European union vocabulary

THE EUROPEAN TERRITORY

Europe is situated in the northern hemisphere.The Principal types of relief are:

·Old mountains:north-west and centre of the continent.

·Plains:occupy a large area that stretches from the West to the east.The Great European Plains.

·Young mountains:.These can be found in the south.

Most natural landscapes in Europe are temperate,cold And alpine landscapes.

Europe consists of many states with different Political systems(parliamentary monarchies,republics,principalities).

POPULATION

The population of Europe has:

 ·More than 730 million inhabitants.

 ·Population density is high.

·Population is distributed irregularly.

 ·Nature increase is stagnant:in some countries It is even negative.

 ·Migration from the second half of the 20th Century onwards,Europe started attracting immigrants from Africa,South-East Asia,Latin America.

 ·The population of Europe is ageing.

THE CREATION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

·Treaty of Rome(1957):it constituted the European Common Market,whose main objectives were the free movement of People,goods,services and capital.

·Treaty on European Union or Maastricht Treaty(1992):it created the European Union and established its three Pillars:economic,monetary and security policies.

·Treaty of Lisbon(2007):established the European Council as a formal EU institution.

PRINCIPAL INSTITUTIONS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

European Parliament:

 ·Composition:elected by the citizens by Universal suffrage every five years.

 ·Functions:mostly legislative,controlling the Work of the European Commission and approving the EU budget.

 ·Seat:Strasbourg,France.

European Council:

 ·Composition:heads of state or government of all Member state.

 ·Functions:takes decisions about EU policy.

·Seat:Brussels,Belgium.

European Commission:

 ·Composition:a president and commissioners(one For each member state).

 ·Functions:implementation of common EU policies And manages the budget.

 ·Seat:Brussels.

ECONOMIC INTEGRATION

The economic policy of the European Union is based on The policy of the Economic and Monetary Union,the euro,the single currency of The majority of EU countries.

The European Union economic policies:

 ·Common Agricultural Policy:quality agricultural Production while respecting the environment.It also offers help to farmers.

 ·Common Fisheries Policy:its objective is to Protect fishing stocks and the marine environment.

 ·European Energy Policy:its main objectives are To promote the responsible use of energy,combat climate change and invest in Renewable energy.

REGIONAL POLICY

There are big economic contrasts between regions in The European Union.In order to reduce these imbalances the European Union Applies policies:

 ·Structural funds help reduce the differences Between EU regions:

    -European Regional Development Fund:help to less-developed regions

    -European Social Fund:fund is Improving employment opportunities for jobless                                               

                                            people.

 ·The Cohesion Fund is aimed at countries whose GDP is less than 90% of the EU

average.

THE ROLE OF SPAIN IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

Spain joined the EEC,nowadays the EU,in 1986.Spain Started using the euro as its currency in the year 2002.

Spain,economic growth was also helped by the Contributions it received from  EU funds.

Spain is a member of all the EU institutions.

Spain is responsible for introducing several measures For the creation of European citizenship to improving EU relations with Latin America and North Africa.

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