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 Virtuti Militari is Poland's highest military decoration for valor in the face of the enemy. Foreign decorations equivalent to the Virtuti Militari include Britain's Victoria Cross and the U.S. Medal of Honor. It is awarded either for personal heroism or sometimes to commanders representing their units.

Awarded in five classes, the order was created in 1792 by Poland's King Stanisław August Poniatowski. It has been reintroduced, renamed and banned several times, with its fate closely reflecting the vicissitudes of the Polish people. Throughout the decoration's existence, thousands of soldiers and officers, Polish and foreign, several cities and one ship have been awarded the Virtuti Militari for valor or outstanding leadership in war. There have been no new awards since 1989.

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Hall of Mirrors

Photograph: Myrabella

The Hall of Mirrors is the central gallery of the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France. Construction of the room began in 1678, lasting until 1684. It has since been used for various state functions, including the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.

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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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Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece. Named after goddess Athena, Athens is a cosmopolitan metropolis with a population of 3.7 million people. The Athens metropolitan area constitutes the center of economic, financial, industrial, cultural and political life in Greece. The city is also rapidly becoming a business center in the European Union.

Ancient Athens was a powerful polis city-state and a renowned center of learning, home of Plato's Academy and Aristotle's Lyceum. It is often referred to as the cradle of Western civilization, largely due to the impact of its cultural and political achievements during the 5th and 4th centuries BCE on the rest of the then known European Continent. The classical era heritage is still evident in the city, portrayed through a number of ancient monuments and artworks, the most famous being the Parthenon on the Acropolis. Athens was the host city of the first modern-day Olympic Games and, more recently, of the 2004 Summer Olympics.

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General images

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

Image 1Meeting in the Hall of Knights in The Hague, during the Congress of Europe (9 May 1948) (from History of the European Union)
Image 2Signatories of the 2007 declaration in dark blue. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 3Winston Churchill (right, during the Atlantic Conference), consistent advocate of continential European integration, later along with his sun-in-law Duncan Sandys (from History of the European Union)
Image 4Aristide Briand (from History of the European Union)
Image 5Newest state in yellow (from History of the European Union)
Image 6A piece from the original manuscript. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 7The Frankish Empire at its greatest extent, ca. 814 AD (from History of the European Union)
Image 8Boris Johnson Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2019 to 2022 (from History of the European Union)
Image 9Coins and banknotes of the Euro, the single-currency introduced from 1999 (from History of the European Union)
Image 10The fertility rate in the EU was 1.46 in 2022 (Kindergarten in France). (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 11Logo of the European Commission (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 12Hearing of Josep Borrell, High Representative Vice President (from Politics of the European Union)
Image 13Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy in the European Union in 2019 (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 14Logo of the European Parliament (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 15Political 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 16Population pyramid of the EU 27 in 2023 (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 17Logo of the Court of Justice of the European Union (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 18The ordinary legislative procedure of the European Union (from Politics of the European Union)
Image 19José Manuel Barroso President of the European Commission (2004-2014) (from History of the European Union)
Image 20Logo of the European Council and the Council of the European Union (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 21Ursula von der Leyen President of the European Commission
(since 1 December 2019) (from History of the European Union)
Image 22Organigram 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 23A 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 24Logo of the European Central Bank (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 25The Schuman Parade in Warsaw has been organised by the Schuman Foundation since 1999 (2008 photograph). (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 26Flag of the Western Union (from History of the European Union)
Image 27Europa regina in Sebastian Münster's "Cosmographia", 1570 (from History of the European Union)
Image 28The European Coal and Steel Community's flag. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 29The flag of Europe, emblem of both the Council of Europe and the European Union. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 30After 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 31The 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 32Elaboration by sex (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 33The Euro symbol shown as a sculpture outside the European Central Bank (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 34Konrad Adenauer, Walter Hallstein and Antonio Segni, signing the European customs union and Euratom in Rome in 1957 (from History of the European Union)
Image 351922 European flag of the Paneuropean Union (from History of the European Union)
Image 36Logo of the European Court of Auditors (from Symbols of the European Union)