European Union

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The European Union or EU is, in part, an inter-governmental and supra-national organisation, made up of European countries, which currently has 25 member states. The Union was established under that name by the Treaty on European Union (commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty) in 1992. However, many aspects of the EU existed before that date through a series of predecessor organisations, dating back to the 1950s.

There are 3 main institutions: The Council of the European Union, the European Parliament, and the European Commission. Each has a President, and each has a specific role and responsibility.

**European Union**^¹
Missing image European_flag.png Flag of the European Union European flag
Motto: In varietate concordia (Latin: Unity in diversity)
Anthem: Ode to Joy (orchestral)

Official languages	See Languages of the European Union^²
Council's President	Jean-Claude Juncker (Luxembourg^³)
Commission President	José Manuel Durão Barroso
Parliament's President	Josep Borrell
Area - Total	Ranked 7th^⁴ 3,976,372 km²
Population - Total (2004) - Density	Ranked 3rd^⁴ 454,900,000 (EU-25) 116.4 people/km²
GDP (PPS) (2004) - Total [1] (http://europa.eu.int/comm/eurostat/newcronos/suite/retrieve/en/theme2/aggs/aggs_gdp/a_gdp_c?OutputDir=EJOutputDir_3888&clientsessionid=CB293B91684B7676B49D266C5283AEBF.extraction-anonymous-worker-1&OutputFile=a_gdp_c.htm&OutputMode=U&OutputMime=text%252Fhtml&) - Per capita [2] (http://europa.eu.int/comm/eurostat/newcronos/suite/retrieve/en/theme2/aggs/aggs_gdp/a_gdp_c?OutputDir=EJOutputDir_3896&clientsessionid=CB293B91684B7676B49D266C5283AEBF.extraction-anonymous-worker-1&OutputFile=a_gdp_c.htm&OutputMode=U&OutputMime=text%252Fhtml&)	Ranked 2nd^⁴ €10,202,336,800,000 €22,300
Formation As EEC - Signed - Enforced As EU - Signed - Enforced	Treaty of Rome - 25 March, 1957 - 1 January, 1958 Maastricht Treaty - 7 February, 1992 - 1 November, 1993
Currencies	The Euro (EUR or €)^⁵
Time zone	UTC 0 to +2^⁶
Internet TLD	.eu (effective in 2005); second level .eu.int in use
Calling Codes	+3^⁷ (proposed)
^{Note 1:} See other official names ^{Note 2:} Member states may have other official languages ^{Note 3:} Until 1 July 2005 ^{Note 4:} if counted as a single unit ^{Note 5:} Used by Eurozone members and EU institutions ^{Note 6:} +1 to +3 during DST; French overseas départements, UTC -4 to +4 ^{Note 7:}Each member state has its own calling code, in zones 3 and 4
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The European Union's activities cover all policy areas, from health and economic policy to foreign affairs and defence. However, the nature of its powers differs between areas. Depending on the powers transferred to it by its member states, the EU therefore resembles a federation (e.g. monetary affairs, agricultural, trade and environmental policy), a confederation (e.g. in social and economic policy, consumer protection, internal affairs), or an international organisation (e.g. in foreign affairs). A key activity of the EU is the establishment and administration of a common single market, consisting of a customs union, a single currency (adopted by 12 of the 25 member states), a Common Agricultural Policy and a Common Fisheries Policy.

On 29 October, 2004, European heads of government signed a Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, which has been ratified by some member states and is currently awaiting ratification by the other member states. However, this process faltered on May 29, 2005 when the people of France voted "non" in a referendum on the Constitution. This forced a change of Prime Minister in France. Their 'non' was followed three days later by a Dutch 'nee' on June 1st when the Netherlands voted against it as well.

Status

The members of the European Union have transferred more sovereignty to that regional organisation than any other members have to any other nonsovereign regional organisation. In certain areas where member states have transferred a degree of sovereignty to the Union, the EU begins to resemble a federation or confederation. However, the member states remain the masters of the Treaties, meaning that the Union does not have the power to transfer additional powers from the member states onto itself without their agreement. Also, the various member states maintain their own policies in key areas of national interest such as foreign relations and defence.

This unique structure perhaps makes the European Union best seen as a sui generis entity.

