Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

With the exception of East Timor, they are also all ASEAN member states.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands are also counted as belonging to Southeast Asia, although they belong to Australia.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

Ownership of some of the South China Sea is disputed.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

Papua New Guinea is an ASEAN observer member.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

States Regions to Southeast Asia are often also read as belonging to two territories in the Indian Ocean.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

Geographical division Southeast Asia can be divided geographically into two parts: mainland Southeast Asia (the Indochina and Malaka peninsulas) and the Malay Archipelago.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

Mainland Southeast Asia includes: Cambodia Laos Malaysia Myanmar Thailand Vietnam The Malay archipelago includes: Brunei Philippines East Timor Indonesia East Malaysia (territories on Malaysian Borneo) Singapore Andamans to India and Nicobars are also geographically counted into Southeast Asia.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

Bangladesh and the seven easternmost states of India are culturally part of Southeast Asia and are sometimes counted as belonging to both South Asia and Southeast Asia.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

Geographically, India's seven easternmost states belong to Southeast Asia.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

Of the regions of southern China, Hainan, Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi are often counted as belonging to both East Asia and Southeast Asia.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

Papua New Guinea is also often included as are Palau, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, all of which are former Spanish colonies.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

Eastern parts of Indonesia and East Timor, which are east of the Wallace line, are again considered geographically to belong to Oceania.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

History The state development of Southeast Asia began in the early decades of the period when Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms emerged throughout the region.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

With the advent of Hinduism and Buddhism, Southeast Asia gained strong influences from Indian culture.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

This probably also contributed to the emergence of the obsolete Taka-India designation.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

In the mainland part of Southeast Asia, Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms continued to flourish until modern times, while the Malay Archipelago and Malaka Peninsula began to become Islamized beginning in the 13th century.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

With the spread of Islam, Islamic sultanates began to emerge to replace the Old Kingdoms.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

On Mantree, the development of Vietnam was anomalous, as it was strongly influenced not only by Indian culture but also by Chinese culture.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

[8] The colonial period in Southeast Asia can be considered to begin in 1511, when the Portuguese took control of the Malacca Sultanate.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

In the centuries that followed, all of Southeast Asia—with the exception of Thailand—came under colonial rule.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

Thailand remained independent but paid for it through territorial pledges and trade and customs freedoms granted to Westerners.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

[8] Nationalism arrived in Southeast Asia in the late 19th century and continued to flourish until the 1930s.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

However, nationalism did not lead to the independence of states except in the Philippines.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

The Philippines was the first to declare independence from the Southeast Asian colonies in 1898, but immediately drifted into war with the United States and the first phase of independence ended as early as 1901.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

[8] The development of nationalism was interrupted by World War II, with which all of Southeast Asia came under Japanese influence.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

After Japan lost the war in 1945, the old colonial powers returned back to Southeast Asia.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

The former colonies did not particularly like this, as independence was now in the crosshairs of the colonies.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

However, colonial powers were rarely prepared to give up their territories, leading to numerous clashes and wars (among them the Indochina War).


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

Many state entities created by colonial powers also did not correspond to the area where peoples lived, which in turn led to civil wars in many states.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

[8] Southeast Asian states have undergone similar stages of development since World War II.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

The return of colonial powers was followed by independence and the rise of the state.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

The rise of the state was followed by a phase of disintegration of some degree around the 1960s.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

The disintegration phase was normally accompanied by race riots, military coups, and war in Vietnam.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

The disintegration phase was followed by the creation of a new social order in the 1970s and 1980s.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

The new social order ranged from democracy (Thailand 1973-1976, for example) to total tyranny (Cambodia's Khmer Rouge 1975-1979).


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

In many Southeast Asian countries, the social order began to become more eroded in the last decades of the 20th century.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

[8] The democratic development of the countries in the region has been shaky even in countries considered stable (for example, the 2010 Thai protests).


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

Military dictatorships have not even the worst forces of nature been able to destabilise (Tropical Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar 2008, for example).


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

The population of Southeast Asia covers an area of about 4,000,000 km2 and there lived in 2013 more than 690 million people.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

More than 20% of them live on the island of Java.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

Indonesia is the most population-rich country in the region and the 4th most population-rich country in the world.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

There are also about 30 million Chinese living in Southeast Asia.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

Religion Southeast Asia's main religions are in the mainland part of Buddhism (both mahajana and theravada and archipelago Islam.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

Third comes Christianity mainly in the Philippines, of which 95% of the population are Christians.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

The indigenous religion of Southeast Asia can be considered to be the worship of spirit beings, which occurred throughout the region.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

It is still found everywhere alongside other religions.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

[9] The first foreign religion to arrive in Southeast Asia was Hinduism in the first centuries of the period.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

It spread from India throughout the region, but today it exists as an official religion only in Bali.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

Hinduism was partly mixed with local beliefs and also became an instrument of power in the kingdoms of that time, where the king represented something like a Hindu god — and usually something different from his predecessor, which entailed the construction of new temples with each new king upon coming to power.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

On the other hand, religion also played a role in the changes of power, as the unlucky king was not in the favour of the gods and therefore had to be replaced.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

[9] Buddhism arrived in Southeast Asia from both India (Theravada Buddhism) and China (Mahajana Buddhism).


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

Mahajana remains the predominant religion in Vietnam, while in other countries of the Southeast Asian continent, theravada is the predominant form of Buddhism.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

Like Hinduism, Buddhism was also mixed with power politics, as mahajana in particular gave the opportunity to regard the king as a future bodhisattva.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

Both trends of Buddhism also intermingled with each other, for example the Theravadian king of Thailand is considered a future bodhisattva.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

The Theravada Buddhist monastic institution is also credited with a high literacy rate in theravada countries.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

[9] Islam began to arrive in Southeast Asia as early as the 13th century probably accompanied by Indian merchants.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

However, the actual spread of Islam in the Malay archipelago and the Malaka Peninsula did not begin until the 15th century.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

There were animist beliefs, Hinduism and Buddhism mixed with Islamicism in the region.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

Indonesia is today the world's most populous Islamic state (around 200 million Islamic).


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

[9] Christianity arrived in Southeast Asia in the 16th century when the Spanish conquered the Philippines.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

The Philippines has remained the strongest region for Christianity in Southeast Asia: 95% of the population, or about 88 million, are Christians.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

The population of East Timor is also predominantly Christian.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

In other countries, the influence of Christianity, despite missionary work, has remained marginal.


Question: Who were the Khmer Rouge?

