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In general, information available as of 1 January, 2004
was used in the preparation of The World Factbook.


This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005


Map of European Union

Legend: DefinitionDefinition Field ListingField Listing Rank OrderRank Order
   Introduction    European Union
Preliminary statement:

The evolution of the European Union (EU) from a regional economic agreement among six neighboring states in 1951 to today's supranational organization of 25 countries across the European continent stands as an unprecedented phenomenon in the annals of history. Dynastic unions for territorial consolidation were long the norm in Europe. On a few occasions even country-level unions were arranged - the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Austro-Hungarian Empire were examples - but for such a large number of nation-states to cede some of their sovereignty to an overarching entity is truly unique. Although the EU is not a federation in the strict sense, it is far more than a free-trade association such as ASEAN, NAFTA, or Mercosur, and it has many of the attributes associated with independent nations: its own flag, anthem, founding date, and currency, as well as an incipient common foreign and security policy in its dealings with other nations. In the future, many of these nation-like characteristics are likely to be expanded. Thus, inclusion of basic intelligence on the EU has been deemed appropriate as a new, separate entry in The World Factbook. However, because of the EU's special status, this description is placed after the regular country entries.
Background:
Definition Field Listing

Following the two devastating World Wars of the first half of the 20th century, a number of European leaders in the late 1940s became convinced that the only way to establish a lasting peace was to unite the two chief belligerent nations - France and Germany - both economically and politically. In 1950, the French Foreign Minister Robert SCHUMAN proposed an eventual union of all of Europe, the first step of which would be the integration of the coal and steel industries of Western Europe. The following year the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was set up when six members, Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, signed the Treaty of Paris.

The ECSC was so successful that within a few years the decision was made to integrate other parts of the countries' economies. In 1957, the Treaties of Rome created the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM), and the six member states undertook to eliminate trade barriers among themselves by forming a common market. In 1967, the institutions of all three communities were formally merged into the European Community (EC), creating a single Commission, a single Council of Ministers, and the European Parliament. Members of the European Parliament were initially selected by national parliaments, but in 1979 the first direct elections were undertaken and they have been held every five years since.

In 1973, the first enlargement of the EC took place with the addition of Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The 1980s saw further membership expansion with Greece joining in 1981 and Spain and Portugal in 1986. The 1992 Treaty of Maastricht laid the basis for further forms of cooperation in foreign and defense policy, in judicial and internal affairs, and in the creation of an economic and monetary union - including a common currency. This further integration created the European Union (EU). In 1995, Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined to the EU, raising the membership total to 15.

A new currency, the euro, was launched in world money markets on 1 January 1999; it became the unit of exchange for all of the EU states except Great Britain, Sweden, and Denmark. In 2002, citizens of the 12 euro-area countries began using euro banknotes and coins. Ten new countries joined the EU in 2004 - Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia - bringing the current membership to 25. In order to ensure that the EU can continue to function efficiently with an expanded membership, the 2003 Treaty of Nice set forth rules streamlining the size and procedures of EU institutions. An EU Constitutional Treaty, signed in Rome on 29 October 2004, gives member states two years to ratify the document before it is scheduled to take effect on 1 November 2006.