The current and future status of the European Union is the subject of great political concern within some European Union member states.

Legal base

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Members of the European Coal and Steel Community

The legal base of the European Union is a sequence of treaties between its member states. These have been much amended over the years, with each new treaty amending and supplementing earlier ones. The first such treaty was the Treaty of Paris of 1951 (took effect in 1952) which established the European Coal and Steel Community between an original group of six European countries. This treaty has since expired, its functions taken up by subsequent treaties. On the other hand, the Treaty of Rome of 1957 is still in effect, though much amended since then, most notably by the Maastricht treaty of 1992, which first established the European Union under that name. The most recent amendments to the Treaty of Rome were agreed as part of the Treaty of Accession of the 10 new member states, which entered into force on 1 May 2004.

The EU member states have recently agreed to the text of a new constitutional treaty that, if ratified by the member states, would become the first official constitution of the EU, replacing all previous treaties with a single document. Although accepted by many countries, this document was rejected in a French referendum with a 55% majority on May 29th, and in the Dutch referendum with a 62% majority on June 1st.

If the Constitutional Treaty fails to be ratified by all member states, then it might be necessary to reopen negotiations on it. Most politicians and officials agree that the current pre-Constitution structures are inefficient in the medium term for a union of 25 (and growing) member states. Senior politicians in some member states (notably France) have suggested that if only a few countries fail to ratify the Treaty, then the rest of the Union should proceed without them, possibly creating an "Avant Garde" or Inner Union of more committed member states to proceed with "an ever-deeper, ever-wider union".

See also:

Location of EU institutions

The EU has no official capital and its institutions are divided between several cities:

Brussels is the seat of the European Commission and of the Council of Ministers and hosts the committee meetings and the mini-sessions of the European Parliament. Since the most recent enlargement of the EU, Brussels has held all European Council summits. Thus it is often regarded as the de facto capital of the EU.

Strasbourg is the seat of the European Parliament and is the host for 12 week-long plenary sessions per year. It is also the cradle of the historical institutions of the "large Europe" (Council of Europe, European Court of Human Rights), with which the EU cooperate.

The European Court of Justice and the Parliament's secretariat are based in Luxembourg.

The European Central Bank is located in Frankfurt.

The European Investment Bank is located in Luxembourg.

Current issues

Major issues facing the European Union at the moment include the adoption, abandonment or reflection on a new constitutional treaty, the Union's enlargement to the south and east (see below), the revision of the rules of the Stability and Growth Pact and the Common Agricultural Policy.

In the next Intergovernmental Conference (IGC), which is a semi-annual meeting of EU member states' heads of state and government, EU member states must decide on how it will allocate the EU budget. The EU budget is called the "Financial Perspective," and it is renegotiated every seven years. The next Financial Perspective will be for 2007-2013. Issues that will be controversial during upcoming budget debates will be the British rebate, France's benefits from the Common Agricultural Policy, Germany and the Netherland's large contributions to the EU budget, and reform of the European Regional Development Funds. Many commentators have envisaged these debates to yield a major split between governments, such those of France and Germany, who call for a broader budget and a more federal union (and whose watchword is integration), and governments, such as Britain's, who demand a slimmer budget with more funding transferred to science and research (and whose watchword is modernization).

During the next summit meeting, leaders will also have to decide what to do with the European Constitution. Some countries would like to freeze the ratification process, while others would like to it continue. If 20 out of 25, or four-fifths, of the EU's member states ratify the Constitution, the Constitution is referred to the European Council and the heads of state and government can renegotiate the treaty.

Now that France and the Netherlands have rejected the Constitution, EU leaders can adopt parts of the Constitution in a piecemeal approach in the IGC without putting the changes up for referendum. For some, this action would raise questions about Europe's democratic deficit.

Origins and history

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Signing ceremony of the Treaty of Rome, 1957

Main article: History of the European Union

Attempts to unify the disparate nations of Europe precede the modern nation states; they have occurred repeatedly throughout the history of the continent. Three thousand years ago, Europe was dominated by the Celts, and then conquered and ruled by the mediterranean centered Roman Empire. These early 'european unions' were created by force. The Frankish empire of Charlemagne and the Holy Roman Empire united large areas under a loose administration for hundreds of years. More recently the 1800s customs union under Napoleon and the 1940s conquests of Germany had only transitory existence.

