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The EU in bits and pieces

Bits and pieces for educational purposes

Generated by the project team in 2020

Erasmus+ school project “May ICT be with you”

CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

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Introduction

Area: 4,233,262 km²

Population: 447,706,209 (2020 estimate)

Motto: “United in Diversity"

Member states: 27

Official languages: 24

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Formation

• Treaty of Rome: 1 January 1958

• Single European Act 1 July 1987

• Treaty of Maastricht: 1 November 1993

• Treaty of Lisbon: 1 December 2009

• Last polity admitted: 1 July 2013 (Croatia)

• Last polity withdrawn: 31 January 2020 (United Kingdom)

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Why are the treaties of the EU significant?

setting out EU objectives, rules for EU institutions
explaining how decisions are made
defining the relationship between the EU and its member countries

Treaties are amended to make the EU more efficient and transparent, to prepare for new member countries and to introduce new areas of cooperation – such as the single currency.

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European values

Human dignity
Freedom
Democracy
Equality
Rule of law
Human rights

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Government (in 2021)

President of the Commission:

Ursula von der Leyen

President of the Parliament:

Roberta Metsola

President of the European Council:

Charles Michel

Presidency of the Council of the EU:

Spain (until December 2023)

reindustrialise the EU
advance in the green transition
promote social and economic justice
strengthen European unity

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European symbols

in de facto use

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Belgium (the founding member)

Famous Belgians and characters:

Peter Paul Rubens: painter
Adolphe Sax: the inventor of the saxophone
Maurice Maeterlinck: playwright, essayist and novelist
René Magritte: surrealist, one of the most famous Belgian painters
Audrey Hepburn: actress
Hercule Poirot: a fictional character created by Agatha Christie

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France (the founding member)

Famous French people and characters:

Auguste Rodin: sculptor
Claude Monet: impressionist painter
Gustave Eiffel: architect and engineer
Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy: composers
The Little Prince: a fictional character created by Auguste de Sainte-Exupery

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Germany (the founding member)

Famous Germans and characters:

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: literary giant and statesman
Ludwig van Beethoven: composer
Albert Einstein: the most famous scientist of the 20th century
Otto von Bismarck: the founder of the German Empire
Angela Merkel: the first female Chancellor of Germany
Baron Munchausen: a fictional German nobleman created by Rudolf Erich Raspe

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Italy (the founding member)

Famous Italians and characters:

Marco Polo: merchant and explorer
Galileo: scholar of physics, mathematics, astronomy, and geometry
Dante Alighieri: Florentine poet, writer, and politician
Michelangelo: Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet and artist
Antonio Vivaldi: composer and violin genius
Pinocchio: a fictional character created by Carlo Collodi

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Luxembourg (the founding member)

Famous Luxembourgers:

Robert Schuman: Luxembourgish-born French statesman
Jean-Claude Juncker: Luxembourgish politician; President of the European Commission (2014 - 2019)

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The Netherlands (the founding member)

Famous Dutchmen and characters:

Vincent van Gogh: painter
Rembrandt: painter
Vermeer: painter
Willem-Alexander van Oranje and Máxima: King and Queen of the Netherlands
Rem Koolhaas: architect
Frau Antje: a Dutch character used in the advertising of cheese

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Joined in 1973

Denmark

Ireland

The UK (left 31 January 2020)

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Joined in 1981

Greece

“At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst.”

―Aristotle

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Joined in 1986

Portugal

Spain

“Where did we start? As a peace project among adversaries. What is our greatest accomplishment? The spread of stability and democracy across the continent. And what is our task for the future? To make Europe a global power, a force for good in the world.”

―Javier Solana