European Union[1] (EU abbreviation) is an organization of European countries within an economic and political community. It is not an organization of all countries in Europe, but of most countries.
The history of the European Union goes back shortly after the Second World War. The idea of "European integration" had to come into force because the countries of that continent were weakened after the war. Only such an alliance could provide these countries with power. The first promoter of the idea was French minister Robert Schuman. In 1950 he put his idea into practice, and in 1951 he laid the foundations of today's community.
countries
Commonwealth countries in alphabetical order:
- Austria1
- Belgium1
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- the Czech Republic12
- Denmark
- Estonia1
- Finland1
- France1
- Greece1
- Spain1
- the Netherlands1
- Ireland1
- Lithuania
- Latvia1
- Luxembourg1
- Malta1
- Germany1
- Poland
- Portugal1
- Romania
- Slovakia1
- Slovenia1
- Sweden
- Italy1
1 These countries of the Union adopted the common currency - euro. The area of countries with the EU currency is called "Eurozone"The euro is also valid in Monaco, San Marino, and in Vaticanalthough these countries do not belong to the EU, they are nevertheless managed by the countries of the euro area.
2 Officially, Cyprus belongs to the European Union, but the Green Line divides the country into Greek and Turkish parts. EU law did not allow the Turkish part of the country to enter.
Turkey, Serbia and Macedonia started the accession process, but the date of their accession is unknown.
Transport
There are many ways to reach the countries of the Union; if you want to go to a selected country, you must check where it is and how to get there.
There is also Schengen zone. Within this zone, the borders between countries are only formal, and passports are not required from citizens of European Union countries. However, it should be remembered that the countries of the Schengen Area may introduce unilateral passport and customs control at any time. This is usually the case when there is a threat of terrorist acts, fears of massive alterglobalist demonstrations or of major sporting events and the associated fears of an influx of hooligans.
By plane
There are great airports m.i.n. London, Paris, Frankfurt. There are also many other domestic airports.
By car
Customs regulations
Most European Union countries belong to the Schengen area: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Spain, Netherlands, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Hungary and Italy. Therefore, at the borders of these countries, it is not necessary to show a passport, ID card or pay a vignette. Currently, however, temporary passport controls at the borders of Austria and Germany have been reintroduced due to the influx of large numbers of immigrants to Europe.
Currency
Euro
The euro is the official currency of 19 European Union countries: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, Germany, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Italy. Despite the candidacy, Denmark and the United Kingdom did not join the euro area.
Other currencies
Other currencies used by the European Union countries are: lev (in Bulgaria), kuna (in Croatia), Czech koruna (in the Czech Republic), Danish krone (in Denmark), zloty (in Poland), leu (in Romania), Swedish krona ( in Sweden), forint (in Hungary) and pound sterling (in Great Britain).