Given Europe's heterogeneous collections of languages and cultures, these attempts usually involved military subjugation of unwilling nations, leading to instability and ultimate failure. One of the first proposals for peaceful unification through cooperation and equality of membership, was made by the pacifist Victor Hugo in 1851. Following the catastrophes of the First World War and the Second World War, the impetus for the founding of (what was later to become) the European Union greatly increased, driven by the desire to rebuild Europe and to eliminate the possibility of another such war ever arising. This sentiment eventually led to the formation of the European Coal and Steel Community by (West) Germany, France, Italy and the Benelux countries. This was accomplished by the Treaty of Paris, signed in April, 1951, and taking effect in July, 1952.

The first full customs union was originally known as the European Economic Community (informally called the Common Market in the UK), established by the Treaty of Rome in 1957 and implemented on 1 January 1958. This later changed to the European Community which is now the "first pillar" of the European Union. The EU has evolved from a trade body into an economic and political partnership. For more details, please see History of the European Union.

Methods

To accomplish its aims, the European Union attempts to form infrastructure that crosses state borders. Harmonised standards create a larger, more efficient market – member states can form a single customs union without loss of health or safety. For example, states whose people would never agree to eat the same food might still agree on standards for labelling and cleanliness.

The power of the European Union reaches far beyond its borders, because to sell within it, it is beneficial to conform to its standards. Once a non-member country's factories, farmers and merchants conform to EU standards, most of the costs of joining the union have been sunk. At that point, harmonising laws to become a full member creates more wealth (by eliminating the customs costs) with only the tiny investment of actually changing the laws.

Regarding non-economic issues, supporters of the European Union argue that the EU is also a force for peace and democracy. Wars that were a periodic feature of the history of Western Europe have ceased since the formation of the EEC as it then was. In the early 1970s, Greece, Portugal and Spain were all dictatorships, but the business communities in these three countries wanted to be in the EU and this created a strong impetus for democracy there. Others argue that peace in Europe since WW2 owes more to the threat from the Soviet Union and that the dictatorships would have ended anyway.

In more recent times, the European Union continues to extend its influence to the east. It has accepted several new members that were previously behind the Iron Curtain, and has plans to accept several more in the medium-term. It is hoped that in a similar fashion to the entry of Spain, Portugal and Greece, membership for these states will help cement economic and political stability.

Further eastward expansion also has long-term economic benefits, but the remaining European countries are not viewed as currently suitable for membership, especially the troubled economies of countries further east. Eventually including states that are currently politically unstable will, it is hoped, help deal with the lingering consequences of such problems as the Yugoslav wars, or avoid such conflicts as the Cyprus dispute in the future.

As the EU continues to enlarge eastward, the candidate countries' accessions grow more controversial. The EU has already finished accession talks with Bulgaria and Romania, and set tentative entry dates for the two countries in 2007 or 2008. France and the Netherland's rejection of the EU Constitution and the EU's slow economic growth have cast doubt on whether the EU will be ready to accept new members in 2007.

A further point of contention for EU members is the Turkey question. Accession talks between Turkey and the EU are supposed to begin early October. Citizens of France, Germany, the Netherlands, and other long-time members of the EU are fearful of Turkey joining the EU. Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has enacted many legal reforms to meet the EU's entry requirements. Turkey's entry into the EU would, de facto, resolve the conflict over Cyprus' disputed territory.

Member states and successive enlargements

Main articles: European Union member states, Enlargement of the European Union, Countries bordering the European Union, Membership criteria.

The European Union has 25 member states, an area of 3,892,685 km² and approximately 460 million EU citizens as of December 2004. Were it a country, it would be the seventh largest in the world by area and the third largest by population after China and India.

Map of EU member states, 2007 admissions and candidate countries

Since its inception with six countries, nineteen further states have since then joined in successive waves of enlargement:

The signing ceremony for the admittance of new member states in Athens, Greece in 2004

Year	Country
1952	Belgium, France, (West) Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands (founding members)
1973	Denmark, Ireland, the United Kingdom
1981	Greece
1986	Portugal, Spain
1990	East Germany reunites with West Germany and becomes part of the EU
1995	Austria, Finland, Sweden
2004	Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia

Note:

Greenland, which was granted home rule by Denmark in 1979, left the European Community in 1985, following a referendum.

