यूरोपीय संघ

यूरोपीय संघ

यूरोपीय संघ मानचित्र

यूरोपियन संघ (यूरोपियन यूनियन) मुख्यत: यूरोप में स्थित 27 देशों का एक राजनैतिक एवं एवं आर्थिक मंच है जिनमें आपस में प्रशासकीय साझेदारी होती है जो संघ के कई या सभी राष्ट्रो पर लागू होती है। इसका अभ्युदय 1957 में रोम की संधि द्वारा यूरोपिय आर्थिक परिषद के माध्यम से छह यूरोपिय देशों की आर्थिक भागीदारी से हुआ था। तब से इसमें सदस्य देशों की संख्या में लगातार बढोत्तरी होती रही और इसकी नीतियों में बहुत से परिवर्तन भी शामिल किये गये। 1993 में मास्त्रिख संधि द्वारा इसके आधुनिक वैधानिक स्वरूप की नींव रखी गयी। दिसंबर 2007 में लिस्बन समझौता जिसके द्वारा इसमें और व्यापक सुधारों की प्रक्रिया 1 जनवरी 2008 से शुरु की गयी है।

यूरोपिय संघ सदस्य राष्ट्रों को एकल बाजार के रूप में मान्यता देता है एवं इसके कानून सभी सदस्य राष्ट्रों पर लागू होता है जो सदस्य राष्ट्र के नागरिकों की चार तरह की स्वतंत्रताएँ सुनिश्चित करता है:- लोगों, सामान, सेवाएँ एवं पूँजी का स्वतंत्र आदान-प्रदान. संघ सभी सदस्य राष्ट्रों के लिए एक तरह की व्यापार, मतस्य, क्षेत्रीय विकास की नीति पर अमल करता है 1999 में यूरोपिय संघ ने साझी मुद्रा यूरो की शुरुआत की जिसे पंद्रह सदस्य देशों ने अपनाया। संघ ने साझी विदेश, स्रुरक्षा, न्याय नीति की भी घोषणा की। सदस्य राष्ट्रों के बीच श्लेगन संधि के तहत पासपोर्ट नियंत्रण भी समाप्त कर दिया गया।

यूरोपिय संघ में लगभग 500 मिलियन नागरिक हैं,एवं यह विश्व के सकल घरेलू उत्पाद का 31% योगदानकर्ता है जो 2007 में लगभग (यूएस$16.6 ट्रिलियन)था।

यूरोपीय संघ समूह आठ संयुक्त राष्ट्रसंघ एवं विश्व व्यापार संगठन में अपने सदस्य देशों का प्रतिनिधित्व करता है। यूरोपीय संघ के 21 देश नाटो के भी सदस्य हैं। यूरोपीय संघ के महत्वपूर्ण संस्थानों में यूरोपियन कमीशन, यूरोपीय संसद, यूरोपीय संघ परिषद, यूरोपीय न्यायलय एवं यूरोपियन सेंट्रल बैंक इत्यादि शामिल हैं। यूरोपीय संघ के नागरिक हर पाँच वर्ष में अपनी संसदीय व्यवस्था के सदस्यों को चुनती है।

इतिहास

मुख्य लेख: यूरोपीय संघ का इतिहास

द्वीतिय विश्वयुद्ध के समाप्ति के बाद पश्चिमी यूरोप के देशों में एकता के पक्ष में माहौल बनना शुरु हुआ जिसे लोग अति राष्ट्रवाद, (जिसने कई राष्ट्रों को नेस्तनाबूद कर दिया था) के फलस्वरूप उपजे परिस्थितियों से पलायन के रूप में भी देखते हैं। यूरोप के एकीकरण का सबसे पहला सफल प्रस्ताव 1951 में आया जब यूरोप के कोयला एवं स्टील उद्योग लाबी ने लामबंदी शुरु की। यह मुख्यतया सदस्य राष्ट्रों, खासकर फ्रांस और पश्चिमी जर्मनी में कोयला और इस्पात उद्योगों को एकीकृत नियंत्रण में लाने का प्रयास था। ऐसा खासकर इसलिए सोचा गया ताकि इन दो राष्ट्रों में संघर्ष की स्थिति भविष्य में उत्पन्न न हो। इस लाबी के कर्ता धर्ता ने तभी इसे संयुक्त राज्य यूरोप की परिकल्पना के रूप में प्रचारित किया था। यूरोपीय संघ के अन्य संस्थापक राष्ट्रों में बेल्जियम, इटली, लक्जमबर्ग, एवं नीदरलैंड प्रमुख थे।

इस सांगठनिक प्रयास के बाद बाद 1957 में दो संस्थायें गठित की गयी जिसमें यूरोपियन इकानामिक कम्यूनिटी एवं यूरोपीय परमाणु उर्जा कम्यूनिटी प्रमुख थे। इन संस्थाओं का उद्देश्य नाभीकिय उर्जा एवं आर्थिक क्षेत्र में सहयोग करना था। 1967 में उपरोक्त तीनों संस्थाओं का विलय होकर एक संस्था का निर्माण हुआ जिसे यूरोपियन कम्यूनिटी के नाम से जाना गया। (EC).

