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| 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 entity in The World Factbook. However,
because of the EU's special status, this description is placed after the
regular country entries. |
|
Background: |
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 and eventual union of all 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 the EU, raising the membership total to 15. A new currency, the
euro, was launched in world money markets on 1 January 1999; it become the
unit of exchange for all of the EU states except the United Kingdom,
Sweden, and Denmark. In 2002, citizens of the 12 euro-area countries began
using the 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, gave member
states two years to ratify the document before it was scheduled to take
effect on 1 November 2006. Referenda held in France and the Netherlands in
May-June 2005 that rejected the constitution suspended the ratification
effort. 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 all 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. |
|
Location: |
Europe between the Belarus,
Ukraine, Russia, southeastern Europe, and the North Atlantic Ocean |
|
Map references: |
Europe |
|
Area: |
total: 3,976,372 sq km
|
|
Area - comparative: |
less than one-half the size of
the US |
|
Land boundaries: |
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: |
65,413.9 km |
|
Maritime claims: |
NA |
|
Climate: |
cold temperate; potentially
subarctic in the north to temperate; mild wet winters; hot dry summers in
the south |
|
Terrain: |
fairly flat along the Baltic
and Atlantic coast; mountainous in the central and southern areas |
|
Elevation extremes: |
lowest point:
Lammefjord, Denmark -7 m; Zuidplaspolder, Netherlands -7 m
highest
point: Mount Blanc, France/Italy 4,807 m |
|
Natural resources: |
iron ore, arable land, natural
gas, petroleum, coal, copper, lead, zinc, hydropower, uranium, potash,
fish |
|
Land use: |
arable land: NA%
permanent crops: NA%
other: NA% |
|
Irrigated land: |
115,807 sq km |
|
Natural hazards: |
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: |
NA |
|
Environment - international agreements: |
party to: Air Pollution,
Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic
Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection,
Tropical Timber 82, Tropical Timber 94
signed but not ratified:
Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds |
|
Population: |
456,953,258 (July 2005 est.)
|
|
Age structure: |
0-14 years: 16.03% (male
37,608,010/female 35,632,351)
15-64 years: 67.17% (male
154,439,536/female 152,479,619)
65 years and over: 16.81% (male
31,515,921/female 45,277,821) (2005 est.) |
|
Median age: |
NA |
|
Population growth rate: |
0.15% (July 2005 est.) |
|
Birth rate: |
10 births/1,000 population
(July 2005 est.) |
|
Death rate: |
10.1 deaths/1,000 population
(July 2005 est.) |
|
Net migration rate: |
1.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(July 2005 est.) |
|
Sex ratio: |
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: |
total: 5.1 deaths/1,000
live births
male: 5.6 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.5 deaths/1,000 live births (July 2005 est.) |
|
Life expectancy at birth: |
total population: 78.3
years
male: 75.1 years
female: 81.6 years (July 2005
est.) |
|
Total fertility rate: |
1.47 children born/woman (July
2005 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: |
NA% |
|
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: |
NA |
|
HIV/AIDS - deaths: |
NA |
|
Religions: |
Roman Catholic, Protestant,
Orthodox, Muslim, Jewish |
|
Languages: |
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: |
Brussels, Belgium
note: the Council of the European Union meets in Brussels, the
European Parliament meets in Strasbourg, France, and the Court of Justice
of the European Communities meets in Luxembourg |
|
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: |
7 February 1992 (Maastricht
Treaty signed establishing the EU); 1 November 1993 (Maastricht Treaty
entered into force) |
|
National holiday: |
Europe Day 9 May (1950); note -
a Union-wide holiday, the day that Robert Schuman proposed the creation of
an organized Europe |
|
Constitution: |
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
(Maastricht) 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, gave member states two years for ratification either
by parliamentary vote or national referendum before it was scheduled to
take effect on 1 November 2006; defeat in French and Dutch referenda in
May-June 2005 caused a suspension of the ratification process |
|
Suffrage: |
18 years of age; universal
|
|
Executive branch: |
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 to
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: |
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: |
Court of Justice of the
European Communities (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: |
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: |
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: |
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: |
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: |
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 - overview: |
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. Twelve EU member states introduced the
euro as their common currency on 1 January 1999. The UK, Sweden, and
Denmark do not now participate; the 10 new member states may choose to
adopt the euro when they meet the EU's fiscal and monetary criteria and
the member states so agree. |
|
GDP: |
purchasing power parity -
$11.65 trillion (2004 est.) |
|
GDP - real growth rate: |
2.4% (2004 est.) |
|
GDP - per capita: |
purchasing power parity -
$26,900 (2004 est.) |
|
GDP - composition by sector: |
agriculture: 2.2%
industry: 28.3%
services: 69.4% (2004 est.) |
|
Investment (gross fixed): |
percent of GDP - 19.5% of GDP
(2004 est.) |
|
Population below poverty line: |
See individual country listings
|
|
Household income or consumption by percentage
share: |
lowest 10%: 2.9%
highest 10%: 25.4% (1995 est.) |
|
Distribution of family income - Gini index: |
31.2 (2003 est.) |
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices): |
2.1% (2004 est.) |
|
Labor force: |
215 million (various) |
|
Labor force - by occupation: |
agriculture 4.5%, industry
27.4%, services 66.9%
note: the remainder is in miscellaneous
public and private sector industries and services (2004) |
|
Unemployment rate: |
9.5% (2004 est.) |
|
Agriculture - products: |
wheat, barley, oilseeds, sugar
beets, wine, grapes, dairy products, cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry, fish
|
|
Industries: |
among the world's largest and
most technologically advanced, the European Union industrial base
includes: ferrous and non-ferrous metal production and processing, metal
products, petroleum, coal, cement, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, aerospace,
rail transportation equipment, passenger and commercial vehicles,
construction equipment, industrial equipment, shipbuilding, electrical
power equipment, machine tools and automated manufacturing systems,
electronics and telecommunications equipment, fishing, food and beverage
processing, furniture, paper, textiles, tourism |
|
Industrial production growth rate: |
2.4% (2004 est.) |
|
Electricity - production: |
2.888 trillion kWh (2002 est.)
|
|
Electricity - consumption: |
2.661 trillion kWh (2002 est.)
|
|
Electricity - exports: |
270.8 billion kWh (2002) |
|
Electricity - imports: |
268.5 billion kWh (2002 est.)
|
|
Oil - production: |
2.648 million bbl/day (2001)
|
|
Oil - consumption: |
14.54 million bbl/day (2001)
|
|
Oil - exports: |
5.322 million bbl/day (2001)
|
|
Oil - imports: |
15.69 million bbl/day (2001)
|
|
Oil - proved reserves: |
28.21 billion bbl (1 January
2002) |
|
Natural gas - production: |
242.6 billion cu m (2001)
|
|
Natural gas - consumption: |
467.7 billion cu m (2001)
|
|
Natural gas - exports: |
78.1 billion cu m (2001) |
|
Natural gas - imports: |
297.8 billion cu m (2001)
|
|
Natural gas - proved reserves: |
3.256 trillion cu m (1 January
2002) |
|
Current account balance: |
$NA |
|
Exports: |
$1.109 trillion
note: external exports, excluding intra EU trade (2003) |
|
Exports - commodities: |
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: |
US 22.9%, Switzerland 6.9%,
China 4.1%, Japan 4% |
|
Imports: |
$1.123 trillion
note: external imports, excluding intra-EU trade (2003) |
|
Imports - commodities: |
machinery, vehicles, aircraft,
plastics, crude oil, chemicals, textiles, metals, foodstuffs, clothing
|
|
Imports - partners: |
US 15.1%, China 9.7%, Japan
6.7%, Switzerland 5.6% |
|
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: |
$NA |
|
Currency: |
euro, British pound, Danish
kroner, Swedish kroner, Cypriot pound, koruny (Czech Republic), krooni
(Estonia), forint (Hungary), lati (Latvia), litai (Lithuania), Maltese
liri, zloty (Poland), koruny (Slovakia), tolar (Slovenia) |
|
Currency code: |
EUR |
|
Exchange rates: |
euros per US dollar - 0.81
(2004), 0.89 (2003), 1.06 (2002), 1.12 (2001), 1.09 (2000) |
|
Fiscal year: |
NA |
| Communications |
European Union |
|
Telephones - main lines in use: |
238,763,162 (2002) |
|
Telephones - mobile cellular: |
314,644,700 (2002) |
|
Telephone system: |
note - see individual country
entries of member states |
|
Radio broadcast stations: |
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: |
2,791 (1995); note - does not
include repeaters; sum of individual country television broadcast
stations; there is also a European-wide station (Eurovision) |
|
Internet country code: |
.eu (effective 2005); note -
see country entries of member states for individual country codes |
|
Internet hosts: |
22,000,414 (2004); note - sum
of individual country Internet hosts |
|
Internet users: |
206,032,067 (September 2004)
|
| Transportation |
European Union |
|
Railways: |
total: 222,293 km
broad gauge: 28,438 km
standard gauge: 186,405 km
narrow gauge: 7,427 km
other: 23 km (2003) |
|
Highways: |
total: 4,634,810 km
(including 56,704 km of expressways)
paved: 4,161,318 km
unpaved: 473,492 km (1999-2000) |
|
Waterways: |
53,512 km |
|
Ports and harbors: |
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: |
3,130 (2004 est.) |
|
Airports - with paved runways: |
total: 1,834 |
|
Airports - with unpaved runways: |
total: 1,296 |
|
Heliports: |
94 (2004) |
|
Military - note: |
In November 2004, the European
Union heads of government signed a "Treaty Establishing a Constitution for
Europe" 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 and 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, the Multinational
Command Support Brigade, and EUFOR, which took 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. In November 2004, the EU
Council of Ministers formally committed to creating thirteen 1,500-man
"battle groups" by the end of 2007, to respond to international crises on
a rotating basis. Twenty-two of the EU's 25 nations have agreed to supply
troops. France, Italy, and the UK are to form the first three battle
groups in 2005, with Spain to follow. In May 2005, Norway, Sweden, and
Finland agreed to establish one of the battle groups, possibly to include
Estonian forces. The remaining groups are to be formed by 2007. (2005)
|
| Transnational Issues |
European Union |
|
Disputes - international: |
the EU has no border disputes
with neighboring countries; it has set up a Schengen area - consisting of
13 EU member states that have signed the convention implementing the
Schengen agreements (1985 and 1990) on the free movement of persons and
the harmonization of border controls in Europe; the Schengen agreements
("acquis") became incorporated into EU law with the implementation of the
1997 Treaty of Amsterdam on 1 May 1999; member states are: Austria,
Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg,
Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden; in addition, non-EU states
Iceland and Norway (as part of the Nordic Union) have been included in the
Schengen area since 1996 (full members in 2001), bringing the total
current membership to 15; the UK (since 2000) and Ireland (since 2002)
take part in some aspects of the Schengen area, especially with respect to
police and criminal matters; the 10 new member states that joined the EU
in 2004 eventually are expected to participate in Schengen, following a
transition period to upgrade their border controls and procedures
|
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