The European Union in a nutshell

Vydáno dne 18.03.2009

A brief guide to the European Union.



The European Union in a nutshell

What is the European Union?

The European Union is an organisation of 27 European states. Its headquarters is in Brussels, Belgium.

What is its purpose?

Generally, its purpose is economic integration and common policies.


The member states of the European Union

AustriaFinlandLatviaRomania
BelgiumFranceLithuaniaSlovakia
BulgariaGermanyLuxembourgSlovenia
CyprusGreeceMaltaSpain
The Czech RepublicHungaryThe NetherlandsSweden
DenmarkIrelandPolandThe United Kingdom
EstoniaItalyPortugal

The history of the European Union

The European Union was founded on 1 November 1993. It developed from the European Community. The Maastricht Treaty transformed the European Community into the European Union.

SymbolsFlag of the EU

The main goals of the European Union

The Monetary Union

The EuroThe Euro is the monetary unit of the European Union. It has been in circulation since 1 January 2002.
The Euro is issued by the European Central Bank (located in Frankfurt, Germany).

Currently, 16 countries use the euro:
Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Portugal,Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain
These countries are called The Euro zone (= the area where the euro is used).

The remaining EU members keep their old currency: Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Denmark, Sweden and the UK.

Advantages:

The Czech Republic membership

The Czech Republic has been the EU member since 1 May 2004.

The last enlargement of the EU

2007; Bulgaria, Romania

Current candidate countries

Croatia, Macedonia, Turkey

Structure of the EU - its bodies

The European Commision (Evropská komise)

The Council of the EU (Rada Evropské unie)

The European Parliament

Other EU bodies:

The European Court of Justice (Evropský soudní dvůr)

The European Central Bank (Evropská centrální banka)

What changes does joining the EU bring to the newcomers? What will remain the same? What are the benefits?

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