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The European Union (EU) is a supranational and intergovernmental union of twenty-seven states in a category of its own. It was established in 1992 by the Treaty on European Union (The Maastricht Treaty), and is the de facto successor to the six-member European Economic Community founded in 1957. Since then new accessions have raised its number of member states, and competences have expanded.

The EU is one of the largest economic and political entities in the world, with 494 million people and a combined nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of 11.6 (US$14.5) trillion in 2006.[1] The Union is a single market with a common trade policy,[2] a Common Agricultural/Fisheries Policy, and a Regional policy to assist underdeveloped regions.[3] It introduced a single currency, the euro, adopted by 13 member states. The EU initiated a limited Common Foreign and Security Policy, and a limited Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters.

Important EU institutions and bodies include the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the European Council, the European Central Bank, the European Court of Justice, and the European Parliament. Citizens of EU member states are also EU citizens: they directly elect the European Parliament, once every five years. They can live, travel, work, and invest in other member states (with some restrictions on new member states). Passport control and customs checks at most internal borders were abolished by the Schengen Agreement

The EU has evolved from a Western European trade body into the supranational and intergovernmental body that it is today. After the Second World War, an impetus grew in Western Europe for institutional forms of cooperation (through social, political and economic integration) between states, driven by the determination to rebuild Europe and eliminate the possibility of another war between Germany and France. Eastern Europe, on the other hand, was largely within the Soviet sphere of influence, and only in the 1990s did the EU see central and Eastern European states as potential members.

In 1946 Winston Churchill called for a "United States of Europe" (though without the inclusion of the UK).[5] On 9 May 1950 the French foreign minister Robert Schuman presented Jean Monnet's proposal for the joint management of France's and West Germany's coal and steel industries. The proposal, known as the "Schuman Declaration", envisaged the scheme as "the first concrete step towards a European federation".[6] It is considered to be the beginning of the creation of what is now the European Union, and 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 1951.[7]

The founding nations signing the Treaty of Rome in 1957The first full customs union - the European Economic Community - was established by the Treaty of Rome in 1957 and implemented on 1st January 1958. This later changed to the European Community, which is now the "first pillar" of the European Union created by the Maastricht treaty.

On 29 October 2004, EU member state heads of government and state signed the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. This was later ratified by 17 member states. However, in most cases ratification was based on parliamentary action, rather than popular vote, and the process faltered on 29 May 2005 when French voters rejected the constitution 55% to 45%. The French rejection was followed three days later by a Dutch one, in which 62% of voters rejected the constitution as well.

[edit] Geography

22 member countries are influenced by extensive coastlines and oceanic climate, (Mediterranean, Greece)Main articles: Geography of the European Union and Geography of Europe The territory of the European Union is formed by the territory of its twenty-seven member states, and expands with the accession of new members. It covers an area of 4,422,773 square kilometres (1,707,642 sq mi).[8] Extending northeast to Finland, northwest to Ireland, southeast to Cyprus and southwest to Portugal, it represents the seventh largest territory in the world by area. It is estimated that the coastline of the European Union is over 150,000 km long.

The EU is not coterminous with Europe: significant parts of the continent (e.g. Switzerland, Norway, European Russia) are outside of the EU. The member states of the EU have land borders with 21 other nations. Several overseas territories and dependencies of various member states are also formally part of the EU (e.g. the Azores, Madeira, French Guiana, Martinique, Guadeloupe or the Canary Islands) while in other cases territories associated with member states are not part of the EU (e.g. Greenland, the Faroe Islands, most territories associated to the United Kingdom, Aruba, the Netherlands Antilles or New Caledonia).

Including overseas territories of member states, the EU includes most types of climate from Arctic to tropical. Meteorological averages for the EU as a whole are therefore not meaningful. The majority of the population live in areas with a Mediterranean climate (southern Europe), a temperate maritime climate (Western Europe), or a warm summer continental or hemiboreal climate (in eastern member states).

