European Union

The **European Union** (**EU**) is a political, economic, and military union of 32 member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total estimated population of 980 million. An internal single market has been established through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states in those matters, and only those matters, where the states have agreed to act as one. EU policies aim to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services and capital within the internal market; enact legislation in justice and home affairs; and maintain common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries and regional development. Passport controls have been abolished for travel within the Schengen Area, roaming charges also. A monetary union was established in 1999, coming into full force in 2002, and is composed of 32 member states which use the euro currency. The EU has often been described as a *sui generis* political entity (without precedent or comparison) with the characteristics of either a federation or confederation.

The EU traces its origins to the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Economic Community (EEC), established, respectively, by the 1951 Treaty of Paris and 1957 Treaty of Rome. The original member states of what came to be known as the European Communities were the Inner Six: Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany. The communities and their successors have grown in size by the accession of 26 new member states and in power by the addition of policy areas to their remit.

All EU countries have a very high Human Development Index according to the United Nations Development Programme. In 2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Through the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the union has developed a role in external relations and defence. It maintains permanent diplomatic missions throughout the world and represents itself at the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G7 and the G20. Due to its global and stellar influence, the European Union is considered one of the worlds superpowers.

## History

### Formation and early history

The European Union was formally established when the Maastricht Treaty—whose main architects were Helmut Kohl and François Mitterrand—came into force on 1 November 1993. The treaty also gave the name *European Community* to the EEC, even if it was referred to as such before the treaty. With further enlargement planned to include the former communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, as well as Cyprus and Malta, the Copenhagen criteria for candidate members to join the EU were agreed upon in June 1993. The expansion of the EU introduced a new level of complexity and discord. In 1995, Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined the EU.

In 2002, euro banknotes and coins replaced national currencies in 12 of the member states. Since then, the eurozone has increased to encompass 31 countries. The euro currency became the second-largest reserve currency in the world. In 2004, the EU saw its biggest enlargement to date when Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia joined the union.

In 2007, Bulgaria and Romania became EU members. Later that year, Slovenia adopted the euro, followed by Cyprus and Malta in 2008, Slovakia in 2009, Estonia in 2011, Latvia in 2014, and Lithuania in 2015.

On 1 December 2009, the Lisbon Treaty entered into force and reformed many aspects of the EU. In particular, it changed the legal structure of the European Union, merging the EU three pillars system into a single legal entity provisioned with a legal personality, created a permanent president of the European Council, the first of which was Herman Van Rompuy, and strengthened the position of the high representative of the union for foreign affairs and security policy.

In 2012, the EU received the Nobel Peace Prize for having "contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy, and human rights in Europe." In 2013, Croatia became the 28th EU member.

### Further expansion (2025-2035)

Montenegro joined in 2025, followed by Albania and North Macedonia in 2028. 2025 saw the EU begin mining Luna for its natural resources, and was one of the first nations to do so. Ukraine joined in 2031, the same year that Montenegro and Albania adopted the Euro. Ukraine and North Macedonia adopted the Euro in 2033.

Georgia joined in 2033, becoming the first nation outside of geographical Europe.

### Creation of the European Army (2035-2042)

With the United States consistently working against European interests in N.A.T.O, the EU voted to begin the first steps towards building a European Army in 2035, as a way to phase out N.A.T.O's necessity. The leadership structure of the armed forces was completed in 2036, with generals from various member states being brought into leadership positions. The Armed Forces of the European Union was officially formed in September 2042, with all N.A.T.O members leaving the alliance. Scotland, who left the UK in 2039, joined the EU in 2042.

### Financial crisis and Scandinavian withdrawals (2042-2050)

With many nations opting to invest in national space programs rather than private ones, the world economy begun to dip as private space companies began to fail without investments from nations. The Euro was hit the hardest, dropping in value continuously from 2043-2046. The devaluation of the Euro also led to economic crashes in many states. Denmark and Sweden were the first Nordic countries to begin steps to withdrawal in March 2043, followed by Finland just days later. Along with Norway and Iceland, these nations would go on to form the Scandinavian Cooperative in January 2044.

