Union name:
conventional long form: European Union
abbreviation: EU
Political structure:
a hybrid intergovernmental and supranational organization
Capital:
Brussels, Belgium
note: the Council of the European Union meets in Brussels, the
European Parliament meets in Strasbourg, France, and the Court of
Justice of the European Communities meets in Luxembourg
Member states:
25 countries: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark,
Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy,
Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal,
Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, UK; note - Canary Islands
(Spain), Azores and Madeira (Portugal), and French Guyana,
Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Reunion (France) are sometimes listed
separately even though they are legally a part of Spain, Portugal,
and France; candidate countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Turkey
Independence:
7 February 1992 (Maastricht Treaty signed establishing the EU); 1
November 1993 (Maastricht Treaty entered into force)
National holiday:
Europe Day 9 May (1950); note - a Union-wide holiday, the day that
Robert Schuman proposed the creation of an organized Europe
Constitution:
based on a series of treaties: the Treaty of Paris, which set up
the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1951; the Treaties
of Rome, which set up the European Economic Community (EEC) and the
European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) in 1957; the Single
European Act in 1986; the Treaty on European Union (Maastricht) in
1992; the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997; and the Treaty of Nice in
2001; note - a new draft Constitutional Treaty, signed on 29 October
2004 in Rome, gave member states two years for ratification either
by parliamentary vote or national referendum before it was scheduled
to take effect on 1 November 2006; defeat in French and Dutch
referenda in May-June 2005 caused a suspension of the ratification
process
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of union: President of the European Commission Jose DURAO
BARROSO (since 22 November 2004)
cabinet: European Commission (composed of 25 members, one from each
member country; each commissioner responsible for one or more policy
areas)
elections: the president of the European Commission is designated by
member governments; the president-designate then chooses the other
Commission members; the European Parliament confirms the entire
Commission for a five-year term; election last held 18 November 2004
(next to be held 2009)
election results: European Parliament approved the European
Commission by an approval vote of 449 to 149 with 82 abstentions
note: the European Council brings together heads of state and
government and the president of the European Commission and meets at
least twice a year; its aim is to provide the impetus for the major
political issues relating to European integration and to issue
general policy guidelines
Legislative branch:
Council of the European Union (25 member-state ministers having 321
votes; the number of votes is roughly proportional to member-states'
population); note - the Council is the main decision-making body of
the EU; European Parliament (732 seats; seats allocated among member
states by proportion to population); members elected by direct
universal suffrage for a five-year term
elections: last held 10-13 June 2004 (next to be held June 2009)
election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats by party - EPP-ED
268, PES 202, ALDE 88, Greens/EFA 42, EUL/NGL 41, IND/DEM 36, UEN
27, independents 28