Languages

The Latin alphabet is used in all but three of the twenty-seven member states, the exceptions being Greece, Cyprus and Bulgaria.Main article: Languages of the European Union The European Union has 23 official and working languages:[31] Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Irish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish and Swedish. German is the most widely spoken mother tongue followed by English, French, and Italian. English is by far the most spoken foreign language. German and French follow next. 56% of EU citizens are able to hold a conversation in one language apart from their mother tongue.[32] All EU official languages belong to the Indo-European language family, except Estonian, Finnish, and Hungarian, which belong to the Finno-Ugric language family, and except Maltese, which is a Semitic language. All EU official languages are written in the Latin alphabet, except Bulgarian, written in Cyrillic, and Greek, written in Greek alphabet.[33]

The EU provides interpretation, translation and publication services in its official languages, but only legislation and important documents are produced in all 23 official languages; other documents are translated only into the languages needed. For internal purposes the EU institutions make their own language arrangements. The European Commission, for example, conducts its internal business in English, French and German, and goes fully multilingual only for public information and communication purposes. The European Parliament, on the other hand, has members who need working documents in their own languages, so its document flow is fully multilingual from the outset.[34] In the EU, language policy is the responsibility of member states, but EU institutions, based on the "principle of subsidiarity", promote the teaching and dissemination of the languages of the member states,[35][36] through a number of programmes, most prominently Lifelong learning Programme 2007-2013.

Translation booths in the EU Parliament are on the front-side walls.There are about 150 regional and minority languages, spoken by up to 50 million people.[33] Catalan, Galician, and Basque, though not official languages, can be used in the communication of the citizens with the Council of the European Union, the Commission, the Economic and Social Committee, the European Parliament and the European Ombudsman, as well as in the workings of the Committee of the Regions.[37] Though regional and minorities languages can benefit from EU programmes, protection of linguistic rights is a matter for the member states.

A wide variety of languages from other parts of the world are spoken by immigrant communities in EU countries. Turkish, Maghreb Arabic, Russian, Urdu, Bengali, Hindi, Ukrainian, and Balkan languages are spoken in many parts of the EU. Many older immigrant communities are bilingual in the local language and in that of their community. Migrant languages are not given formal status or recognition in the EU or in the EU countries and they are not covered by EU language teaching programmes.[33]

[edit] Religion

Predominant religious heritage in European countries Protestantism

Roman Catholicism

Orthodox ChristianityFurther information: Religion in Europe The EU is an officially secular institution, hence neither God, nor Christianity was mentioned in its proposed constitution, in spite of pressure from the churches. Most of the Member States are secular states, although a small minority are not (the United Kingdom, Denmark, Greece and Finland) and others have references to Christianity in their own constitutions while officially remaining secular (e.g. the Irish Republic). Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel has promised the Pope that she will use her influence during Germany's EU presidency to try to include a reference to Christianity and God in a revived constitution. However, this has provoked opposition, not the least in the German press.[38]

A significant religious diversity exists among the populations of EU member states, reflecting their diverse history and culture. Nowadays, religion is on the decline in Europe, to an effect that not all populations have religious majorities. In the Czech Republic and Estonia, for example, a majority has no religious affiliation. The most common belief in the EU is Christianity, which can be roughly divided into Roman Catholicism, a wide range of Protestant churches and Eastern Orthodoxy. The Christian churches have historically wielded much power in Europe. As a reaction during the enlightenment, secularism was developed as a political system, allowing for a rise in atheism and agnosticism.

Judaism has had a long history in Europethere were Jewish communities in parts of Europe prior to the rise of the Roman Empire. As of 2002, the European Union had an estimated Jewish population of something over a million, including about 519,000 in France and about 273,500 in the United Kingdom. This compares with about 5 million Jews in Israel.[39] In view of the, history of persecution of Jews in Europe; antisemitism remains a matter of concern within the EU.[40] For instance, a British parliamentary enquiry into antisemitism found that, though the prevailing opinion within and outside the Jewish community had, until recently, been that antisemitism existed only on the margins of society, there was evidence that this may have changed since 2000.[41]

The recent influx of immigrants to the EU nations has brought in various religions of their native homelands, including Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, the Bah' Faith and Sikhism.