Southeast Asia

[9] Sources Citation error, replace with {{cite book| author = Heikkilä-Horn, Marja-Leena| title = Southeast Asia Yesterday and Today| location = Helsinki| publisher = University Weight| year = 1991| id = ISBN 951-570-084-1}} References * Category:Key articles in screening


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

Martti Olavi (Olli) Kivinen (20 September 1921 Helsinki — 8 January 1999 Muonio) [1] was a Finnish architect, professor of community planning and urban planner.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

He participated in the design of the city plans of most cities in Finland.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

He won 16 design competitions and received prizes or redemptions in 24 others.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

[2] Kivinen was the first architect in Finland to receive a doctorate in the field of community planning.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

[1] In addition, he drew blessing chapels and business houses.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

[3] Career Olli Kivinen's parents were bank manager Mauno Alarik Kivinen and Aino Sofia Dahlström.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

He matriculated from the Lappeenranta Lyceum in 1941 and, after participating in the war, graduated from the University of Technology (TKK) as an architect in 1948.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

[2] With the scholarships he received, Kivinen made several study trips abroad in the 1950s.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

[1] He received his doctorate in 1960.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

He oriented himself towards city zoning and community planning while working from 1947 to 1950 as a designer in the office of architect Otto-Iivari Meurman, who was considered a pioneer in the field.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

Kivinen also had a joint office with Erik Kråkström for a time, until he founded his own architectural firm in 1950, which he headed until 1989.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

Kivinen was a specialist teacher at the University of Technology 1955—1960, 1960—1972 professor of station planning, 1965—1972 as supervisor of the Department of Community Planning, and 1972—1988 Professor of Community Planning and Director of the Centre for Continuing Education in Community Planning (JRC).


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

Kivinen was also the Director of the Continuing Education Centre of the TKK 1981—1987.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

In addition, he helped establish the Department of Community Planning at Garoyounis University in Bengas, Libya, and chaired its executive committee 1978—1984.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

[2] Kivinen was president of the Finnish Association of Architects 1959—1960.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

He was a member of the advisory board of the Asunto Foundation, the Helsinki City Plan Commission and the supervisory board of the insurance company Suomi-Salama.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

[2] After retiring from his professorship in 1989, Kivinen moved for life to Lapland, Muonion Kimiöniemi, where he had designed a beach plan some years earlier.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

He set up a new design agency Tunturi-Lapin Planning Oy there.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

He continued to work under his new company until his death in 1999.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

[2] Design work and learning in Jo Meurman's office Kivinen was involved in designing the general formulas of Kajaani and Joensuu completed in the early 1950s.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

Kivinen's important early design work was the Lappeenranta General Formula completed in 1956 and the Hämeenlinna General Formula of 1957.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

[2] In them, he developed an urban structure based on scattered suburbs of a certain magnitude, the “lung diagram”, which was applied very widely in the subsequent decades in the urban planning of Finnish cities.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

[1] In the general formula of Hämeenlinna, he paid much attention to the growth of car traffic and therefore decided to line the motorway to run directly next to the city centre.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

Kivinen also designed the general formulas for Kuopio (1961), Varkaus (1966), Mikkeli (1967), Forssa (1967), Jyväskylä and the rural municipality of Jyväskylä (1968), Kotka and Karhula (1969), Hyvinkää (1971) and Turku (1968—1976).


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

[2] Kivinen's dissertation, completed in 1960, was the development of building law in Finnish urban centres.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

Where O.-I was regarded as the main authority of Finnish urban planning. Meurman was interested primarily in suburban design, Kivinen's dissertation shifted the focus to the renewal of old urban centers.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

The paradigm shift was confirmed by Kivinen's arrival in the same year as Meurman's successor as TKK's Professor of City Scheme and the exhibition “Crisis of Cities” presented in Helsinki and Turku in 1961.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

Unlike Meurman, Flintstone admired the functionalist trend of urban planning represented by Le Corbusier, aiming for a complete renewal of cities.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

Kivinen's activities contributed to the fact that in many Finnish cities, in the following years, the construction right of downtown areas was significantly increased, often resulting in large-scale demolition of the old building stock.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

In turn, the winning proposal of the 1962 Kemi Downtown Station Formula Competition introduced “windmill blocks”, formed as trademarks by Kivinen and his students, divided into four-pitches by park corridors, whose courtyards left space for car spaces and play areas.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

Kivinen also designed city plans for the city centre areas for Kajaani (1964), Kotka (1964), Hamina (1965) and Iisalme (1970).


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

Of these, the Hamina formula was the first, the starting point of which was even partial protection, rather than demolition, of the old building stock.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

[2] On the other hand, Kivinen, like many of his contemporaries, advocated the idea of developing suburbs into functionally autonomous satellite cities, which entailed abandoning the traditional fixed urban structure.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

The most famous and prestigious of the suburbs that Stone himself zoned is Pihlajamäki in Helsinki, whose formula was completed in 1960.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

Pihlajamäki used prefabricated construction for the first time in Finland, while impressively located high tower houses and walled low floor houses were successfully seated on rocky terrain with steep height differences.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

Other neighborhoods designed by Kivinen were Helsingin Lehtisaari (1959) and Yliskylä (1965), Helsinki Rural Municipality (now.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

Vantaa) Kaivoksela (1960), Ollinsaari, built as a residential area in Rautaruuki (1969) and Leppävaara Centre in Espoo (1976—1977).


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

For Libya, in the early 1980s, he designed an entire city of 40,000 inhabitants, Ras Lanuf.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

[2] During Stone's professorial period, the importance of community planning in architectural education at the TKK increased considerably.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

His goals included rationalising and streamlining the design to make it more compatible with construction that had become increasingly industrial and allow faster construction.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

The sharp increase and acceleration of housing construction in the 1960s led to a technocratization of planning processes and the use of well-reduced house types.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

Established in 1968 at the University of Technology under Osi Kivinen's leadership, the purpose of the Continuing Education Centre was to teach community planning to representatives of other disciplines who were increasingly involved in that planning.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

Kivinen served at the head of this institution from 1972 until his retirement.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

[2] Individual buildings designed by Kivinen include Kuopio Blessing Chapel (1957), Lajasalo Terrace Houses in Helsinki (1968—1970), Lauttasaari Shopping Centre (1970) and surrounding residential apartment buildings in Lauttasaari, Helsinki, as well as a shopping mall completed in Lehtisaari in Helsinki (1967) ), St. Lauri's Chapel (1983), and his own household.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

[2] [4] [5] [6] The Kivinen office also designed the buildings in Raahe Ollinsaari and the centre of Leppävaara, Espoo.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

[1] [2] Kivinen also designed the Hero Cross of the Church of Kuorevesi, unveiled in 1957.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

[7] Due to changing design ideals, Kivinen's design works were also subject to a lot of criticism, especially from the 1980s onwards.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

They were reproached, for example, for bulldozing old building stock and the environment in the name of efficiency.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

[2] [4] Publications on building law in the central areas of our cities, its development and sizing, 1960.


