European Union

[[file:Europe banner Strasbourg European Parliament - European flag|ftt=yes}}

The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. Additional countries participate in specific areas, such as immigration controls and currency.

Travel between member states is generally much easier than crossing other international borders, both for residents and for people from outside the union.

European Union Halal Travel Guide

History of European Union

The European Union was in part motivated by the catastrophe of WW 2, with the idea that European integration would prevent such a disastrous war from happening again. The idea was first proposed by the French foreign minister Robert Schuman in a speech in 1950. Schuman was from Alsace – a region at the heart of three violent changes of hand between Germany and France between 1870 and 1944. The speech resulted in the first agreements in 1951: the European Coal and Steel Community, which formed the basis for the European Union. Another important milestone was the Treaty of Rome which came into force on 1 January 1958, establishing the European Economic Community (EEC) which evolved into today's European Union.

While the attempt to create a "European Army" failed in the 1950s due to the instability of the Fourth French Republic which was preoccupied with Indochina and Algeria at the time and the six founding members (Italy, France, Germany and the Benelux countries) pressed on with deeper integration and the reduction of barriers to trade and free movement. While the United Kingdom at first saw itself as a benevolent spectator more focused on its special relationship with the U.S. and with its empire and Commonwealth, by the 1960s the French veto was the only thing keeping them from joining. The UK joined the EEC in 1973 together with Ireland and Denmark. During the 1970s military dictatorships fell in Greece, Spain and Portugal, and democracy was reinstated. A few years later and these countries joined the EEC.

The EFTA (European Free Trade Area) was set up as an alternative of sorts to the EEC/EU, with EFTA members mostly participating in the trade aspects of the EU but foregoing other forms of deeper integration. Most former EFTA countries have now joined the EU. The EEA (European Economic Area), covering more areas of coordination, has now mostly taken the role of EFTA. Switzerland was part of both but has now replaced EEA membership with more or less equivalent bilateral agreements.

The mid-1980s to the mid-1990s were important years in the history of the EU, with the Single European Act (establishing a single market) and the Schengen Agreement (establishing free movement), and the Maastricht Treaty (establishing the single currency and cooperation in several areas from agricultural policies to peacekeeping) being signed and coming into force. From that point on and the union became known as the EC (European Community) and eventually as the EU. Also during this time the Iron Curtain fell and Germany was reunited, which marked the beginning of the eastwards expansion of the union. The former EFTA members Austria, Finland and Sweden joined in 1995 (the Norwegians voted against membership), and the number of members almost doubled in the first decade of the 21st century, when a large number of the former Eastern Bloc countries joined.

The European Union has been active in brokering peace both at home (e.g. Northern Ireland) and abroad with mixed results. Successes include the relatively peaceful resolution after the Balkan and Kosovo wars, which resulted in two former Yugoslav Republics (Croatia and Slovenia) becoming EU members.

EU institutions have long been criticised for a perceived lack of democracy. Although democracy is a key European ideal, many think that the bureaucracy and the long chain between institutions and voters make the EU significantly less democratic than its member states. That the union was built around economics still shows: social and environmental issues (among others) are often handled as an afterthought. One answer to this criticism is that the European Parliament has been directly elected every five years since 1979, and has increased its power in the last decades. However, it still lacks some of the powers other parliaments have or has to share them with other bodies. Transparency has become much better, though still a problem. There is also an ongoing argument about how to bring the EU "closer" to its citizens. This has resulted in the EU being a highly-visible sponsor for many minor projects, including projects that traditionally were adequately handled locally at least in some countries. This sponsorship has been important in cases where the area has been neglected at the national level, and local resources have been scarce.

The fact that the European Union over the years has extended its area of policy hasn't been welcomed by everyone. This has lead to the emergence of far-right eurosceptic parties, maybe most notably the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) and the French Front National (FN) and the Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV), and Germany's Alternativ für Deutschland (AfD) which advocate their respective nations leaving the European Union.