1973 में इस समुदाय में डेनमार्क, आयरलैंड एवं ब्रिटेन का पदार्पण हुआ। नार्वे भी इसी समय इसमें शामिल होना चाहता था लेकिन जनमत संग्रह के विपरित परिणामों के कारण उसे सदस्यता से वंचित रहना पड़ा। 1979 में पहली बार यूरोपीय संसद का गठन हुआ और इसमें लोकतांत्रिक पद्धति से सदस्य चुने गये।

यूनान, स्पेन एवं पुर्तगाल 1980 में यूरोपीय संघ के सदस्य बने। 1985 में श्लेगेन संधि संपन्न हुई जिसके बाद सदस्य राष्ट्रों के नागरिकों का एक-दूसरे के राष्ट्र में बगैर पासपोर्ट के आना जाना शुरु हुआ। 1986 में यूरोपीय संघ के सदस्यों ने सिंगल यूरोपियन एक्ट पर हस्ताक्षर किये और संघ का झंडा वजूद में आया। 1990 में पूर्वी जर्मनीका पश्चिमी जर्मनी में एकीकरण हुआ।

मस्त्रिख की संधि 1 नवंबर 1993 से प्रभावी हुई। मस्त्रिख की संधि के बाद यूरोपियन कम्यूनिटिज अब आधिकारिक रूप से यूरोपियन कम्यूनिटी बन गया। जिसमें एकीकृत रूप से विदेश निती, पुलिस एवं न्याय व्यवस्था के मसलो पर एक जैजी नीतियाँ बनने लगीं।

2007 में लिस्बन समझौते पर हस्ताक्षर के बाद यूरोपियन संघ के नेतागण

1995 में इस संघ में आस्ट्रिया, स्वीडन एवं फिनलैंड भी आ जुड़े। 1997 में मस्त्रिख संधि का स्थान एम्स्टर्डम संधि ने ले लिया जिसके बाद विदेश नीति एवं लोकतंत्र संबंधी नीतियों में व्यापक परिवर्तन हुए। एम्स्टर्डम के पश्चात 2001 में नीस की संधि आई जिससे रोम एवं मिस्त्रिख में हुई संधियों में सुधार किया गया जिससे पूर्व में संध के विस्तार का मार्ग प्रशस्त हुआ। 2002 में यूरो को 12 सदस्य राष्ट्रों ने अपनी राष्ट्रीय मुद्रा के रूप में स्वीकार किया। 2004 में दस नये राष्ट्रों का इसमें और जुड़ाव हुआ जो ज्यादातर पूर्वी यूरोप के देश थे। 2007 के प्रारंभ में रोमानिया एवं बुल्गारिया ने यूरोपीय संघ की सदस्यता ग्रहण की और स्लोवानिया ने यूरो को अपनाया। पहली जनवरी 2008 को माल्टा एवं साईप्रस ने भी यूरोपीय संघ में प्रवेश लिया।

यूरोपीय संघ के गठन के लिए 2004 में रोम में एक संधि पर हस्ताक्षर किए गये जिसका उद्देश्य पिछले सभी संधियों को नकार कर एकीकृत कर एकल दस्तावेज तैयार करना था। लेकिन ऐसा कभी संभव न हो सका क्योंकि इस उद्देश्य के लिए कराए गये जनमत सर्वेक्षण में फ्रांसिसी एवं डच मतदाताओं ने इसे नकार दिया। 2007 में एक बार फिर लिस्बन समझौता हुआ जिसमें पिछली संधियों को बगैर नकारे हुए उनमें सुधार किए गये। इस संधि की प्रभावी तिथि जनवरी 2009 में तय की गयी है, जब इस संधि के प्रावधानों को पूरी तरह लागू किया जाएगा।

सदस्य राष्ट्र

मुख्य लेख: यूरोपीय संघ के सदस्य

यूरोपीय संघ में 27 संप्रभु राष्ट्र हैं जो सदस्य राष्ट्रों के तौर पर जाने जाते हैं:- आस्ट्रिया, बेल्जियम, बुल्गारिया, साइप्रस, चेक गणराज्य, डेनमार्क, एस्तोनिया, फिनलैंड, फ्रांस, जर्मनी, ग्रीस, हंगरी, आयरलैंड, ईटली, लातीविया, लिथुआनिया, लक्जमबर्ग, माल्टा, नीदरलैंड, पोलैंड, पुर्तगाल, रोमानिया, स्लोवाकिया, स्लोवानिया, स्पेन, स्वीडन, एवं युनाइटेड किंगडम. इस समय तीन राष्ट्र आधिकारिक तौर पर इसकी सदस्यता की प्रतीक्षा में हैं, क्रोएशिया, मकदूनिया एवं तुर्की; पश्चिमी बाल्कन राष्ट्र अल्बानिया, बोस्निया हर्जोगोविना, मांटीनीग्रो एवं सर्बिया आधिकारिक तौर पर संभावित सदस्य देशों के रूप में चिन्हित किये गये हैं।

यूरोपीय परिषद द्वारा यूरोपीय संघ की सदस्यता के लिए कोपेनहेगन पात्रता की शर्ते निर्धारित की गयी हैं, जिसके अनुसार: स्थायी लोकतंत्र जिसमें मानवाधिकारों एवं न्याय पर आधारित शासन व्यव्स्था हो; एक कार्यकारी बाजार व्यवस्था हो जो संघ के अंतर्गत प्रतियोगिता को बढावा देता हो; एवं संघ की नीतियों का पालन करने की वचनबद्धता शामिल है।