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

(Ph.D. dissertation) Development of community planning in the light of persons in the 1960s and 1970s, 1978 (with M. Kirjaka).


Question: When was Martti Olavi Kivinen born?

Olli Kivinen (architect)

Sources Category:Finnish architects Category:University of Technology Professors Category:Finnish professors Category:People born in 1921 Class:Persons who died in 1999


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

Европейски съюз (Bulgarian) European Union (English) Unión Europe (Spanish) Europese Unie (Dutch) An Taontas Eorpach (Irish) Unione Europea (Italian) Ευρωπαπακή ένωση (Greek) Europska unija (Croatian) Eiropas Savienība (Latvian) Europos Sąjunga (Lithuanian) Unjoni Ewropea União Europeia (Portuguese) União Europejska (Polish) Union européenne (French) Uniunea Europeană (Romanian) Europeiska unionen (Swedish) Europäische Union (German) Európska únia (Slovak) Evropska unija (Slovene) Den Europæiske Union (Danish) Európai (Hungarian) Evropská unie (Czech) Europe Liit (Estonian) flagMotto: In varietate concordia (Finnish Uniform in Diversity) 1Official languages2Bulgarian, English, Spanish, Dutch, Irish, Italian, Greek, Croatian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Portuguese, Polish, French, Romanian, Swedish, German, Slovak, Slovenian, Finnish, Danish, Czech, Hungarian, Estonian ParliamentStrasbourg (France), Brussels (Belgium) and Luxembourg (Luxembourg) President-in-Office of the European Council—Donald TuskeEuropean Commission PresidentJean-Claude JunckerPresident of the European ParliamentAntonio Tajanipinta sector — total Water Ranked 73 4324782 km² 3.08% Population (2015 estimate) — total — Population densityRanked 33,508,191 116 115.8/km²GDP — total — per inhabitant ranked 1 16,220 billion.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

$ (2015 estimate) $31,918 (2015) currencyEuro4 (EUR) Other currencies: Czech koruna (CZK) Danish krone (DKK) British pound (GBP) Hungarian forint (HUF) Polish zloty (PLN) Swedish krona (SEK) Romanian leu (RON) Bulgarian leva (BGN) Croatian kuna (HRK) Time Zone5 — Summertime TimeC+0... +2 UTC+1... +3Formed —confirmed —recognized by the Maastricht Treaty of 7 February 1992 1 November 1993 National Song Code for Joy Internet Domaina.EU1Unofficial motto proposed in the Constitution.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

2The official languages of the European Union are different from those that have official language status within the territory of the European Union.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

Member countries set official languages in their territories.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

3If the EU is counted as a single entity 4Used by euro area countries and EU institutions.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

5The French Overseas Territories UTC−4... +4 The European Union (EU [1]) is an economic and political alliance formed by 28 European member states.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

All European countries which fulfil the democratic and economic criteria set for a Member State are eligible to join the Union.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

The name European Union came into use in 1993 with the advent of the Maastricht Treaty.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

The most important competences of the European Union include the internal market area, the euro area, the common agricultural policy and trade policy.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

The combined population of the Member States of the European Union is more than 500 million and an area of 4324782 square kilometres.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

The population density in the EU is 115.6 inhabitants per km².


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

If the EU were a state, it would be the seventh largest in terms of area and the third largest in terms of population.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

The Member States are the Netherlands, Belgium, Bulgaria, Spain, Ireland, Italy, Austria, Greece, Croatia, the Republic of Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Poland, France, Romania, Sweden, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland, Denmark, Czech Republic, Hungary, Estonia and the United Kingdom.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

The candidates for EU membership are Turkey, Iceland (membership talks suspended), Montenegro, Serbia, Macedonia and Albania.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

As a result of the UK's June 2016 consultative referendum result, the country has initiated a process of separation from the Union.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

The European Union is not a federal state, like the United States, for example, because its member states are independent and independent.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

Nor is it a purely intergovernmental organisation along the lines of the UN, because Member States have pooled their resources into the Union to gain more influence than they could have alone.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

This is possible through joint decisions taken by the Union institutions.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

The EU institutions are the elected European Parliament, the European Council of Heads of State and Government of the Member States, the Council representing the governments of the Member States, and the European Commission, which draws up proposals for new EU legislation for approval by Parliament and the Council.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

Other key institutions include the Court of Justice of the European Union, which ensures that EU law is interpreted and applied in the same way in all member states, and the European Central Bank and the Court of Auditors.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

[2] The total number of staff of the EU institutions is approximately 40000 employees.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

In October 2012, the European Union was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

[3] History of European integration British Prime Minister Winston Churchill put forward the idea of a “United States of Europe” and the prevention of wars in Zurich after World War II in the autumn of 1946.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

The initiative led to the creation of the Council of Europe in 1949.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

In addition to Churchill, Konrad Adenauer, Alcide De Gasperi and Robert Schuman were active in the opposition to totalitarianism and the intention for peace.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

New structures based on the mutual interest of the parties were to be created in Western Europe.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

They would, on the other hand, be based on treaties guaranteeing respect for the rule of law and equality between countries.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

[4] Europe wanted to avoid another major war, and efforts were made to eliminate tension between Germany and France by placing the coal resources of the Saar region, the countries' border region, under the control of an international, independent authority.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

The European Coal and Steel Community was established in 1951 and the Constitution was signed in Paris by Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

[5] As a result of the creation of the Coal and Steel Community, cooperation between European countries expanded, and the agreements between the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community were signed in Rome in 1957.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

The European Economic Community was based on a customs union between member countries and a progressive common market.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

The agreement decided to establish common policies for agriculture, transport, labour movement and important sectors of the economy.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

[5] Common institutions were established for the three communities.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

In 1967, the Merger Agreement came into force, creating a common council and a common commission for the European Communities.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

[5] The European Community expanded in 1973 with the accession of the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

Greece became a member in 1981 and Spain and Portugal in 1986.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

[5] The 1970s also saw the development of political cooperation, supported by the establishment of the European Council in 1974, as a system outside the Community structures.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

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The influence of the European Parliament was consolidated, and the first direct elections to elect MEPs were held in 1979.


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In 1986, the Single European Act was signed, followed by the creation of an internal market which made the Community a closer economic area.


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[5] The political situation in Europe changed radically with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the socialist countries seeking to leave the Soviet front.


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The Germans were reunified in December 1990, and the Soviet Union ceased to exist at the end of 1991.


