The 2005 CIA World Factbook. United States. Central Intelligence Agency

Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, signed the Treaty of Paris. The ECSC was so successful that within a few years the decision was made to integrate other parts of the countries' economies. In 1957, the Treaties of Rome created the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), and the six member states undertook to eliminate trade barriers among themselves by forming a common market. In 1967, the institutions of all three communities were formally merged into the European Community (EC), creating a single Commission, a single Council of Ministers, and the European Parliament. Members of the European Parliament were initially selected by national parliaments, but in 1979 the first direct elections were undertaken and they have been held every five years since. In 1973, the first enlargement of the EC took place with the addition of Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The 1980s saw further membership expansion with Greece joining in 1981 and Spain and Portugal in 1986. The 1992 Treaty of Maastricht laid the basis for further forms of cooperation in foreign and defense policy, in judicial and internal affairs, and in the creation of an economic and monetary union - including a common currency. This further integration created the European Union (EU). In 1995, Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined the EU, raising the membership total to 15. A new currency, the euro, was launched in world money markets on 1 January 1999; it become the unit of exchange for all of the EU states except the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Denmark. In 2002, citizens of the 12 euro-area countries began using the euro banknotes and coins. Ten new countries joined the EU in 2004 - Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia - bringing the current membership to 25. In order to ensure that the EU can continue to function efficiently with an expanded membership, the 2003 Treaty of Nice set forth rules streamlining the size and procedures of EU institutions. An EU Constitutional Treaty, signed in Rome on 29 October 2004, gave member states two years to ratify the document before it was scheduled to take effect on 1 November 2006. Referenda held in France and the Netherlands in May-June 2005 that rejected the constitution suspended the ratification effort. Despite the expansion of membership and functions, "Eurosceptics" in various countries have raised questions about the erosion of national cultures and the imposition of a flood of regulations from the EU capital in Brussels. Failure by all member states to ratify the constitution or the inability of newcomer countries to meet euro currency standards might force a loosening of some EU agreements and perhaps lead to several levels of EU participation. These "tiers" might eventually range from an "inner" core of politically integrated countries to a looser "outer" economic association of members.

      Geography European Union

      Location:

       Europe between Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, southeastern Europe, and

       the North Atlantic Ocean

      Map references:

       Europe

      Area:

       total: 3,976,372 sq km

      Area - comparative:

       less than one-half the size of the US

      Land boundaries:

       total: 11,214.8 km

       border countries: Albania 282 km, Andorra 120.3 km, Belarus 1,050

       km, Bulgaria 494 km, Croatia 999 km, Holy See 3.2 km, Liechtenstein

       34.9 km, Macedonia 246 km, Monaco 4.4 km, Norway 2,348 km, Romania

       443 km, Russia 2,257 km, San Marino 39 km, Serbia and Montenegro 151

       km, Switzerland 1,811 km, Turkey 206 km, Ukraine 726 km

       note: data for European Continent only

      Coastline:

       65,413.9 km

      Maritime claims:

       NA

      Climate:

       cold temperate; potentially subarctic in the north to temperate;

       mild wet winters; hot dry summers in the south

      Terrain:

       fairly flat along the Baltic and Atlantic coast; mountainous in the

       central and southern areas

      Elevation extremes:

       lowest point: Lammefjord, Denmark −7 m; Zuidplaspolder, Netherlands

       −7 m

       highest point: Mount Blanc, France/Italy 4,807 m

      Natural resources:

       iron ore, arable land, natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, lead,

       zinc, hydropower, uranium, potash, fish

      Land use:

       arable land: NA%

       permanent crops: NA%

       other: NA%

      Irrigated land:

       115,807 sq km

      Natural hazards:

       flooding along coasts; avalanches in mountainous area; earthquakes

       in the south; volcanic eruptions in Italy; periodic droughts in

       Spain; ice floes in the Baltic

      Environment - current issues:

       NA

      Environment - international agreements:

       party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air

       Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94,

       Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change,

       Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes,

       Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 82, Tropical

       Timber 94

       signed but not ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds

      People European Union

      Population:

       456,953,258 (July 2005 est.)

      Age structure:

       0–14 years: 16.03% (male 37,608,010/female 35,632,351)

       15–64 years: 67.17% (male 154,439,536/female 152,479,619)

       65 years and over: 16.81% (male 31,515,921/female 45,277,821) (2005

       est.)

      Median age:

       NA

      Population growth rate:

       0.15% (July 2005 est.)

      Birth rate:

       10 births/1,000 population (July 2005 est.)

      Death rate:

       10.1 deaths/1,000 population (July 2005 est.)

      Net migration rate:

       1.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (July 2005 est.)

      Sex ratio:

       at birth: NA

       under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female

       15–64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

       65 years and older: 0.69 male(s)/female

       total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (July 2004 est.)

      Infant mortality rate:

       total: 5.1 deaths/1,000 live births

       male: 5.6 deaths/1,000 live births

       female: 4.5 deaths/1,000 live births (July 2005 est.)

      Life expectancy at birth:

       total population: 78.3 years

       male: 75.1 years

       female: 81.6 years (July 2005 est.)

      Total fertility rate:

       1.47 children born/woman (July 2005 est.)

      HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

       NA%