पश्चिम यूरोप के चार राष्ट्रों ने संघ की सदस्यता न लेकर आंशिक रूप से संघ की आर्थिक व्यवस्था में शामिल हैं जिनमें आइसलैंड, Liechtenstein एवं नार्वे प्रमुख हैं, एवं स्वीटजरलैंड ने भी द्वीपक्षीय समझौते के तहत ऐसा स्वीकार किया है। यूरो का प्रयोग एवं अन्य सहयो कर सकते हैं।

भौगोलिक स्थिति

मुख्य लेख: यूरोपीय संघ का भूगोल

आल्पस पर्वत पर स्थित माउंट ब्लांक यूरोपिय संघ मे स्थित सबसे ऊँची चोटी है

यूरोपीय संघ का भौगोलिक क्षेत्र 27 सदस्य देशों की भूमि है जिनमें कुछ अपवादीय स्थितियाँ शामिल हैं। यूरोपीय संघ का क्षेत्र पूरा यूरोप नहीं है चूँकि कुछ यूरोपीय देश जैसे स्वीटजरलैंड, नार्वे, एवं सोवियत रूस इसका हिस्सा नहीं हैं। कुछ सदस्य राष्ट्रों के भूमि क्षेत्र भी यूरोप का हिस्सा होते हुए भी संघ के भौगोलिक नक्शे में शामिल नहीं है, उदहारण के तौर पर चैनल एवं फरोर द्वीप के हिस्से। सदस्य देशों के वे हिस्से जो यूरोप का हिस्सा नहीं हैं वे भी यूरोपीय संघ की भौगोलिक सीमा से परे माने गये हैं:- जैसे ग्रीनलैंड, अरूबा, नीदरलैंड के कुछ हिस्से और ब्रिटेन के वे सारे क्षेत्र जो यूरोप का हिस्सा नहीं हैं। कुछ खास सदस्य देशों का भौगोलिक क्षेत्र जो यूरोप का अंग नहीं है, फिर भी उन्हें यूरोपीय संघ की भौगोलिक सीमा में शामिल माना गया है, उदहारण के तौर पर अजोरा, कैनरी द्वीप, फ्रेंच गुयाना, गुडालोप, मदेरिया, मार्तीनीक एवं रेयूनियोन.

यूरोपिय संघ की जलवायु को उसकी 66,000 किमी लंबी तटरेखा काफी प्रभावित करती है

. (Crete)]]

यूरोपीय संघ की संयुक्त भौगोलिक सीमा 4422773 वर्ग किमी है। यूरोपीय संघ विश्व की भौगोलिक क्षेत्रीय सीमा के अनुसार सांतवी सबसे बड़ी है और इस सीमा के अंदर सबसे ऊँचा क्षेत्र आल्प्स पर्वत स्थित माउंट ब्लांक है जो समुद्रतल से 4807 मीटर ऊँचा है। यहाँ का भूक्षेत्र, यहाँ की जलवायु एवं यहाँ की अर्थव्यवस्था में इसकी 65993 किमी लंबी तटरेखा महत्वपूर्ण भूमिका निभाती है जो कनाडा के बाद सबसे लंबी तटरेखा है।

यूरोपीय संघ की भौगोलिक सीमा में (यूरोप से बाहर के देशों को मिलाकर) जलवायु के लिहाज से यहाँ का मौसम ध्रुवीय जलवायु से लेकरशीतोष्ण कटिबंधिय का अनुभव किया जा सकता है, इसलिए पूरे संघ के औसत मौसम की बात करना बेमानी होती है। व्यवहारिक तौर पर यूरोपीय संघ के ज्यादातर क्षेत्र में मेडिटेरेनियन (दक्षिणी यूरोप), विषुवतीय (पश्चिमी यूरोप) एवं ग्रीष्म (पूर्वी यूरोप) जलवायु पाया जाता है।

प्रशासन

मुख्य लेख: यूरोपीय संघ के प्रमुख संस्थान

चित्र:Institutions europeennes IMG 4307.jpg

जर्मनी के स्ट्रासबर्ग शहर में स्थित यह भवन यूरोपियन पार्लियामेंट यूरोपिय संघ के न्यायिक व्यवस्था के दो प्रमुख भवनों में से एक है

यूरोपीय संघ अपने कई प्रशासनिक एवं अन्य इकाइयों द्वारा संचालित होता है, जिनमें मुख्य रूप से काउंसिल आफ यूरोपियन यूनियन, यूरोपियन कमीशन, एवं यूरोपियन पार्लियामेंटसबसे प्रमुख हैं।

यूरोपीय आयोग संघ के प्रमुख कार्यकारी अंग के तौर पर काम करता है और इसके दैनंदिन कामों की जिम्मेवारी इसी पर होती है जिसे इसके 27 कमीश्नर संचालित करते हैं जो 27 सदस्य राष्ट्रों का प्रतिनिधित्व करते हैं। इस आयोग के अध्यक्ष एवं सभी 27 प्रतिनिधि यूरोपीय परिषद द्वारा नामित किये जाते हैं। अध्यक्ष एवं सभी 27 प्रतिनिधियों की नियुक्ति पर यूरोपीय संसद की मंजूरी आवश्यक होती है।

