European Commission - Youth and Education - For Schools

For Schools Passport to the EU

Classrooms without borders: The fun of eTwinning

Green is for go: What the EU is doing to save the planet

by Victoria Holdsworth

In a Nutshell

27 - the number of countries currently in the European Union. These are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom;
½ billion - the predicted number of people living in the EU in 2007;
100 million + - the predicted number of children and young people living in the EU in 2007;
€112 billion (£73.5 billion) - the amount of money the EU got to spend in 2006.

Key Dates

1952 - the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was formed between Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands to share their coal and steel supplies;
1957 - the Treaties of Rome were signed between these six countries to include other parts of their economies. The European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) and the European Economic Union, (EEC), were formed. The six started removing and the EEC decision-making bodies were merged;
1973 - the United Kingdom (along with Ireland and Denmark) joined the Common Market;
1981 - Greece joined;
1986 - Portugal and Spain joined;
1993 - the Maastricht Treaty was signed and the club became known as the European Union (EU);
1995 - Austria, Finland and Sweden joined;
2004 - Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia joined;
2007 - Bulgaria and Romania joined.

Symbols of the European Union

12 - the number of gold stars in the EU Flag, which form a circle against a blue background. Twelve represents perfection and completeness. The circle represents unity. The flag was adopted as a symbol for Europe by all EU countries in 1985. The design has stayed the same, and does not change when new countries join the EU;
€ - the symbol used on EU currency, the euro. People in Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain use the euro. Sometimes, these are called Eurozone countries. Only Denmark, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the new member states have kept their own currency. The euro coins and notes are the same in all the countries using the euro, but each country makes its own coins, which show their national emblem on one side. All the notes and coins can be used anywhere in the euro area;
"United in diversity" - the motto of the EU which means that despite the different cultures, languages and traditions of the EU countries, they are united by working together for the benefit of Europe;
The European Anthem - is from the composer Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. In the final movement of the symphony, Beethoven set the music to "Ode to Joy" by Friedrich von Schiller. The poem expresses his hope of the human race working together as "brothers". It was chosen in 1985 as the official anthem of the European Union. Click here for a link to a recording of the anthem;
9 May is Europe Day - this is the day in 1950 when Robert Schuman, a French politician presented his plan to create a unified Europe.

Languages

23 - the number of official languages used in the EU's work. They are Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish and Swedish.

Geography

3,976,372 km² - the landmass of Europe. It is one of the world's seven continents and is surrounded by eight seas: the Atlantic Ocean, the Baltic Sea, the Barents Sea, the Bay of Biscay, the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the North Sea and the Norwegian Sea. It also has many lakes, rivers and mountains;
4,807 metres - the tallest mountain in the EU, Mont Blanc in France;
5,655 km² - the surface area of the largest freshwater lake in the EU, Lake Vänern in Sweden. In parts, Lake Vänern it is up to 106m deep;
2,850 km - the length of the Danube, the longest river in the EU region. It flows through 10 countries: Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Ukraine. Its delta is at the Black Sea in Romania;
117 metres - the tallest sand dune in Europe, Dune du Pyla near Arcachon in France;
3 - the number of time zones in the EU: Western Europe Time (Standard Time = GMT), used by the United Kingdom, Ireland and Portugal; Central Europe Time (Standard Time = GMT +1), used by Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Spain, France, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden; and Eastern Europe Time (Standard Time = GMT +2), used by Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania.

Climate

- 40 degrees centigrade - recorded winter temperatures in the far north of Europe in countries like Finland and Sweden.
+ 35 degrees centigrade - recorded summer temperatures in the far south and east of Europe, in countries like Greece and Cyprus;
Temperate - the word used to describe the climate of Europe in general - neither too hot, nor too cold.

Fun Facts

7% - percentage of the world's people who live in the EU.
80% - the number of Europeans living in cities.
7,517,700 - the number of people living in Greater London in 2005. London is the most populated city in the European Union.
216 million - the number of cars on the road in the EU25. There is nearly one car per two inhabitants in the EU and over 80 per cent of all passenger transport is by car;
650 million - The number of airline passengers in the EU in 2004. London Heathrow is the EU's busiest airport, handling about 10 % of all air passengers;
5% - average percentage of trips made by bicycle in the EU. In Amsterdam, this figure is 33%;
Over 364 million - the number of mobile phone contracts in the EU25.
58% - percentage of households in the EU25, which have a personal computer at home;
85% - percentage of school or university students aged 16-24 using the Internet in the EU;
40 million - the number of broadband Internet connections in the EU25 in 2005;
50 km + - the length of the longest railway tunnel in Europe. The Channel Tunnel carries high-speed trains between Dover and Calais. It is made up of twin tunnels buried 40m beneath the seabed;
245 metres - the highest bridge in the world, Millau Viaduct in France, which opened in 2004;
17km - the longest bridge in the EU is the Vasco da Gama road bridge in Portugal. It was named after the famous explorer and passes over the River Tagus.

Do you know of any facts and figures to add?

Important decision-making groups within the EU

The European Parliament - this is a law-making body and also decides on how the EU spends its money. The 785 members of the European Parliament are known as MEPs. These representatives are elected every five years by the people of EU countries.
The Council of the European Union - European decisions are made here by people representing each EU country. They meet regularly to discuss different issues like farming, or transport.
The European Council - in which the Prime Ministers and Presidents of the EU countries meet to decide on future priorities for the EU.
The European Presidency - every six months, a different country gets a turn to be president of the EU. The current presidency is held by Slovenia until 30th June 2008 when France will take over.
The European Commission - this is the day-to-day working group or civil service within the EU that proposes new laws and makes sure that EU decisions are carried out;
The European Court of Justice: This makes sure that EU laws are applied correctly and fairly;
The Committe of the Regions - advises the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament on issues relating to Europe's regions;
The Economic and Social Committee (ECOSOC) - advises the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament on economic and social questions.