Despite the expansion of membership and functions, "Eurosceptics" in various countries have raised questions about the erosion of national cultures and the imposition of a flood of regulations from the EU capital in Brussels. Failure by member states to ratify the constitution or the inability of newcomer countries to meet euro currency standards might force a loosening of some EU agreements and perhaps lead to several levels of EU participation. These "tiers" might eventually range from an "inner" core of politically integrated countries to a looser "outer" economic association of members.
   Geography    European Union
Location:
Definition Field Listing
Europe between Eastern Europe and the North Atlantic Ocean
Map references:
Definition Field Listing
Europe
Area:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 3,976,372 sq km
Area - comparative:
Definition Field Listing
less than one-half the size of the US
Land boundaries:
Definition Field Listing
total: 11,214.8 km
border countries: Albania 282 km, Andorra 120.3 km, Belarus 1,050 km, Bulgaria 494 km, Croatia 999 km, Holy See 3.2 km, Liechtenstein 34.9 km, Macedonia 246 km, Monaco 4.4 km, Norway 2,348 km, Romania 443 km, Russia 2,257 km, San Marino 39 km, Serbia and Montenegro 151 km, Switzerland 1,811 km, Turkey 206 km, Ukraine 726 km
note: data for European Continent only
Coastline:
Definition Field Listing
65,413.9 km
Maritime claims:
Definition Field Listing
NA
Climate:
Definition Field Listing
cold temperate; potentially subarctic in the north to temperate; mild wet winters; hot dry summers in the south
Terrain:
Definition Field Listing
fairly flat along the Baltic and Atlantic coast; mountainous in the central and southern areas
Elevation extremes:
Definition Field Listing
lowest point: Lammefjord, Denmark -7 m; Zuidplaspolder, Netherlands -7 m
highest point: Mount Blanc, France/Italy 4,807 m
Natural resources:
Definition Field Listing
iron ore, arable land, natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, lead, zinc, hydropower, uranium, potash, fish
Land use:
Definition Field Listing
arable land: NA
permanent crops: NA
Irrigated land:
Definition Field Listing
115,807 sq km
Natural hazards:
Definition Field Listing
flooding along coasts; avalanches in mountainous area; earthquakes in the south; volcanic eruptions in Italy; periodic droughts in Spain; ice floes in the Baltic
Environment - current issues:
Definition Field Listing
NA
Environment - international agreements:
Definition Field Listing
Hazardous Wastes, Biodiversity, Air Pollution, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Tropical Timber 82, Tropical Timber 94, Ozone Layer Protection, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Law of the Sea, Desertification, Climate Change; has signed, but not yet ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants
   People    European Union
Population:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
456,285,839 (July 2004 est.)
Age structure:
Definition Field Listing
0-14 years: 16.3%
15-64 years: 67.2%
65 years and over: 16.6% (July 2004 est.)
Median age:
Definition Field Listing
NA
Population growth rate:
Definition Field Listing
0.17% (July 2004 est.)
Birth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
10.2 births/1,000 population (July 2004 est.)
Death rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
10 deaths/1,000 population (July 2004 est.)
Net migration rate:
Definition Field Listing
1.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (July 2004 est.)
Sex ratio:
Definition Field Listing
at birth: NA
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and older: 0.69 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (July 2004 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 5.3 deaths/1,000 live births (July 2004 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total population: 78.1 years
male: 74.9 years
female: 81.4 years (July 2004 est.)
Total fertility rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
1.48 children born/woman (July 2004 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
NA
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
NA
Religions:
Definition Field Listing
Roman Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Muslim, Jewish
Languages:
Definition Field Listing
Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish; note - only official languages are listed
   Government    European Union
Union name:

conventional long form: European Union
abbreviation: EU
Political structure:

a hybrid intergovernmental and supranational organization
Capital:
Definition Field Listing
Brussels, Belgium
Member states:

