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 448 million. The EU has often been described as a sui generis political entity (without precedent or comparison) combining the characteristics of both a federation and a confederation.

Containing 5.8% of the world population in 2020, EU member states generated a nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of around US$16.6 trillion in 2022, constituting approximately one sixth of global nominal GDP. Additionally, all EU states except Bulgaria have a very high Human Development Index according to the United Nations Development Programme. 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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The Maserati MC12 is a grand tourer produced by Maserati to allow a racing variant to compete in the FIA GT Championship. The car entered production in 2004 with 25 cars produced. A further 25 were produced in 2005 making a total of 50 cars available for customers, all of which were pre-sold for €600 000. Maserati designed and built the car on the chassis of the Enzo Ferrari but the final car is much larger. The MC12 is longer, wider and taller than the Enzo Ferrari, however the Enzo has faster acceleration and a higher top speed.

The MC12 was developed to signal Maserati's return to racing after 37 years. The road version was produced to homologate the race version. One of the requirements for participation in the FIA GT is the production of at least 25 road cars. Three GT1 race cars were entered into the FIA GT with great success. Maserati began racing the MC12 in the FIA GT toward the end of the 2004 season, achieving a victory at the Zhuhai International Circuit.

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Lietava Castle

Photograph credit: Vladimír Ruček

Lietava Castle is an extensive ruined castle in the Súľov Mountains of northern Slovakia. It was built some time in the 13th century, most likely as an administrative and military centre. It occupies a strategic position alongside the Amber Road, a trade route along which amber and other goods were transported southwards from the Baltic Sea. Originally a four-storey tower, it was expanded and reconstructed under a succession of owners, before being abandoned in the seventeenth century. The ruins contain handsome fireplaces, wall inscriptions, coats of arms, and renaissance portals, which attest to its previous grandeur.

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Did you know?

...that Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City all mint their own euro coins, with their own national symbols on the back, despite not being EU members?

...that Slovenia joined the Euro on January 1, 2007?

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Lisbon is the capital and largest city of Portugal. It is the seat of the district of Lisbon and capital of Região Lisboa (Lisbon Region). Lisbon municipality has a population of 564,477, and the Lisbon Metropolitan Area in total has around 2,800,000 inhabitants, the largest urban aglomeration of Portugal. Lisbon Region is the wealthiest region in Portugal and it is well above the European Union's per capita GDP average.

Lisbon hosts two important European Union agencies namely, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). The CPLP (Community of Portuguese Language Countries), is also headquartered in Lisbon.

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General images

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

Image 1The flag of Europe, emblem of both the Council of Europe and the European Union. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 2Population pyramid of the EU 27 in 2023 (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 3The population density of the EU is 106 people per km². N.B. the light in the North Sea, as well as much of Norway, is from Routine flaring not human habitation. (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 4The Schuman Parade in Warsaw has been organised by the Schuman Foundation since 1999 (2008 photograph). (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 5Konrad Adenauer, Walter Hallstein and Antonio Segni, signing the European customs union and Euratom in Rome in 1957 (from History of the European Union)
Image 6Elaboration by sex (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 7Meeting in the Hall of Knights in The Hague, during the Congress of Europe (9 May 1948) (from History of the European Union)
Image 8Aristide Briand (from History of the European Union)
Image 9Flag of the Western Union (from History of the European Union)
Image 10Organigram 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 11The ordinary legislative procedure of the European Union (from Politics of the European Union)
Image 12Logo of the European Court of Auditors (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 13A piece from the original manuscript. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 14Coins and banknotes of the Euro, the single-currency introduced from 1999 (from History of the European Union)
Image 15Ursula von der Leyen President of the European Commission
(since 1 December 2019) (from History of the European Union)
Image 16Boris Johnson Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2019 to 2022 (from History of the European Union)
Image 17Logo of the European Central Bank (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 18The fertility rate in the EU was 1.46 in 2022 (Kindergarten in France). (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 19Signatories of the 2007 declaration in dark blue. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 20Logo of the Court of Justice of the European Union (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 21José Manuel Barroso President of the European Commission (2004-2014) (from History of the European Union)
Image 22Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy in the European Union in 2019 (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 23Political groups of the European Parliament in the Louise Weiss building after the election 2014:
  Group of the European People's Party (EPP)
  Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D)
  Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE)
  European Greens–European Free Alliance (Greens/EFA)
  European United Left–Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL)
  European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR)
  Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD)
  Non-Inscrits (NI)
(from Politics of the European Union)
Image 24After 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 25The European Coal and Steel Community's flag. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 26The Frankish Empire at its greatest extent, ca. 814 AD (from History of the European Union)
Image 27Hearing of Josep Borrell, High Representative Vice President (from Politics of the European Union)
Image 28The Euro symbol shown as a sculpture outside the European Central Bank (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 29Europa regina in Sebastian Münster's "Cosmographia", 1570 (from History of the European Union)
Image 301922 European flag of the Paneuropean Union (from History of the European Union)
Image 31Newest state in yellow (from History of the European Union)
Image 32Logo of the European Council and the Council of the European Union (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 33A 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 34Logo of the European Commission (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 35Winston 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 36Logo of the European Parliament (from Symbols of the European Union)