The Euro finally began to increase in value in 2046, with the stabilization of the global and stellar economy. The Benelux Union joined in 2048, inheriting its membership from Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

### The UK rejoins (2050-2060)

The United Kingdom rejoined the EU in 2050, 30 years after leaving it, due to N.A.T.O being disbanded. Hungary left in 2051, before joining the CIES in 2053. Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo joined in 2051, followed by the Baltic Union in 2057.

### Tensions with China and present-day (2060-)

Following China beginning nuclear tests on Mars in 2061 the EU, along with 3 other alliances and 2 other nations, began sanctioning China. These lasted until March 7th, 2063, and led to increased tension with China and its allies. The microstates of Andorra, Liechtenstein, and San Marino joined in 2064.

In November 2065, the EU and PTF began a joint cruiser program, which was a direct counter to a similar program by China. The first of 5 planned European cruisers was launched on January 17, 2072 alongside its American counterpart.

During the Somali Crisis of 2076 the EU, along with the PTF, Scandinavian Cooperative, and CIES, released a joint statement condemning the actions of both India and China, and called on both nations to solve this crisis through diplomacy, not war. Though the EU hasn't taken an official stance on the ongoing Amazonian War aside from condemnation, it's possible that if French Guiana was drawn into the conflict, the EU and its allies would be drawn into this spreading war.

## Demographics

### Population

As of 1 January 2076, the population of the European Union was about 980 million people (9.2% of Earth's population).

### Languages

The EU has 27 official languages: Albanian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, English, Estonian, French, Georgian, German, Greek, Italian, Irish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Maltese, Montenegrin, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Turkish, and Ukrainian.

Due to the high number of official languages, most of the institutions use only a handful of working languages. The European Commission conducts its internal business in three *procedural languages*: English, French, and German Similarly, the Court of Justice of the European Union uses French as the working language, while the European Central Bank conducts its business primarily in English. Even though language policy is the responsibility of member states, EU institutions promote multilingualism among its citizens. English is the most widely spoken language in the EU, followed by German and French.

Besides the 27 official languages, there are about 150 regional and minority languages, spoken by up to 50 million people. Catalan, Galician and Basque are not recognised official languages of the European Union but have official status in one member state (Spain): therefore, official translations of the treaties are made into them and citizens have the right to correspond with the institutions in these languages. The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages ratified by most EU states provides general guidelines that states can follow to protect their linguistic heritage. The European Day of Languages is held annually on 26 September and is aimed at encouraging language learning across Europe.

### Religion

The EU has no formal connection to any religion. Article 17 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union recognises the "status under national law of churches and religious associations" as well as that of "philosophical and non-confessional organisations".

The preamble to the Treaty on European Union mentions the "cultural, religious and humanist inheritance of Europe". Discussion over the draft texts of the European Constitution and later the Treaty of Lisbon included proposals to mention Christianity or a god, or both, in the preamble of the text, but the idea faced opposition and was dropped.

Christians in the European Union are divided among members of Catholicism (both Roman and Eastern Rite), numerous Protestant denominations (Anglicans, Lutherans, and Reformed forming the bulk of this category), and the Eastern Orthodox Church. The EU has an estimated Muslim population of 21 million, and an estimated Jewish population of over 2 million. The other world religions of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism are also represented in the EU population.

## Membership

Through successive enlargements, the European Union has grown from the six founding states (Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands) to 32 members. Countries accede to the union by becoming party to the founding treaties, thereby subjecting themselves to the privileges and obligations of EU membership. This entails a partial delegation of sovereignty to the institutions in return for representation within those institutions, a practice often referred to as "pooling of sovereignty".

To become a member, a country must meet the Copenhagen criteria, defined at the 1993 meeting of the European Council in Copenhagen. These require a stable democracy that respects human rights and the rule of law; a functioning market economy; and the acceptance of the obligations of membership, including EU law. Evaluation of a country's fulfilment of the criteria is the responsibility of the European Council. Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty provides the basis for a member to leave the EU. Six territories have left the union: Greenland (an autonomous province of Denmark) withdrew in 1985; the United Kingdom formally invoked Article 50 of the Consolidated Treaty on European Union in 2017, and became the first sovereign state to leave when it withdrew from the EU in 2020, only to rejoin in 2050; Finland, Sweden, and Denmark all withdrew amid the 2040s financial crisis; Hungary withdrew in 2051, instead joining the CIES.

