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 population of over 449 million as of 2024. The EU is often described as a sui generis political entity combining 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, accounting for approximately one sixth of global economic output. 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 EU's 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. In 2020, the United Kingdom became the only member state to leave the EU; ten countries are aspiring or negotiating to join it. (Full article...)

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The Treaties of Rome are two of the treaties of the European Union signed on March 25, 1957. Both treaties were signed by The Six: Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany.

The first established the European Economic Community (EEC) and the second established the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom). They were the first international organisations to be based on supranationalism, after the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) established a few years prior.

The treaties came into force on 1 January 1958 and the EEC treaty has been amended on numerous occasions (see Treaties of the European Union); It has since been renamed from The Treaty establishing the European Economic Community to the The Treaty establishing the European Community. However the Euratom treaty has seen very little amendment due to the later sensitivity surrounding atomic energy amongst the European electorate.

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Arc de Triomphe

Photo credit: Benh Lieu Song

The Arc de Triomphe at night. Commissioned by Napoleon after the victory in the Battle of Austerlitz, it stands in the middle of the Place Charles de Gaulle, at the western end of the Champs-Élysées. At 51 metres (167 ft) high and 45 m (148 ft) wide, it is the second-largest triumphal arch in the world. The monument honors soldiers throughout French history, and houses the tomb of the unknown soldier.

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Did you know?

... that the presidency of the EU Council rotates every half year?

... that the EU parliamentary election is the world's biggest transnational election?

... that the European Union was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012?

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Riga, the capital of Latvia, is situated on the Baltic Sea coast on the mouth of the River Daugava, at 56°58′N 24°8′E / 56.967°N 24.133°E. Riga is the largest city in the Baltic states. The Historic Centre of Riga has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the city is particularly notable for its extensive Art Nouveau (Jugendstil) architecture, comparable in significance only with Vienna, Saint Petersburg and Barcelona.

The modern founding of Riga is regarded by historians to have begun with the arrival in Latvia of German traders, mercenaries and religious crusaders in the second half of the 12th century, attracted by a sparsely populated region, potential new markets and by the missionary opportunities to convert the local population to Christianity. German merchants established an outpost for trading with the Balts near the Liv settlement at Riga in 1158. The Augustinian monk Meinhard built a monastery there circa 1190.

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General images

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

Image 1The Schuman Parade in Warsaw has been organised by the Schuman Foundation since 1999 (2008 photograph). (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 2The 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 3Konrad Adenauer, Walter Hallstein and Antonio Segni, signing the European customs union and Euratom in Rome in 1957 (from History of the European Union)
Image 4Political 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 5The Euro symbol shown as a sculpture outside the European Central Bank (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 6Logo of the Court of Justice of the European Union (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 7Mario Draghi (from History of the European Union)
Image 8Kaja Kallas, High Representative Vice President (from Politics of the European Union)
Image 9Coins and banknotes of the Euro, the single-currency introduced from 1999 (from History of the European Union)
Image 10José Manuel Barroso President of the European Commission (2004–2014) (from History of the European Union)
Image 11Logo of the European Court of Auditors (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 12The fertility rate in the EU was 1.46 in 2022 (Kindergarten in France). (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 13Winston 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 14Elaboration by sex (from Demographics 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 16Europa regina in Sebastian Münster's "Cosmographia", 1570 (from History of the European Union)
Image 17Aristide Briand (from History of the European Union)
Image 18Logo of the European Parliament (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 19Newest state in yellow (from History of the European Union)
Image 201922 European flag of the Paneuropean Union (from History of the European Union)
Image 21Meeting in the Hall of Knights in The Hague, during the Congress of Europe (9 May 1948) (from History of the European Union)
Image 22Percentage 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 23Population pyramid of the EU 27 in 2023 (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 24Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy in the European Union in 2019 (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 25After 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 26The European Coal and Steel Community's flag. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 27Logo of the European Central Bank (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 28The Frankish Empire at its greatest extent, ca. 814 AD (from History of the European Union)
Image 29A piece from the original manuscript. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 30Flag of the Western Union (from History of the European Union)
Image 31Organigram 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 32Signatories of the 2007 declaration in dark blue. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 33The flag of Europe, emblem of both the Council of Europe and the European Union. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 34Boris Johnson Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2019 to 2022 (from History of the European Union)
Image 35Logo of the European Commission (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 36A 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 37Donald Trump President of the United States (from History of the European Union)
Image 38The ordinary legislative procedure of the European Union (from Politics of the European Union)
Image 39Logo of the European Council and the Council of the European Union (from Symbols of the European Union)