[edit] Education and science

Lund University main building, built in 1882, SwedenMain article: Education in the European Union The European Commission initiated the ERASMUS programme for higher education. It was established in 1987 and forms a major part of the EU Socrates II programme. Its name is an abbreviation of "European Region Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students" and has been styled after the life of Desiderius Erasmus. It was incorporated into the Socrates programme when that programme was established in 1995. The Socrates programme ended in 1999 and was replaced with the Socrates II programme in 2000. Other educational programmes include Leonardo (secondary schools), Grundtvig (adult learning) and Arion (teaching decision-makers).

The stated aim of ERASMUS is to encourage and support academic mobility of higher education students and teachers within the European Union, the European Economic Area countries of Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein as well as the candidate country Turkey. 2,199 higher education institutions are participating in ERASMUS across the 31 countries involved in the Socrates programme. 1.4 million students have already taken part.[42]

The Ariane 5 is an expendable launch systemMember states of the EU are, along with other European nations and several international NGOs, signatories to the Bologna process. This is an attempt to create a European higher education area, by making academic degree standards and quality assurance standards more comparable and compatible throughout Europe. It is named after the place it was proposed, the University of Bologna with the signing, in 1999, of the Bologna declaration by ministers of education from 29 European countries in the Italian city of Bologna. Governmental meetings have been held in Prague (2001), Berlin (2003) and Bergen (2005); the next meeting will take place in London in Spring 2007.

The Galileo positioning system (or simply 'Galileo'), is a proposed Global Navigation Satellite System, to be built by the European Union and launched by the European Space Agency (ESA). The current project plan has the system as operational by 2010. Several other nations are joining the project co financing the development such as China, Israel, India, Morocco or South Korea. ESA is a non-EU organisation and its membership includes non-EU countries such as Switzerland and Norway. Both countries are, however, within the EFTA. There are ties between those organisations, with various agreements in place and being worked on, to establish the legal status of ESA with regard to the EU.[43] There are common goals between ESA and the EU, and ESA has an EU liaison office in Brussels.

The EU is also sponsoring a large number of research projects aimed at academics and institutes, organised in frameworks of calls. From 2007 the EU has opened its 7th framework for grant applications.

[edit] Culture

Two cities are the European Capital of Culture in 2007 - Sibiu, RomaniaMain article: Cultural policies of the European Union Supporters of European integration often appeal to a European historical narrative, typically including Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, the feudalism of the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Age of Enlightenment, 19th century Liberalism and (sometimes) negative elements such as the World Wars. This history is assumed to be the source of European values. The status of Christianity as 'European heritage' is controversial, and has consequences for the accession of Turkey to the European Union. The European Convention rejected inclusion of a reference in the proposed European Constitution to Christianity and/or God. The text finally adopted in the Preamble reads:

DRAWING INSPIRATION from the cultural, religious and humanist inheritance of Europe, from which have developed the universal values of the inviolable and inalienable rights of the human person, freedom, democracy, equality and the rule of law,... Attitudes and values of the EU population are very diverse, influenced by social class, religion, level of education, and ethnicity, and they are not necessarily either European or national in character. The interests of member states are mainly economic and political in nature.

The cultural capitals are designated for a period of one year (Luxembourg)There is no single culture or lifestyle common to the entire EU population. Some are local, national or regional. There are aspects of popular culture which can be found all over the EU, such as football, but none are limited to the EU (they may be equally influential in non-member states in Europe, and some are global).

Cultural cooperation between member states has become a community competency since its inclusion in 1992 in the Maastricht Treaty. Actions taken in the cultural area by the European Union include the Culture 2000 7-year programme, the European Capital of Culture programme, the European Cultural Month event, the Media Plus programme, experimental actions and the awarding of various grants.

The European Union gave grants to 233 cultural projects in 2004 and launched a webportal dedicated to Europe and Culture, responding to the European Council's expressed desire to see the Commission and the member states "promote the networking of cultural information to enable all citizens to access European cultural content by the most advanced technological means."