Future members, other countries

Croatia is an official candidate to join the European Union, although negotiation talks have been postponed for the time being.

Turkey is the only other official candidate, though with a less definitive estimate for an accession date. There exists, however, considerable resistance in several current members to the membership of Turkey. Further information about future enlargements can be found in the Enlargement of the European Union article.

Romania and Bulgaria are scheduled to become members on 1 January 2007 if they meet the conditions for membership and the Accession treaty is ratified by the member states. The law ratifying Romania's Accession Treaty to the European Union was passed on 30 April 2005, at Victoria Palace, the headquarters of the Romanian Government.

Iceland,Norway and Switzerland are not member states but do have special agreements with the Union. (See the third country relationships with the EU article).

Most European Free Trade Association members are parties to the EEA-treaty (the European Economic Area), which means that these countries are participants in the single market.

Status of overseas territories

Some areas have connections or associations to EU member states through a colonial past, cultural links, or geographic placement. For the status in relation to the EU, of Greenland, the Isle of Man, the Azores and Madeira, amongst others, see the article on Special member state territories and their relations with the EU.

Economic status

Main article: Economy of the European Union

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EU-GDP-Population.png

Diagram showing the population and GDP per capita of EU member states and candidates

In 2004 the EU had the largest economy in the world with a GDP of US$ 12.48 trillion.[3] (http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2004/02/data/dbcoutm.cfm?SD=2004&ED=2004&R1=1&R2=1&CS=3&SS=2&OS=C&DD=0&OUT=1&C=946-137-122-181-124-138-964-182-423-935-128-936-961-939-184-172-132-134-174-144-944-178-136-112-941&S=NGDPD&CMP=0&x=41&y=4). The European Union continues to enjoy a significant trade surplus. However, as of 2004 the European Union has been suffering stagnant economic growth and high unemployment (averaged across the Union).

The EU economy is expected to grow further over the next decade as more countries join the union - especially considering that the new States are usually poorer than the EU average, and hence the expected fast GDP growth will help achieve the dynamic of the united Europe. However, GDP per capita of the whole Union will fall over the short-term. In the long-term, the EU's economy suffers from significant demographic challenges, with a below-replacement birth rate.

Standard of living

Below is a table and three graphs showing, respectively, the GDP (PPP), the GDP (PPP) per capita and the GDP (nominal) per capita for the European Union and for each of its 25 member states. This can be used as a rough gauge to the relative standards of living among member states. The two future members Bulgaria and Romania are also included in the table. The data set is for the year 2005 and graphs are for the year 2004. All 2005 data are projections.

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GDP (PPP) per capita 2004 showing countries above and below EU average

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GDP (PPP), 2004

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EU-GDP-PPP-pc.png

GDP (PPP) per capita, 2004

Acceding Countries	GDP (PPP) millions of int. dollars	GDP (PPP) per capita int. dollars	GDP (nominal) per capita int. dollars
Member States	GDP (PPP) millions of int. dollars	GDP (PPP) per capita int. dollars	GDP (nominal) per capita int. dollars
European Union	12,329,110	25,700	30,615
Template:LUX	30,674	66,821	77,595
Template:IRL	164,190	40,003	50,303
Template:DNK	187,721	34,781	49,182
Template:AUT	267,053	32,962	39,292
Template:BEL	324,299	31,549	37,730
Template:FIN	161,099	30,818	39,098
Template:NLD	498,703	30,363	38,320
Template:UK	1,825,837	30,309	38,098
Template:DEU	2,498,471	30,150	35,075
Template:SWE	267,427	29,537	42,392
Template:ITA	1,694,706	29,414	31,874
Template:FRA	1,811,561	29,203	35,727
Template:ESP	1,026,340	24,803	27,074
Template:SVN	43,260	21,695	17,706
Template:GRC	236,311	21,529	21,017
Template:CYP	16,745	20,669	21,161
Template:MLT	7,909	20,015	14,001
Template:PRT	203,947	19,949	18,105
Template:CZE	198,976	19,475	12,304
Template:HUN	162,289	16,627	10,978
Template:EST	22,239	16,461	9,112
Template:SVK	87,129	16,110	9,305
Template:LTU	49,106	14,198	6,853
Template:POL	512,890	13,275	8,082
Template:LVA	30,227	12,886	6,559
Template:BUL	71,381	9,205	3,347
Template:ROM	183,162	8,258	3,600

