Portal:European Union

Introduction

Portal subpages

Main page Institutions Competences Structural evolution Member states

Welcome to the European Union Portal!

Shortcut

P:EU

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.^{[needs update]}

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...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

edit

Selected article

€2 commemorative coins are special euro coins minted and issued by member states of the Eurozone since 2004 as legal tender. The coins typically commemorate the anniversaries of historical events or draw attention to current events of special importance. Eighteen variations of €2 commemorative coins have been minted. €2 commemorative coins have become collectibles.

The basis for the commemorative coins derived from a decision of the European Council, which repealed the prohibition of changing the national obverse sides of euro coins from 1 January 2004 onwards.

The face value of the coins, typically is less than their intrinsic value of between €3 and €12. The exceptions are San Marino and the Vatican City, where coins from the former are regularly sold for between €30 and €40, while coins from the latter are very rarely obtained for less than €100. Issued designs are made public in the Official Journal of the European Union.

More selected articles...

edit

Selected picture

Garden at Sainte-Adresse

Painting: Claude Monet

The Garden at Sainte-Adresse is an oil-on-canvas painting by the French impressionist painter, Claude Monet. It was painted in 1867 in the French resort town of Sainte-Adresse, where Monet was spending the summer. The models were probably Monet's father Adolphe, his cousin Jeanne Marguerite Lecadre, her father Adolphe Lecadre, and perhaps Lecadre's other daughter, Sophie, the woman seated with her back to the viewer. The painting is composed with flat horizontal bands of colour, which were reminiscent of Japanese colour wood-block prints. The Garden at Sainte-Adresse is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

More selected pictures

edit

Did you know?

...that "Nocturne" is the Eurovision Song Contest winner with the fewest words, the Norwegian language original having only 25?

...that the Eastgate Clock (pictured) in Chester is the second most photographed timepiece in the United Kingdom, after Big Ben?

...that "Kinek mondjam el vétkeimet?" received three perfect scores at the start of voting in the Eurovision Song Contest 1994 before ultimately coming in fourth, making Hungary the only debuting nation to lead the voting?

More did you know...

edit

Selected city

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.

Read more...

More selected cities...

General images

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

Image 1A 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 2The Frankish Empire at its greatest extent, ca. 814 AD (from History of the European Union)

Percentage 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 4A piece from the original manuscript. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 5After 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 6Meeting in the Hall of Knights in The Hague, during the Congress of Europe (9 May 1948) (from History of the European Union)
Image 7Donald Trump President of the United States (from History of the European Union)
Image 8Winston 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 9Population pyramid of the EU 27 in 2023 (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 10Flag of the Western Union (from History of the European Union)
Image 11Logo of the European Commission (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 12Kaja Kallas, High Representative Vice President (from Politics of the European Union)
Image 13Political 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 14The flag of Europe, emblem of both the Council of Europe and the European Union. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 15Signatories of the 2007 declaration in dark blue. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 16The Schuman Parade in Warsaw has been organised by the Schuman Foundation since 1999 (2008 photograph). (from Symbols 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 19Mario Draghi (from History of the European Union)
Image 20The fertility rate in the EU was 1.46 in 2022 (Kindergarten in France). (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 21Logo of the European Central Bank (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 22Aristide Briand (from History of the European Union)
Image 23Coins and banknotes of the Euro, the single-currency introduced from 1999 (from History of the European Union)
Image 24José Manuel Barroso President of the European Commission (2004–2014) (from History of the European Union)
Image 25Logo of the European Parliament (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 26Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy in the European Union in 2019 (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 27Elaboration by sex (from Demographics of the European Union)
Image 28Konrad Adenauer, Walter Hallstein and Antonio Segni, signing the European customs union and Euratom in Rome in 1957 (from History of the European Union)
Image 29Logo of the European Council and the Council of the European Union (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 30Boris Johnson Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2019 to 2022 (from History of the European Union)
Image 31The European Coal and Steel Community's flag. (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 32The Euro symbol shown as a sculpture outside the European Central Bank (from Symbols of the European Union)
Image 33Ursula von der Leyen President of the European Commission
(since 1 December 2019) (from History of the European Union)
Image 34The 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 35Organigram 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 36Newest state in yellow (from History of the European Union)
Image 37Europa regina in Sebastian Münster's "Cosmographia", 1570 (from History of the European Union)
Image 381922 European flag of the Paneuropean Union (from History of the European Union)
Image 39Logo of the European Court of Auditors (from Symbols of the European Union)