EUROPE
INDEPENDENT STATES At present, there are 48 independent states in Europe. Some countries, like France became states many years ago. Others, like Germany or the Czech Republic, have experienced great changes in recent decades.
AN AGEING POPULATION The population in Europe has come to a standstill: This means that the birth rate is lower than the death rate.
Europe is an ageing continent: the number of people over 65 is almost the same as the number of young people.
POPULATION DISTRIBUTION 735 million people live in Europe, but population density varies a lot from one region to another. The average population density is 73.5 inhabitants per square kilometre.
THE EUROPEAN UNION AND ITS INSTITUTIONS What is the European Union? The European Union is an organisation made up of twentyfive countries. Its goal is to promote the political and economic union of member states in a space without political frontiers.
OBJECTIVES The European Union has two types of objectives: Political objectives: The citizens of any member country can live in any other member country.
Economic objectives: All member countries share legislation on agriculture, industry and transport. In many of these countries the euro is the official currency.
THE INSTITUTIONS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION The Council of the European Union: It approves European laws, coordinates economic policies, develops security and foreign policy. It is made up of ministers of each member state.
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The European Parliament It approves laws and budgets and controls European Union institutions. The Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are elected directly by EU citizens in each member state.
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The European Commission.
This is the government of the European Union. It proposes laws and policies. The commissioners are chosen by the governments of the member states and by parliament.
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The Court of Justice It is responsible for upholing the rule of European law. It is made up of one judge from each member state.