यूरोपीय परिषद (यूरोपियन काउंसिल) जिसे काउंसिल आफ मिनिस्टर्स के नाम से भी जाना जाता है, के आधे सदस्य संघ की न्यायिक व्यवस्था का हिस्सा होते है। न्यायिक कामों के अलावा परिषद विदेश एवं सुरक्षा नीतियों के कार्यान्वण एवं निर्माण में महत्वपूर्ण भूमिका निभाती है।

यूरोपीय संघ में उच्च स्तर के राजनैतिक निर्णय के लिए नेतृत्व यूरोपीय काउंसिल अर्थात यूरोपीय परिषद द्वारा किया जाता है। यूरोपीय परिषद की बैठक साल में चार बार होती है एवं इसकी अध्यक्षता उस साल यूरोपीय संघ का अध्यक्ष राष्ट्रप्रमुख करता है जिसका मुख्य कार्य यूरोपीय संघ की नीतियों के अनुरूप काम करना एवं भविष्य के लिए दिशा निर्देश जारी करना होता है।

ब्रसल्स स्थित यूरोपियन काउंसिल

यूरोपीय संघ की अध्यक्षता का कार्य हर सदस्य देश के जिम्मे रोटेटिंग आधार पर छह महीने के लिए आता है, इस दौरान यूरोपियन काउंसिल एवं काउंसिल ऑफ मिनिस्टर्स के हर बैठक की जिम्मेवारी उस सदस्य राष्ट्र पर होती है। अध्यक्षता के दौरान अध्यक्ष राष्ट्र अपने खास एजेंडों पर ध्यान देता है जिसमे आम तौर पर आर्थिक एजेंडा, यूरोपीय संघ में सुधार एवं संघ के विस्तार एवं एकीकरण के मुद्दे खास होते हैं।

यूरोपीय संघ के न्यायिक प्रक्रिया का दूसरा महत्वपूर्ण हिस्सा यूरोपीय संसद होती है। यूरोपीय संसद के सदस्य के ७८५ सदस्य हर पांच वर्ष में यूरोपीय संघ की जनता द्वारा सीधे चुने जाते हैं। हलांकि इन सदस्यों का चुनाव राष्ट्रीय स्तर पर होता है परंतु यूरोपीय संसद में वे अपनी राष्ट्रीयता के अनुसार न बैठकर दलानुसार बैठते हैं। हर सदस्य राष्ट्र के लिए सीटों की एक निश्चित संख्या आवंटित होती है। यूरोपीय संसद को संघ के विधायी शक्तियों के मामलों में यूरोपीय परिषद की तरह ही शक्तियां हासिल होती हैं और संसद वे संघ की खास विधायिकाओं को स्वीकृत या अस्वीकृत करने की शक्ति से लैस होते हैं। यूरोपीय संसद का अध्यक्ष न सिर्फ बाहरी मंचों पर संघ का प्रतिनिधित्व करता है बल्कि यूरोपीय संसद के स्पीकर का भी दायित्व निभाता है। अध्यक्ष एवं उपाध्यक्ष का चुनाव यूरोपीय संसद के सदस्य हर ढा़ई साल के अंतराल पर करते हैं। कुछेक मामलों को छोडकर ज्यादातर मामलों में न्यायिक प्रक्रिया की शुरुआत करने का अधिकार युरोपियन कमीशन को होता है, ऐसा ज्यादातर रेग्यूलेशन, एवं संसद के अधिनियमों द्वारा किया जाता है जिसे सदस्य राष्ट्रों को अपने अपने देशों में लागू करने की बाध्यता होती है।

राजनीति

मुख्य लेख: यूरोपीय संघ की राजनीति

यूरोपियन काउंसिल के अध्यक्ष श्री एवं स्लोवानिया के प्रधानमंत्री श्री जाँ जसाँ

अक्सर यूरोपीय संघ की राजनीति को तीन तत्वों से सबसे ज्यादा संचालित माना जाता है जिसे "पिलर्स" या स्तंभ कहा जाता है। यूरोपीय कम्यूनिटी की पुरानी नीतियों को इसका पहला स्तंभ कहा जाता है, दूसरे स्तंभ के तौर पर संयुक्त विदेश एवं सुरक्षा नीति का नाम लिया जाता है जबकि तीसरा स्तंभ पहले तो न्यायिक एवं घरेलू मामलात हुआ करते थे लेकिन एम्सटर्डम एवं नीस के समझौतों के बाद पुलिस एवं आपराधिक मामलों में सहयोग पर ज्यादा केंद्रित हो गया है। मोटे तौर पर कहा जाए तो अंतर्षाट्रीय मामलों को देखते हुए दूसरा एवं तीसरा स्तंभ महत्वपूर्ण हो जाता है।