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Meanwhile, member states were negotiating a new treaty that would create the European Union (EU).


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[6] The European Community changed its name to the European Union with the signing of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992.


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Union cooperation extended to foreign and security policy and justice and home affairs.


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Finland, Sweden and Austria joined the European Union in 1995, but Norway was excluded from it following the referendum result.


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[5] The Maastricht Treaty Plan for Economic and Monetary Union was implemented in three phases.


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The European Central Bank became operational in 1999.


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In 2002, 12 countries adopted the single currency of the euro.


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[5] In March 2000, the EU adopted the so-called Lisbon Strategy to modernise the Union's economy.


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[6] As the European Union continued its enlargement into Eastern and Central Europe, the institutional structure and decision-making of the Union were modernized and intensified.


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The Treaty of Amsterdam 1997 strengthened cooperation in justice and home affairs and strengthened the common foreign and security policy.


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The Treaty of Nice prepared the Union for 2004 enlargement.


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Ten new countries joined the European Union: Latvia, Lithuania, Cyprus, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Estonia.


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The number of Member States increased to 27 in 2007, with Bulgaria and Romania also joining the Union.


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Croatia became a member in 2013.


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[5] The European Constitutional Treaty was signed in Rome in 2004.


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The purpose of the Agreement was to clarify the division of competences between the Union and the Member States, to simplify the legal system of the Union and to increase democratic, efficiency and transparency in Union decision-making.


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However, the treaty failed to be ratified, as referendums in France and Holland had majorities voting against it.


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The Treaty of Lisbon 2007 was adopted in each member state in accordance with the countries' own constitutional provisions.


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The agreement entered into force in December 2009 after Ireland also accepted it.


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[5] In the context of the global economic crisis in 2009, it became apparent that Greece had long misrepresented its economic statistics.


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Euro countries and the International Monetary Fund backed Greece with guarantees worth hundreds of billions of euros.


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Euro countries also established the European Financial Stability Facility and the European Stability Mechanism to safeguard financial stability in the euro area.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

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After Greece, aid packages also had to be made to Spain, Ireland, Cyprus and Portugal.


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[5] The European Union was awarded the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize for promoting peace, reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe.


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[5] Great Britain decided in a referendum in 2016 to secede from the European Union.


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In the 2010s, the European Union has also been hit by the crisis in Ukraine, the refugee crisis and terrorism.


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[5] Member States Terms of Membership Legal requirements The process of political and economic integration in Europe has always been open to European countries ready to sign treaties and adopt EU law in full.


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According to Article 237 of the Treaty of Rome, “any European State may apply for membership of the Community”.


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In addition, according to Article F of the Maastricht Treaty, Member States must have a state system based on the “principles of democracy”.


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[13] Candidate countries and Copenhagen criteria Candidate countries are referred to as countries which have applied for membership of the EU and whose application has been formally approved.


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The current candidate countries are Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey.


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Iceland, who had previously been a candidate for membership, has withdrawn its application.


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Membership negotiations with Turkey began in October 2005, with Iceland in July 2010 (but broke down in August 2013), with Montenegro in December 2010, with Serbia in January 2014 and with Albania in June 2014 [14].


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With Balkan countries, the EU has special association agreements designed to pave the way to EU membership.


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[15] Before accession, a candidate country must fulfil the Copenhagen criteria.


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The criteria were set by the European Council in 1993 for former communist countries to become members of the Union.


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According to them, the new Member States must have: [13] stable national institutions to ensure respect for democracy, legal order and human rights, respect and protection of minorities in a functioning market economy and the ability to cope with the internal Union competitive pressure and the functioning of market forces, the capacity to comply with the obligations of the Member States and to support all objectives of the Union: public administrations in new countries must be able to apply and administer EU legislation in practice.


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Each candidate country's specific terms of membership are defined in negotiations with the European Commission, which usually last for years.


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[16] Accession event Prior to the actual membership negotiations, convergence negotiations take place.


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First, the European Council approves the opening of accession negotiations with the new Member State, followed by comparison of the laws of the new candidate country with Union acts.


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There are usually 35 sets of negotiations, and criteria for their assessment are agreed before negotiations begin.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

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There will be separate negotiations for each set of negotiations, which could take years.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

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When the applicant country fulfils the criteria for the negotiating sets, it will present both its country's position on negotiations and proposals for measures to bring into force a matter, and the Council of Ministers will then adopt the EU position on negotiations between the Commission and the Member State.


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The actual accession negotiations will take place between each candidate country and the Commission.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

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After accession negotiations, the applicant country must fulfil the terms of membership and adjust its legislation in accordance with Union requirements.


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Where appropriate, special arrangements may be granted to the applicant country or a transitional period to bring a matter in order.


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Thereafter, the representatives of the Member States meeting in the Council must unanimously endorse membership.


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In practice, Member States' position has already been asked several times before this stage.


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The European Parliament must also receive the assent of an absolute majority of its members.


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The accession treaty shall be ratified by the Member States and the candidate country or countries according to their own constitutional procedures.


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[13] Candidate countries will receive EU support during the negotiation period to make it easier for them to bridge economic development gaps.


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For example, the ten countries that joined in 2004 received €41 billion in aid.


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[13] The limits of EU enlargement Geographical borders When the EU Constitutional Treaty was debated, it became apparent that many Europeans are concerned by the question of the Union's borders and even identity.


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Turkey's potential membership, for example, raises the question of the status of Caucasus countries such as Armenia and Georgia.


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The Baltic states, meanwhile, support Ukrainian membership, but the political situation in Belarus and Moldova's strategic position are problematic.


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Russian membership could create an unsustainable imbalance in the Union, both politically and geographically.


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On the other hand, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland are not in the process of applying to join the Union, even if they fulfil the conditions of membership, as public opinion is against accession in these countries.


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[17] Administrative restrictions The national languages of all EU countries are official languages of the Union.


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The question has been raised whether parallel use of all languages is necessary in all situations.


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[18] Institutions, other bodies and agencies Official institutions The European Union has seven official institutions, each of which has its own function: the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council of the European Union i.e. the Council of Ministers, the European Commission, the European Union the Court of Justice, the European Court of Auditors and the European Central Bank.


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[19] The European Parliament employs 751 MEPs from 28 Member States, in number proportional to the population of each country.


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They are elected by direct popular election in European Parliament elections held every five years to represent EU citizens.


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The seats of Parliament are Strasbourg, Brussels and Luxembourg.


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[20] [21] The three main tasks of the European Parliament are legislation, control and budgetary.


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Parliament adopts EU legislation based on the proposals of the European Commission together with the Council of the EU.