25 countries: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, UK; note - Canary Islands (Spain), Azores and Madeira (Portugal), and French Guyana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Reunion (France) are sometimes listed separately even though they are legally a part of Spain, Portugal, and France; candidate countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Turkey
Independence:
Definition Field Listing
7 February 1992 (Maastricht Treaty signed establishing the EU); 1 November 1993 (Maastricht Treaty entered into force)
National holiday:
Definition Field Listing
Europe Day 9 May (1950); note - a Union-wide holiday, the day that Robert Schuman proposed the creation of an organized Europe
Constitution:
Definition Field Listing
based on a series of treaties: the Treaty of Paris, which set up the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1951; the Treaties of Rome, which set up the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) in 1957; the Single European Act in 1986; the Treaty on European Union (Maastrict) in 1992; the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997; and the Treaty of Nice in 2001; note - a new draft Constitutional Treaty, signed on 29 October 2004 in Rome, gives member states two years for ratification either by parliamentary vote or national referendum before it is scheduled to take effect on 1 November 2006
Suffrage:
Definition Field Listing
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
Definition Field Listing
chief of union: President of the European Commission Jose DURAO BARROSO (since 22 November 2004)
cabinet: European Commission (composed of 25 members, one from each member country; each commissioner responsible for one or more policy areas)
elections: the president of the European Commission is designated by member governments; the president-designate then chooses the other Commission members; the European Parliament confirms the entire Commission for a five-year term; election last held 18 November 2004 (next to be held 2009)
election results: European Parliament approved the European Commission by an approval vote of 449-149 with 82 abstentions
note: the European Council brings together heads of state and government and the president of the European Commission and meets at least twice a year; its aim is to provide the impetus for the major political issues relating to European integration and to issue general policy guidelines
Legislative branch:
Definition Field Listing
Council of the European Union (25 member-state ministers having 321 votes; the number of votes is roughly proportional to member-states' population); note - the Council is the main decision-making body of the EU; European Parliament (732 seats; seats allocated among member states by proportion to population); members elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year term
elections: last held 10-13 June 2004 (next to be held June 2009)
election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats by party - EPP-ED 268, PES 202, ALDE 88, Greens/EFA 42, EUL/NGL 41, IND/DEM 36, UEN 27, independents 28
Judicial branch:
Definition Field Listing
European Court of Justice (ensures that the treaties are interpreted and applied correctly) - 25 Justices (one from each member state) appointed for a six-year term; note - for the sake of efficiency, the court can sit with 11 justices known as the "Grand Chamber"; Court of First Instance - 25 justices appointed for a six-year term
Political parties and leaders:
Definition Field Listing
Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe or ALDE [Graham R. WATSON]; Independence/Democracy Group or IND/DEM [Jens-Peter BONDE and Nigel FARAGE]; Group of Greens/European Free Alliance or Greens/EFA [Monica FRASSONI and Daniel Marc COHN-BENDIT]; Socialist Group in the European Parliament or PES [Martin SCHULZ]; Confederal Group of the European United Left-Nordic Green Left or EUL/NGL [Francis WURTZ]; European People's Party-European Democrats or EPP-ED [Hans-Gert POETTERING]; Union for Europe of the Nations Group or UEN [Brian CROWLEY and Cristiana MUSCARDINI]
International organization participation:
Definition Field Listing
European Union: ASEAN (dialogue member), ARF (dialogue member), EBRD, IDA, OAS (observer), OECD, WTO
European Commission: Australian Group, CBSS, CERN, FAO, G-10, NSG (observer), UN (observer)
European Central Bank: BIS
European Investment Bank: WADB (nonregional member)
Diplomatic representation in the US:
Definition Field Listing
chief of mission: Ambassador John BRUTON
chancery: 2300 M Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20037
telephone: [1] (202) 862-9500
FAX: [1] (202) 429-1766
Diplomatic representation from the US:
Definition Field Listing
chief of mission: Ambassador Rockwell SCHNABEL
embassy: 13 Zinnerstraat (Rue Zinner), B-1000 Brussels
mailing address: same as above
telephone: [32] (2) 508-2222
FAX: [32] (2) 512-5720
Flag description:
Definition Field Listing
on a blue field, 12 five-pointed gold stars arranged in a circle, representing the union of the peoples of Europe; the number of stars is fixed
   Economy    European Union
Economy - overview:
Definition Field Listing
Domestically, the European Union attempts to lower trade barriers, adopt a common currency, and move toward convergence of living standards. Internationally, the EU aims to bolster Europe's trade position and its political and economic power. Because of the great differences in per capita income (from $10,000 to $28,000) and historic national animosities, the European Community faces difficulties in devising and enforcing common policies. For example, both Germany and France since 2003 have flouted the member states' treaty obligation to prevent their national budgets from running more than a 3% deficit. In 2004, the EU admitted 10 central and eastern European countries that are, in general, less advanced technologically and economically than the existing 15. The Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), an associated organization, introduced the euro as the common currency on 1 January 1999. The UK, Sweden, and Denmark do not now participate; the 10 new countries may choose to join the EMU when they meet its fiscal and monetary criteria and the member states so agree.
GDP:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
purchasing power parity - $11.05 trillion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
1% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
purchasing power parity - $25,700 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
Definition Field Listing
agriculture: 2.3%
industry: 28.3%
services: 69.4% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
percent of GDP - NA (2004 est.)
Population below poverty line:
Definition Field Listing
NA
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
Definition Field Listing
lowest 10%: 2.9%
highest 10%: 25.2% (1995 est.)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
Definition Field Listing
31.1 (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
2% (2004 est.)
Labor force:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
211.1 million
Labor force - by occupation:
Definition Field Listing
agriculture 4.3%, industry 29%, services 66.8% (2000)
Unemployment rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
9.1% (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products:
Definition Field Listing
wheat, barley, oilseeds, sugar beets, wine, grapes, dairy products, cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry, fish
Industries:
Definition Field Listing
among the world's largest and most technologically advanced industries, including iron and steel, aluminum, petroleum, coal, cement, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, aircraft, railroad equipment, shipbuilding, electrical power equipment, machine tools, electronics, telecommunications equipment, fishing, food processing, furniture, paper, textiles and clothing, tourism
Industrial production growth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0.8% (2004 est.)
Electricity - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
2.822 trillion kWh (2001)
Electricity - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
2.635 trillion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
Definition Field Listing
234.8 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
Definition Field Listing
245.7 billion kWh (2001)
Oil - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
3.244 million bbl/day (2001)
Oil - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
14.48 million bbl/day (2001)
Oil - exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
6.429 million bbl/day (2001)
Oil - imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
16.97 million bbl/day (2001)
Oil - proved reserves:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
7.467 billion bbl (1 January 2002)
Natural gas - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
243.8 billion cu m (2001)
Natural gas - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
463.6 billion cu m (2001)
Natural gas - exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
77.04 billion cu m (2001)
Natural gas - imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
292.2 billion cu m (2001)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
3.262 trillion cu m (1 January 2002)
Current account balance:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$NA
Exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$850.3 billion (2002)
Exports - commodities:
Definition Field Listing
machinery, motor vehicles, aircraft, plastics, pharmaceuticals and other chemicals, fuels, iron and steel, nonferrous metals, wood pulp and paper products, textiles, meat, dairy products, fish, alcoholic beverages.
Exports - partners:
Definition Field Listing
NA
Imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$887.1 billion (2002)
Imports - commodities:
Definition Field Listing
machinery, vehicles, aircraft, plastics, crude oil, chemicals, textiles, metals, foodstuffs, clothing
Imports - partners:
Definition Field Listing
NA
Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$NA
Debt - external:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$NA
Economic aid - donor:
Definition Field Listing
$NA
Currency:
Definition Field Listing
euro; pound (Cyprus), koruna (Czech Republic), krone (Denmark), kroon (Estonia), forint (Hungary), lat (Latvia), litas (Lithuania), lira (Malta), zloty (Poland), koruna (Slovakia), tolar (Slovenia), krona (Sweden), pound (UK)
Currency code:
Definition Field Listing
EUR
Exchange rates:
Definition Field Listing
euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001)
Fiscal year:
Definition Field Listing
NA
   Communications    European Union
Telephones - main lines in use:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
238,763,162 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
314,644,700 (2002)
Telephone system:
Definition Field Listing
note - see individual country entries of member states
Radio broadcast stations:
Definition Field Listing
AM 866, FM 13,396, shortwave 73 (1998); note - sum of individual country radio broadcast stations; there is also a European-wide station (Euroradio)
Television broadcast stations:
Definition Field Listing
2,791 (1995); note - does not include repeaters; sum of indiviual country television broadcast stations; there is also a European-wide station (Eurovision)
Internet country code:
Definition Field Listing
.eu (effective 2005); note - see country entries of member states for individual country codes
Internet hosts:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
22,000,414 (2004); note - sum of individual country Internet hosts
Internet users:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
206,032,067 (September 2004)
   Transportation    European Union
Railways:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 222,293 km
broad gauge: 28,438 km
standard gauge: 186,405 km
narrow gauge: 7,427 km
other: 23 km (2003)
Highways:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 4,634,810 km (including 56,704 km of expressways)
paved: 4,161,318 km
unpaved: 473,492 km (1999-2000)
Waterways:
Definition Field Listing
53,512 km
Ports and harbors:
Definition Field Listing
Antwerp (Belgium), Barcelona (Spain), Bremen (Germany), Copenhagen (Denmark), Gdansk (Poland), Hamburg (Germany), Helsinki (Finland), Las Palmas (Canary Islands, Spain), Le Havre (France), Lisbon (Portugal), London (UK), Marseille (France), Naples (Italy), Peiraiefs or Piraeus (Greece), Riga (Latvia), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Stockholm (Sweden), Talinn (Estonia)
Airports:
Definition Field Listing
total: 3,130
with paved runways: 1,834
with unpaved runways: 1,296 (2003)
Heliports:
Definition Field Listing
94 (2003)
   Military    European Union
Military - note:
Definition Field Listing
In October 2004, the European Union heads of government signed a "constitutional treaty" that offers possibilities - with some limits - for increased defense and security cooperation. If ratified, in a process that may take some two years, this treaty will in effect make operational the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) approved in the 2000 Nice Treaty. Despite limits of cooperation for some EU members, development of a European military planning unit is likely to continue. So is creation of a rapid-reaction military force and a humanitarian aid system, which the planning unit will support. France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Italy continue to press for wider coordination. The five-nation Eurocorps - created in 1992 by France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, and Luxembourg - has already deployed troops and police on peacekeeping missions to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo and assumed command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan in August 2004. Eurocorps directly commands the 5,000-man Franco-German Brigade and the Multinational Command Support Brigade and will command EUFOR, which will take over from SFOR in Bosnia in December 2004. Other troop contributions are under national command - committments to provide 67,100 troops were made at the Helsinki EU session in 2000. Some 56,000 EU troops were actually deployed in 2003. In August 2004, the new European Defense Agency, tasked with promoting cooperative European defense capabilities, began operations. As of November 2004, Germany, the United Kingdom, and France had proposed creation of three 1,500-man rapid-reaction "battle groups."

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005


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