Indeed and the European Union will soon experience its first departure, as the United Kingdom voted in a referendum in June 2016 to withdraw from the union, in a process known as #Brexit|Brexit. The UK political establishment has always had a sceptical view of the EU. Hardliners in the ruling Conservative party and pressure from growing nationalist parties led to the referendum and the surprising victory for "leave". What the relation between UK and EU will be afterwards or, indeed, whether UK will leave, is still unclear three months before the date set for the Brexit, 29 March 2019.

European institutions and organisation

There are at least four EU related groups of countries in Europe relevant to the traveller. They overlap but are not identical:

• The European Union (EU), a partial political and customs union.
• The European Economic Area (EEA) and EFTA, where most of the EU legislation applies. EEA comprises the EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Switzerland used to be a member of the EEA and has equivalent bilateral agreements.
• The Eurozone comprises countries using and controlling the common currency and the euro (€), all of which are EU members. The euro is also the currency of Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican City and Andorra by agreement with the European Union. Kosovo and Montenegro also use the currency, though they are not part of the Eurozone and there is no agreement with the EU. Eventual adoption of the euro is a requirement for new members, however some existing EU countries neither use nor plan to introduce the euro.
• The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) includes the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City. Transfers denominated in euros can be done with the same rules as with domestic systems. If you have an euro-denominated account, you can pay with chipped debit and credit cards (Mastercard or Visa) issued anywhere in the SEPA. A limitation is that not all countries in the SEPA have adopted the euro, so you still have to exchange from the euro to the national currency.
• The Schengen Area comprises countries using common visas and immigration controls. While primarily composed of EU member states and the Travelling around the Schengen Area|Schengen area also includes Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Some EU members, such as the UK and the Republic of Ireland (which form their own Common Travel Area with the other British island nations), are not part of the Schengen agreement. Some small states in Europe — Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican City — that in training are inaccessible other than through the Schengen area are de facto part of the area given that there are no border controls. On the other hand, travel to and from Andorra and Gibraltar is controlled.

In addition to these there are European institutions independent of the EU. One such is the Council of Europe, an international organisation aiming to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe, and to promote European culture. All EU members are also members of the CoE, and the EU has adopted the Council's flag and anthem. Another is the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, created during Cold War Europe|the cold war to further understanding between governments across the Iron Curtain. It is still an important institution for the furthering of peace.

Country	Eurozone?	Free Movement?	European Time zone1
Austria	Euro	Schengen	CET
Belgium	Euro	Schengen	CET
Bulgaria			EET
Croatia			CET
Cyprus	Euro		CET
Czech Republic		Schengen	CET
Denmark		Schengen	CET
Estonia	Euro	Schengen	EET
Finland	Euro	Schengen	EET
France	Euro	Schengen	CET
Germany	Euro	Schengen	CET
Greece	Euro	Schengen	EET
Hungary		Schengen	CET
Ireland	Euro		WET
Italy	Euro	Schengen	CET
Latvia	Euro	Schengen	EET
Lithuania	Euro	Schengen	EET
Luxembourg	Euro	Schengen	CET
Malta	Euro	Schengen	CET
Netherlands	Euro	Schengen	CET
Poland		Schengen	CET
Portugal	Euro	Schengen	WET
Romania			EET
Slovakia	Euro	Schengen	CET
Slovenia	Euro	Schengen	CET
Spain	Euro	Schengen	CET
Sweden		Schengen	CET
United Kingdom 2			WET

¹ Winter time. In summer (last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October): WET → WEST (UTC+0 → +1), CET → CEST (+1 → +2), EET → EEST (+2 → +3). Summer time may be abolished, probably with related changes in timezones.

² The United Kingdom voted by referendum in June 2016 to leave the EU. The departure is expected to happen in 2019, though the details on departure procedures are being negotiated and have yet to be determined.

There are also territories around the world outside of continental Europe that belong to the European Union owing to the sovereignty of an EU member and subsequent agreement:

EU OCT and OMR map en - EU Overseas Countries and Outermost Regions (click the map to enlarge)

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