[edit] Sport

Football is the most popular sport in EU countries (Camp Nou in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain)Main article: Sport policies of the European Union Sports, including spectator sports, are popular in EU countries: the most popular is football. Cycling, tennis, water polo, and field hockey are also widely watched and played in the EU. Other sports are favorites in fewer countries, such as ice hockey, rugby, handball, and motorsports; and several sports are unique to one or a few countries (e.g. cricket in the UK, hurling, Gaelic handball and Gaelic football in Ireland and korfball in the Netherlands and Belgium).

Although it recently launched an anti-doping convention, the European Union plays a minor and mostly indirect role in sport policy. Sports are normally considered to be outside the competences conferred by the member states to the European Union. Sports are also organized nationally, on a European continental level (which is not the same as the level of the European Union), or globally. The European Union does not have specific sports policies. The role of the EU could increase, if (for example) the European Constitution were to be ratified.

Yet other policies of the EU can have an impact on sports, as famously exemplified by the Bosman ruling, which, among other things, prohibited national football leagues from imposing quotas on foreign players from other EU states. This ruling subsequently forced UEFA to modify the rules for all its European members. The Bosman ruling also gave all EU players the right of free transfer after expiration of their contracts.

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Four months after the violence in Kasese district, which culminated in the incidents of 26-27 November 2016, the European Union regrets that the Ugandan authorities have not yet launched a comprehensive independent investigation.

The European Union firmly deplores the attacks perpetrated over the past years against state representatives including police. At the same time, the EU notes with concern the Human Rights Watch report Uganda: Ensure Independent Investigation into Kasese Killings released on 15 March, raising serious questions about disproportional use of force by the security forces, leading to more than 100 civilian casualties, including children.

The European Union notes the Governments statement that Uganda has no lack of independent investigative capacity. We therefore call on the competent authorities to immediately conduct the necessary field investigation, ensuring strong witness protection and protection of evidence. We stand ready to support such efforts.

We also note that the Government considers the ongoing Court case against the Omusinga to be the appropriate process for delivering justice. For justice to be impartial and complete, the conduct of the security forces during the raid on the Obusinga Bwa Rwenzururu palace should also be subject to scrutiny, with their full cooperation.

The European Union believes a failure to fully investigate this tragedy will perpetuate.insecurity, undermine the rule of law and deny the families their right to know the truth. As a strong partner to Uganda, we believe justice for victims on all sides is a prerequisite for peace and development.

The EU and its Member States present in Uganda: European Union Delegation Austria Belgium Denmark France Germany Ireland Italy Netherlands Sweden United Kingdom

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The situation in Kasese District: Statement by the European Union - ReliefWeb

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While the plans have been considered by fringe Europhile diehards for decades as a means to force European military unity, the idea of taking over the nuclear weapons already possessed by EUmember states for the common good have never been taken seriously. However, a flurry of articles in recent weeks discussing the plans and a resurgence of interest has caused concern prompting presidential candidate Marine Le Pen to speak out against the idea.

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According to the claims, these fringe European defence theorists are speaking up for the plans in the wake of the election of President Donald J. Trump, as European leaders look for defence alternatives should they fail to maintain their NATO commitments, and therefore jeopardise their relationship with the U.S.

While Britains withdrawal from the EU would preclude the independent nuclear deterrent being co-opted by Brussels, the approximately 300 French warheads will for now remain within the political reach of the Union.

Speaking at a campaign event on Saturday, Le Pen slammed the present diminished state of French defence, and called any attempts by the EU to seize elements of member states defence apparatus totalitarian. She said:

France, throughout her history, has rarely been so disarmed. Of course, we still have but for how long? our nuclear deterrent.

I hear voices who talk in favour of a gloomy project which would lead to sharing our nuclear deterrent on a European scale. This would be madness and a crime against France, her safety, her power and her independence.

For decades now, we have denounced the totalitarian drift of the European Union. It is therefore out of the question to enable this supranational techno structure to gain access to any kind of military capacity!

