created November 1, 1993 under the Maastricht Treaty, economic and political union of democratic European countries (twenty-seven from 1 January 2007)

the result of long process of political, economic and social integration initiated after the Second World War.

Is a unique form of this kind in the world having a 30% share of world GDP.

Constitution-the Treaty on European Union, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union

Member states-27 The official languages-23 Centers of political - Brussels (executive and legislature)

Strasbourg (legislature) Luxembourg (judicial tribunal, the Board of Control), Frankfurt (Central Bank)

Area- 4 324 782 km² Population about 500 million (as of 2009) The population density of 115 persons / km ² GDP $ 26.800 / person, total $ 16.6 trillion (as of 2007) Dominant religion, Christianity

According to Treaty on European Union signed in 1992, the fundamental objectives of the Union are:

promotion of economic and social progress by enhancing economic cooperation and removing barriers to trade between Member States

strengthening the image of the Union as a political body speaking unanimously in the international arena by pursuing a common foreign policy

striving to create European citizenship and a sense of belonging to one of ordinary citizens in the community by providing the same legal standards and total freedom of movement of people within the Union

developing an area of freedom, security and fair treatment, which is to be the EU through the introduction of common standards of legal, social, and continuous improvement of living of poorer countries

codification of the economic structure of member countries, the alignment of regional economic development

increase in living standards

flag adopted by the Council of Europe, and later by the European Community and the European Union. On the flag we can see a circle of twelve golden stars on a bluish background. The author of the concept of flag is Arsene Heitz, the detailed arrangement, proportions, and colors have been developed by Paul MG Lévy.

The symbolism of the flagThe twelve gold stars spread in a circle on the azure background represent solidarity and harmony between the peoples of Europe. This symbolism also refers to the later philosophy of the European Union: In varietate concordia (from Lat.: Unity in Diversity). The number of stars refers to the ancient symbolism of number 12, meaning perfection and integrity, but does not depend on the number of member states, because at the time of the adoption of the flag the Council of Europe's consisted of 14 member states. Number 12 is also equivalent to the number of the months of a year, hours on the clock face, signs of the zodiac, and so on. So the circle in which the stars are arranged are a symbol of unity.

European currency introduced in place of national currencies. It is the legal currency for more than 322.5 million Europeans in 16 countries in the euro area in the European Union. The euro is also used in 11 countries and territories outside the EU (the Vatican, Monaco, San Marino, Andorra, Kosovo, Montenegro) and the French possessions in the Atlantic and Indian Ocean and the British military bases in Cyprus.

„Ode to Joy” (Ode an die Freude) - Friedrich Schiller's poem published in 1786, in the final version in 1803.

Based on the Ninth Symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven.

Instrumental version of the ode was adopted as the anthem of the European Union.

May 9, 1950-Robert Schuman, French foreign minister, proposes

a combination of coal and steel to France and Germany under the new organization that is open to other European countries. From that date, which can be regarded as the birthday of the European Union, 9 May is celebrated annually as „Europe Day”

April 18, 1952 - The six countries gathered in Paris - Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the Federal Republic of Germany and Italy - sign the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). The Treaty shall enter into force on 23 July 1952 for a period of 50 years.

March 25, 1957 - Treaties establishing the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), signed in Rome by the six countries. They come into force on January 1, 1958.

April 8, 1965 - A treaty is signed merging the executive bodies of the three Communities (ECSC, EEC and Euratom) and establishing a single Council and Commission. Comes into force on July 1, 1967

January 1, 1973 - Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom join the European Communities, bringing their membership to nine. As a result of a referendum on membership of Norway remains outside the European Union.

January 1, 1981 - Greece becomes the tenth Member State of the European Communities.

January 1, 1986 - Spain and Portugal join the European Communities, bringing membership to 12.

17 and 28 February 1986 - The Luxembourg and The Hague Treaty is signed the Single European Act. It comes into force on 1st July 1987.

November 9, 1989 - fall of the Berlin Wall. October 3, 1990 - Reunification of Germany. February 7, 1992 - is signed at Maastricht Treaty on European Union. It comes into force

on 1 November 1993. January 1, 1995 - Austria, Finland and Sweden join the European Union, which already

has 15 members. Following a referendum on membership of Norway remains outside the European Union.

January 1, 1999 - Stage Three of EMU - 11 EU countries adopt the euro, which is placed on the financial markets, replacing national currencies in non-cash transactions. European Central Bank (ECB) has responsibility for monetary policy.

January 1, 2002 - Euro banknotes and coins are introduced in the 12 eurozone countries.

