1. The European Union

2. The European Union is a group of countries around Europe which have joined together to form political and economic agreements There are 27 countries which are members of the European Union (usually called the EU). The EU has its own government, made up of elected members of parliament, who decide on issues that affect all of the countries in the EU.

3. History of the EU After the end of the Second World War, there were many people who wanted the countries in Europe to work together more closely, to stop more problems from starting. In 1957 six countries signed a treaty which formed the European Economic Community: Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany. In 1973, Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom also joined the group.

4. History of the EU In 1979, the European Parliament held it’s first democratic elections. More and more countries started to join up with the group, and in 1993 the name was changed to the European Union. Recently, a new agreement has been signed to give the EU a proper constitution. This was called the Treaty of Lisbon, and although Ireland at first refused to sign, eventually the people of Ireland voted in a referendum to accept the treaty.

5. Member States of the EU There are 27 member states in the EU, and in order to join, each must pass a test to see if they are suitable. To be allowed to join, a country must first of all be a stable democracy that respects human rights and the rule of law. Also, the country must have a free market economy which is able to compete with other countries already inside the EU.

6. Member states of the EU Lastly, any country wanting to be a part of the EU must agree to follow all of the other conditions set by the EU, like EU laws. Some European countries are not members of the EU, like Switzerland, Norway, Russia and Iceland. Some countries in the EU are not actually part of Europe, like French Guiana, which is in South America, and the Canary Islands, which are off the North-West coast of Africa.

7. Member states of the EU These places are part of EU because they are connected with European countries. French Guiana is connected to France, and the Canary Islands are connected to Spain. Some countries which want to be EU members have been refused. Turkey has been trying for many years to become a part of the EU, but still has not met all of the requirements, such as free speech.

9. Government of the EU The government of the EU is made up of three main parts. The first part is the Parliament, which is made up of members elected by citizens of the EU. Each country in the EU has a certain number of members in the parliament, depending on the population of the country For instance Germany, which has a large population, has 99 members, the UK has 72, and Ireland has only 12 members.

10. Government of the EU The second part of the EU government is the Council. The council is made up of one minister from each member of the EU, so there are 27 people on the council. Each minister on the council represents his own country. For laws in the EU to be approved, both the council and the parliament must agree.

11. Government of the EU The third part of the EU government is the Commission. The commission takes care of the running of the EU. It is also made up of one person from each member country of the EU, but those on the commission are meant to be independent of their own countries, and to think only of the EU when doing their jobs.

12. Economy of the EU One of the most important ideas of the the EU is the idea of a free economy within the EU borders. This means that there is a free flow of goods(products), capital(money and assets), services and people to any place within the EU. So anyone can take these things from one country in the EU to another country in the EU without having to pay taxes or go through any formalities.

13. Economy of the EU Any countries outside of the EU who want to bring things into the EU have to pay a certain tax on goods. People who are citizens of an EU country can move freely to other EU countries, and work or live there. People who are not citizens of an EU country have the usual restrictions on working or living in a foreign country while they are in the EU.

14. Economy of the EU Part of the economy of the EU is that all of the countries will eventually have the same currency, the Euro. There are only 16 EU countries who have adopted it so far. The EU has a strict test which countries must pass before they can use the Euro, and some countries have not yet passed.

15. Economy of the EU Two countries have put off using the Euro until the economy is more suitable, the UK and Denmark. Sweden held a referendum on the issue and the people voted against it, so they deliberately don’t pass the test, to avoid using the Euro. Some countries who are not in the EU, like Monaco and the Vatican city, are allowed to use the Euro because the have done a deal with the EU.

16. Economy of the EU Even some countries who are not supposed to use the Euro are still using it, like Kosovo and Montenegro, because it is useful for trading with countries who use it. One of the policies of the EU is to help farmers in the EU by providing them with extra money so that they can have a good standard of life. This policy also tries to keep a high standard of food production in the EU, and preserve the farming way of life, which is important to the cultures of many countries.

17. Economy of the EU This farming policy is very expensive for the EU, and uses about half its budget. This policy has also helped Ireland a lot in the past, because Ireland’s economy is made up of a lot of farming business. There are problems with the policy, however, and so it is being changed. It is seen as unfair to countries outside the EU, mainly developing countries, because the farmers getting the money can lower their prices, pushing others out of business.

18. Economy of the UK The EU also spends money on improving underdeveloped member countries, like Ireland when it first joined.