Source: CIA World Factbook [4] (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ee.html)
All other figures, source: IMF web site (2005 GDP PPP (http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2005/01/data/dbcoutm.cfm?SD=2005&ED=2005&R1=1&R2=1&CS=3&SS=2&OS=C&DD=0&OUT=1&C=941-946-137-122-181-124-138-964-182-423-935-128-936-961-939-184-172-132-134-174-144-944-178-136-112&S=PPPWGT&CMP=0&x=80&y=8), 2005 per capita GDP PPP (http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2005/01/data/dbcoutm.cfm?SD=2005&ED=2005&R1=1&R2=1&CS=3&SS=2&OS=C&DD=0&OUT=1&C=941-946-137-122-181-124-138-964-182-423-935-128-936-961-939-184-172-132-134-174-144-944-178-136-112&S=PPPPC&CMP=0&x=31&y=6), 2005 per capita GDP, current prices (http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2005/01/data/dbcoutm.cfm?SD=2005&ED=2005&R1=1&R2=1&CS=3&SS=2&OS=C&DD=0&OUT=1&C=941-946-137-122-181-124-138-918-964-182-968-423-935-128-936-961-939-184-172-132-134-174-144-944-178-136-112&S=NGDPDPC&CMP=0&x=41&y=14)).

Structure

European Union law comprises a large number of overlapping legal and institutional structures. This is a result of its being defined by successive international treaties. In recent years, considerable efforts have been made to consolidate and simplify the treaties, culminating with the final draft of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. If this proposed treaty is adopted, it will replace the set of overlapping treaties that form the current constitution of the EU with a single text.

The role of the European Community within the Union

The term European Community (or Communities) was used for the group of members prior to the establishment of the European Union. At present, the term continues to have significance, but in a different context. The "European Community" is one of the three pillars of the European Union, being both the most important pillar and the only one to operate primarily through supranational institutions. The other two pillars – Common Foreign and Security Policy, and Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters – are looser intergovernmental groupings. Confusingly, these latter two concepts are increasingly administered by the Community (as they are built up from mere concepts to actual practice).

What most people think of as the European Union is essentially the European Community. The Community is an actual body, including the European institutions (European Parliament, Council of the European Union, European Commission), whilst the European Union is a less tangible grouping of institutions and agreements.

If it is ratified, the proposed new Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe would abolish this dual structure, bringing all the Community's activities under the auspices of the European Union and transferring the Community's legal personality to the Union.

Evolution of the structures of the European Union.

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Institutional framework

The European Union has several institutions:

The European Parliament (732 members 750 max.)
The Council of the European Union (or 'Council of Ministers') (25 members)
The European Commission (25 members)
The European Court of Justice (incorporating the Court of First Instance) (25 judges (& 25 judges of CFI))
The European Court of Auditors (25 members)

The European Council (25 members) is not an institution, but a "quasi-institution".

There are several financial bodies:

European Central Bank (which alongside the national Central Banks, composes the European System of Central Banks)
European Investment Bank (including the European Investment Fund)

The treaties have also established several advisory committees to the institutions:

Committee of the Regions, advising on regional issues.
Economic and Social Committee, advising on economic and social (principally relations between workers and employers)
Political and Security Committee, established in the context of the Common Foreign and Security Policy, monitoring and advising on international issues of global security.

There is also a great number of bodies which were established by secondary legislation (i.e. not by the treaties) in order to implement particular policies. These are the agencies of the European Union. Some of these are the European Environment Agency, the European Aviation Safety Agency and the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market. In the context of the third pillar (Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters), Europol and Eurojust have been created.

Lastly, the European Ombudsman watches for abuses of power by EU institutions.

Inter-governmentalism and supra-nationalism

A basic tension exists within the European Union between inter-governmentalism and supra-nationalism. Inter-governmentalism is a method of decision-making in international organisations where power is possessed by the member-states and decisions are made by unanimity. Independent appointees of the governments or elected representatives have solely advisory or implementational functions. Inter-governmentalism is used by most international organisations today.