इस समय यूरोपीय संघ के समक्ष दो सबसे बडे़ मुद्दे हैं, वे हैं यूरोपीय एकीकरण एवं विस्तार। खासकर विस्तार, नये राष्ट्रों का यूरोपीय संघ में समावेश बडा़ राजनैतिक मुद्दा है। नये राष्ट्रों के समावेश का समर्थन करने वालों का मानना है कि इससे लोकतंत्र का विस्तार होता है एवं यूरोपीय अर्थव्यवस्था को भी संबल मिलता है। जबकि विरोध करनेवालों का मानना है कि यूरोपीय संघ अपनी वर्तमान राजनैतिक क्षमताओं एवं सीमाओं से परे एवं अपनी भौगोलिक सीमाओं से बाहर जा रहा है जो इसके हित में नहीं है। जहां तक जनमत और राजनैतिक दलों का सवाल है, इस बारे में वे खासे सशंकित हैं खासकर २००४ में एक साथ दस नये सदस्य देश बनने के पश्चात और यह आशंका तुर्की की उम्मीद्वारी के बाद और भी बलवती हो गयी है।

यूरोपिय संघ के अध्यक्ष श्री जोसे मैनुअल बरासो

एकीकरण एक दूसरा महत्वपूर्ण मसला है जहां अक्सर माना जाता है कि राष्ट्रीय भावनायें अक्सर यूरोपीय संघ के बृहत उद्देश्यों से टकराहट मोल लेती रहती है। विभिन्न राष्ट्रों के बीच समन्वय का लक्ष्य अक्सर राष्ट्रीय शक्तियों को यूरोपीय संघ में विलयित करने को बाध्य करता है जिसकी आलोचना अक्सर यूरोस्केपिस्ट लोगों द्वारा संप्रभुता खोने का डर दिखाकर की जाती रहती है। सन २००४ में राष्ट्रीय नेताओं एवं यूरोपीय संघ के अधिकारियों द्वारा एक साझा यूरोपीय संविधान पर सहमति बनायी गयी थी लेकिन इसे दो सदस्य राष्ट्रों के जनमत सर्वेक्षण में खारिज कर दिये जाने के कारण लागू नहीं किया गया क्योंकि उन्हें डर था कि अन्य देशों में भी इसे खारिज कर दिया जाएगा। बाद में अक्तूबर २००७ में लिस्बन समझौते के बाद एक नया संविधान बनाया गया जिसमें ज्यादातर पुराने नियमों एवं प्रावधानों को ही रखा गया।

प्रस्तावित समझौते का २००९ में प्रभावी होना तय किया गया है। यदि यह सर्वस्वीकृत रहा तो इससे यूरोपीय संसद की शक्तियां काफी बढ जायेगी। इस समझौते के लागू होने से उपर उल्लेख किये गये पिलर्स भी निष्प्रभावी हो जायेंगे। विदेश नीति के बहुत से मुद्दे इससे विभिन्न राष्ट्रों के बीच सुलझाये जाने की बजाय सीधे सीधे यूरोपीय संघ की संस्थाओं द्वारा निर्देशित एवं संचालित होंगे।

विधि व्यवस्था

यूरोपीय संघ का आधार विभिन्न ऐतिहासिक समझौते हैं, जिनसे पहले तो यूरोपीय संघ की स्थापना हुई और फिर उन समझौतों में तरह तरह के सुधार किये जाते रहे। ये समकझौते यूरोपीय संघ की बृहत नीतियों का आधार एवं उद्देश्य निर्धारित करती हैं तथा उन्हें आवश्यक विधायी शक्तियां प्रदान करती है। इन विधायी शक्तियों में किसी कानून को लागू करवाने की शक्ति जो सीधे-सीधे सभी सदस्य राष्ट्रों एवं उसके नागरिकों को प्रभावित करती है।. National courts are required to enforce the EU treaties and the laws enacted under them, as provided for in national legislation when each country joins the EU. In the case of a conflict where a law stemming from EU legislation conflicts with another national law, the EU law is considered to take precedence (principle of 'Supremacy'). Decisions regarding EU legislation may be referred to the European Court of Justice by national courts.

लेजिस्लेशन

Although the Treaties are the ultimate source of EU Law, there are a number of legislative instruments available to the EU institutions. The three main instruments are Regulations, Directives and Decisions. There is no formal hierarchy regarding the three types.

Regulations are legislative acts which become law in all member states the moment they come into force, without the requirement for any implementing measures to have been taken by member states. Once in force their contents automatically override conflicting domestic provisions, as a result of having direct effect in the national law of the member states.

Directives require member states to achieve a certain result while leaving them discretion as to how to achieve the result within a certain time period. Directives are generally utilised where it is thought preferable to leave the precise details of legislative implementation to national governments. Once the stated time period has passed, under certain conditions provisions within a Directive may have direct effect in national law against Member States.

Decisions offer an alternative to the two above modes of legislation. The Council and the Commission may publish in the official journal a decision, notified to a particular addressee, such as an individual trader or a company. Decisions will be found most commonly in Competition Law, or on rulings on State Aid, and can be challenged by the addressee under certain circumstances before the EU courts.

The EU's legal system contains a multiplicity of legislative procedures used to enact the above legislation. The treaties provide the basis for all legislation and lay down the different ways of adopting legislation for different policy areas. A common feature of the EU's legislative procedures, however, is that almost all legislation must be proposed by the Commission, rather than member states or European parliamentarians. The two most common procedures are co-decision, under which the European Parliament can veto proposed legislation, and consultation, under which Parliament is only permitted to give an opinion which can, subsequently, be ignored by European leaders.