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It decides on international agreements and EU enlargements and evaluates the European Commission's work programme and requests legislative proposals from the Commission.


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Parliament acts as the democratic guardian of all the institutions of the Union.


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Among other things, it elects the president of the European Commission, approves the new commission and can force it to resign.


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Parliament decides on the EU budget together with the Council and approves the Union's long-term budget.


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[20] Parliament works in committees where legislation is prepared and in plenary sessions where legislation is passed.


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[20] The European Council defines general policy priorities, but does not have legislative powers.


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The Council consists of the Heads of EU countries, the President of the European Council and the President of the Commission.


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The European Council shall meet at least twice in each six-month period, usually for a period of two or three days.


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[21] The European Council is the official initiator in the context of the main sectors of the Union.


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It also has the power to agree on difficult issues on which the Council of the European Union has failed to agree.


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The European Council also deals with topical topics related to the common foreign and security policy, so that the EU can appear as a single front in diplomatic matters.


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[22] The Council of the European Union, or the Council of Ministers in the Council of the European Union, is governed by the government and ministers of each EU country.


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The Council is chaired by each EU country in turn.


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[21] All meetings of the Council are attended by one minister from each Member State, depending on the subject matter: whether it is, for example, foreign affairs, agriculture or transport.


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[23] The Council has legislative powers which it shares with the European Parliament.


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In addition, the Council shall adopt the budget together with Parliament.


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The Council also concludes international agreements negotiated by the European Commission.


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[23] Decisions shall be taken by the Council either by majority or unanimous vote, depending on the subject at hand.


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A unanimous decision is required on important issues such as treaty amendment, initiation of a new common policy or accession of a new Member State.


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In most other situations, qualified majority voting is used, meaning a certain predetermined number of votes is required to approve a decision.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

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The number of votes in each EU country roughly corresponds to the size of its population.


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[22] European Commission The European Commission represents the interests of the Union as a whole.


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Its members are elected by the governments of the member countries.


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[21] Members are appointed for five years at a time.


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The appointments are agreed between the Member States and must be approved by the European Parliament.


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The Commission is answerable to Parliament and the Commission must resign if Parliament votes no confidence in it.


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Since 2004, the Commission has had one member per Member State.


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[24] The Commission is very independent because it needs to look out for the interests of the EU as a whole and cannot take instructions from the government of any Member State.


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As the 'guardian of the Treaty', it must ensure that legislation drafted by the Council and Parliament is implemented in the Member States.


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If this does not happen, the Commission may refer the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union.


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The Commission is the executive arm of the EU, so it implements the decisions taken by the Council and has broad powers to manage common EU policies, such as research and technology, development aid, regional policy, and appropriations for them.


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[24] The European Commission is assisted mainly by an official crew based in Brussels and Luxembourg, consisting of 36 Directorates-General and branches.


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[24] Court of Justice The job of the Court of Justice of the European Union is to ensure that EU law is respected and the Treaties are interpreted and applied correctly.


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The Court is based in Luxembourg and consists of one judge from each Member State and eight Advocates-General.


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Judges are appointed by common agreement between the governments of the Member States for a term of six years, renewable.


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[24] Court of Auditors The Court of Auditors of the European Union takes care that the Union's revenue and expenditure are correctly and legally measured and the budget has been properly managed.


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It shall have one member from each Member State appointed by agreement between Member States after consultation with the European Parliament.


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[24] The European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt is responsible for the euro and EU monetary policy.


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[25] Other bodies The seven official EU institutions are supported by five other important bodies: the European Economic and Social Committee, the European Committee of the Regions, the European Investment Bank, the European Ombudsman and the European Data Protection Supervisor.


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[19] The European External Action Service shall assist the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.


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[21] Interinstitutional bodies and agencies The institutional bodies are the Publications Office, which produces and distributes publications on the EU, the Staff Selection Office which employs staff for EU institutions and other bodies, a staff training centre that provides training for EU staff, as well as the IT crisis team dealing with threats to the IT systems of the institutions.


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[26] Agencies have been decentralised to the Member States of the European Union to perform certain technical, scientific or administrative tasks.


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[19] Supreme Leaders Jean-Claude Juncker, European Commission President Donald Tusk, European Council President Antonio Tajani, European Parliament President Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Mario Draghi , the President of the European Central Bank European Union law The law of the European Union is divided into primary legislation, namely treaties and secondary legislation.


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[27] Treaties All the activities of the European Union are based on its Treaties.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

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They are binding agreements concluded between Member States defining the objectives of the Union, its rules and decision-making procedures for its institutions, and relations between the Union and its Member States.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

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The Treaties are voluntarily and democratically adopted by the Member States of the Union.


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[28] The main Treaties of the European Union including the years of entry into force: [28] Treaty of Lisbon (2009) Treaty of Nice (2003) Treaty of Amsterdam (1999) Treaty on European Union, i.e. Maastricht Treaty (1993) Single European Act (1987) Treaty (1967) Treaties of Rome, namely the EEC and Euratom Treaties (1958) Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (1952-2002) Secondary legislation of the European Union includes, inter alia, regulations, directives and decisions.


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They are derived from the principles and objectives laid down in the Treaties.


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[27] Since the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, decision-making has been adopted in accordance with the general legislative procedure known as the ordinary legislative procedure.


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Exceptionally, the common foreign and security policy uses an intergovernmental procedure, and in the case of justice and home affairs delegated to the Union, special procedures in which Member States retain considerable competence remain applicable.


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[29] Legislation The most important form of decision in the European Union is legislation.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

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It can be divided into binding instruments, non-binding instruments, as well as other instruments.


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[29] The Union's binding instruments are the Regulation, the Directive and the Decision.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

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[29] The regulation is a compulsory instrument in general application.


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It is binding in its entirety and binding on the institutions, the Member States and the persons to whom it is addressed.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

The Regulation shall apply as such in all Member States from the moment of its entry into force, and its legal effects are binding on the national legislation of all Member States simultaneously and uniformly.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

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[29] The directive is a compulsory instrument of general application, which is, however, more flexible than the Regulation, since States are free to choose the means to fulfil that obligation.


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The Directive is mainly used to approximate and harmonise the laws of the Member States.


