The European Union: 493 million people – 27 countries
Member states of the European Union
Candidate countries
Founding fathers
New ideas for lasting peace and prosperity…
Konrad Adenauer
Robert Schuman
Winston Churchill
Alcide De Gasperi
Jean Monnet
The EU symbols
The European flagThe European anthem
Europe Day, 9 May
The motto: United in diversity
23 official languages
Eight enlargements
1952 1973 1981 1986
1990 1995 2004 2007
The big enlargement: healing the division of Europe
Fall of Berlin Wall – end of CommunismEU economic help begins: Phare programme
Criteria set for a country to join the EU:• democracy and rule of law• functioning market economy• ability to implement EU laws
Formal negotiations on enlargement begin
Copenhagen summit agrees enlargement
10 new EU members: Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia
1989
1992
1998
2002 2004
2007 Bulgaria and Romania join the EU
CandidatesCroatia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey
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The Lisbon treaty - taking Europe into the 21st century
The Treaty will make the European Union:
More efficient Simpler processes, full-time president for the Council, etc.
More democratic Stronger role for the European Parliament and national parliaments, "Citizens initiative", Charter of Fundamental Rights, etc.
More transparent Clarifies who does what, greater public access to documents and meetings, etc.
More united on High Representative for Foreign Policy, etc. the world stage
More secure New possibilities to fight climate change and terrorism, secure energy supplies, etc.
Signed in December 2007 – enter into force when ratified by all 27 EU countries.
A transparent Union at your service
The website of the European Union europa.euOne and a half million documents available to the public
Europe Direct contact centreAnswers your questions: 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11
Europe Direct relaysOver 400 EU Info Points across the EU
European Union DocumentsAccess to internal documentsupon request
The European OmbudsmanDeals with complaints over EU administration
Nikoforos Diamandouros, the EU ombudsman
EU population in the world
Population in millions, 2007
497
1322
128 142
301
EU China Japan Russia United States
The area of the EU compared to the rest of the world
Surface area, 1 000 km²
EU China Japan Russia United States
16 889
9327 9159
4234
365
How rich is the EU compared to the rest of the world?
EU China Japan Russia United States EU China Japan Russia United States
10 793
1 326
3676
468
10 035
24 700
6 400
27 800
10 000
37 300
Size of economy: Gross Domestic Product inbillion of euros, 2006
Wealth per person: Gross Domestic Productper person in Purchasing Power Standard, 2007
How big are the EU countries?
Surface area 1 000 km²F
ran
ce
Sp
ain
Sw
ed
en
Ger
ma
ny
Po
lan
d
Fin
lan
d
Ita
ly
Un
ite
d K
ing
do
m
Ro
ma
nia
Gre
ec
e
Bu
lga
ria
Hu
ng
ary
Po
rtu
ga
l
Au
str
ia
Cze
ch
Re
pu
bli
c
Irel
an
d
Lit
hu
an
ia
La
tvia
Slo
va
kia
Est
on
ia
Den
ma
rk
Net
he
rla
nd
s
Bel
giu
m
Slo
ve
nia
Cyp
rus
Lu
xe
mb
urg
Ma
lta
54
4.0
50
6.0
41
0.3
35
7.0
31
2.7
30
4.5
29
5.1
24
3.8
23
0.0
13
0.7
11
1.0
93
.0
91
.9
82
.5
77
.3
68
.4
62
.7
62
.3
49
.0
43
.4
43
.1
33
.8
30
.3
20
.1
9.3
2.6
0.3
How many people live in the EU?
