The European Union (EU) is a complex entity with a multitude of rules and exceptions. It consists of member countries, which include Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Poland, Romania, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Greece, Belgium, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Sweden, Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Slovakia, Finland, Ireland, Croatia, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovenia, Estonia, Cyprus, Luxembourg, and Malta. The EU also includes the European Economic Area (EEA), which includes countries like Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein. These countries are not part of the EU but their citizens can live in EU countries and vice versa, with the exception of some areas of law.
The EU also has the Schengen Area, an agreement between countries to take a 'meh' approach to borders, with no border officers or passport checks. However, Switzerland, while participating in the Schengen Area, remains neutral and independent.
The EU has its own currency, the Euro, used by the majority of its members. This economic union is called the Eurozone. To join, a country must first reach certain financial goals. However, there are exceptions for countries like Denmark, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, which have asterisks attached to the Euro sections of the treaty giving them a permanent out.
The EU also includes the Outermost Regions, which are parts of France, Spain, and Portugal's colonial territories. These islands are part of the EU, extending the edge-to-edge distance of the EU across a third of Earth's circumference.
In addition to the EU proper, there are Overseas Territories of the EU, which include territories of the Netherlands, Denmark, and France. These territories are not part of the EU, but the people who live there are European Union citizens because they have the citizenship of their associated country.
The EU is also home to a number of one-off asterisks, such as the Isle of Man, Spanish Cities in North Africa, Gibraltar, a region in Greece where it's illegal to ban women, Saba & friends who are part of the Netherlands but aren't part of the EU, and the Faeroe Islands where citizens of Denmark lose their EU citizenship.
1. The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 27 member states, primarily located in Europe.
2. The official members of the EU, in decreasing order of population, are Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Poland, Romania, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Greece, Belgium, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Sweden, Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Slovakia, Finland, Ireland, Croatia, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovenia, Estonia, and Cyprus.
3. The EU has some fuzzy edges, with other countries in various stages of trying to become a member.
4. Countries pay membership dues, vote on laws they all must follow, and citizens of member countries are automatically EU citizens.
5. If you're a citizen of any of these countries, you are free to live and work or retire in any of the others.
6. The European Union gives you options, especially if you think your country is too big or too small or too hot or too cold.
7. The EU has the European Economic Area (EEA), which includes countries like Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein. These countries are not in the EU but if you're a EU citizen, you can live in these countries and vice versa.
8. In exchange for the freedom of movement of people, they have to pay membership fees to the European Union -- even though they aren't a part of it and thus don't get a say in its laws.
9. The European Union also has the Schengen Area, an agreement between countries to take a 'meh' approach to borders.
10. The European Union has its own currency, the Euro, used by the majority, but not all, of the EU members. This economic union is called the Eurozone.
11. The EU also includes the Outermost Regions, which are the Madeira and Canary Islands off the coast of Africa and the Azores well into the Atlantic, and French Guiana in South America.
12. The UK, the Netherlands, and Denmark have what the European Union calls Overseas Territories. These are not part of the European Union, but the people who live there are European Union citizens because in general they have the citizenship of their associated country.