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The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, commonly referred to as the European Constitution, is an international treaty intended to create a constitution for the European Union. It was signed in 2004 by representatives of the member states of the Union. Its main aims are to replace the overlapping set of existing treaties that comprise the Union's current constitution, and to streamline decision-making in what is now a 25-member organisation. Despite its name, it only covers the European Union, not the whole of Europe in the geographical sense.
The constitutional treaty was signed by representatives of the member states on October 29, 2004, and is now in the process of ratification by all of the member states. If this were successful, the treaty would have been scheduled to enter into force on November 1, 2006. However, in 2005, French (May 29) and Dutch (June 1) voters rejected the treaty in referenda, prompting other countries to postpone their ratification procedures and leaving the Constitution with a highly uncertain future.Portal:European Union/Selected article/3
€2 commemorative coins are special euro coins minted and issued by member states of the Eurozone since 2004 as legal tender. The coins typically commemorate the anniversaries of historical events or draw attention to current events of special importance. Eighteen variations of €2 commemorative coins have been minted. €2 commemorative coins have become collectibles.
The basis for the commemorative coins derived from a decision of the European Council, which repealed the prohibition of changing the national obverse sides of euro coins from 1 January 2004 onwards.
The face value of the coins, typically is less than their intrinsic value of between €3 and €12. The exceptions are San Marino and the Vatican City, where coins from the former are regularly sold for between €30 and €40, while coins from the latter are very rarely obtained for less than €100. Issued designs are made public in the Official Journal of the European Union.Portal:European Union/Selected article/4
The Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe bordered by the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and France and is one of the founding and core members of the European Union. Belgium has a population of over ten million people, in an area of around 30,000 square kilometres (11,700 square miles).
Straddling the cultural boundary between Germanic and Romance Europe, Belgium is linguistically divided. It has two main languages: 59% of its population, mainly in the region Flanders, speak Dutch; French is spoken by 40% of the entire Belgian population. Less than 1% of the Belgian people, around 70,000 citizens, live in the German-speaking Community in the east of Wallonia. This linguistic diversity often leads to political and cultural conflict and is reflected in Belgium's complex system of government and political history.
Belgium derives its name from the Latin name of the most northern part of Gaul, Gallia Belgica, named after a group of mostly Celtic tribes, Belgae. Historically, Belgium has been a part of the Low Countries, which also include the Netherlands and Luxembourg and used to cover a somewhat larger region than the current Benelux group of states. From the end of the Middle Ages until the seventeenth century, it was a prosperous centre of commerce and culture. From the sixteenth century until the Belgian revolution in 1830, the area at that time called the Southern Netherlands, was the site of many battles between the European powers. More recently, Belgium was a founding member of the European Union, hosting its headquarters, as well as those of many other major international organisations, such as NATO.Portal:European Union/Selected article/5
The Treaty of Rome established the European Economic Community and was signed by France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg on March 25, 1957. According to George McGhee, former US ambassador to West Germany, it was nurtured at Bilderberg meetings. The treaty's original full name was the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community -- however the Treaty of Maastricht amended it and among other things removed the word "Economic" from the name of both the community and the treaty. The treaty is therefore now generally called the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC) or the EC Treaty.
Another treaty was signed the same day establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), which expired in 2002. As well as the Treaty of Rome the Euratom Treaty came into force on 1 January 1958. The original Treaty was amended by all the subsequent treaties; the Treaty of Nice sought to consolidate all treaties into one document but the EC Treaty as amended remains a single section within this, with its own article numbering.Portal:European Union/Selected article/6
The International Court of Justice (known colloquially as the World Court or ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. Its seat is in the Peace Palace at The Hague, Netherlands. Established in 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations, the Court began work in 1946 as the successor to the Permanent Court of International Justice. The Statute of the International Court of Justice, similar to that of its predecessor, is the main constitutional document constituting and regulating the Court. The ICJ should not be confused with the International Criminal Court or a court exercising jurisdiction under Belgium's War Crimes Law, both of which also potentially have "global" jurisdiction. English and French are its two official languages.
