European Union Flag

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Brief History. For centuries, Europe was the scene of frequent and bloody wars. In the period 1870 to 1945, France and Germany fought each other three times, with terrible loss of life. A number of European leaders became convinced that the only way to secure a lasting peace between their countries was to unite them economically and politically. So, in 1950, the French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman proposed integrating the coal and steel industries of Western Europe. As a result, in 1951, the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was set up, with six members: Belgium, West Germany, Luxembourg, France, Italy and the Netherlands. The power to take decisions about the coal and steel industry in these countries was placed in the hands of an independent, supranational body called the "High Authority". Jean Monnet was its first President.

picture of European Union flag

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Country Information

Local name: European Union

Capital: Brussels

Population: 456,953,258

Government: a hybrid intergovernmental and supranational organization

Currency: euro, British pound, Cypriot pound, Czech koruna, Danish krone, Estonian kroon, Hungarian forint, Latvian lat, Lithuanian litas, Maltese lira, Polish zloty, Slovak koruna, Slovenian tolar, Swedish krona

Land size: 3,976,372 sq km

Topography: fairly flat along the Baltic and Atlantic coast; mountainous in the central and southern areas

Typical foods:

Major exports: machinery, motor vehicles, aircraft, plastics, pharmaceuticals and other chemicals, fuels, iron and steel, nonferrous metals, wood pulp and paper products, textiles, meat, dairy products, fish, alcoholic beverages.
Information on the People

Official language: Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish

Other languages spoken:

Religions: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Muslim, Jewish

Literacy rate:

Male/Female Ratio: 0.96 male(s) to every 1 female

Life expectancy: 78.3 years

Ethnic groups:

Internet users: 230,097,055

Famous people:

  

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