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Ministry: Reorganization of European economy | The Dr. Rath... www4.dr-rath-foundation.o... | Economy Pillowcases Western Scientific Medical Supply Corporation... bestqualitymedical.com | Union City Dentistry In A Great Location - Union City Dentist Dr. Giang... eastbayperiodontics.com |
The economy of the European Union generates a GDP based on PPP of over €12,256.48 billion ($16,523.78 in 2009) according to the IMF, making in the largest economy in the world. The EU economy consists of a single market and is represented as a unified entity in the WTO.
[edit] CurrencyThe official currency of the European Union is the euro, used in all its documents and policies. The Stability and Growth Pact sets out the fiscal criteria to maintain for stability and (economic) convergence. The euro is also the most widely used currency in the EU, which is in use in 16 member states known as the Eurozone. All other member states, apart from Denmark and the United Kingdom, which have special opt-outs, have committed to changing over to the euro once they have fulfilled the requirements needed to do so. Also, Sweden can effectively opt out by choosing when or whether to join the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, which is the preliminary step towards joining. The remaining states are committed to join the Euro through their Treaties of Accession. [edit] BudgetFurther information: Budget of the European Union The operation of the EU has an agreed budget of €116 billion for the year 2007, and €862 billion for the period 2007-2013,[1] this represents around 1% of the EU's GDP. By comparison, the UK expenditure for 2004 alone was estimated at about €759 billion and France's was estimated at about €801 billion. In 1960, the then "EU" (EEC) budget was 0.03% of GDP. [7] [edit] Economic variationBelow is a table showing, respectively, the GDP (PPP) and the GDP (PPP) per capita for the European Union and for each of its 27 member states, sorted by GDP (PPP). This can be used as a rough gauge to the relative standards of living among member states, with Luxembourg the highest and Bulgaria the lowest. Eurostat, based in Luxembourg, is the Official Statistical Office of the European Communities releasing yearly GDP figures for the member states as well as the EU as a whole, which are regularly updated, supporting this way a measure of wealth and a base for the European Union's budgetary and economic policies. Figures are stated in euro. All data for 2008 are projections. These are the official Eurostat figures, as of 2 January 2010.  >€30,000 >€25,000 >€20,000 >€15,000 >€10,000
Source: GDP Millions of PPS:EUROSTAT([8]), GDP(PPP) per inhabitant: EUROSTAT([9]). PERCENTAGES: EUROSTAT([10]). [edit] Economies of member statesEconomic performance varies from state to state. The Growth and Stability Pact governs fiscal policy with the European Union. It applies to all member states, with specific rules which apply to the eurozone members that stipulate that each state's deficit must not exceed 3% of GDP and its public debt must not exceed 60% of GDP. However, many larger members have consistently run deficits substantially in excess of 3%, and the eurozone as a whole has a debt percentage exceeding 60% (see below). The following table shows information relating to the member states of the European Union, ordered according to the 'Size' of their economies. (NB: Were the table ordered according to 'GDP per capita' this would perhaps better reflect the strength of an individual economy. But this is not how such tables are commonly structured). The colours denote how a member state is performing relative to the rest of the European Union, above average (green) or below average (red). The smallest and greatest values in each column are emphasised. The data for GDP, Annual change of GDP, GDP per capita and inflation are IMF estimates made in May 2008. [11]& [12]
[edit] Economic growthThe EU's share of Gross world product (GWP) is stable at around one fifth [14]. GDP growth, though strong in the new member states, is being offset by sluggish growth in France, Italy and Portugal.  
