The free movement of capital is unique insofar as it is granted equally to non-member states. The non-EU member states of Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland participate in the single market but not in the customs union. [276] In subsequent years, the environment became a formal policy area, with its own policy actors, principles and procedures. consilium.europa.eu. The High Representative heads up the European External Action Service (EEAS), a unique EU department[197] that has been officially implemented and operational since 1 December 2010 on the occasion of the first anniversary of the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon. LV - Latvia 21. [163] The European Commission estimated in 2009 that the financial effect of irregularities was €1,863 million. The European Council uses its leadership role to sort out disputes between member states and the institutions, and to resolve political crises and disagreements over controversial issues and policies. In some policies, there are several member states that ally with strategic partners within the Union. 21–26. To dispose of surplus stores, they were often sold on the world market at prices considerably below Community guaranteed prices, or farmers were offered subsidies (amounting to the difference between the Community and world prices) to export their products outside the Community. Different legislative procedures are used within the same category of competence, and even with the same policy area. [90], The European Union has 24 official languages: Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Irish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, and Swedish. [274] Over the past 50 years, an increasingly dense network of legislation has been created, extending to all areas of environmental protection, including air pollution, water quality, waste management, nature conservation, and the control of chemicals, industrial hazards, and biotechnology. Evaluation of a country's fulfilment of the criteria is the responsibility of the European Council. [260], The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is one of the long lasting policies of the European Community. Post-Maastricht there has been a rapidly developing corpus of ECJ judgements regarding this initially neglected freedom. [139][140] It is less integrated than a federal state because it is not a state in its own right: sovereignty continues to flow 'from the bottom up', from the several peoples of the separate member states, rather than from a single undifferentiated whole. [59][60], During the 1960s, tensions began to show, with France seeking to limit supranational power. In 2012, its budget amounted to €874 million, 51% of the budget went to Africa and 20% to Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and Pacific, and 20% to the Middle East and Mediterranean. [22][better source needed] Additionally, all EU countries have a very high Human Development Index according to the United Nations Development Programme. [215], Humanitarian aid is financed directly by the budget (70%) as part of the financial instruments for external action and also by the European Development Fund (30%). [15] Passport controls have been abolished for travel within the Schengen Area. [246][aa], The euro, and the monetary policies of those who have adopted it in agreement with the EU, are under the control of the European Central Bank (ECB). [329], Economic and political union of European states, International organisations in which the union has membership, International cooperation and development partnerships, European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom), Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters, The 24 languages are equally official and accepted as working languages. The EU offers financial assistance to countries within the European Neighbourhood, so long as they meet the strict conditions of government reform, economic reform and other issues surrounding positive transformation. [159] The Court also gives opinions and proposals on financial legislation and anti-fraud actions. [323], The European Union has had a significant positive economic impact on most member states. https://www.abbreviations.com/term/173934. Mitigating climate change is one of the top priorities of EU environmental policy. (Slovak version pictured). [251], The EU has had legislative power in the area of energy policy for most of its existence; this has its roots in the original European Coal and Steel Community. For more information see, See Article 288 (ex Article 249 TEC) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, on, According to the principle of Direct Effect first invoked in the Court of Justice's decision in. [71] In 1995, Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined the EU. In 1990, after the fall of the Eastern Bloc, the former East Germany became part of the Communities as part of a reunified Germany.[69]. [49] His ideas influenced his contemporaries, among which then Prime Minister of France Aristide Briand. [66] In 1985, the Schengen Agreement paved the way for the creation of open borders without passport controls between most member states and some non-member states. [88][89], The EU contains about 40 urban areas with populations of over one million. The ombudsman is elected by the European Parliament for the length of the Parliament's term, and the position is renewable. Catholics are the largest Christian group, accounting for 45.3% of the EU population, while Protestants make up 11.1%, Eastern Orthodox make up 9.6%, and other Christians make up 5.6%. Trade barriers and competitive distortions in the Common Market could emerge due to the different environmental standards in each member state. The anthem was adopted by European Community leaders in 1985 and has since been played on official occasions. [107] Already in 2004, it was planned that Turkish would become an official language when Cyprus reunites. [289][290][291], All EU and many other European countries offer their citizens a free European Health Insurance Card which, on a reciprocal basis, provides insurance for emergency medical treatment insurance when visiting other participating European countries. Christians in the European Union are divided among members of Catholicism (both Roman and Eastern Rite), numerous Protestant denominations (Anglicans, Lutherans, and Reformed forming the bulk of this category), and the Eastern Orthodox Church. CSDP blog - Fri, 04/07/2017 - 22:14. Abolition of the death penalty is a condition for EU membership. [229], The European Union has concluded free trade agreements (FTAs)[230] and other agreements with a trade component with many countries worldwide and is negotiating with many others. [113] Discussion over the draft texts of the European Constitution and later the Treaty of Lisbon included proposals to mention Christianity or a god, or both, in the preamble of the text, but the idea faced opposition and was dropped.[114]. [157], In the 2010 budget of €141.5 billion, the largest single expenditure item is "cohesion & competitiveness" with around 45% of the total budget. [267] Among the member states, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in the Czech Republic (2.3%), Germany and Poland (both 3.4%), and the highest in Spain (14.9%) and Greece (19.0 in July 2018).[267]. In the eurozone, trade is helped by not having any currency differences to deal with amongst most members. [129] [47] In 1920, advocating the creation of a European economic union, British economist John Maynard Keynes wrote that "a Free Trade Union should be established ... to impose no protectionist tariffs whatever against the produce of other members of the Union. The 27 Commissioners as a single body are subject to approval (or otherwise) by vote of the European Parliament. It maintains permanent diplomatic missions throughout the world and represents itself at the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G7 and the G20. 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According to new polls about religiosity in the European Union in 2015 by Eurobarometer, Christianity is the largest religion in the European Union, accounting for 71.6% of the EU population. Case 11/70, Internationale Handelsgesellschaft v. Einfuhr und Vorratstelle für Getreide und Futtermittel; Article 6(2) of the Maastricht Treaty (as amended). LU - Luxembourg 20. [132], The EU operates through a hybrid system of supranational and intergovernmental decision-making,[133][134] and according to the principles of conferral (which says that it should act only within the limits of the competences conferred on it by the treaties) and of subsidiarity (which says that it should act only where an objective cannot be sufficiently achieved by the member states acting alone). It convenes at least four times a year and comprises the President of the European Council (currently Charles Michel), the President of the European Commission and one representative per member state (either its head of state or head of government). [259], The Galileo positioning system is another EU infrastructure project. [264], The EU operates a competition policy intended to ensure undistorted competition within the single market. [105] Catalan, Galician and Basque are not recognised official languages of the European Union but have semi-official status in one member state (Spain): therefore, official translations of the treaties are made into them and citizens have the right to correspond with the institutions in these languages. The EEC was headed by Walter Hallstein (Hallstein Commission) and Euratom was headed by Louis Armand (Armand Commission) and then Étienne Hirsch.