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| What is the EU? |
The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 27 member states, located primarily in Europe. It was established in 1993 as a result of the signing of the Treaty on European Union (otherwise known as the Maastricht Treaty), adding new areas of policy to the existing European Community. With almost 500 million citizens, the EU combined generates an estimated 30% share of the world's nominal gross domestic product (US$16.8 trillion in 2007).
The EU has developed a single market through a standardized system of laws which apply in all member states, guaranteeing the freedom of movement of people, goods, services and capital.
The European Union member states are: 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.
There are three official candidate countries, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Turkey;
To find out more about each country of the European Union go to our Facts page. |
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Political centers: Brussels, Strasbourg, Luxembourg
Official languages: 23
European Member States: 27
Formation
Paris Treaty - 18 April 1951.
Rome Treaty - 25 March 1957.
Maastricht Treaty - 7 February 1992.
Area
Total: 4,324,782 km² 1,669,807 sq mi
Water (%): 3.08
Population
2008 estimate: 497,198,740
Density: 114/km²
289/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2007 (IMF) estimate
Total: $14.712 trillion
Per capita: $28,213
GDP (nominal) 2007 (IMF) estimate
Total: $16.830 trillion
Per capita: $33,482
Currency: 13
Time zone (UTC+0 to +2)
Summer (DST) (UTC+1 to +3)
More about the European Union in Wikipedia.
More about each country of the European Union in our Facts page.
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