The Court's workload is characterised by a wide range of judicial activity. Its main functions are to settle legal disputes submitted to it by states and to give advisory opinions on legal questions submitted to it by duly authorised international organs and agencies. The number of decisions made by the ICJ has been relatively small, but there has clearly been an increased willingness to use the Court since the 1980s, especially among developing countries, although the USA withdrew from compulsory jurisdiction in 1986, meaning it accepts the court's jurisdiction on only a case-to-case basis.Portal:European Union/Selected article/7
The European Space Agency (ESA), established in 1975, is an inter-governmental organization dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 17 member states. Its headquarters are in Paris, France. ESA has a staff of about 1,900 with an annual budget of about €3 billion in 2006.
ESA's spaceport is the Centre Spatial Guyanais (Guyana Space Centre) in Kourou, French Guiana, a site chosen because it is close to the equator from which commercially important orbits are easier to access. During the 1990s ESA gained the position of market leader in commercial space launches and in recent years ESA has established itself as a major player in space exploration.
ESA science missions are based at ESTEC in Noordwijk, Netherlands, Earth Observation missions at ESRIN in Frascati, Italy, ESA Mission Control (ESOC) is in Darmstadt, Germany, and the European Astronauts Centre (PACI), that trains astronauts for future missions is situated in Cologne, Germany.Portal:European Union/Selected article/8
The EUFOR or European Union Force is an international military force under the supervision of the European Council. It is best known for operation Althea; their current involvement in Bosnia and Herzegovina to oversee the military implementation of the Dayton Agreement. It replaced the NATO-led SFOR on the 2nd of December 2004. The EUFOR is led by the Political and Security Committee, and the civilian implementation of the agreement lies in the hands of the Office of High Representative. The efforts of both are coordinated by the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana.
EUFOR has around 7,000 personnel from 33 countries, mostly from the countries of the European Union. There are however, additional troops from other European countries and also some from Canada and elsewhere. As of 2005, this is the largest purely European military operation.Portal:European Union/Selected article/9
The Eurozone is the subset of European Union member states which have adopted the euro, creating a currency union. The European Central Bank is responsible for monetary policy within the zone. In 1998 eleven EU member-states had met the convergence criteria, and the Eurozone came into existence with the official launch of the euro on 1 January 1999; Greece qualified in 2000 and was admitted on 1 January 2001, bringing total Eurozone membership to its current level of over 307 million people and twelve member states.
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The Galileo positioning system is a proposed satellite navigation system, to be built by the European Union as an alternative to GPS (which is controlled by the United States military) and the Russian GLONASS. The system should be operational by 2010, two years later than originally anticipated. The first stage of the Galileo program was agreed upon officially on May 26, 2003 by the European Union and the European Space Agency (ESA).
It is named after the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei. The Galileo positioning system should not be referred to as GPS, which refers specificially to the existing United States system, but as "Galileo." Galileo is intended to provide: greater precision to all users, improved coverage of satellite signals at higher latitudes, which northern regions such as Scandinavia will benefit from, a positioning system upon which European nations can rely even in times of war or political disagreement.Portal:European Union/Selected article/11
Pan-European identity refers to both the sense of personal identification with Europe, and to the identity possessed by 'Europe' as a whole. Although 250 million Europeans are outside it, 'Europe' is inaccurately but widely used as a synonym for the European Union. The prefix pan implies that the identity applies at a continental or near-continental level, and especially in an EU context, 'pan-European' is often contrasted with national.
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The Virtuti Militari is Poland's highest military decoration for valor in the face of the enemy. Foreign decorations equivalent to the Virtuti Militari include Britain's Victoria Cross and the U.S. Medal of Honor. It is awarded either for personal heroism or sometimes to commanders representing their units.
Awarded in five classes, the order was created in 1792 by Poland's King Stanisław August Poniatowski. It has been reintroduced, renamed and banned several times, with its fate closely reflecting the vicissitudes of the Polish people. Throughout the decoration's existence, thousands of soldiers and officers, Polish and foreign, several cities and one ship have been awarded the Virtuti Militari for valor or outstanding leadership in war. There have been no new awards since 1989.Portal:European Union/Selected article/13
Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of the British monarch. The Palace is a setting for state occasions and royal entertaining, a base for many officially visiting Heads of State, and a major tourist attraction. It has been a rallying point for the British people at times of national rejoicing, crisis or grief. "Buckingham Palace" or simply "The Palace" commonly refers to the source of press statements issued by the offices of the Royal Household.
