The countries of the European Union are united as a result of integration processes in Europe, which began after the end of World War II. Such a structure was supposed to help restore Europe and promote the peaceful coexistence of the peoples living in it. This concept was first voiced by Winston Churchill in 1946. After that, it took almost 50 more years for the idea to become a reality, and in 1992 the creation of the European Union was officially approved.
Today, EU countries have common institutions that have part of their sovereign powers. This allows, without violating the principles of democracy, to make decisions at the European level on certain issues affecting the mutual interests of all participating States. EU countries have a common currency and a common market, allowing the free movement of people, services, capital and goods. The entire territory of the countries belonging to the Union is called the Schengen zone. Thus, the Schengen countries provide their citizens, as well as citizens of several states applying for EU membership, the opportunity to freely move around this territory without the need for additional visas.
Since all EU countries are equal participants in the organization, the official and working languages of the European Union are the languages of all countries belonging to it. Since several states have the same language, a total of 21 official languages are adopted in the Union.
The decision to create a single currency was made in 1992. And in 2002, EU countries finally began to use single monetary units, which replaced the national currency of each member state.
The European Union also has its own official symbols: flag and anthem. The flag is an image of twelve golden stars placed in a circle on a blue background. The number 12 has nothing to do with the number of participating countries, but represents absolute perfection. The circle is a symbol of the union of states. The blue background reflects the idea of a peaceful sky above the head of all European peoples.
As for the anthem, it was based on music from the Ninth Symphony of Ludwig Van Beethoven, which he wrote in 1823, namely, “Ode to Joy”. This composition reflects the idea of uniting and fraternizing peoples, which the great composer fully and completely supported . Thus, today, in the universal language of music without words, the European Anthem conveys to the listener the ideals of freedom, peace and solidarity that are fundamental to all of Europe.
EU member states
The European Union was founded by the following countries: Germany, France, Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Later, other countries joined the organization: Great Britain, Denmark, Ireland, Greece, Portugal, Spain, Austria, Sweden, Finland. In 2004, a number of states joined the EU: Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Malta, Slovenia, Slovakia and Hungary. In 2007, the ranks of the participating countries were also replenished by Bulgaria and Romania. In 2012, Croatia was the first among the countries of the former Yugoslavia to join the EU. Also today, several states have candidate status for membership in this organization.