May 1, 2004 - More countries join the European Union October 29, 2004 - is adopted in Rome Constitution for Europe (subject to

ratification by member states).

The European Council Council of the European Union The European Parliament European Commission Court of Justice of the European Union European Court of Human Rights European Ombudsman European Central Bank(EBC)

(French. Conseil européen, pol. Rada Europejska) – institution (under the Treaty of Lisbon) European Union having the task of setting general directions of the Union and its political priorities. European Council should not be confused with the Council of the European Union or the Council of Europe. The European Council consists of the Heads of State or Government of the Member States and the President (elected by the European Council on the 2.5-year term) and the President of the European Commission. The European Council shall define the strategic objectives of the common foreign and security policy and take the necessary decisions in this regard.

Herman Van Rompuy

The European Council President

(French. Conseil de l'Union européenne, pol. Rada Unii Europejskiej) – main decision making body of the European Union, is established in Brussels, but only in April, June and October meetings are taking place in Luxembourg. It was formerly called the Council of Ministers or the Cabinet of Ministers of the European Union. Council of the EU took its current name under their own decision in 1993. However, in the Treaties on which the Union still bears the name of the Council (since 30 November 2009 the body was not officially of the Union, but of the European Communities).

Currently, the Presidencies of the

Council of the European Union Spain has

institution of the European Union, which is equivalent to single-chamber parliament representing the citizens of countries belonging to the EU, whose members are elected for 5-year term. Parliament's official seat is in Strasbourg, but also Brussels, where most of the meetings and parliamentary offices are located, committees and authorities of the clubs. Secretariat, the library and some technical background has their headquarters in Luxembourg.Currently, the European Parliament has 736 members, and the largest fraction of the European People's Party has 265 members.

The current President of the

European Parliament Jerzy Buzek

(French. Commission européenne, pol. Komisja Europejska), the European Union's executive body. It is the institution responsible for the Union's current policy, supervising the work of all its agencies and the management of its funds. The Commission has exclusive legislative initiative in the field of EU law and is authorized to issue implementing regulations (called Comissiona Regulation). Its headquarters is in Brussels. The Commission operates on the principles of the cabinet, and the 27 commissioners responsible minister in the governments of the rank of each country. For each EU Member State, there is one commissioner, but they are assumed to represent the interests of the whole Union, not the country of origin.

The current European

Commission president José Manuel Barroso

(colloquially: European Court of Justice; pol. Trybunał Sprawiedliwości, French. Cour de justice de l'Union européenne) – judicial institution of the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, with headquarters in Luxembourg. It consists of three judicial bodies: the Court of Justice, Court of First Instance and the Civil Service Tribunal. The Court of Justice and the Court shall consist of 27 judges, appointed by each Member State. At the Court of Justice 8 General Advocates also operate. The composition of the Civil Service Tribunal shall consist of seven judges, appointed by the Council of the European Union for six years.

(ECHR) in Strasbourg (pol. Europejski Trybunał Praw Człowieka, French. Cour Européenne des Droits de l’Homme) - European Court of international judicial body established in 1998 in place of the European Commission of Human Rights and Court of Human Rights to monitor human rights. Adjudicates in matters of human rights written in the European Convention on Human Rights and the Additional Protocols. Contrary to the colloquial notion, the Court is not the authority of the Council of Europe.

Polish judge in ECHR Leszek

Garlicki

(euroombudsman) – (pol. Europejski Rzecznik Praw Obywatelskich) - one of the subsidiary bodies of the European Union, established under the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, began operating in September 1995, but the Office of Ombudsman inaugurated its activity on April 8, 1997. Head Office of the Ombudsman is located in Strasbourg. Ombudsman accepts complaints from citizens of the European Union or any natural or legal person residing or having its registered office in a Member State, against the activities of the institutions and bodies of the European Communities, with the exception of the Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance. The Ombudsman has the right and obligation to carry out inspections in these institutions.

Current Commissioner

Nikiforos Diamanduros

(Pol. Europejski Bank Centralny) the central bank of the European Union, as well as the issuing bank for the euro currency adopted by 16 EU countries. The seat of the ECB is Frankfurt am Main. Responsible for the supervision of banking systems in EU countries, the collection of statistics needed for the conduct of monetary policy, the functioning of payment systems, to prevent counterfeiting of banknotes, cooperation with other authorities in the regulation of financial markets. ECB

headquarters in Frankfurt

Sources of information: Wikipedia.com- free encyclopedia Europa.eu- formal portal of the

European Union Pictures picked up around google.com Text translated with the help of the

www.translatica.pl