The European Union is a union of 28 states, whose activities were enshrined in 1992 by the rules of the Maastricht Treaty. At the end of 2012, the share of the countries of this association in world GDP was 23% or 16.6 trillion US dollars. The political centers of the European Union are located in Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg, and are governed by the European Council, Commission, Parliament and Council of Ministers.
A little about the European Union
Currently, this state association includes the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Hungary, Germany, Greece, Denmark, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland, France, Croatia, Czech Republic, Sweden and Estonia.
At the very beginning of the intra-European unification, back in the 90s of the last century, the first members of the European Union were six states: Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and France. Then the remaining 22 countries joined them.
The main factors or rules for joining the organization are compliance with the criteria enshrined in 1993 in Copenhagen and approved at a meeting of the members of the Union in Madrid two years later. Member states must observe the basic principles of democracy, respect freedom and human rights, as well as the foundations of the rule of law. A potential member of the organization must have a competitive market economy and recognize the common rules and standards already adopted in the European Union.
The European Union also has its own motto - “Harmony in Diversity”, as well as the hymn “Ode to Joy”.
European countries that are not members of the European Union
The European countries that are not members of the organization include the following:
- Great Britain, Liechtenstein, Monaco and Switzerland in Western Europe;
- Belarus, Russia, Moldova and Ukraine in Eastern Europe;
- Northern European Iceland, Norway;
- Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vatican, Macedonia, San Marino, Serbia and Montenegro in Southern Europe;
- Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Turkey partially located in Europe;
- as well as the unrecognized states of the Republic of Kosovo and Transnistria.
Currently, Turkey, Iceland, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro are in the status of possible candidates for membership in the European Union.
The Western Balkan countries - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo - are already included in this enlargement program. Nevertheless, the latter state has not yet been recognized by the European Union as independent due to the fact that the secession of Kosovo from Serbia has not yet been recognized by all members of the organization.
Several so-called "dwarf" states - Andorra, Vatican, Monaco and San Marino, although they use the euro, still maintain relations with the European Union only through agreements on partial cooperation.
