Politics of Europe

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This article deals with the politics of the European continent. For specific information on the European Union, refer to that article.

The politics of Europe deals with the continually evolving politics within the continent. It is a topic far more detailed than other continents due to a number of factors including the long history of nation states in the region as well as the modern day trend towards increased political unity amongst the European states.

The current politics of Europe can be traced back to historical events within the continent. Likewise geography, economy and culture have contributed to the current political make-up of Europe.

Modern European politics is dominated by the European Union, since the fall of the Iron Curtain and the collapse of the Eastern Bloc of Communist states. With the end of the Cold War, the EU expanded eastward to include 25 member states that are represented in the European Parliament.

Contents 1 Modern political climate 2 International alliances 2.1 Council of Europe 2.2 European Union 2.3 Commonwealth of Independent States 2.4 North Atlantic Treaty Organisation 3 Devolutionary Pressures 3.1 Belgium 3.2 Bosnia and Herzegovina 3.3 Denmark 3.4 Finland 3.5 France 3.6 Georgia 3.7 Germany 3.8 Italy 3.9 Moldova 3.10 Netherlands 3.11 Norway 3.12 Romania 3.13 Russia 3.14 Serbia 3.15 Spain 3.16 Sweden 3.17 Ukraine 3.18 United Kingdom 4 Politics by country 5 Foreign relations by country 6 See also

[edit] Modern political climate

Several issues dominate modern European politics.

Despite vastly improved relations between Russia and the Western European states since the end of the cold war, recently tensions have risen over the spread of 'Western' organisations, particularly the EU and NATO, eastwards into former USSR states.

Most European states have either joined, or stated their ambition to join, the European Union. This has led to governments overhauling corrupt and overly-bureaucratic systems in order to bring themselves in line with membership criteria. This in turn has led to improved relations between former enemies, such as Greece and Turkey.

There are few conflicts within Europe, although there remain problems in the Balkans and the Caucasus.

[edit] International alliances

European states are members of a large number of international organisations, mainly economical, although several are political, or both. The main political unions are detailed below.

[edit] Council of Europe

Human rights organisation. The only pan European organisation where all European states are members or observers.

[edit] European Union

Also see: Politics of the European Union

The European Union or EU is an intergovernmental and supranational union of 25 states. It has many activities, the most important being a common single market, consisting of a customs union, a single currency (adopted by 12 out of 25 member states), a Common Agricultural Policy and a Common Fisheries Policy. The European Union also has various initiatives to co-ordinate activities of the member states.

The EU, considered as a unit, has the largest economy in the world with a 2005 GDP of 12.18 trillion USD. There is also a trend of moving towards increased cooperation in terms of common defence and foreign policy.

The union has evolved over time from a primarily economic union to an increasingly political one. This trend is highlighted by the increasing number of policy areas that fall within EU competence: political power has tended to shift upwards from the member states to the EU. The further development of the political compentencies of the EU is the subject of heavy debate within and between some member states.

[edit] Commonwealth of Independent States

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a confederation consisting of 12 of the 15 states of the former Soviet Union, (the exceptions being the three Baltic states). Although the CIS has few supranational powers, it is more than a purely symbolic organization and possesses coordinating powers in the realm of trade, finance, lawmaking and security. The most significant issue for the CIS is the establishment of a full-fledged free trade zone / economic union between the member states, launched in 2005. It has also promoted cooperation on democratisation and cross-border crime prevention.

[edit] North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is a military alliance of mainly European states, plus the United States of America and Canada. The organisation was founded as a collective security measure following World War Two.

This provision was intended so that if the Soviet Union launched an attack against the European allies of the United States, it would be treated as if it was an attack on the United States itself, which had the biggest military and could thus provide the most significant retaliation. However the feared Soviet invasion of Europe never came. Instead, the provision was invoked for the first time in the treaty's history on 12 September 2001, in response to the September 11 attacks on the United States the day before.

[edit] Devolutionary Pressures

It should be noted that these movements, seeking either autonomy or independence, vary greatly in their popular support and political profile, from fringe movements to mainstream campaigns.

[edit] Belgium

Two of Belgium's parties, the Vlaams Belang and New-Flemish Alliance, want Flanders, the northern part of Belgium, to become independent. Other Flemish parties plead for more regional autonomy.

The autonomous Belgian region of Wallonia has a movement wanting to leave the Belgian state and join with France.

[edit] Bosnia and Herzegovina

Inhabitants of one of the two constituing entities, Republika Srpska, vast majority of them being ethnic Serbs, would opt for independence from Bosnia and unification with Serbia. Republika Srpska comprises 49% of the territory of Bosnia and functions independently from the rest of the country in many spheres. Even though independence is not on the official government agenda, Serbian politicians from the region see a link between a possible future status of Kosovo and a the status of Republika Srpska.

