European Union member countries The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 27 member states, located primarily in Europe.[1][2][3][4] Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community.[5] With almost 500 million citizens, the EU combined generates an estimated 30% share (US$18.4 trillion in 2008) of the nominal gross world product.[6] The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the European Union: [edit] Origins [edit] Identity [edit] Structures - Members
- Institutions
- Other bodies
- Related Organisations
[edit] Law and policy A population density map of Europe - Three pillars of the European Union
- Treaties of the European Union - Founding and amending treaties (primary legislation)
- EU Policy Areas
- EU law
- Forms of Secondary Legislation
- Topics of Secondary Legislation
- Directives and Regulations of Secondary Legislation:
[edit] Miscellaneous A satellite composite image of Europe [edit] See also Main article: European Union [edit] References - ^ Jackson, James K. (2009-03-09). "The Financial Crisis: Impact on and Response by the European Union" (pdf). Federation of American Scientists: Congressional Research Service. p. 28. http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R40415.pdf. Retrieved 2009-07-06. "The European Union is a political and economic union of 27 member states, formally established in 1993 by the Treaty of Maastricht out of existing structures that had evolved in steps since the 1950s."
- ^ Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations. "What is the European Union?". http://www.franceonu.org/spip.php?rubrique764. Retrieved 2009-07-06. "Europe is a geographical and cultural notion. The European Union is a political and economic union among 27 States on the European continent"
- ^ "Cabinet statement on German EU Presidency". Regierung Online. Press and Information Office of the [German] Federal Government. 2006-11-05. http://www.bundesregierung.de/nn_6564/Content/EN/Pressemitteilungen/BPA/2006/11/2006-11-05-eu-ratspraesidentschaft__en.html. Retrieved 2009-07-06. "The European Union is a political union..."
- ^ "European Union", New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2001, p. 635, ISBN 0-19-860441-6:"an economic and political association of certain European countries as a unit with internal free trade and common external tariffs...."
- ^ Craig, Paul; Grainne De Burca , P. P. Craig (2006). EU Law: Text, Cases and Materials (4th ed. ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 15. ISBN 978-0-19-927389-8. ; "Treaty of Maastricht on European Union". Activities of the European Union. Europa web portal. http://europa.eu/scadplus/treaties/maastricht_en.htm. Retrieved 20 October 2007.
- ^ "World Economic Outlook Database, April 2009 Edition". International Monetary Fund. April 2009. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2009/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2007&ey=2009&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=001%2C998&s=NGDPD%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPSH&grp=1&a=1&pr.x=50&pr.y=9. Retrieved 24 April 2009. "
Gross domestic product, current prices; U.S. dollars, Billions; 2007 = 16,927.173 2008=18,394.115 2009=15,342.908 [projection] Gross domestic product based on purchasing-power-parity (PPP) valuation of country GDP; Current international dollar, Billions; 2007 = 14,762.109 2008 = 15,247.163 2009 = 14,774.525 [projection] GDP based on PPP share of world total 2007 = 22.605% 2008 = 22.131% 2009 = 21.609% [projection] World "GDP", current prices; U.S. dollars, Billions; 2007 = 54,840.873 2008= 60,689.812 2009= 54,863.551 [projection] These data were published in 2009. Data for 2009 are projections based on a number of assumptions." [edit] External links
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