Population in millions, 2007
497 million8
2.4
63
.4
60
.9
59
.1
44
.5
38
.2
21
.6
16
.3
11
.2
10
.6
10
.5
10
.3
10
.1
9.0
8.3
7.7
5.4
5.4 5.3
4.3
3.4
2.3
2.0
1.3
0.8
0.5
0.4
Fra
nc
e
Sp
ain
Sw
ed
en
Po
lan
d
Fin
lan
d
Ita
ly
Un
ite
d K
ing
do
m
Ro
ma
nia
Gre
ec
e
Bu
lga
ria
Hu
ng
ary
Po
rtu
ga
l
Au
str
ia
Cze
ch
Re
pu
bli
c
Irel
an
d
Lit
hu
an
ia
La
tvia
Slo
va
kia
Est
on
ia
Den
ma
rk
Net
he
rla
nd
s
Bel
giu
m
Slo
ve
nia
Cyp
rus
Lu
xe
mb
urg
Ma
lta
Ger
ma
ny
GDP per inhabitant: the spread of wealth
GDP per inhabitants in Purchasing Power Standards, 2007
Index where the average of the 27 EU-countries is 100
280
144131 129 127 123 121 118 117 113 113
104 102 10094 89 87
79 77 7567 66 63 58 56 53
38 37
Lu
xe
mb
ou
rg
Irel
an
d
Net
he
rla
nd
s
Au
str
ia
Den
ma
rk
Bel
giu
m
Sw
ed
en
Un
ite
d K
ing
do
m
Fin
lan
d
Ger
ma
ny
Fra
nc
e
Ita
ly
Sp
ain
EU
-27
Cyp
rus
Gre
ec
e
Slo
ve
nia
Cze
ch
Re
pu
bli
c
Ma
lta
Po
rtu
ga
l
Est
on
ia
Hu
ng
ary
Slo
va
kia
Lit
hu
an
ia
La
tvia
Po
lan
d
Ro
ma
nia
Bu
lga
ria
How is the EU’s money spent?
Total EU budget 2008: 129.1 billion euro
= 1.03% of Gross National Income
Citizens, freedom,security and justice
1%
Other, administration6%
Sustainable growth:new jobs, cohesion,
research45%
The EU as a global player:including development aid
6%
Natural resources:agriculture,
environment43%
Climate change – a global challenge
To stop global warming, EU leaders decided in 2007 to:
reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2020 (30% if other developed countries do likewise)
improve energy efficiency by 20% by 2020
raise the share of renewable energy to 20% by 2020 (wind, solar, hydro power, biomass)
Energy sources in a changing world
Types of fuel used for making energy in the 27 EU countries,
2005
Import dependency: share of fuel imported from outside the EU-countries, 2005
Oil37%
Gas35%
Nuclear14%Coal
18% Renewables7%
39%
82%
57%
100%
50%
OilCoal Gas Nuclear(uranium)
Renewables All types of fuel
0%
Jobs and growth
Challenges:
Demography: Europeans live longer, have fewer children Globalisation: European economy faces competition from other parts of the worldClimate change: Emission of greenhouse gases must come down
Solutions:
European leaders have therefore agreed on a joint strategy for:
More research and innovationA more dynamic business environmentInvesting in peopleA greener economy
Research - investing in the knowledge society
Spending on research and development in percentage of Gross Domestic Product, 2006
1.8%
3.0%
1.3%
2.6%
3.3%
EU EU objectivefor 2010
China Japan United States
Solidarity in practice: the EU cohesion policy
2007-2013: 347 billion euro invested for infrastructure, business, environment and training of workers for less well-off regions or citizens
Regional fund
Social fund
Cohesion fund
Convergence objective: regions with GDP per capita under 75% of the EU average. 81.5% of the funds are spent on this objective.
Regional competitiveness and employment objective.
The euro – a single currency for Europeans
EU countries using the euroEU countries not using the euro
Can be used everywhere in the euro area
Coins: one side with national symbols, one side common Notes: no national side
Beating inflation
European Economic and Monetary Union: stable prices
Average annual inflation in the 15 EU-countries that used the euro in 2008
The single market: freedom of choice
Since 1993:
2.5 million new jobs prices of phone calls and airfares halved Four freedoms of movement:
goods
services
people
capital
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Free to move
“Schengen”:
No police or customs checks at borders between most EU countries
Controls strengthened at EU external borders
More cooperation between police from different EU countries
You can buy and bring back any goods for personal use when you travel between EU countries
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Going abroad to learn
Over two million young people have studied or pursued personal development in other European countries with support from EU-programmes:
Comenius: school education
Erasmus: higher education
Leonardo da Vinci: vocational training
Grundtvig: adult education
Youth in Action: voluntary work and
non-formal education
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Improving health and the environment
Pollution knows no borders – joint action needed
EU action has helped bring us:
Cleaner bathing waterMuch less acid rain Lead-free petrol Free and safe disposal of old electronic equipmentStrict rules on food safety from farm to fork More organic and quality farming More effective health warnings on cigarettesRegistration and control of all chemicals (REACH)
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ia
An area of freedom, security and justice
Charter of Fundamental Rights
Joint fight against terrorism
Police and law-enforcers from different countries cooperate
Coordinated asylum and immigration policies
Civil law cooperation
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Uni
on P
olic
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The EU: an exporter of peace and prosperity
World trade rules
Common foreign and security policy
Development assistance and humanitarian aid
EU runs the peacekeeping operations and the rebuilding of society in
war-torn countries like Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The EU – a major trading power
Share of world trade in goods (2006)
Share of world trade in services (2005)
Others50.5%
EU17.1%
United States16%
Japan6.6%
China9.6%
Others44.9%
EU26%
United States18.4%
Japan6.9%
China3.8%
The EU is the biggest provider of development aid in the world
Official development assistance per citizen, 2007
93€
44€
53€
EU Japan United States
The EU provides 60% of all development aid
Three key players
The European Parliament- voice of the peopleHans-Gert Pöttering, President of the European Parliament
The council of Ministers- voice of the Member StatesJavier Solana, Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union and High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy
The European Commission- promoting the common interestJosé Manuel Barroso, Presidentof the European Commission
Three pillars
The European Union
The Treaties
European Community
domain (most of common policies)
Common foreign and
security policy
Police and judicial
cooperation in criminal
matters
European Parliament
The EU institutions
Court of Justice
Court of Auditors
Economic and Social Committee Committee of the Regions
Council of Ministers(Council of the EU) European Commission
European Investment Bank European Central BankAgencies
European Council (summit)
How EU laws are made
Citizens, interests groups, experts: discuss, consult
Commission: makes formal proposal
Parliament and Council of Ministers: decide jointly
Commission and Court of Justice: monitor implementation
National or local authorities: implement
United Kingdom
The European Parliament – voice of the people
13
24
78
78
14
Italy
Ireland
24Hungary
Greece
99Germany
France
Finland
6Estonia
14Denmark
24Czech Republic
6Cyprus
18Bulgaria
24Belgium
18Austria
Decides EU laws and budget together with Council of MinistersDemocratic supervision of all the EU’s work
Total 785
78
19Sweden
54Spain
7Slovenia
14Slovakia
35Romania
24Portugal
54Poland
27Netherlands
5Malta
6Luxembourg
13Lithuania
9Latvia
Number of members elected in each country
The European political parties
Number of seats in the European Parliament
per political group (March 2008)
European UnitedLeft - Nordic Green Left
41
Socialist Group215
Greens/EuropeanFree Alliance
43
Independence/Democracy
24
Alliance of Liberals andDemocrats for Europe101 European People’s Party
(Christian Democrats)and European Democrats288
Union for Europeof the Nations44
Non-attached members andtemporarily empty seats29
Total : 785
Council of Ministers – voice of the member states
One minister from each EU country
Presidency: rotates every six months
Decides EU laws and budget together
with Parliament
Manages the Common Foreign and
Security Policy
Council of Ministers – number of votes per country
345Total:
3Malta
4Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Luxembourg and Slovenia
7Denmark, Ireland, Lithuania, Slovakia and Finland
10Austria, Bulgaria and Sweden
12Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary and Portugal
13Netherlands
14Romania
27Spain and Poland
29Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom
“Qualified majority” needed for many decisions:255 votes and a majority of member states
Summit at the European Council
Summit of heads of state and government of all EU countries
Heldat least 3 times a year Sets the overall guidelines for EU policies
The European Commission – promoting the common interest
27 independent members, one from each EU country
Proposes new legislationExecutive organ Guardian of the treatiesRepresents the EU on the international stage
The Court of Justice – upholding the law
27 independent judges, one from each EU country
Rules on how to interpret EU lawEnsures EU laws are used in the same way in all EU countries
Ensures price stability
Controls money supply and decides interest rates
Works independently from governments
The European Central Bank:managing the euro
Jean-Claude Trichet President of the Central Bank
The European Economic and Social Committee:voice of civil society
344 members
Represents trade unions, employers, farmers, consumers etc
Advises on new EU laws and policies
Promotes the involvement of civil society in EU matters
The Committee of the Regions:voice of local government
344 members
Represents cities, regions
Advises on new EU laws and policies
Promotes the involvement of local government in EU matters
Civil servants working for the EU
Commission: about 24 000 civil servantsOther EU institutions: about 10 000 employed
Permanent civil servants
Selected by open competitions
Come from all EU countries
Salaries decided by law
EU administration costs 15 euro per EU citizen per year
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