Europa - European Union (EU)

The European Union ( EU ), with 25 member countries, was founded to enhance political, economic and social co-operation. These member countries cover a large part fo the continent of Europe, When two more countries join in 2007, the EU will have a population of nearly half a billion. Using geographic definitions, Europe is really not a continent, but part of the peninsula of Euroasia which includes all of Europe and Asia. However, it's still widely referred to as a continent.

Date of foundation: 1 November, 1993. New members since 1 January, 1995: Austria, Finland, Sweden.

Member states (EUR: Euro currency):

Austria (EUR)
Belgium (EUR)
Denmark
Finland (EUR)
France (EUR)
Germany (EUR)
Greece (EUR)
Ireland (EUR)
Italy (EUR)
Luxembourg (EUR)
Netherlands (EUR)
Portugal (EUR)
Spain (EUR)
Sweden
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Ten countries have joined the EU on 2004-05-01:
Cyprus (Greek part), the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. 

Countries which expect to join the EU by 2007 are Bulgaria and Romania. Croatia and Macedonia have also applied for membership. Turkey hopes to join the EU. No date has been set for Albania. Non-EU applicants: Iceland, Norway and Switzerland have not applied