European Union Facts

12. A little history on the EU: The European Union as is was first established with the Treaty of Maastricht in 1993. The final EU constitution came into effect with the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009. The EU headquarters are in Brussels

13. Important EU cities: Four cities are very important for the European union:

Brussels in Belgium (EU headquarters)

Strasbourg in France (European Parliament)

Frankfurt/Main in Germany (European Central Bank)

Luxembourg City in Luxembourg (seat of the European Parliament and the European Court of Justice)

The EU capital city is Brussels, which is the capital city of Belgium.

14. The presidency of the Council of the European Union rotates every six months. The Council of the EU represents the governments of the member states and the presidency is held by the national government’s head of state. In 2022 (from July to December), the presidency will go to the Czech Republic.

15. There are three important bodies within the European Union:

The EU Parliament that consists of directly elected members who represent the people of their member country.

The EU Council that consists of the heads of state of the member countries who make the decision for and support the decision made prior in their country.

The EU Commission represents the interests of the European Union member states and the proposes new laws that the parliament and the council then discuss and can then adopt. Therefore there are three leaders of the European Union: EU commission president, EU council president, EU parliament president.

17. Languages in the EU: There is no single European language, as all languages are considered equal and shall be respected by all people in the European Union. Thus, all information is available in 24 languages:

18. EU Day: Europe Day is celebrated on 9 May.

19. The European economy: The European Union is the largest trade block in the world. The majority of trade is with the EU member countries as there is free trade among the member countries. The so-called ‘single market’ was established in 1992.

20. Largest airport: After Brexit, Paris Charles de Gaulle in France will become the busiest airport in the EU. (Before Brexit, it was London Heathrow airport in the United.

More EU Facts

EU Facts | Money: The European Central Bank was founded in 1998 and the European currency was introduced in 2002. The European currency is the EURO for 19 countries of the EU while other European countries still use their own national currency such as Denmark, Sweden, Croatia and the Czech Republic.

EU Facts | Unemployment: The unemployment rates in the EU are very diverse. The lowest unemployment rates are recorded in Czech, Germany, Malta and the Netherlands, while France, Italy, Spain and Greece have the highest number of unemployed people.

EU Facts | Awards: Did you know that the EU was recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012. The prize was awarded for advancing peace, reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe.

EU Facts | Famous Brussels Landmarks: