Description of the flag given by The Council of Europe in 1986: "Against the blue sky of the Western world, the stars represent the peoples of Europe in a circle, a symbol of unity. Their number shall be invariably set at twelve, the symbol of completeness and perfection... just like the twelve signs of the zodiac represent the whole universe, the twelve gold stars stand for all peoples of Europe – including those who cannot as yet take part in building up Europe in unity and peace."

The European Union To identify some of the major countries in the EU. To understand the purpose of the EU and why it was set up.

The European Union is an area which now (2007) is made up of 27 countries. The European Union was set up by European governments who wanted to see an end to the disagreements that had led to two world wars. At first six countries joined together to cooperate on their coal and steel industries, this was in 1951.

The idea of European integration was was first proposed by the French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman in a speech on 9 May This date, the "birthday" of what is now the EU, is celebrated annually as Europe Day.

The EU comprises of 27 countries. They are set out below, under the dates they joined Belgium France Germany Italy Luxemburg Netherlands 1973 Denmark UK Ireland 1981 Greece 1986 Portugal Spain 1995 Austria Finland Sweden 2004 Cyprus Czech Republic Estonia Hungary Latvia Lithuania Malta Poland Slovakia Slovenia 2007 Bulgaria Romania

What does the EU do? Background Information How do you become a member? Why was it set up? What might it be like in the future? Some myths about the EU

The territory of the EU is not the same as that of Europe, as parts of the continent are outside the EU, such as Iceland, Switzerland, Norway, and European Russia.

Some overseas territories are part of the EU even if they are not geographically part of Europe, such as, the Canary Islands and Madeira.