishing village on the banks of the Amstel, it is now the largest city in the country and is a financial and cultural centre. As of August 1, 2006, the population of the city proper is 741,329; the population of the official Greater Amsterdam area is approximately 1.5 million, but the real agglomeration is estimated at 2 to 2.5 million. Amsterdam is also one of the core urban centres of the greater metropolitan area called "Randstad" (Ring City) which encompasses other Dutch cities and has a population of over 7.5 million.

Amsterdam has one of the largest historic city centres in Europe, dating largely from the 17th century. At this time, a series of concentric, semi-circular canals ("grachten") were dug around the old city centre. Along the canals houses and warehouses were built. The canals still define Amsterdam's layout and appearance today. Amsterdam is famous for its free-spirited liberalism, diversity and tolerance.

Selected pictureedit
Chambord pano.jpg
Photo credit: User:Stevage, User:Yummifruitbat
Panorama of Château de Chambord, France.
Did you know?edit


Featured contentedit
Cscr-featured.svg Members by political system Cscr-featured.svg European Union Portal
Cscr-featured.svg European Parliament Cscr-featured.svg European Commission
Related portalsedit
Europe Eurovision United Nations NATO Brussels ESA
Cartography of Europe.svg EBU Colorbars.svg Emblem of the United Nations.svg Blue compass rose.svg Belgium brussels iris.svg ESA logo simple.svg
Associated Wikimediaedit
The following Wikimedia sister projects provide more on this subject:
Wikibooks  Wikimedia Commons Wikinews  Wikiquote  Wikisource  Wikiversity  Wikivoyage  Wiktionary  Wikidata 
Books Media News Quotations Texts Learning resources Travel guides Definitions Database