The European Union
Saturday, 4 January 2014 - 01:00 pm (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: Knut Wingsch Category/Kategorie: General , Editorial , EU blog post series , European Union
Reading Time: 4 minutes
© naturalearthdata.com – Alexrk2/cc-by-sa-3.0
🔊 Listen to this Post
The EU traces its origins from the
European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the
European Economic Community (EEC), formed by the
Inner Six countries in 1951 and 1958, respectively. In the intervening years the community and its successors have grown in size by
the accession of new member states and in power by the addition of policy areas to its remit. The
Maastricht Treaty established the
European Union under its current name in 1993. The latest major amendment to the constitutional basis of the EU, the
Treaty of Lisbon , came into force in 2009.
The EU has developed a single market through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states. EU policies aim to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital , enact legislation in justice and home affairs, and maintain common policies on trade, agriculture , fisheries , and regional development .
The eurozone , a monetary union, was established in 1999 and came into full force in 2002. Through the Common Foreign and Security Policy the EU has developed a role in external relations and defence . Permanent diplomatic missions have been established around the world. The EU is represented at the United Nations , the WTO , the G8 , and the G-20 . The EU was the recipient of the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize .
Today, there are virtually no products, sorts of food or services that are not manufactured, produced, grown or performed somewhere in the European Union and within its rules, thus creating and keeping millions of jobs. Many challenges and efforts are still waiting for the current and future Member States to fulfill the great European vision, but the recent successes show that the efforts are worth it.
Read more on Pulse of Europe .
Overview EU series:
Recommended posts:
[caption id="attachment_152779" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Turkish Parliament © T.C. Büyük Millet Meclisi[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of 938 metres (3,077 ft), and as of 2008 the city had a population of 4,500,000. Ankara also serves as the capital of Ankara Province. As with many ancient cities, Ankara has gone by several names over the ages. It has been identified with the Hittite cult center Ankuwaš, alt...
[ read more ]
[caption id="attachment_209248" align="aligncenter" width="590"] House on the Loch © flickr.com - Chris Combe/cc-by-2.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Loch Torridon is a sea loch on the west coast of Scotland in the Northwest Highlands. The loch was created by glacial processes and is in total around 15 miles (25 km) long. It has two sections: Upper Loch Torridon to landward, east of Rubha na h-Airde Ghlaise, at which point it joins Loch Sheildaig; and the main western section of Loch Torridon proper. Loch a' Chracaich and Loch Bea...
[ read more ]
[caption id="attachment_24891" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Freedom Bell © ANKAWÜ[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Freedom Bell in Berlin, is a bell that was given as a gift from Americans to the city of Berlin in 1950 as a symbol of the fight for freedom and against communism in Europe, and was inspired by the American Liberty Bell. Since 1950, the bell has been located in the Rathaus Schöneberg, the former city hall of West Berlin.
The 10-ton bell arrived from the British foundry of Gillett and Johnston to a ticker...
[ read more ]
[caption id="attachment_167277" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Jezzred/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]RMS Queen Mary is a retired ocean liner that sailed primarily on the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967 for the Cunard Line (known as Cunard-White Star Line when the vessel entered service). Built by John Brown & Company in Clydebank, Queen Mary along with her sister ship, RMS Queen Elizabeth, were built as part of Cunard's planned two-ship weekly express service between Southampton, Cherbourg and New York. The ...
[ read more ]
[caption id="attachment_154158" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Gstaad © Roland Zumbühl[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Gstaad is a village in the German-speaking section of the Canton of Berne in southwestern Switzerland. Part of the municipality of Saanen, Gstaad is known as one of the most exclusive ski resorts in the world, and has been the location of Institut Le Rosey's winter campus since 1916. It has a population of 2,500 and is located 1,050 metres (3,440 ft) above sea level.
Gstaad offers a various number of anual...
[ read more ]
[caption id="attachment_152799" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Galeries Lafayette Haussmann © flickr.com - zoetnet/cc-by-2.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Galeries Lafayette is an upmarket French department store company located on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. In 2011, Galeries Lafayette recorded earnings of 2,957 million euro. It is a part of the company Groupe Galeries Lafayette. In 1895, Théophile Bader and his cousin Alphonse Kahn opened a fashion store in a small haberdasher's shop at the corn...
[ read more ]
[caption id="attachment_235180" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Central room © Spike/cc-by-sa-4.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Oceanographic Museum (Musée océanographique) is a museum of marine sciences in Monaco-Ville, Monaco. This building is part of the Institut océanographique, which is committed to sharing its knowledge of the oceans.
The Oceanographic Museum was inaugurated in 1910 by Monaco's modernist reformer, Prince Albert I, who invited to the celebrations not just high officials and celebrities but also...
[ read more ]
[caption id="attachment_235036" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Villa Medici di Castello in Florence © Sailko/cc-by-2.5[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Medici villas are a series of rural building complexes in Tuscany which were owned by members of the Medici family between the 15th century and the 17th century. The villas served several functions: they were the country palaces of the Medici, scattered over the territory that they ruled, demonstrating their power and wealth. They were also recreational resorts for the leisure an...
[ read more ]
[caption id="attachment_239887" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Boulevard Saint-Denis © Chabe01/cc-by-sa-4.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Boulevards of Paris are boulevards which form an important part of the urban landscape of Paris. The boulevards were constructed in several phases by central government initiative as infrastructure improvements, but are very much associated with strolling and leisurely enjoyment in the minds of Parisians. Parisian boulevards and avenues are usually tree-lined on one or both sides, which is ...
[ read more ]
[caption id="attachment_168850" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Entrance to Surfers Paradise Beach © Rocky88/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Gold Coast is a coastal city in Queensland, approximately 66 kilometres (41 mi) south-southeast of the state capital Brisbane and immediately north of the border with New South Wales. With a population of 640,000, The Gold Coast is the sixth-largest city in Australia, making it the largest non-capital city, and the second-largest city in Queensland. The first settlement in what...
[ read more ]