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[29] The Decision is a binding instrument in its entirety and cannot be implemented inadequately, selectively or in part.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

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The decision may be addressed to one or more recipients or issued without a specified recipient.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

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[29] There are around 70% of Union law legislation (2012), around 26% of decisions and 4% directives.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

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By directives, the EU seeks to harmonise the administration of justice in the territory of the Union, while other provisions aim to refine the legal basis and guide its application and interpretation.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

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[29] Recommendations and opinions are non-binding instruments of Union law.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

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They do not have a binding character, but they can be considered to have a political impact.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

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[29] Other instruments of Union law include, inter alia, internal institutional rules and various operational programmes.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

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Non-legislative decisions include deciding on the Union budget, decisions relating to the common foreign and security policy, deciding on amendments to the Treaties and the open method of coordination.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

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[29] Competences The European Union is only able to take decisions in those policy areas in which it has jurisdiction.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

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The competences of the European Union in different policy areas can be divided into four categories, depending on how wide they are.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

[30] Areas for which competences have been delegated to the EU in full or almost all: [30] Foreign trade Competition policy Agricultural policy Fisheries policy Competences and decision-making in the euro Areas in which the EU plays a strong role and Member States limited influence: [30] Environmental policy Regional policy Internal market Research and product development Combating cross-border crime Areas where Member States and the EU have a strong role only to play a role: [30] Social policy Foreign policy Defence Taxation Health care Fiscal policy of Member States Sectors where competences reside solely or almost exclusively with Member States: [30] Educational policy Cultural policy Housing Political agendas The Union's decision-making influences the political agenda of political decision-makers, that is, the set of issues which, at a given time, are of particular interest to decision-makers.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

The political agenda determines which issues end up on the table.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

In addition to the Union's overall decision-making agenda, each EU institution can also be defined with its own decision-making agenda in relation to its tasks.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

By lobbying, various interest groups seek to influence the end of the Union's decision-making agenda.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

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[31] The legislative process is defined and delineated by three fundamental principles of the administration of justice in the European Union.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

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Firstly, the Union can only act in those areas where the Member States have separately ceded powers to it.


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Second, Union law takes precedence over international law.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

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Thirdly, all solutions and decisions aim as close as possible to the object of decision-making.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

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[32] The legislation of the European Union follows the so-called ordinary legislative procedure.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

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The roles of the various institutions are defined in the Treaties of the Union.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

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The Commission alone has an indivisible right of initiative with regard to Union law.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

The European Parliament must approve the bill before it can come into force.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

The bill also needs the approval of the EU Council.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

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Any of these three institutions can make or introduce amendments to the bill.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

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[33] The actual consideration of the bill can be divided into four phases.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

In the first stage, the commission will issue a bill.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

After a pre-examination, the proposal will proceed to first reading, first in the European Parliament, then in the Council.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

If the positions of Parliament and the Council differ, the bill will proceed to a second reading in Parliament, which is now based on a 'common position' formulated by the Council.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

If the Council approves all the amendments tabled by Parliament, the proposal shall have legal force.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

Otherwise, the bill will proceed to the conciliation stage, that is, the third reading, which will take place in a special reconciliation committee.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

The compromise proposal it has made will either be accepted or rejected in a vote by the European Parliament.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

[34] Specific decision-making procedures Amendment procedure The Treaties of the European Union may be amended through the normal amending procedure or simplified amending procedure.Under the normal amending procedure, the Government of a Member State, the European Parliament or the Commission shall submit a proposal to the European Council for amendments to the Treaties.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

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The European Council will then convene a special convention to prepare a draft for a special intergovernmental conference.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

Under it, member governments are holding discussions to find consensus to change the treaties.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

If, due to the narrowness and paucity of the draft amendment, the European Council decides not to convene a convention, it will give the Intergovernmental Conference a mandate to prepare a treaty amendment.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

Finally, in both cases, Member States will decide whether to ratify the amendments adopted during the process.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

Amendments to the Treaties will enter into force only if the new treaty is ratified by all Member States.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

Under the simplified amendment procedure, the Treaties can be amended to a limited extent by means of a much lighter procedure than the normal amendment procedure.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

It is used in areas that rely on 'internal policy' of the Union.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

In addition, by means of the bridge procedure, the passerelle procedure, the European Council may, by unanimous decision, introduce a majority decision or a normal legislative procedure, provided that the European Parliament supports the decision of the European Council.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

In addition, any proposal to introduce the passerelle procedure must be adopted by all national parliaments.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

[35] Open method of coordination The open method of coordination is a flexible and light method introduced in 2000, which is used in support of, inter alia, the reform of national economic systems, employment and social policy, education and research policy.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

The methodology is based on voluntary cooperation between Member States with the aim of reciprocal learning.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

Initially, the Council will determine the objectives and common indicators will be drawn up.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

Participating Member States draw up their own operational programmes and, after the agreed period, their performance will be assessed.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

Member States exchange experiences and practices and seek to dispense with poor practices and to increase information on the impact of different practices in different circumstances.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

[36] The implementation and control of decisions within the framework of the European Union shall be exercised by the Council and the Commission.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

The majority of decisions taken by the Union are taken by the Member States.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

The first stage of implementation is the legal implementation by which the measures required for the actual application of Union legislation are carried out.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

Regulations apply immediately after their entry into force, but the implementation of the directives requires a change in national law.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

The second stage is practical implementation, i.e. concrete implementation of the decisions taken.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

The main responsibility for implementing decisions is usually borne by the officials of the Member States.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

European Union

The third stage consists in the control of decisions.


Question: How many founding countries were in the EU?

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Compliance with the obligations of a Member State shall be monitored by the Commission, which may, if necessary, bring proceedings against a particular Member State.


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The enforcement of Union legislation is also carried out by national courts.


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[37] Funding and Budget The size of the current annual EU budget is approximately one per cent of the EU countries' combined GDP and is financed from so-called EU own resources.


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In 2014, the budget of the European Union was around €135.5 billion.


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[38] The budget shall not exceed 1,24% of the combined gross national income of all Member States.


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[39] In practice, the budget has remained below this ceiling and was, for example, very close to 1% of gross national income (GNI) through the 2000s.


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The funds come mainly from customs duties, VAT and Member States' levies.


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[39] The annual budget is decided by the Council and Parliament on the basis of a proposal from the Commission.


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The Commission shall draw up a preliminary draft budget, which will be considered by the European Parliament and the Council and seek to reach agreement on it.


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Finally, the House votes to pass the budget.


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[40] Parliament is also empowered to reject a budget if it considers that its priorities have not been met.


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In this case, the Commission must draw up a new draft.


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[41] The budget for each year falls within the seven-year budget period referred to as the 'financial perspective'.


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The Commission, the European Parliament and the Council commit themselves to a joint agreement aimed at guaranteeing budgetary discipline, establishing a long-term plan and improving cooperation in the framework of the budgetary procedure.


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This agreement also includes a multiannual financial framework which sets out annual ceilings for each budget heading.


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The European Parliament and the European Court of Auditors shall monitor that the budget is managed efficiently.


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Every year, the EU institutions must demonstrate to Parliament that they are spending the funds allocated to them appropriately.