In the Middle Ages, Buckingham Palace's site formed part of the Manor of Ebury. It had several royal owners from Edward the Confessor onwards and was also the object of much property speculation. Precursors of Buckingham Palace were Blake House, Goring House, and Arlington House. The State Rooms form the nucleus of the working Palace and are used regularly by The Queen and members of the royal family for official and state entertaining. Buckingham Palace is one of the world's most familiar buildings and more than 50,000 people visit the palace each year as guests to banquets, lunches, dinners, receptions and the royal garden parties.Portal:European Union/Selected article/14
The European flag consists of a circle of twelve golden stars on a blue background. Although the flag is most commonly associated with the European Union, it was initially used by the Council of Europe and was intended to represent Europe as a whole as opposed to any particular organisation such as the EU or the COE. The flag appears on the face of all euro currency banknotes, and the stars on euro coins as well as driving licences and licence plates issued in the member countries of the EU.
The flag was originally adopted by the Council of Europe on December 8, 1955, from one of many designs attributed to Arsène Heitz. On 25 October 1955 the Parliamentary Assembly made the unanimous decision to adopt a circle of gold stars on a blue background as an emblem. On 8 December 1955 the Committee of Ministers adopted this as the European flag. "Against the blue sky of the Western world, the stars represent the peoples of Europe in a circle, the symbol of unity. Their number shall be invariably set at twelve, the symbol of completeness and perfection ... just like the twelve signs of the zodiac represent the whole universe, the twelve gold stars stand for all peoples of Europe – including those who cannot as yet take part in building up Europe in unity and peace."Portal:European Union/Selected article/15
West Wycombe Park is a country house near the village of West Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England. Built between 1740 and 1800 as a pleasure palace for the decadent 18th-century libertine and dilettante Sir Francis Dashwood, the house is long and rectangular, and all four façades are columned and pedimented, three theatrically so. The house combines and encapsulates the entire progression of British 18th-century architecture from early idiosyncratic Palladian to the Neoclassical, although anomalies in the design of the house make it architecturally unique. It is in an 18th-century landscaped park, surrounded by smaller temples that act as satellites to the greater temple, the house.
The house was given to the National Trust in 1943 by Sir John Dashwood, 10th Baronet (1896–1966), an action strongly resented by his heir. Dashwood retained ownership of the contents of the house, much of which he sold; after his death, the house was restored at the expense of his son, Sir Francis Dashwood. Today, while the structure is owned by the National Trust, the house is the home of Sir Edward Dashwood and his family. The house is open to the public during the summer months and a venue for civil weddings and corporate entertainment, which help to fund its maintenance and upkeep.Portal:European Union/Selected article/16
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered on the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea, on the east by Poland and the Czech Republic, on the south by Austria and Switzerland, and on the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands. Germany is a democratic parliamentary federal republic of 16 states. The country previously consisted of several sovereign states with their own history, culture, and religious affiliation. Germany was first unified as a nation-state amidst the Franco-Prussian War in 1871.
The Federal Republic of Germany is a member state of the United Nations, NATO, the G8 and the G4 nations, and is a founding member of the European Union. It has the largest population and largest economy of all European Union member states. Germany is both the world's third largest economy and its largest exporter of goods. Germany is facing major demographic change. Its fertility rate of 1.39 children per mother is one of the lowest in the world, and the federal statistics office estimates the population will shrink to approximately 75 million by 2050. Chemnitz is thought to be the city with the lowest birth rate in the world.Portal:European Union/Selected article/17
The Scottish Parliament Building is the home of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, within the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Edinburgh. Construction on the building commenced in June 1999 and the Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) held their first debate in the new Parliament on Tuesday, 7 September 2004. The formal opening by Queen Elizabeth II took place on 9 October 2004. Enric Miralles, the Catalan architect who designed the building, died during the course of its construction.
