Tag: trade

European Union Citizens elected the Parliament of European Union by the power of vote it mainly includes citizens of European Countries.

The number twelve is traditionally the symbol of perfection, completeness and unity (12 hours in day, 12 months in a year, etc). The 12 stars do not represent the 12 countries who were the original member states.

Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain and The Netherlands. Denmark, the UK and Sweden did not adopt the Euro as their currency.

The European Union has  six founding countries Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.

The European Union is a political and economic organisation of 28 nations in Europe established in 1993. It is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. 

The Council comprises ministers of the Member States. Its membership changes according to the matter under discussion, for instance it comprises national ministers of agriculture if agriculture is the topic under discussion. Unlike members of the European Commission, who are required to act independently of national governments, members of the Council represent national interest. The Presidency of the Council is held by each Member State, in turn, for six months.

In 2012, the EU won the Nobel Peace Prize for "Transforming Europe" from a continent of war to a continent of peace."

This reluctance was most in evidence shortly after Britian joined the EU in 1973. Two years later, a referendum was held asking voters whether they wanted to remain in the EU. The great majority of members of the Conservative Party were extremely hostile to the EU during the 1990s.

EU measures, generally comprising secondary legislation, can only be adopted by the EU institutions if the Treaty confers on them the power to legislate in the relevant area. The 'legal base' of an EU measure is the Treaty article conferring that power. The Treaty article forming the legal base also sets out the procedure and the voting requirements in the Council - unanimity, simple majority, or qualified majority - for the adoption of the legislation.

Qualified majority voting operates as a system of weighted voting. The larger the Member State, the more votes it holds. For instance the larger Member States, such as France and Germany, hold 29 votes each and the smallest, Malta, holds only 3 votes.