Capitalname: Brussels (Belgium), Strasbourg (France), Luxembourg Independence7 February 1992 (Maastricht Treaty signed establishing the EU); 1 November 1993 (Maastricht Treaty entered into force) National holidayEurope Day 9 May (1950); note - a Union-wide holiday, the day that Robert SCHUMAN proposed the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community to achieve an organized Europe Constitutionbased on a series of treaties: the Treaty of Paris, which set up the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1951; the Treaties of Rome, which set up the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) in 1957; the Single European Act in 1986; the Treaty on European Union (Maastricht) in 1992; the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997; and the Treaty of Nice in 2003; note - a new draft Constitutional Treaty, signed on 29 October 2004 in Rome, gave member states two years for ratification either by parliamentary vote or national referendum before it was scheduled to take effect on 1 November 2006; defeat in French and Dutch referenda in May-June 2005 dealt a severe setback to the ratification process, though it has continued more slowly with Finland ratifying in December 2006; as of January 2007, 18 countries have ratified the Constitutional Treaty; Germany has made revival of the EU Constitution a goal of its EU Presidency in 2007 Suffrage18 years of age; universal Executive branchchief of union: President of the European Commission Jose Manuel DURAO BARROSO (since 22 November 2004) Legislative branchCouncil of the European Union (27 member-state ministers having 345 votes; the number of votes is roughly proportional to member-states' population); note - the Council is the main decision-making body of the EU; European Parliament (785 seats (as of 1 January 2007); seats allocated among member states by proportion to population); members elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year term Judicial branchCourt of Justice of the European Communities (ensures that the treaties are interpreted and applied uniformly throughout the EU; resolve constitutional issues among the EU institutions) - 27 justices (one from each member state) appointed for a six-year term; note - for the sake of efficiency, the court can sit with 13 justices known as the "Grand Chamber"; Court of First Instance - 27 justices appointed for a six-year term Political parties and leadersConfederal Group of the European United Left-Nordic Green Left or EUL/NGL [Francis WURTZ]; European People's Party-European Democrats or EPP-ED [Joseph DAUL]; Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe or ALDE [Graham R. WATSON]; Group of Greens/European Free Alliance or Greens/EFA [Monica FRASSONI and Daniel Marc COHN-BENDIT]; Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty Group or ITS [Bruno GOLLNISCH]; Independence/Democracy Group or IND/DEM [Jens-Peter BONDE and Nigel FARAGE]; Socialist Group in the European Parliament or PES [Martin SCHULZ]; Union for Europe of the Nations Group or UEN [Brian CROWLEY and Cristiana MUSCARDINI] International organization participationEuropean Union: ARF (dialogue member), ASEAN (dialogue member), IDA, OAS (observer), UN (observer) Diplomatic representation in the USchief of mission: Ambassador John BRUTON Diplomatic representation from the USchief of mission: Ambassador C. Boyden GRAY Flag descriptionon a blue field, 12 five-pointed gold stars arranged in a circle, representing the union of the peoples of Europe; the number of stars is fixed |
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Source: CIA World Factbook | |