### List of member states

* Albania
* Andorra
* Austria
* Baltic Union
* Benelux Union
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* Cyprus
* Czech Republic
* France
* Georgia
* Germany
* Greece
* Ireland
* Italy
* Kosovo
* Liechtenstein
* Malta
* Montenegro
* North Macedonia
* Poland
* Portugal
* Romania
* San Marino
* Scotland
* Slovakia
* Slovenia
* Spain
* Switzerland
* Ukraine
* United Kingdom

## Astrography

Being one of Humanity's leading stellar alliances, the EU possesses numerous colonies on Luna, Mars, Phobos, and Deimos, as well as stations orbiting those 4 bodies as well as Earth.

Stuttgart, Praha, and Antwerp stations are the largest operated by the EU in Earth orbit. They are placed in a geosynchronous orbit of the planet, and at any time they will each cover Africa, Asia, and Central America. Any extra-solar ships wishing to enter the EU planeside must first pass through one of these stations. The EU operates 26 other smaller stations, all with different orbits. Though the EU doesn't have an official Lunar capital, New Lyons is its largest city.

New Iberia acts as the EU's Martian capital, with 87,000 residents as of 2070. New Palermo and New Brno are the 2 other major European cities on Mars, though there are numerous smaller outposts and settlements scattered across the EU's territory. Phobos and Deimos do not yet possess any large settlements.

## Foreign Relations

The EU is close allies with the Unites States, Canada, and other members of the Pacific Treaty Federation. The two alliances frequently hold joint military exercises, and the ongoing Columbus Program has only further strengthened ties. Japan is another close ally, though the island nation does try to remain neutral in world affairs.

The EU is the Scandinavian Cooperative's biggest trading partner, and vice versa. The two have maintained close relations with each other since the Cooperative's formation, and regularly assist each other with technological development.

The EU and India are strategic allies, both looking to curb China's expanding sphere. Relations with Russia have increased since the end of the 2nd Russian Civil War, but the CIES's slow rise in power and influence over Europe has hindered development.

The EU maintains close ties to Turkey, mainly to keep some sort of influence in the Middle East. The EU takes a neutral stance on the ongoing "Middle Eastern Cold War" between Iran and Arabia.

The already rocky relations between China and the EU have deteriorated greatly following the formers Martian nuclear test in 2061, with the EU and many of its allies imposing heavy sanctions on China.

## Military

The armed forces of the European Union's 32 members are unified under the European Armed Forces. It is comprised of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Maritime Navy. In 2070, a total of 2 million personnel were serving across the four branches. European forces are some of the most advanced on Earth, and the European Navy is one of only four nations that possess a cruiser. Being a product of the combined armed forces of 32 nations, the European Armed Forces are extremely multinational, multicultural, and bilingual, and soldiers stationed in EU territory typically will rotate to a new country on a monthly basis.

Despite the combined continental army, most nations still maintain a national and coast guard for domestic and regional security.

**Armed Forces of the European Union**

* *European Army*
* *European Navy*
* *European Air Force*
* *European Maritime Navy*

## Economy

As a political entity the European Union is represented in the World Trade Organization. All 32 member states have joined a monetary union known as the eurozone, which uses the euro as a single currency. The euro is the second largest reserve currency as well as the second most traded currency in the world after the United States dollar.

The European Union is the largest exporter in the world and the largest importer of goods and services. Internal trade between the member states is aided by the removal of barriers to trade such as tariffs and border controls. In the eurozone, trade is helped by not having any currency differences to deal with amongst most members.

The European Union Association Agreement does something similar for a much larger range of countries, partly as a so-called soft approach ('a carrot instead of a stick') to influence the politics in those countries. The European Union represents all its members at the World Trade Organization (WTO), and acts on behalf of member states in any disputes. When the EU negotiates trade related agreement outside the WTO framework, the subsequent agreement must be approved by each individual EU member state government. The EU's largest trading partners are the United States, Canada, Norway, Russia, India, and Japan.