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Global Energy Enterprise

Europa

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Map of member states of the European Union. See table in text below for text version.
Map of member states of the European Union (See below for summary table.)

Geography

Europe is the 2nd smallest continent after Australia. The mainland of Europe is a peninsula of the western part of the Eurasian supercontinent, with no clear geological boundary to the east. By convention, it is separated from Asia by the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caucasus Mountains, and in the southeast by the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea.

In the south, Europe is separated from Africa by the Mediterranean Sea. In the west, Europe's borders are defined by the Atlantic Ocean and, to the north, by the Polar Sea.

The United Nations recognizes four subregions in Europe: Eastern Europe, Northern Europe, Southern Europe, and Western Europe.

European Union or Euro Area?

Two political economy-related terms that are often bandied about and sometimes conflated are European Union (EU) and Euro area (though you will still sometimes see it referred to as the Eurozone). It is important to differentiate between the two, as they are not synonymous. According to the EU, the European Union "is a unique economic and political partnership between 27 European countries that together cover much of the continent" (European Union: The EU in brief). As you will see, the EU is defined by a series of agreements (mostly treaties) that were for a long time focused on establishing economic relationships, but have more recently become more political in nature. See the countries in the EU in the map above, and feel free to visit the EU's website for brief details on each country.

The Eurozone/Euro area is defined by Investopedia as "a geographic and economic region that consists of all the European Union countries that have fully incorporated the euro as their national currency."  The euro began as a "virtual currency" in 1999 (used for "cash-less payments and accounting purposes"). The first banknotes were distributed on January 1, 2002. There are currently 19 countries in the Euro area (out of 27 EU member states), with close to 340 million people using the euro on a daily basis (European Union: The euro). For a full list of Eurozone countries, visit the European Union website.

To Read Now

Visit One-World.

Read/view the list of countries in Europe. Then take a little trip! Look at the map or visit the EUN member countries in brief page to explore. Notice cities, languages, currency, and natural resources.

European Union

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For a brief history lesson on the EU:

From the Delegation of the European Union to the United States, read How the EU Works. (Sorry for the archived link - the link went dead not long after President Trump took office, but the information is still valid and is a good summary). Note the different roles and memberships of the European Council, the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, and the European Parliament. (OPTIONAL: If you are interested in digging deeper into legislation and legal powers of the various bodies, see these Fact Sheets from the European Parliament.) 

Visit Europa and read

  • EU Institutions and Other Bodies (you may need to browse overview of the European Commission, European Parliament, and Council of the European Commission for this week's assignment).
  • EU law and How EU decisions are made and watch the videos and go through the Ordinary legislative procedure graphic near the bottom of the page. You may have to enable the content by checking a box.

As you are probably aware, Great Britain voted to exit the EU in 2016. This is the first time that a country has voted to leave the EU. Please read the following summary of the so-called "Brexit."