About The EU...
The European Union (EU) is the organisation which integrates the countries listed below, both politically and economically. It is a customs union, which is an agreement amongst a group of countries to eliminate trade barriers between them on the movement of goods, services, labour and capital, and also to establish a common external tariff on goods and services coming into the union. The EU evolved from the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), which was formed in 1951 as a response to the First and Second World Wars to try to ensure future peace in Europe. This became the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1965, which in turn became the European Union in 1992 following the signing of the Maastricht Treaty.
The EU has 27 Member States. These are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the 'New Member States' which joined in 2004 and 2007.
The EU has 10 New Member States which became full members on 1st May 2004. These are Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.
There were a further two countries that join the EU in 2007. These are Bulgaria and Romania. Turkey made an application for membership in 1987, but is not currently negotiating its membership. Croatia and Macedonia have also applied to join the EU.
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| Exports To The EU Facts |
| Location: |
Europe |
| Coordinates: |
Various |
| Int. Dialing Code: |
Various |
| Currency: |
The Euro & 11 Others |
| Language: |
23 Languages |
| Area: |
4422773 |
| Capital City: |
27 Capitals |
| Population: |
803,850,858 |
| Population Ranking: |
N/A |
| Employment: |
9.5% |
| Inflation: |
0.5% |
| GDP: |
$15.247 trillion |
| GDP Ranking: |
N/A |
| GDP Growth: |
N/A |
| Internet Users: |
418 million |
| Television Stations: |
N/A |
| Phone Lines: |
321 million |
| Mobile Phones: |
N/A |
| Major Industry: |
All |
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