This would mean an intolerable threat to the fundamental freedom of the people of Europe.

Marine Le Pen has hit out repeatedly at the EU in recent weeks,most recently saying she would work with Britain, Poland, and Hungary to dismantle the continental power bloc. The FN leader said in the future each country is free and sovereign to defend their own interests.

Follow Oliver Lane on Facebook, Twitter: or e-mail: olane[at]breitbart.com

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Le Pen: 'Totalitarian' European Union Plan to Become Nuclear-Armed Power 'Madness' - Breitbart News

ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 16, 2017 /3BL Media/ The Conflict-Free Sourcing Initiative (CFSI), a coalition of leading companies dedicated to improving the security and human rights conditions in their raw materials supply chains, welcomes the European Union (EU) regulation on supply chain due diligence obligations for EU importers of tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold (3TG). The new regulation was approved today by the European Parliament and will next go before the European Council.

The EU regulation will require importers of 3TG to undertake due diligence in line with the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas (OECD Guidance). The regulation will apply directly to between 600 and 1,000 EU importers and will indirectly affect approximately 500 3TG smelters and refiners globally. The new regulation will take effect on Jan. 1, 2021.

Over the past several years the CFSI has been working with representatives from the European Commission, Council and Parliament to help companies understand the requirements and accompanying measures of the new law, as well as how current due diligence support systems can be leveraged to support compliance under the EU regulation.

To facilitate the acceptance and application of the CFSIs Conflict-Free Smelter Program (CFSP) in the EU framework, the CFSI is currently undergoing a pilot assessment for OECD alignment that is designed to inform a Delegated Act of the EU regulation. The OECD-led Alignment Assessment assesses the alignment of industry programs standards, systems, and implementation efforts with the OECD Guidance. The OECD Alignment Assessment pilot is anticipated to be completed in 2017.

The utilization of collaborative industry platforms in the EU framework will be a critical factor in harmonizing systems, maintaining company engagement, and managing costs to supply chain actors as the EU requirements go into effect, said CFSI Program Director Leah Butler. Responsible sourcing requires the efforts of all stakeholders: governments, companies, industry associations, non-governmental entities and civil society. These actors should continue their efforts to contribute toward security and stability in conflict-affected and high-risk areas globally.

On March 23 in Brussels, the CFSI will be co-hosting a workshop with the European Partnership on Responsible Minerals (EPRM) to discuss resources, tools and multi-industry and multi-sector approaches to facilitate company due diligence. The EPRM is a European-based multi-stakeholder partnership established to improve social and economic conditions for mining communities in Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas.

About CFSI

The CFSI is a multi-industry initiative with over 350 member companies, including associations and service providers. Our members contribute to the development and international uptake of a range of tools and resources including the Conflict-Free Smelter Program, the Conflict Minerals Reporting Template, Reasonable Country of Origin Inquiry data, and guidance documents on responsible sourcing of tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold (3TG). The CFSI runs regular workshops on responsible sourcing issues and contributes to policy development with civil society organizations and governments. For more information, visit conflictfreesourcing.org.

Media Contact:

Jarrett Bens, Director of Communications Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition Phone:+1 571.858.5721 jbens@eiccoalition.org

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CFSI Welcomes European Union Conflict Minerals Regulation - Justmeans

Peter Nedergaard

The European Union is in deep need of a restructuring. The EU is either reconstructed or the crisis continues. EU will not, however, collapse; it will probably, on the other hand, lose decision-making power and support.

The reconstruction concerns the nature of the EU: its form (flexibility), its content (de-federalisation), and its actors attitude (legitimacy).

The idea of a more flexible EU has been around for years. EU is already to some degree flexibly organized via EMU and the Schengen acquis where not all member states participate. But flexibility in this sense is temporary: that on offer is always a step on the way to full participation.

