Military:
In 1992, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, and Luxembourg created the five-nation Eurocorps. Eurocorps directly commands the 5,000-man Franco-German brigade, the Multinational Command Support Brigade, and EUFOR in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 2004, the EU Council of Ministers formally committed to creating thirteen 1,500-man battle groups by the end of 2007, to respond to international crises on a rotating basis. 22 of the EU’s 27 nations have agreed to supply troops.
The EU also has the support of the armed forces of each of the 27 member states. The concept of having one army called Synchronized Armed Forces Europe is trying to be put into effect.
Geography
The European Union is located between the North Atlantic Ocean in the west and Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine to the East. Its area is less than one-half the size of the US. It borders Albania, Andorra, Belarus, Croatia, Holy See, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Moldova, Monaco, Norway, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey, and Ukraine.
The current weather is cold temperate; potentially subarctic in the north to temperate; mild wet winters; hot dry summers in the South.
The terrain is fairly flat along the Baltic and Atlantic coast and mountainous in the central and southern areas. The lowest points of elevation are Lammefjord, Denmark and Zuidplaspolder, Netherlands both at -7 m. The highest point of elevation is Mont Blanc (situated on the border between France and Italy) at 4,807 m.
The EU’s natural resources are iron ore, natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, lead, zinc, bauxite, uranium, potash, salt, hydropower, arable land, timber, and fish.
Its natural hazards are flooding along coasts, avalanches in mountainous area, earthquakes in the south, volcanic eruptions in Italy, periodic droughts in Spain, and ice floes in the Baltic.
Technology
In 2005, there were 238 million main telephone lines in use and 466 million mobile cellulars. In 2006, there were 247 million internet users.
History
The EU came from the European Coal and Steel Industry and the European Economic Community (formed by six countries in the 1950s). With the addition of new member states, the Maastricht Treaty, and the Treaty of Lisbon, the Union came to be what it is now.
0 comments