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Portal:European Union

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Introduction

  Welcome to the European Union Portal!

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 450 million as of 2025. 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.

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...)

Selected article

Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered on the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea, on the east by Poland and the Czech Republic, on the south by Austria and Switzerland, and on the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands. Germany is a democratic parliamentary federal republic of 16 states. The country previously consisted of several sovereign states with their own history, culture, and religious affiliation. Germany was first unified as a nation-state amidst the Franco-Prussian War in 1871.

The Federal Republic of Germany is a member state of the United Nations, NATO, the G8 and the G4 nations, and is a founding member of the European Union. It has the largest population and largest economy of all European Union member states. Germany is both the world's third largest economy and its largest exporter of goods. Germany is facing major demographic change. Its fertility rate of 1.39 children per mother is one of the lowest in the world, and the federal statistics office estimates the population will shrink to approximately 75 million by 2050. Chemnitz is thought to be the city with the lowest birth rate in the world.

Selected picture

Trinity College Library
Trinity College Library is a library serving Trinity College Dublin as well as the wider University of Dublin. It is a legal deposit or copyright library, which means that publishers in Ireland must deposit a copy of all their publications in the library, free of charge. It is also the only Irish library to hold such rights for publications in the United Kingdom. Founded at the same time as the college, in 1592, it received its most famous manuscript, the Book of Kells, from Henry Jones in 1661. Pictured is the Long Room, which is situated in the Old Library building. It was built between 1712 and 1732, has a length of 65 metres (213 ft), and houses 200,000 of the Library's oldest books.

Did you know?

...that France possesses the largest exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the world?

...that Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City all mint their own euro coins, with their own national symbols on the back?

...that Turkey's two most famous weightlifters, Naim Suleymanoglu and Halil Mutlu are only two of four weightlifters in the world to have won 3 gold medals in 3 olympics?

Selected city

Warsaw

Warsaw is the capital of Poland and its largest city. It is located on the Vistula river roughly 370 km from both the Baltic Sea coast and the Carpathian Mountains. Its population as of 2011 was estimated at 1.7 million with a metropolitan area of approximately 2.7 million. The city area amounts to 517 km², with an agglomeration of 6100.43 km². Warsaw is internationally notable for giving its name to the Warsaw Pact, Warsaw Convention and the Treaty of Warsaw.

The city is home to many industries, including manufacturing, steel, electrical engineering, and automotive; it features 66 institutions of higher learning, including Warsaw University, Stefan Wyszyński University, Warsaw University of Technology, Warsaw School of Economics, and a Medical Academy. Warsaw is home to over 30 theatres, including the National Theatre and Opera and the National Philharmonic Orchestra.

General images

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

Topics

 Members by political system
 European Parliament
 European Commission

 List of European Union member states by political system
 Sakharov Prize

 European Union Portal

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Categories

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