From the outset, the building and its construction proved to be highly controversial. The choice of location, architect, design and construction company were all criticised by politicians, the media and the Scottish public. When it finally opened in 2004, the building was over three years late with an estimated final cost of £431m, higher than initial costings of between £10m and £40m. The building was welcomed by architectural academics and critics. The building conceives a poetic union between the Scottish landscape, its people, its culture and the city of Edinburgh. This approach won the parliament numerous awards including the 2005 Stirling Prize and has been described as "a tour de force of arts and crafts and quality without parallel in the last 100 years of British architecture".Portal:European Union/Selected article/18
The history of Lithuania between 1219 and 1295 deals with the establishment and early history of the first Lithuanian state, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The beginning of the 13th century marks the end of the prehistory of Lithuania. From this point on the history of Lithuania is recorded in chronicles, treaties, and other written documents. In 1219, twenty-one Lithuanian dukes signed a peace treaty with Halych-Volhynia. This event is widely accepted as the first proof that the Baltic tribes were uniting and consolidating. Despite continuous warfare with two Christian orders, the Livonian Order and the Teutonic Knights, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was established and gained some control over the lands of Black Ruthenia, Polatsk, Minsk, and other territories east of modern-day Lithuania that had become weak and vulnerable after the collapse of Kievan Rus'.
The first ruler to hold the title of Grand Duke was Mindaugas. Traditionally he is considered the founder of the state, the one who united the Baltic tribes and established the Duchy. Some scholars, however, challenge this perception, arguing that an organized state existed before Mindaugas, possibly as early as 1183. After quelling an internal war with his nephews, Mindaugas was baptized in 1251, and was crowned as King of Lithuania in 1253.Portal:European Union/Selected article/19
While most of the states in the world, and in Europe, are republics (have a directly or indirectly elected head of state), there are still seven monarchies in the European Union, whose head of state (a monarch) inherits his or her office, and usually keeps it for life or until they abdicate. At the dawn of the 20th century, France was the only republic among the future member states of the European Union; the ascent of republicanism to the political mainstream only started at the beginning of the 20th century.
The European Union's monarchies are: the Kingdom of Belgium, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Kingdom of Spain, the Kingdom of Sweden, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
All seven monarchies in the European Union are constitutional monarchies, which means that the monarch does not influence the politics of the state: either the monarch is legally prohibited from doing so, or the monarch does not utilise the political powers vested in the office by convention. There is currently no major campaign to abolish the monarchy in any of the remaining seven states, although there is a significant minority of republicans in all of them.Portal:European Union/Selected article/20
The European Parliament (formerly European Parliamentary Assembly) is the parliamentary body of the European Union (EU), directly elected by EU citizens once every five years. Together with the Council of Ministers, it composes the legislative branch of the institutions of the Union. It meets in two locations: Strasbourg and Brussels.
The Parliament has restricted legislative power. It cannot initiate legislation, but can amend or veto it in many policy areas. In certain other policy areas, it only has the right to be consulted. It also supervises the European Commission; it must approve all appointments to it, and can dismiss it with a vote of censure. It also has the right to control the EU budget.
Other organisations of European countries, such as the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Council of Europe, and the Western European Union, have parliamentary assemblies as well, but the members of these assemblies are appointed by national parliaments as opposed to direct election.Portal:European Union/Selected article/21
The euro (currency sign: €; banking code: EUR) is the official currency of the Eurozone. It is the single currency for more than 317 million Europeans. Including areas using currencies pegged to the euro, the euro affects more than 480 million people worldwide. With more than €610 billion in circulation as of December 2006 (equivalent to US$800 billion at the exchange rates at the time), the euro has surpassed the U.S. dollar in terms of combined value of cash in circulation. The euro was introduced to world financial markets as an accounting currency in 1999 and launched as physical coins and banknotes in 2002. It replaced the former ECU at a ratio of 1:1.
While all EU member states are eligible to join if they comply with certain monetary requirements, the euro is not used in all of the European Union as not all EU members have adopted the currency. All nations which have recently joined the EU are pledged to adopt the euro in due course, but the United Kingdom and Denmark are under no such obligation. Several small European states (The Vatican, Monaco and San Marino), although not EU members, have adopted the euro due to currency unions with member states. Andorra, Montenegro and Kosovo have adopted the euro unilaterally.Portal:European Union/Selected article/22
The Maserati MC12 is a grand tourer produced by Maserati to allow a racing variant to compete in the FIA GT Championship. The car entered production in 2004 with 25 cars produced. A further 25 were produced in 2005 making a total of 50 cars available for customers, all of which were pre-sold for €600 000. Maserati designed and built the car on the chassis of the Enzo Ferrari but the final car is much larger. The MC12 is longer, wider and taller than the Enzo Ferrari, however the Enzo has faster acceleration and a higher top speed.