न्यायलय

The judicial branch of the EU consists of the European Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance (to be renamed the "General Court" upon the entering into force of the Treaty of Lisbon). Together they interpret and apply the treaties and the law of the EU. The Court of First Instance mainly deals with cases taken by individuals and companies directly before the EU's courts. While the Court of Justice deals with cases taken by member states, the institutions and cases referred to the EU's courts by the courts of member states. Decisions from the Court of First Instance can be appealed to the Court of Justice but only on a point of law.

National courts within the Member States also play a key role in the EU as enforcers of EU law, and a "spirit of cooperation" between EU and national courts is laid down in the Treaties. National courts can apply EU law in domestic cases, and if they require clarification on the interpretation or validity of any EU legislation related to the case it may make a reference for a preliminary ruling to the ECJ. The right to declare EU legislation invalid however is reserved to the EU courts.

न्याय, स्वतंत्रता एवं सुरक्षा

श्लेगन संधि ने सदस्य राष्ट्रों के बीच के आपसी सरहदों को काफी कुछ मुक्त कर दिया है

Much of the EU's competence in the justice and home affairs area originates from the signing of the Schengen Agreement in 1985 on gradual abolition of border controls between six of the then ten European Community member states. In order to implement the Schengen Agreement, the signatory states included measures designed to compensate for effect of the reduced border controls in the areas of asylum, immigration and criminal justice. The Maastricht Treaty transferred the Schengen acquis to the EU. Additional competencies were assigned to the EU by the Maastricht Treaty to facilitate the freedom of movement of people by adopting common rules in civil matters, such as contract and family law. The Maastricht Treaty also introduced the concept of citizenship of the European Union, which is complementary to national citizenship.

Amendments to these treaties by the Amsterdam Treaty added a new aim of the EU as the creation of an "area of Justice, Freedom and Security". That treaty also made it easier to pass laws in the justice and home affairs area and more difficult for member states to veto them. It also increased the powers of the European Parliament in relation to Justice and Home affairs' measures. Recent legislation include the European Arrest Warrant and directives on family law.

The EU has established agencies to co-ordinate its actions in the justice and home affairs area: Europol for co-operation of police forces, Eurojust for co-operation between prosecutors, and Frontex for co-operation between border control authorities. The EU also operates the Schengen Information System which provides a common database for police and immigration authorities.

मौलिक अधिकार

The EU has developed a role in human rights protection. Prohibitions against sexual and nationality discrimination have a long standing in the treaties. The Amsterdam Treaty supplemented these, by supporting further legislation against discrimination based on race, religion, disability, age and sexual orientation. Using these powers the EU has enacted legislation on sexual discrimination in the work-place, age discrimination and racial discrimination. All EU states have abolished the death penalty for all crimes and the EU has been a prominent campaigner for global abolition.

Signing the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is a condition for EU membership, however the institutions of the EU are not covered by this. As the EU was not capable of signing the ECHR without a treaty change, the EU drew up the Charter of Fundamental Rights. The charter consolidated not only the rights of the ECHR but from other UN and EU agreements, covering economic, political and social rights including "third generation" rights such as good governance and a clean environment. Although it was proclaimed in 2000, it has no legal force at present (2007). Under the Reform Treaty, the Charter would become legally binding and the EU would accede to the ECHR, which would make the European Court of Human Rights, currently totally separate from the EU, the highest court in the EU for Human Rights, above the EU's Court of Justice. Even without joining, the Court of Justice and Court of Human Rights co-operate to ensure their case-law does not conflict, thus the Court of Justice already treats the ECHR as though it was part of EU law.

विदेश संबंध

यूरोपीय संघ के विदेश संबंधों के प्रवक्ता, श्री जेवियर सोलाना

The foreign relations of the EU are primarily dealt with through the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). Co-operation in international trade negotiations, under the Common Commercial Policy, dates back to the establishment of the Community in 1957. The CFSP itself has its origins in the formation of European Political Co-operation in 1970. European Political Co-operation was an informal consultation process between member states on foreign policy matters, with the aim of forming common policies. It was formally introduced into the then European Community by the Single European Act and subsequently renamed as the "Common Foreign and Security Policy" by the Maastricht Treaty.

The Maastricht Treaty gives the Common Foreign and Security Policy the aims of promoting both the EU's own interests and those of the international community as a whole. This includes promoting international co-operation, respect for human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

The Amsterdam Treaty created the office of the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (currently held by Javier Solana) to co-ordinate the EU's foreign policy. The High Representative, in conjunction with the current Presidency, speaks on behalf of the EU in foreign policy matters and can have the task of articulating ambiguous policy positions created by disagreements among member states. The Common Foreign and Security Policy requires unanimity among the now 27 member states on the appropriate policy to follow on any particular policy. The unanimity and difficult issues treated under the CFSP makes disagreements, such as those which occurred over the war in Iraq, not uncommon.

