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European Union

European Union. Introduction. The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 27 member states, located primarily in Europe.

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European Union

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  1. European Union

  2. Introduction • The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 27 member states, located primarily in Europe. • It was established by the Treaty of Maastricht, which was signed in February 1992 and came into force in November 1993, on the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community. • With almost 500 million citizens, the EU combined generates an estimated 30% share of the world's nominal gross world product.

  3. Introduction • The EU has developed a single market through a standardised system of laws which apply in all member states, guaranteeing the freedom of movement of people, goods, services and capital. • It maintains a common trade policy, agricultural and fisheries policies, and a regional development policy. • Sixteen member states have adopted a common currency, the euro.

  4. History of EU • After the end of the Second World War, moves towards European integration were seen by many as an escape from the extreme forms of nationalism which had devastated the continent. • The EU traces its origins to the European Coal and Steel Community formed among six countries in 1951 and the Treaty of Rome in 1957. • The European Union was formally established when the Maastricht Treaty came into force on 1 November 1993.

  5. Member states • The European Union is composed of 27 independent sovereign countries which are known as member states: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. • Sovereign – suverénní, svrchovaný

  6. Geography • The EU's member states cover a combined area of 4,422,773 square kilometres. • Its highest peak is Mont Blanc in the Graian Alps, 4807 metres above sea level. • The landscape, climate, and economy of the EU are influenced by its coastline, which is 69,342 kilometres long. • The EU has the world's second longest coastline, after Canada.

  7. Institutions • The European Commission acts as the EU's executive arm and is responsible for initiating legislation and the day-to-day running of the EU. • It is intended to act solely in the interest of the EU as a whole, as opposed to the Council which consists of leaders of member states who reflect national interests. • The commission is also seen as the motor of European integration. It is currently composed of 27 commissioners for different areas of policy, one from each member state. • Solely – výhradně, pouze • Oppose – oponovat, vzdorovat

  8. Institutions • The European Parliament forms one half of the EU's legislature. • The 785 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are directly elected by EU citizens every five years. • Although MEPs are elected on a national basis, they sit according to political groups rather than their nationality. • Each country has a set number of seats.

  9. Institutions • The judicial branch of the EU consists of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and the Court of First Instance. • Together they interpret and apply the treaties and the law of the EU. • The Court of First Instance mainly deals with cases taken by individuals and companies directly before the EU's courts.

  10. Agriculture • The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is one the oldest policies of the European Community and was one of its core aims. • The policy has the objectives of increasing agricultural production, providing certainty in food supplies, ensuring a high quality of life for farmers, stabilising markets and ensuring reasonable prices for consumers.

  11. Infrastructure • The EU is working to improve cross-border infrastructure within the EU, for example through the Trans-European Networks (TEN). • In 2001 it was estimated that by 2010 the network would cover: 75,200 kilometres (46,700 mi) of roads; 78,000 kilometres (48,000 mi) of railways; 330 airports; 270 maritime harbours; and 210 internal harbours. • Maritime - pobřežní

  12. Regional development • There are substantial economical disparities across the EU. • Even corrected for purchasing power, the difference between the richest and poorest regions is about a factor of ten. • Several funds provide emergency aid, support for candidate members to transform their country to conform to the EU's standard.

  13. Environment • The first environmental policy of the European Community was launched in 1972. • Since then it has addressed issues such as acid rain, the thinning of the ozone layer, air quality, noise pollution, waste and water pollution. • The REACH regulation was a piece of EU legislation designed to ensure that 30,000 chemicals in daily use are tested for their safety.

  14. History of EU • Education and science are areas where the EU's role is limited to supporting national governments. • In education, the policy was mainly developed in the 1980s in programmes supporting exchanges and mobility. • The most visible of these has been the ERASMUS programme, a university exchange programme which began in 1987.

  15. Languages • Among the many languages and dialects used in the EU, it has 23 official and working languages: Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Irish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, and Swedish. • Important documents, such as legislation, are translated into every official language. The European Parliament provides translation into all languages for documents and its plenary sessions.

  16. Demographics • The combined population of all 27 member states has been estimated at 495,128,529 in January 2007,this in comparison to approximately 710 million Europeans on the continent as a whole. • There is some increase in population expected, primarily due to net immigration, present in most European countries.

  17. Demographics • The EU's population is 7.3% of the world total, yet the EU covers just 3% of the earth's land, amounting to a population density of 114 /km2 making the EU one of the most densely populated regions of the world. • One third of EU citizens live in cities of over a million people, rising to 80% living in urban areas generally.

  18. The End

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