The twelve new member states of Central and Eastern Europe have enjoyed a higher average percentage growth rate than their Western European counterparts. Notably the Baltic states have achieved massive GDP growth, with Latvia topping 11%, close to China, the world leader at 9% on average for the past 25 years. Reasons for this massive growth include government commitments to stable monetary policy, export-oriented trade policies, low flat-tax rates and the utilisation of relatively cheap labour. For the last year (2008), Romania had the biggest GDP growth from all the states in EU. The current map of EU growth is one of huge regional variation, with the larger economies suffering from stagnant growth and the new nations enjoying sustained, robust economic growth. Although EU27 GDP is on the increase, the percentage of Gross world product is decreasing due to the emergence of economic powers such as China, India and Brazil. In the medium to long term, the EU will be looking to increase GDP growth in the central European economies such as France, Germany and Italy and stabilise growth in the new Central and Eastern European states to ensure sustained economic prosperity. [edit] Energy resourcesMain article: Energy policy of the European Union The European Union has large coal, oil, and natural gas reserves. There are six oil producers in the European Union, primarily in North Sea oilfields. The United Kingdom by far is the largest producer, however Denmark, Germany, Italy, Romania and the Netherlands all produce oil. If it is treated as a single unit, which is not conventional in the oil markets, the European Union is the 7th largest producer of oil in the world, producing 3,424,000 (2001) barrels a day. However, it is also the world's 2nd largest consumer of oil, consuming much more than it can produce, at 14,590,000 (2001) barrels a day. Much of the difference comes from Russia and the Caspian Sea basin. All countries in the EU have committed to the Kyoto Protocol, and the European Union is one of its biggest proponents. The European Commission published proposals for the first comprehensive EU energy policy on 10 January 2007. [edit] TradeThe European Union is the largest exporter in the world ([18]) and as of 2008 the largest importer of goods and services[4]. Internal trade between the member states is aided by the removal of barriers to trade such as tariffs and border controls. In the eurozone, trade is helped by not having any currency differences to deal with amongst most members. The European Union Association Agreement does something similar for a much larger range of countries, partly as a so-called soft approach ('a carrot instead of a stick') to influence the politics in those countries. The European Union represents all its members at the World Trade Organization (WTO), and acts on behalf of member states in any disputes. However, when the EU negotiates trade related agreement outside the WTO framework, the subsequent agreement must be approved by each individual EU member. [5] [edit] Unemployment The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the European Union (EU27) in March 2009 was 8.3% compared to 6.7% in March 2008. The Eurozone (EA16) unemployment figure for January 2009 was 8.2% compared to 7.3% in January 2008.[6] The unemployment rate (EU25) had previously declined in prior years from 8.9% in March 2005 to 8.4% in March 2006 to 7.3% in March 2007.[7] The rate varies widely by member state. There has been a steep upturn in the unemployment rate in recent months due to the worldwide credit crunch and following recession. The countries within the EU which were most affected were Spain, Ireland and the Baltic countries with the unemployment rate doubling or in case of the Baltic countries nearly tripling. By comparison in March 2009 the United States had an unemployment rate of 8.6% (2008: 5.1; 2007: 4.4; 2006: 4.7) which was higher than the EU-27's unemployment rate but lower than the EU-16 Eurozone rate of 8.9%. Japan's unemployment rate remained comparatively steady at 4.4% (2008: 3.9; 2007: 4.0; 2006: 4.1).[3][7][8] The following tables show the current unemployment rate of all Member States for March 2009 with comparisons to March 2008, 2007, 2006 and 2005 and comparisons to the United States and Japan:
[edit] IndustriesThe services sector is by far the most important sector in the European Union, making up 69.4% of GDP, compared to the manufacturing industry with 28.4% of GDP and agriculture with only 2.3% of GDP. [edit] AgricultureThe agricultural sector is supported by subsidies from the European Union in the form of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). This currently represents 40-50% of the EU's total spending. It guarantees a minimum price for farmers in the EU. This is criticised as a form of protectionism, inhibiting trade, and damaging developing countries; one of the most vocal opponents is the UK, the second largest economy within the bloc, which has repeatedly refused to give up the annual UK Rebate unless the CAP undergoes significant reform; France, the biggest benefactor of the CAP and the bloc's third largest economy, is its most vocal proponent. [edit] TourismThe European Union is a major tourist destination, attracting visitors from outside of the Union and citizens travelling inside it. Internal tourism is made more convenient for the citizens of some EU member states by the Schengen treaty and the Euro. All citizens of the European Union are entitled to travel to any member state without the need of a visa. If the EU component states are considered separate entities, France is the world's number one tourist destination for international visitors, followed by Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom at 2nd, 5th and 6th spots respectively. If the EU is considered a single entity, the number of international visitors is less, as most visitors to EU nations are from other EU member states. [edit] CompaniesThe European Union's member states are the birthplace of many of the world's largest leading multinational companies, and home to its global headquarters. Among these are distinguished companies ranked first in the world within their industry/sector, like Allianz, which is the largest financial service provider in the world by revenue; Airbus, which produces around half of the world's jet airliners; Air France-KLM, which is the largest airline company in the world in terms of total operating revenues; Amorim, which is the world's largest cork-processing and cork producer company; ArcelorMittal, which is the largest steel company in the world; Groupe Danone, which has the world leadership in the dairy products market; Anheuser-Busch InBev, which is the largest beer company in the world; L'Oréal Group, which is the world's largest cosmetics and beauty company; LVMH, which is the world's largest luxury goods conglomerate; Nokia Corporation, which is the world's largest manufacturer of mobile telephones; Royal Dutch Shell, which is one of the largest energy corporations in the world; and Stora Enso, which is the world's largest pulp and paper manufacturer in terms of production capacity, in terms of banking and finance the EU has some of the worlds largest notably HSBC and Grupo Santander, the largest bank in Europe in terms of Market Capitalisation. Many other European companies rank among the world's largest companies in terms of turnover, profit, market share, number of employees or other major indicators. A considerable number of EU-based companies are ranked among the worlds' top-ten within their sector of activity. [edit] Gini indexFurther information: Gini coefficient To date, one of the most commonly used measures of income inequality is the Gini index. The Gini coefficient measures income inequality on a scale from 0 to 1. On this scale 0 represents perfect equality with everyone having the exact same income and 1 represents perfect inequality with one person having all income. According to the United Nations (UN), gini index ratings for countries range from 0.247 in Denmark to 0.743 in Namibia. Most post-industrial nations had a gini coefficient in the range 0.25 to 0.40. In 2005 the gini index for the EU was estimated at 0.31,[9] as a comparison the USA has 0.463,[10] a surprising result since the EU has virtually no interstate income redistribution power and poorer new member states joined in 2004. [edit] Regional variationComparing the richest areas of the EU can be a difficult task. This is because the NUTS 1 & 2 regions are not homogenous, some of them being very large regions, such as NUTS-1 Hesse (21,100 km²) or NUTS-1 Île-de-France (12,011 km²), whilst other NUTS regions are much smaller, for example NUTS-1 Hamburg (755 km²) or NUTS-1 Greater London (1,580 km²). An extreme example is Finland, which is divided for historical reasons into mainland Finland with 5.3 million inhabitants and Åland, an autonomous archipelago with a population of 27,000, or about the population of a small Finnish city. One problem with this data is that in some areas, including Greater London, are subject to a large number of commuters coming into the area, thereby artificially inflating the figures. It has the effect of raising GDP but not altering the number of people living in the area, inflating the GDP per capita figure. Similar problems can be produced by a large number of tourists visiting the area. The data is used to define regions that are supported with financial aid in programs such as the European Regional Development Fund. The decision to delineate a Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) region is to a large extent arbitrary (i.e. not based on objective and uniform criteria across Europe), and is decided at European level (See also: Regions of the European Union). [edit] Top 10: economically strongest NUTS-1 and NUTS-2 regionsThe 10 NUTS-1 and NUTS-2 regions with the highest GDP per capita are all in the first fifteen member states: none are in the 12 new member states that joined in May 2004 and January 2007. The NUTS Regulation lays down a minimum population size of 3 million and a maximum size of 7 million for the average NUTS-1 region, whereas a minimum of 800,000 and a maximum of 3 million for NUTS-2 regions ¹ [19]. This definition, however, is not respected by Eurostat. E.g.: the région of Île-de-France, with 11.6 million inhabitants, is treated as a NUTS-2 region, while the state of Bremen, with only 664,000 inhabitants, is treated as a NUTS-1 region. See also: First level NUTS of the European Union
[edit] Economically weakest NUTS-2 regionsThe fifteen lowest regions in the ranking in 2004 were all in Bulgaria, Poland and Romania, with the lowest figures recorded in Nord-Est in Romania (25% of the average), followed by Severozapaden, Yuzhen tsentralen and Severen tsentralen in Bulgaria (all 25-28%). Among the 68 regions below the 75% level, fifteen were in Poland, seven each in Romania and the Czech Republic, six each in Bulgaria, Greece and Hungary, five in Italy, four in France (all overseas departments) and Portugal, three in Slovakia, one region in Spain and Slovenia, and the countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
[edit] Richest & Poorest NUTS-2 Regions (GDP PPP 2006)See also: List of all NUTS-2 regions with GDP 2006 data (registration/login required)
[edit] References
The following links are used for the GDP growth and GDP totals (IMF):
[edit] See also
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