Besides the emerging international policy of the European Union, the international influence of the EU is also felt through the enlargement. The perceived benefits of becoming a member of the EU act as an incentive for both political and economic reform in states wishing to fulfil the EU's accession criteria, and are considered a major factor contributing to the reform of former Communist countries in Eastern Europe. This influence on the internal affairs of other countries is generally referred to as "soft power", as opposed to military "hard power". Finnish Prime Minister, Matti Vanhanen, cited the common foreign policy as a factor why Finland is, de facto, no longer a neutral country. It is not known if this view is shared by the leaders of the other neutral countries in the EU.

Besides the CFSP, the Commission is also has its own representation in international organisations, its representation in international bodies is primarily through the European Commissioner for External Relations, who works along side the High Representative. In the UN the EU has gained influence in areas such as aid due to its large contributions in that field (see below). In the G8, the EU has the rights of membership besides that of chairing/hosting summit meetings. The EU is represented at the G8 by the presidents of the Commission and the Council. In the World Trade Organisation (WTO), where all 27 member states are represented, the EU as a body is represented by Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson.

मानवीय सहायता

मानवीय सहायता देने के मामले में यूरोपीय संघ पूरी दुनिया में अव्वल है

The European Community humanitarian aid office, or "ECHO", provides humanitarian aid from the EU to developing countries. In 2006 its budget amounted to 671 million euro, 48% of which went to the ACP countries. Counting the EU's own contributions and those of its member states together, the EU is the largest aid donor in the world.

The EU's aid has previously been criticised by the think-tank Open Europe for being inefficient, mis-targeted and linked to economic objectives. Furthermore, some charities have claimed European governments have inflated the amount they have spent on aid by incorrectly including money spent on debt relief, foreign students, and refugees. Under the de-inflated figures, the EU did not reach its internal aid target in 2006 and the EU would not reach the international target of 0.7% of GNP until 2015. However only a few countries have reached that target. In 2005 EU aid was 0.34% of the GNP which was higher than that of the United States and Japan. The current commissioner for aid, Louis Michel, has called for aid to be delivered more rapidly, to greater effect, and on humanitarian principles.

सेना एवं रक्षा व्यवस्था

Member states are responsible for their own territorial defence. Many EU members are also members of NATO. The Western European Union (WEU) is a European security organisation related to the EU. In 1992, the WEU's relationship with the EU was defined, when the EU assigned it the "Petersberg tasks" (humanitarian missions such as peacekeeping and crisis management). These tasks were later transferred from the WEU to the EU by the Amsterdam Treaty; they formed part of the new CFSP and the European Security and Defence Policy. Elements of the WEU are currently being merged into the EU's CFSP, and the President of the WEU is currently CFSP High Representative.

Following the Kosovo war in 1999, the European Council agreed that "the Union must have the capacity for autonomous action, backed by credible military forces, the means to decide to use them, and the readiness to do so, in order to respond to international crises without prejudice to actions by NATO." To that end, a number of efforts were made to increase the EU's military capability, notably the Helsinki Headline Goal process. After much discussion, the most concrete result was the EU Battlegroups initiative, each of which is planned to be able to deploy quickly about 1500 men each. EU forces have been deployed on peacekeeping missions from Africa to the former Yugoslavia and the middle east. EU military operations are supported by a number of bodies, including the European Defence Agency, satellite centre and the military staff.

अर्थव्यवस्था

मुख्य लेख: Economy of the European Union

The EU operates a single economic market across the territory of all its members and uses a single currency between the 15 members of the eurozone. Considered as a single economy, the EU has a nominal gross domestic product of (US$16.6 trillion) (in 2007) amounting to 31% of the world's total economic output It is also the largest exporter, the second largest importer and the biggest trading partner to many countries including very large markets such as India and is one of the top trade partners for many others such as China. 163 of the top 500 largest corporations (measured by revenue, the Fortune Global 500) are headquartered in the EU. In May 2007 unemployment in the EU stood at 7% while investment was at 21.4 percent, inflation at 2.2% and public deficit was -0.9% of GDP.

एकल बाजार

The EU was originally created as an economic union. The oldest and largest constituent organisation, the European Community, was founded as the European Economic Community. Creating and maintaining the EU's single market has been a prominent goal of the Community since its inception in 1993. It seeks to guarantee four freedoms: these relate to ensuring the free movement of goods, services and capital around the EU's internal market as well as the flow of people within the area. The freedoms are extended to the non-member states of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway via the European Economic Area.

The principle of free movement of goods ensures produce can be taken anywhere within the whole market to be sold, though with exceptions for anything which might pose a public health risk. Half the trade in the EU is covered by legislation harmonised by the EU. Services account for between sixty and seventy percent of GDP, although legislation permitting free movement is not as established as in other sectors. This is addressed by the recently passed Directive on services in the internal market which aims to liberalise this area of the market. Free movement of capital is intended to permit movement of investments such as property purchases and buying of shares between countries, but as with services national rules still vary in some cases.

Free movement of people means citizens can move freely between member states to live, work, study or retire in another country. This required the lowering of administrative borders and recognition of professional qualifications of other states. An example of its impact is the Bosman ruling which prohibited national football leagues from imposing quotas on foreign players with European citizenship.