An alternative method of decision-making in international organisations is supra-nationalism. In supra-nationalism power is held by independent appointed officials or by representatives elected by the legislatures or people of the member states. Member-state governments still have power, but they must share this power with other actors. Furthermore, decisions are made by majority votes, hence it is possible for a member-state to be forced by the other member-states to implement a decision against its will.

Some forces in European Union politics favour the intergovernmental approach, while others favour the supranational path. Supporters of supra-nationalism argue that it allows integration to proceed at a faster pace than would otherwise be possible. Where decisions must be made by governments acting unanimously, decisions can take years to make, if they are ever made. Supporters of inter-governmentalism argue that supra-nationalism is a threat to national sovereignty, and to democracy, claiming that only national governments can possess the necessary democratic legitimacy. Inter-governmentalism is being favoured by more Eurosceptic nations such as the United Kingdom, Denmark and Sweden; while more integrationist nations such as the Benelux countries, France, Germany, and Italy have tended to prefer the supranational approach.

The European Union attempts to strike a balance between the two approaches. This balance however is complex, resulting in the often labyrinthine complexity of its decision-making procedures.

Starting in March 2002, a Convention on the Future of Europe again looked at this balance, among other things, and proposed changes. These changes were discussed at an Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) in May 2004 and agreement reached on a Constitutional Treaty, which will require ratification by each of the member states.

Supranationalism is closely related to the inter-governmentalist vs. neofunctionalist debate. This is a debate concerning why the process of integration has taken place at all. Inter-governmentalists argue that the process of EU integration is a result of tough bargaining between states. Neofunctionalism, on the other hand, argues that the supranational institutions themselves have been a driving force behind integration. For further information on this see the page on Neofunctionalism.

Main policies

As the changing name of the European Union (from European Economic Community to European Community to European Union) suggests, it has evolved over time from a primarily economic union to an increasingly political one. This trend is highlighted by the increasing number of policy areas that fall within EU competence: political power has tended to shift upwards from the member states to the EU.

This picture of increasing centralisation is counter-balanced by two points.

First, some member states have a domestic tradition of strong regional government. This has led to an increased focus on regional policy and the European regions. A Committee of the Regions was established as part of the Treaty of Maastricht.

Second, EU policy areas cover a number of different forms of co-operation.

Autonomous decision making: member states have granted the European Commission power to issue decisions in certain areas such as competition law, State Aid control and liberalisation.
Harmonisation: member state laws are harmonised through the EU legislative process, which involves the European Commission, European Parliament and Council of the European Union. As a result of this European Union Law is increasingly present in the systems of the member states.
Co-operation: member states, meeting as the Council of the European Union agree to co-operate and co-ordinate their domestic policies.

The tension between EU and national (or sub-national) competence is an enduring one in the development of the European Union. (See also Inter-governmentalism vs. Supra-nationalism (above), Euroscepticism.)

All prospective members must enact legislation in order to bring them into line with the common European legal framework, known as the Acquis Communautaire. (See also European Free Trade Association (EFTA), European Economic Area (EEA) and Single European Sky.) See table of states participating in some of the initiatives.

Single market

Internal aspects

Free trade of goods and services among member states (an aim further extended to three of the four EFTA states by the European Economic Area, EEA)
A common EU competition law controlling anti-competitive activities of companies (through antitrust law and merger control) and member states (through the State Aids regime).
The Schengen treaty allowed removal of internal border controls and harmonisation of external controls between its member states. This excludes the UK and Ireland, which have derogations, but includes the non-EU members Iceland and Norway.
Freedom for citizens of its member states to live and work anywhere within the EU, provided they can support themselves (also extended to the other EEA states).
Free movement of capital between member states (and other EEA states).
Harmonisation of government regulations, corporations law and trademark registrations.
A single currency, the Euro (excluding the UK, and Denmark, which have derogations). Sweden, although not having a specific opt-out clause, has not joined the ERM II, voluntarily excluding itself from the monetary union.
A large amount of environmental policy co-ordination throughout the Union.
A Common Agricultural Policy and a Common Fisheries Policy.
Common system of indirect taxation, the VAT, as well as common customs duties and excises on various products.
Funding for the development of disadvantaged regions (structural and cohesion funds).
Funding for research.

