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Flag of the European Union
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.
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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.
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 an 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 became 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 rejected the proposed constitution.
This development suspended the ratification effort and left
the longer-term political integration of the EU in limbo.
- CIA World Factbook.
The symbols of the European Union
This is the European flag. It is the symbol not only of the European Union
but also of Europe's unity and identity in a wider sense.
The circle of gold stars represents solidarity and harmony between the peoples of Europe.
europa.eu/abc/symbols/emblem/index_en.htm
European Union - Fotw
Members of the European Union,
Flag of the European Union,
Number of stars on the flag,
European symbols in the European Constitution,
Unofficial flag.
www.fotw.us/flags/eun.html
European Union - wikipedia.org
The European Union is a supranational and intergovernmental union
of twenty-seven states and a political body. It was established
in 1993 by the Treaty on European Union (The Maastricht Treaty), and is
the de facto successor to the six-member European Economic
Community founded in 1957.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union
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