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[42] For the period 2014-2020, EU expenditure is as follows: [38] Sustainable growth and employment 47% Protection and management of natural resources 38.9% EU as a global player 6,1% citizenship, freedom, security and justice 1,6% other expenditure (incl. administration) 6.4%.


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Internal Market The internal market of the European Union comprises the removal of barriers to trade between the Member States of the Union in order to improve trade activity.


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Restrictions on trade and free competition between Member States have been gradually lifted, but the internal market does not yet represent a single economic area.


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Some sectors of the economy, mainly public services, have been left under national law and individual EU countries continue to have primary responsibility for their own taxation and social welfare.


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[43] Economic and Monetary Union — euro Most countries in the European Union use the euro as a common currency.


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It was introduced for non-cash transactions in 1999 and for all payments in 2002, when euro banknotes and coins were also issued.


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Of the 15 then member countries, all but Denmark, the United Kingdom and Sweden have taken the euro.


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Later in 2007 Slovenia adopted the euro, 2008 Malta and Cyprus, 2009 Slovakia, 2011 Estonia, 2014 Latvia and in 2015 Lithuania.


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Other new Member States are preparing to adopt the euro as they meet the required criteria.


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The European Central Bank monitors monetary stability and Member States are committed to promoting growth and economic convergence [44].


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The introduction of euro banknotes and coins also had a significant psychological impact.


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More than two-thirds of EU citizens manage their personal finances denominated in euros.


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The common currency allows consumers to compare prices in different countries directly.


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[45] Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) was created in 1992 by the Maastricht Treaty, which contained a binding implementation plan for economic and monetary union.


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[46] The economic crisis in the euro area forced EMU out of the Maastricht Treaty world, where the member countries had strong economic sovereignty and had almost no solidarity with each other's public finances.


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Many have seen this as a development towards a federal government.


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The three models for the future of the study published by Etla and the Foreign Policy Institute in 2014 are the Federal EMU, the Fiscal Union-EMU and the Banking Union EMU, which is now born.


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A possible federation was seen as troublesome for Finland, in the view of the study authors, if the important Sweden and Britain were to be excluded, for example, by some form of associate membership.


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[47] Freedom, security and the right to open the internal borders of the EU has been an obvious advantage for ordinary people when they can travel without border controls.


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Admittedly, the EU's external border controls have been tightened in order to combat trafficking in human beings, drug smuggling, organised crime, illegal immigration and terrorism.


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[48] The Treaty establishing the European Community did not envisage the integration of European countries in matters of justice or home affairs.


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However, free movement also made it important to guarantee the same protection and legal protection for everyone anywhere in the EU.


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The original Treaties were gradually amended over the years by the Single European Act, the Treaty on European Union (Maastricht Treaty) and the Treaty of Amsterdam.


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[48] Free movement in the Schengen area In 1985, the governments of the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France and Germany signed an agreement in Schengen that facilitated travel between the two countries.


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The countries agreed to end all person checks at their common borders, harmonise non-EU controls at borders and introduce a common visa policy.


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[48] Thus a zone known as the Schengen zone was created, with no internal borders.


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The Schengen complex has since become part of the EU Treaty and the Schengen area has expanded.


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Today, 26 countries are included in the agreement: the countries of the European Union, excluding Britain and Ireland, and Norway, Iceland and Switzerland.


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Asylum and Migration Governments in EU countries have agreed that asylum applications will be processed according to mutually agreed principles.


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In 1999, the objective was to have a common asylum procedure in the Union and to have a valid and uniform status throughout the Union.


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The European Refugee Fund was also established


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However, a true common EU asylum and migration policy has not materialised.


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[49] France and Germany have told Poland and Hungary that they must accept migrants or leave the European Union.


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[50] To combat international crime and terrorism, the EU has set up the Schengen Information System (SIS).


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It allows authorities to exchange information about individuals for whom an arrest warrant or extradition request has been issued or stolen property such as vehicles or art objects.


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[51] Another milestone has been the establishment of Europol.


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It is an EU body of police and customs authorities based in The Hague that deals with the full spectrum of international crime.


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[52] Towards the European area of justice, different legal systems exist in the different Member States of the European Union.


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However, the Eurojust unit has been set up in The Hague in 2003 to assist the investigative and prosecutorial authorities of different countries to cooperate.


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The European Arrest Warrant, which has been in force since January 2004, replaces lengthy extradition procedures.


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[52] In the field of civil law, efforts have been made to facilitate the enforcement of court decisions in cross-border divorce, legal separation, custody and alimony cases.


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This allows judgments in one country to be applied in other EU countries.


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Common procedures also simplify and accelerate the mediation of civil claims that cross state borders but are minor and unchallenged, such as debt or bankruptcy cases.


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[52] Foreign policy Objectives for the European Union's foreign policy include the EU's common foreign and security policy, the common security and defence policy and other international actions of the EU.


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[53] The objectives of the European Union's foreign policy are defined in the EU Treaties.


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The Union's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) are based on the Maastricht (1992), Amsterdam (1997) and Nice (2001) treaties.


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[54] EU Member States have the opportunity to define the Union's foreign policy guidelines and the limits of action.


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[55] EU foreign policy decision-making takes place as an intergovernmental process and decisions are taken by the Council or the European Council.


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[56] The overall objective of the European Union's foreign policy is to promote and safeguard the interests and values of the EU.


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So-called European values form the basis of the EU's foreign policy agenda.


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In addition to promoting peace and stability, the foreign policy objectives enshrined in the Treaties of the Union include promoting global sustainable development, the fight against poverty and the defence and promotion of human rights in accordance with the UN Declaration of Human Rights.


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As defined by the Treaty of Lisbon, the Union's international action must be based on the values that have served as a basis for European integration.


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In its international activities, the Union must also commit itself to democracy, the rule of law, respect for human rights, equality and solidarity.


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In addition, the Union must endeavour, for example, to promote environmental protection and disaster response, peacekeeping, conflict prevention and strengthening international security.


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One objective of the agreement is also to form a zone of prosperity and good neighbourly relations around the Union, through which stability is enhanced in the immediate vicinity of the EU.


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[57] Along with the treaties establishing general guidelines, a key document defining the practical objectives of EU foreign policy has been the European Security Strategy of 2003.


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The three main objectives outlined by the strategy are to combat threats, strengthening security in the EU's neighbouring regions and strengthening multilateralism, which contributes to the strengthening of a multipolar world order in which the United Nations would play the most important role.


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[58] In 2016, the European Union published a Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy, which sets out the Union's common vision and action plan for EU action in the world.