The MC12 was developed to signal Maserati's return to racing after 37 years. The road version was produced to homologate the race version. One of the requirements for participation in the FIA GT is the production of at least 25 road cars. Three GT1 race cars were entered into the FIA GT with great success. Maserati began racing the MC12 in the FIA GT toward the end of the 2004 season, achieving a victory at the Zhuhai International Circuit.Portal:European Union/Selected article/23
Chelsea Football Club are an English professional football club based in west London. Founded in 1905, they play in the FA Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier in English football. They have had two broad periods of success, one during the 1960s and early 1970s, and the second from the late 1990s to the present day. Chelsea have won three league titles, three FA Cups, three League Cups and two UEFA Cup Winners' Cups. During the 2005-06 season, they became Premier League champions for the second consecutive year.
Chelsea's home is the 42,055 capacity Stamford Bridge football stadium in Fulham, West London, where they have played since their foundation. Despite their name, the club are based just outside the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. In 2003, the club was bought by Russian oil tycoon Roman Abramovich. The club's traditional kit colours are royal blue shirts and shorts with white socks. Their traditional crest is a ceremonial blue lion holding a staff; a modified version of this was adopted in 2005. Chelsea are one of the best-supported clubs in the UK, with an estimated fanbase of around four million.Portal:European Union/Selected article/24
Same-sex marriage in Spain was legalized in 2005. In 2004, the new Socialist government, led by President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, began a campaign for its legalization, which would include adoption by same-sex couples. After much debate, a law permitting same-sex marriage was passed by the Cortes Generales on 30 June 2005 and published on 2 July 2005. Same-sex marriage officially became legal in Spain on Sunday, 3 July 2005. The ratification of this law has not been devoid of conflict, despite support from 66% of Spaniards. Catholic authorities in particular were adamantly opposed to it, fearing the weakening of the meaning of marriage. Demonstrations for and against the law drew thousands of people from all parts of Spain.
Approximately 4,500 same-sex couples have married in Spain during the first year of the law. Shortly after the law was passed, questions arose about the legal status of marriage to non-Spaniards whose country did not permit same-sex marriage. A ruling from the Spanish Justice ministry stated that the country's same-sex marriage law allows a Spanish citizen to marry a non-Spaniard regardless of whether that person's homeland recognizes the partnership. At least one partner must be a Spanish citizen to marry.Portal:European Union/Selected article/25
The 1985 Schengen Agreement is an agreement among European states which allows for the abolition of systematic border controls between the participating countries. It also includes provisions on common policy on the temporary entry of persons, the harmonisation of external border controls and cross-border police co-operation. A total of 30 countries – including all European Union states and three non-EU members Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland – have signed the agreement and 15 have implemented it so far. The Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom only take part in the police co-operation measures and not the common border control and visa provisions. Border posts and checks have been removed between Schengen countries and a common 'Schengen visa' allows tourist or visitor access to the area.
The agreement was originally signed on 14 June 1985, by five European countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, and The Netherlands). The agreement was signed aboard the ship Princesse Marie-Astrid on the Moselle River, near Schengen, a small town in Luxembourg on the border with France and Germany.Portal:European Union/Selected article/26
The flag of Portugal consists of a rectangle vertically divided into green, at the hoist, and red, at the fly, with the minor version of the national coat of arms (armillary sphere and Portuguese shield) centered over the boundary between the colors. It was officially adopted on 30 June 1911, replacing the flag used under the constitutional monarchy, after it was chosen among several proposals by a special commission, whose members included Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro, João Chagas and Abel Botelho.
The current flag represents a sweeping change in the evolution of the Portuguese flag, which was always intimately associated with the royal arms. Since the country's foundation, the national flag developed from King Afonso I's blue-cross-on-white armorial square banner to the liberal monarchy's royal arms over a blue-and-white rectangle. In between, major changes associated with important political events contributed to the evolution of the national shield into its current design.Portal:European Union/Selected article/27
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