The European Union
European Union
- the E.U. is an organization of European countries who want to cooperate in economic and financial matters, in defence, foreign trade and social issues
- it was established in 1993 (the EU had 12 members then). It developed from the European Community by the Maastricht Treaty. Then, new member states joined the EU. Border controls were relaxed and a new monetary system was introduced: a new currency is the Euro, which is common for the EU members, but some of the member states haven't accepted the new currency (the UK, Denmark, Sweden). Currently there are 27 member states:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom
The headquarters of EU are in Brussels, Belgium. Some of the major bodies of EU are: European Parliament, Council of the European Union, European Commission, European Court of Justice, European Central Bank.
The Czech Republic joined the EU in 2004 together with nine other countries.
- each Czech resident becomes a member of the EU (at the same time he or she remains a citizen of the Czech Republic)
- Czech becomes an official language of the EU; all official documents are translated into Czech
- we don't need an international driving licence in EU member countries
- Czech students have the right to study at European universities; the only conditions are perfect knowledge of the local language and good school results at the secondary school
The main goals of the European Union
- Monetary Union – a single currency for Europe
- Freedom of movement
- Education development
- Peace keeping
- Relaxed border check
- Environmental care
- More job opportunities
THE EUROPEAN FLAG
The 12 stars in a circle symbolise the ideals of unity, solidarity and harmony among the peoples of Europe.
THE EUROPEAN ANTHEM
The melody comes from the Ninth Symphony by Beethoven (Ode to Joy). When used as European anthem, it has no words.
EUROPE DAY
9 May is celebrated as the EU’s birthday. The ideas behind the European Union were first put forward on 9 May
1950 by French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman.
EU MOTTO
United in diversity – this is the motto of the EU (jednotná v rozmanitosti)
EURO AS CURRENCY
The euro is divided into 100 cents. Euro notes are issued in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 euros. Coins are issued in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents, and 1 and 2 euros. Each country issues its own coins that have a unified design on one side and a national design or emblem of the country of issue on the reverse.
The benefits of the euro currency are:
- citizens can travel more easily – they needn’t exchange currency, and they can compare prices better
- euro is accepted in many places outside the euro area (especially in tourist destinations)
17 Member States of the European Union use the euro as their currency:
Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland