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Its five objectives are the security of the Union, crisis resilience of states and societies in the EU's eastern and southern neighbourhoods, an integrated approach to conflicts, cooperative regional systems and global management in the 21st century.


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[59] Instruments To achieve its foreign policy objectives, the European Union uses four main instruments.


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Diplomatic instruments include declarations and official contacts.


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Legal instruments include international law treaties, often “partnership and cooperation agreements” as with Russia and the CIS countries, or “convergence agreements” such as Mediterranean non-EU countries, European countries seeking EU membership, and Africa, Caribbean and Pacific with countries.


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Incentive schemes include a system of generalised tariff preferences, full EU membership and various positive and negative sanctions.


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Military and civilian crisis management tools include various military operations as well as support for post-conflict state-building.


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[60] The strengthening of the EU's warring dimension in the 21st century has prompted debate on the relationship between the military alliance NATO and the EU.


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[61] The United States accepts that the European Union may use some NATO assets, such as intelligence, communications network, command equipment and transport capacity, in operations in which the United States has no involvement.


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[54] Data collection on terrorism and the fight against it has extended the concept of traditional defence cooperation.


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[62] Trade policy The European Union has a common commercial policy.


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The European Union accounts for around 20% of world imports and exports.


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An integral part of the EU's trade policy is the WTO.


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In international trade negotiations, the Union's member states are represented by the European Commission, which also addresses the EU's speeches at the WTO.


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The Commission will work closely with the Member States and the European Parliament.


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Final decisions will be taken by the European Council.


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Negotiating mandates and international agreements and various trade policy actions shall be decided by the Council of the European Union.


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[63] The EU's trade policy is linked to its development aid policy.


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[64] Most developing countries' exports to the EU are tariff-free or have reduced tariffs.


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Preferential treatment aims to promote economic growth in poor countries.


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[65] Development Cooperation as development partners of the European Union consists of approximately 160 countries, regions and organisations from around the world.


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The EU and its member countries spent a total of about €58 billion on development cooperation in 2014, more than half of all public development aid in the world.


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Both the European Union and each Member State have its own development cooperation and policies.


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Member States agree among themselves on common practices and principles to guide the implementation of development cooperation between the Member States.


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The Union's development cooperation is financed through the Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI) and the European Development Fund (EDF) outside the EU budget.


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[63] Security Member States of the European Union have so-called security guarantees, i.e. a mutual obligation to assist each other militarily if necessary.


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The Union also works closely with NATO and has the opportunity to rely on NATO command and command systems in crisis management.


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[63] Crisis management The European Union has been involved in a number of crisis management tasks around the world.


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Participation in crisis management operations is voluntary for Member States.


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In 2004, the Union agreed to form a rapid reaction combat force.


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[63] The corps consists of troop divisions of the national armed forces and do not constitute a special “euro army”.


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There is an effort to cooperate in the manufacture of weapons and the development of weapons systems to be compatible.


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The Thessaloniki European Council decided in 2003 to establish a European Defence Agency.


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[66] The European Union has also had a number of civilian crisis management operations in crisis areas and in areas where the structures of the judicial system need support and training.


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[63] Relations with the rest of the world, the European Union has established association, cooperation and trade agreements with a number of partners to strengthen relations with third countries.


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The EU also holds regular peak and ministerial meetings.


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[63] Relations between the EU and the Mediterranean countries to improve cooperation between the EU and the Mediterranean countries was established in 2008.


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[67] The Eastern Partnership European Union agreed at the 2009 Summit in Prague to strengthen its policies and strengthen relations with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus.


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The cooperation and development objectives of this so-called Eastern Partnership focus specifically on four themes: [68] democracy, good governance and stability, economic integration and stability, energy security and people-to-people connections.


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The purpose of the programme is to bring countries socially and economically closer to the European Union and to encourage their own reform processes.


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[69] Africa policy When the Treaty of Rome was concluded in 1957, the overseas territories and countries of the Member States also became associated countries.


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Colonial rule unraveled in the 1960s, when the relationship transformed into intercourse between independent states.


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In June 2000, the Cotonou Agreement was concluded in the capital of Benin between the European Union and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states.


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It is the most ambitious trade and support agreement so far between developing and industrialized countries.


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It also introduced procedures to deal with human rights violations.


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[70] The population of the European Union population in 2017 was about 511 million.


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[72] The EU population is growing both naturally and as a result of net migration.


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At the same time, the population of the Union


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[73] The European Union has 24 official languages: Bulgarian, English, Spanish, Dutch, Irish, Italian, Greek, Croatian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Portuguese, Polish, French, Romanian, Swedish, Slovak, Slovenian, Finnish, Danish, Czech, Hungarian and Estonian.


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All EU regulations and other legislation are published in all these languages except Irish, and EU citizens have the right to communicate with the institutions of the Union in any official language.


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More than 60 native regional and minority languages, such as Sámi, are spoken in EU countries, with around 40 million speakers.


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The EU has a multilingualism policy aimed at supporting European linguistic diversity and promoting language learning.


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[74] The European Union's standard of living, as measured by purchasing power adjusted gross domestic product, is highest in Western European countries and the Nordic countries, and the lowest in Eastern European countries.


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[73] The EU has set up Structural Funds in order to develop poorer regions and to smooth out disparities.


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[75] Energy, Environment and Transport, the EU aims to increase the share of renewable energy sources in energy consumption to 20% and to improve energy efficiency by 20% by 2020.


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[76] The EU has set a target of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 20% by 2020 and 40% by 2030.


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[76] The EU already managed to meet its 2020 target in 2016.


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[77] The Member States of the European Union depend on energy imports, as imports, for example, comprised 52,3% of energy consumed in 2005.


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Cyprus, Luxembourg and Malta depend almost entirely on energy imports, but Denmark is a net energy exporter and Poland and Britain's dependence on imports is minimal.


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[78] Three-quarters of EU freight is carried by road, with more than three in four passengers moving along roads.


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The EU is encouraging people to use public transport and transport companies to move freight onto trains, ships and barges to ease congestion on the roads and save the environment.


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[79] Arts and Culture The European Parliament and the Commission created the European Capital of Culture programme, which annually chooses a European city as the Capital of Culture.


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[80] Other cultural projects in the EU have included the seven-year cultural programmes Culture 2000 (2000-2006) [81] and Culture 2007 (2007-2013) [82] and the European Culture Month, [80] various media programmes such as Media I (1991—1995), Media II (1996-2000), Media Plus (2001-2006) [83] and the 2007-2013 media programme [84] and the European Youth Orchestra [85].


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The European Union Prize for Literature was presented for the first time in 2009.


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The award is part of the Creative Europe Programme, which aims to support the book publishing industry in Europe.