A reconstructed EU implies a more permanently flexible cooperation. This means a final end to the present one-size-fits-all model. An la carte model might even all in all imply more European integration rather than less. For example, several European countries could become more strongly linked to the EU as associate members. This could be appealing to countries such as Ukraine, Turkey, Albania, and Bosnia. They could get a closer affiliation to the EU than today in certain defined areas without full membership.

A more flexible EU is also thus a more sensitive EU. It implies that had David Cameron been given concessions in the area that clearly worried the British electorate the most full free movement of labour from other EU countries the outcome of the UK referendum would have been different. Cameron could have been offered a freeze on free movement. Such escape clauses are known from other international agreements. With more flexibility, Brexit would never had happened.

Throughout the EUs life federalism has been a powerful ideology. Its ultimate goal is a kind of United States of Europe. According to the federalist argument, only such a united Europe will have a defining role to play in world politics. In addition, this came with the wish for a more democratically rooted EU via direct elections to the European Parliament (EP) to create closer connections with the citizens.

Federalism has had a considerable impact on the EU. The integration process so far mainly consists of a series of gradual changes in EU treaties (referred to as neo-federalism). In general, the preoccupation with constructing powerful EU institutions and granting new competencies to the EU are federalist imprints. In consequence, political energy has often been directed towards the input side of the decision-making process (how to take decisions). In a reconstruction perspective, this energy should instead be on the output side (to make decisions on growth, trade and security for citizens).

Within the integration process, the EP has gradually become more powerful. With the Lisbon Treaty, approx. 75 per cent of all policy areas under EU competence has the EP as co-decision-maker. However, with turnout remaining very low and declining (from 62 per cent in 1979 to 42.5 per cent in 2014), this has not led to any more voter loyalty.

In conclusion, too much political energy in the last 30 years has been spent on discussing institution building and the distribution of power in the EU, instead of discussing policy outputs (a Europe of results).

Ideally, the Parliament should restrain itself and go back to a consultative role. But is that perhaps too much of to ask of an institution which for decades has fought for the opposite? On the other hand, MEPs might also realize the alternatives face: a permanent crisis of the EU.

If the EU political system is to work properly, it has to be legitimate. Political scientist David Beetham established that the exercise of power is legitimate: 1) if it is performed in accordance with statutory rules, 2) if there is correspondence between convictions by the political class and the citizens, and 3) if the legitimacy is explicitly expressed.

When it comes to the first criterion, the EU is characterized by having rule-of-law-like character. In other words: In theory, the European Court of Justice sanctions member countries and citizens who do not comply with the provisions of directives or regulations.

As detected by EU researcher Gerda Falkner, however, there is one problem: The willingness to comply with EU regulations varies greatly among member states (MS). In practice, according to Falkner, in many southern and eastern European MS it is the rule rather than the exception that they fail to comply with EU regulations. She claims that they are living in a world of dead letters when they fail to respond to the reminders about violations of EUs regulations.

When it comes to EU as a legislative authority, legitimacy is formally fine. In practice, it is more ambiguous.

What about the second criterion accord between the governing politicians and the citizens? Here the EUs legitimacy is generally ambiguous. As Simon Hix once showed in his seminal book, The Political System of the European Union, the Commission is always in accordance with the most integrationist MS in individual policy areas. In a legitimacy perspective, the Commission is often out of sync with (other) member states and their peoples.

When it comes to the third point, concerning the explicit nature of EU legitimacy, this is also very ambiguous. On the one hand, repeated opinion polls show that the great majority of voters will vote yes to EU membership by referendum here and now. On the other hand, when a referendum campaign starts rolling, the yes and no become are put more on an equal footing in the media than normally the case. And, as we have seen, turnout in EP elections has reached an historic low.

The EU crisis is not just about one thing. Both more flexibility and de-federalisation will have several positive effects. That will increase EUs legitimacy. However, a reconstruction of the EU on these lines will require far-sighted and courageous politicians of the same calibre as in the 1950s, when the EU was established, and in the 1980s when the EU was last in a deep crisis.

Do these politicians exist in present day European politics?

Peter Nedergaard is Professor of Political Science at the Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen.

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Reconstructing The European Union - Social Europe