External aspects

A common external customs tariff, and a common position in international trade negotiations.
Funding for programmes in candidate countries and other Eastern European countries, as well as aid to many developing countries.

Co-operation and harmonisation in other areas

Freedom for its citizens to vote in local government and European Parliament elections in any member state.
Co-operation in criminal matters, including sharing of intelligence (through EUROPOL and the Schengen Information System), agreement on common definition of criminal offences and expedited extradition procedures.
A common foreign policy as a future objective, however this has some way to go before being realised. The divisions between the member states (in the letter of eight) and then-future members (in the Vilnius letter) during the run up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq highlights just how far off this objective could be before it becomes a reality.
A common security policy as an objective, including the creation of a 60,000-member European Rapid Reaction Force for peacekeeping purposes, an EU military staff and an EU satellite centre (for intelligence purposes).
Common policy on asylum and immigration.
Common funding of research and technological development, through four-year Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development. The Sixth Framework Programme is running from 2002 to 2006.

Partial bibliography

Europe Recast: A History of European Union by Desmond Dinan (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004) ISBN 0333987349
The Great Deception: The Secret History of the European Union by Christopher Booker, Richard North (Continuum International Publishing Group - Academi, 2003) ISBN 0826471056
Understanding the European Union 2nd ed by John McCormick (Palgrave Macmillan, 2002) ISBN 033394867X
The Institutions of the European Union edited by John Peterson, Michael Shackleton (Oxford University Press, 2002) ISBN 0198700520
The Government and Politics of the European Union by Neill Nugent (Palgrave Macmillan, 2002) ISBN 0333984617
The European Union: A Very Short Introduction by John Pinder (Oxford, 2001) ISBN
The United States of Europe: The New Superpower and the end of American Supremacy by T.R. Reid (Penguin Press, 2004) ISBN 1594200335
This Blessed Plot: Britain and Europe from Churchill to Blair by Hugo Young (Macmillan, 1998) ISBN 0333579925

External links and references

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The European Union On-Line (http://europa.eu.int/)

Official EU website, europa.eu.int, in the official languages. Some subpages:

European Commission - Maps of Europe (http://europa.eu.int/comm/mediatheque/multimedia/select/maps_en.html)
Press conferences and speech audio (http://europa.eu.int/comm/mediatheque/audio/index_en.html) (MP3 and RealAudio).
EUR-LEX - EU law and proposed legislation (http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/index.html)
Green Paper on a numbering policy for telecommunications (+3 country call code proposal) (http://europa.eu.int/en/record/green/gp9611/index.htm)
EU Policy on China (http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/china/intro/)

Other sites

CIA World Factbook entry (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ee.html)
EU versus USA (http://www.timbro.com/euvsusa/) - Study comparing GDP and growth (available in PDF)
EurActiv.com (http://www.euractiv.com/) Independent media portal dedicated to EU affairs
EU in the USA (http://www.eurunion.org/) - EU delegation to the US
Center for European Integration Studies (http://www.zei.de/zei_startseite_neu/startseite_e.htm) (ZEI) - Research Institute focusing on the EU
Dadalos, International UNESCO Education Server for Civic, Peace and Human Rights Education: Basic Course on the EU (http://www.dadalos-europe.org/)
EU Observer (http://www.EUobserver.com/) - News website focusing on the EU
Euronews (http://www.euronews.net/) - Multilingual public TV news channel run by ITN
EU News (http://eunews.euroesprit.org/) - European Union News
BBC News: Inside Europe (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/europe/2003/inside_europe/) guide to the changing face of the EU
Guardian Unlimited Special Report: European Union (http://www.guardian.co.uk/eu/) guide and ongoing news
LookSmart - European Union (http://search.looksmart.com/p/browse/us1/us317836/us552286/us554374/us526499/us526505/us531057/) directory category
Open Directory Project - European Union (http://dmoz.org/Society/Government/Multilateral/Regional/European_Union/) directory category
Yahoo - European Union (http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Regions/Europe/Government/European_Union__EU_/) directory category
S.C. European Society - Oxford University (1950s) (http://europeansociety.tripod.com/) World's oldest?

European Union History

The Messina Declaration 1955 final document of The Conference of Messina 1 to 3 June 1955 - birth of the European Union (http://www.eu-history.leidenuniv.nl/index.php3?m=10&c=52)

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