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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While most of the states in the world, and in Europe, are republics (have a directly or indirectly elected head of state), there are still six monarchies in the European Union, whose head of state (a monarch) inherits his or her office, and usually keeps it for life or until they abdicate. At the dawn of the 20^th century, France was the only republic among the future member states of the European Union; the ascent of republicanism to the political mainstream only started at the beginning of the 20^th century.

The European Union's monarchies are: the Kingdom of Belgium, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Kingdom of Spain, and the Kingdom of Sweden.

All six monarchies in the European Union are constitutional monarchies, which means that the monarch does not influence the politics of the state: either the monarch is legally prohibited from doing so, or the monarch does not utilise the political powers vested in the office by convention. There is currently no major campaign to abolish the monarchy in any of the remaining six states, although there is a significant minority of republicans in all of them.

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Väike-Maarja Church

Photograph: Ivar Leidus

Väike-Maarja Church is located at Väike-Maarja in Lääne-Viru County, Estonia. Initially designed as a fortress church, construction began in the 14th century. It has three nave-halls in Gothic style, as well as an organ installed by Gustav Normann and stained-glass windows by Riho Hütt. The original spire collapsed in a 2010 storm, being replaced in 2012.

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Did you know?

...that Romania and Bulgaria became full members of the European Union on January 1, 2007?

...that the European Union's member states combined represent the world's largest economy by GDP, larger than the United States, the People's Republic of China, and Japan, the seventh largest territory in the world by area and the third largest by population after China and India?

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Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated on the Vltava river in central Bohemia, it is home to approximately 1.2 million people. Since 1992, the historic center of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. According to Guinness World Records, Prague Castle is the largest ancient castle in the world.

The land where Prague was to be built has been settled since the Paleolithic Age. Several thousands of years ago, there were trade routes connecting southern parts of Europe to northern Europe which passed through this area, following the course of the river. From around 500 BC the Celtic tribe known as the Boii, were the first known inhabitants of this region known by name. The Boii named the region Bohemia and the river Vltava. In between the 6th and 9th centuries AD the Germanic tribe Marcomanni migrated to Bohemia and other Germanic tribes followed during the 5th century AD, but in the 6th century their elites and majority of inhabitants moved to the Danubian area which enabled a Slavic tribe invading from the West, to settle this area. The Czech Slavic tribe came to Bohemia in the 6th century and Forefather Czech became the founder of the Czech nation.

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General images

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

Image 1A piece from the original manuscript. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 21922 European flag of the Paneuropean Union (from History of the European Union)
Image 3Ursula von der Leyen President of the European Commission
(since 1 December 2019) (from History of the European Union)

Percentage 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 5Newest state in yellow (from History of the European Union)
Image 6Signatories of the 2007 declaration in dark blue. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 7The European Coal and Steel Community's flag. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 8Coins and banknotes of the Euro, the single-currency introduced from 1999 (from History of the European Union)
Image 9The 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 10Logo of the European Council and the Council of the European Union (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 11Political 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 12Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy in the European Union in 2019 (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 13Boris Johnson Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2019 to 2022 (from History of the European Union)
Image 14A 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 15The Schuman Parade in Warsaw has been organised by the Schuman Foundation since 1999 (2008 photograph). (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 16The ordinary legislative procedure of the European Union (from Politics of the European Union)
Image 17Flag of the Western Union (from History of the European Union)
Image 18The flag of Europe, emblem of both the Council of Europe and the European Union. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 19Konrad Adenauer, Walter Hallstein and Antonio Segni, signing the European customs union and Euratom in Rome in 1957 (from History of the European Union)
Image 20Organigram 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 21Logo of the Court of Justice of the European Union (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 22The Frankish Empire at its greatest extent, ca. 814 AD (from History of the European Union)
Image 23Population pyramid of the EU 27 in 2023 (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 24Donald Trump President of the United States (from History of the European Union)
Image 25Logo of the European Central Bank (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 26Aristide Briand (from History of the European Union)
Image 27Elaboration by sex (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 28Europa regina in Sebastian Münster's "Cosmographia", 1570 (from History of the European Union)
Image 29After 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 30Logo of the European Parliament (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 31Logo of the European Court of Auditors (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 32Winston 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 33The Euro symbol shown as a sculpture outside the European Central Bank (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 34Logo of the European Commission (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 35The fertility rate in the EU was 1.46 in 2022 (Kindergarten in France). (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 36José Manuel Barroso President of the European Commission (2004–2014) (from History of the European Union)
Image 37Kaja Kallas, High Representative Vice President (from Politics of the European Union)
Image 38Meeting in the Hall of Knights in The Hague, during the Congress of Europe (9 May 1948) (from History of the European Union)
Image 39Mario Draghi (from History of the European Union)