Croats, who remain a constituent nation of Bosnia and Herzegovina remain united with ethnic Bosniacs in a joint entity. Some of the Croatian politians from Bosnia ask for a separate entity for Croats, a similar solution ethnic Serbs have with Republika Srpska.

[edit] Denmark

The Danish territories of Greenland and Faroe Islands have very strong independence movements.

[edit] Finland

The Åland Islands have a great deal of autonomy, but some groups want full independence.

[edit] France

The Mediterranean island of Corsica has a significant and growing group calling for independence from France. There are also movements in the Brittany region of northern France who wish to regain independence lost in 1532, and in Savoy in the south east, which was annexed to France following a disputed referendum in 1860.

Parts of Navarre, Basque Country and Catalonia cross into France.

[edit] Georgia

Georgia has two regions wishing to join with Russia; Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

[edit] Germany

There are several groups calling for independence for the southern region of Bavaria, which is in many ways culturally and historically distinct from the rest of Germany and has more in common with neighboring Austria. The main slogan of the "Bayern Partei" or Bavaria Party is for Bavaria to free itself from the sprendthrift politicians in "Prussian" Berlin.

[edit] Italy

The Mediterranean island of Sardinia has a small independence movement.

An Italian political party, the Lega Nord, supports the independence of Northern Italy under the name Padania, blaming Southern Italy for siphoning away tax funds and blocking progress. A similar, though not as active movement, is found in the Southern Italian provinces.

[edit] Moldova

The eastern Moldovan region of Transnistria, which has a large ethnic Russian and Ukrainian population, has declared independence from Moldova. Despite having no control over the region, the Moldovan government refuses to recognise this claim.

[edit] Netherlands

The Frisian National Party seeks more autonomy for Friesland without striving for complete independence. The preservation of Frisian culture is an important goal of the party.

[edit] Norway

The Sami people desire independence for Lapland. ^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Romania

Before the Treaty of Trianon after World War I, Transylvania belonged to Austria-Hungary, and it contains a large minority of ethnic Hungarians who desire reunification with Hungary.

[edit] Russia

Several of Russia's regions have independence movements, mostly in the state's north caucasus border. The most notable of these are Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia, which have well supported guerilla groups involved in open conflict with the Russian authorities.

The Tatar people seek an independent state for the region of Tatarstan.

Finland claims the region of Karelia.

To the west of Russia lies the enclave of Kaliningrad oblast, (formerly known as Prussia). This enclave is separated from the main Russian state by EU member states, which has led to an increased call for autonomy. However, some ethnic-German groups call for complete independence^{[citation needed]}.

The Sami people desire independence for Lapland, the Eastern part of which is located within Russia.

[edit] Serbia

The Serbian autonomous community of Kosovo, which has a majority ethnic-Albanian population, overwhelmingly desires to leave Serbia and become a sovereign state, although some wish to have union with Albania. The province is currently governed by the United Nations, though remains part of Serbia under law. The United Nations have stated that Kosovo's future status will have been decided by the end of 2006.

[edit] Spain

Within Spain there are independence movements in some of the autonomous regions, notably the regions of Catalonia, Basque country and Navarre. These are mostly peaceful but some, such as ETA and Terra Lliure, have used violent means.

[edit] Sweden

The Sami people desire independence for Lapland.

There is an independence movement in the southern region of Scania, which was part of Denmark until 1658 and still shares linguistic and cultural features with Denmark.

[edit] Ukraine

The Ukrainian autonomous region of Crimea has several movements, calling either for greater autonomy, complete independence, or unification with Russia.

The East of the country is majority Russophone, and there are calls from some groups for the area to leave Ukraine and join Russia. This is particularly the case since the pro-western Victor Yuschenko became president.

[edit] United Kingdom

Within the United Kingdom there are elected political parties in Scotland and Wales calling for independence from the union, and movements towards greater devolution of power in English regions, such as the Wessex Regionalists. In Northern Ireland there are parties calling for the province to leave the union and be united with the Republic of Ireland. Movements seeking autonomy or independence are also present in the peninsula of Cornwall.

There is a movement which seeks to revoke the status of the Isle of Man as a British Crown Dependency and establish a completely sovereign state.

[edit] Politics by country

[edit] Foreign relations by country

[edit] See also

• Politics of the European Union
• Europe
• Culture of Europe
• Economy of Europe
• Geography of Europe
• History of Europe
• List of conflicts in Europe
• List of Europe-related topics