मौद्रिक एकीकरण

A single currency for the EU has been an official objective since 1969 and work began in 1990 on Economic and Monetary Union. Nine years later the euro was launched in eleven of the then fifteen member states as an accounting currency, meaning that national currencies remained in use but with exchange rates locked to the euro. On 1 January 2002, euro notes and coins were issued and the national currencies were phased out. Membership increased to twelve in 2002 and now fifteen countries belong to the Eurozone using the euro as their sole official currency. All other EU members except Denmark and the United Kingdom have agreed to join as a condition of being members of the EU. Cyprus and Malta adopted the euro on the 1 January 2008 and dates for others will be set when economic conditions have been met. Public opinion in Denmark currently favours joining, but Sweden has pointedly failed to take necessary economic steps. There are twelve other currencies used in the EU. A number of other countries outside the EU, such as Montenegro, also use the euro unofficially. The euro, and the monetary policies of those who have adopted it, are under the control of the European Central Bank (ECB).

The euro is designed to help build the single market by, for example: easing travel of citizens and goods, eliminating exchange rate problems, providing price transparency, creating a single financial market, price stability, low interest rates, having a currency used internationally and protecting against shocks due to the large amount of internal trade within the eurozone. It is also intended as a political symbol of integration and stimulus for further integration. In recent years holdings of the euro have grown, and there is some speculation that if the eurozone continues to enlarge, and/or the U.S. dollar continues to fall, the euro possibly could become the main reserve currency in the world.

प्रतियोगिता

अधिक जानकारी के लिए देखें: European Community competition law and European Commissioner for Competition

The EU operates a competition policy aimed at furthering its aim of ensuring undistorted competition within the single market. The Commission as the competition regulator for the single market is responsible for antitrust issues, approving mergers, breaking up cartels, working for economic liberalisation and preventing state aid.

The Competition Commissioner, currently Neelie Kroes, is one of the most powerful positions in the Commission, notable in effecting trans-national corporations. For example, in 2001 the Commission for the first time prevented the merger between two companies who were both based in the United States and had approval from their national authority. A further recent high profile case, European Union v. Microsoft, resulted in the Commission fining Microsoft over 777 million euro following nine years of legal action.

However in negotiations on the Treaty of Lisbon, French President Nicolas Sarkozy succeeded in removing words "free and undistorted competition" from the treaties. However as the requirement is maintained in an annex, it is unclear whether this would have any practical effect on EU policy.

विकास नीति

कृषि

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is one the oldest policies of the European Community and was one of its core aims. The policy has the objectives of increasing agricultural production, providing certainty in food supplies, ensuring a high quality of life for farmers, stabilising markets and ensuring reasonable prices for consumers. (article 33 of the Treaty of Rome). It was, until recently, operated by a system of subsidies and market intervention. Until the 1990s the policy accounted for over 60% of the then European Community's annual budget, and still accounts for around 35%.

The policy's price controls and market interventions led to a great deal of overproduction resulting in so-called butter mountains and wine lakes. These were intervention stores which were built up from produce bought by the Community to ensure minimum price levels. In order to reduce the levels of these stores, agricultural produce was often sold on the world market at prices considerably below Community guaranteed prices, or farmers were offered subsidies (amounting to the difference between the Community and world prices) to export their produce outside the Community. This system has been criticised for under-cutting farmers in the developing world. The overproduction has also been criticised on environmental grounds in that it encourages environmentally unfriendly intensive farming methods. Supporters of CAP say that the economic support which it gives to farmers provides them with a reasonable standard of living, in what would otherwise be an economically unviable way of life. However currently the EU's small farmers only receive 8% of CAP's available subsidies.

Since the beginning of the 1990s CAP has been subject to a series of reforms. Initially these reforms included the introduction of milk quotas (by the McSharry reforms in 1992) and, more recently, the 'de-coupling' (or disassociation) of the money farmers receive from the EU and the amount they produce (by the Fischler reforms in 2004). It is intended to move away from subsidy payments linked to specific produce, toward direct payments based on farm size. This is intended to have the effect of allowing the market to dictate production levels while maintaining agricultural income levels. The most recent reform entailed the abolition of the EU's sugar regime which previously involved the carving up of the sugar market between member states and certain African-Caribbean nations with a privileged relationship with the EU.

उर्जा

मुख्य लेख: यूरोपिय संघ की उर्जा नीति

The EU has been a legislative power in the area of energy policy for most of its existence. This involvement has its roots in the original European Coal and Steel Community. The introduction of a mandatory and comprehensive European energy policy was approved at the meeting of the European Council in October 2005. The first draft policy was published in January 2007.

The Commission has five key points in its energy policy: increase competition in the internal market, encourage investment and boost interconnections between electricity grids; diversify energy resources with better systems to respond to a crisis; establish a new treaty framework for energy co-operation with Russia while improving relations with energy-rich states in Central Asia and North Africa; use existing energy supplies more efficiently while increasing use of renewable energy; and finally increase funding for new energy technologies.

The EU currently imports 82% of its oil and 57% of its gas, making it the world's leading importer of these fuels. There are concerns that the EU is largely dependent on other countries, primarily Russia for its energy. This concern has grown following a series of clashes between Russia and its neighbours, threatening the flow of gas. As a result the EU is attempting to diversify its energy supply.

आधारभूत संरचना

The EU is working to improve cross-border infrastructure within the EU, for example through the Trans-European Networks (TEN). Projects under TEN include the Channel Tunnel, TGV Est, the Fréjus Rail Tunnel, the Oresund bridge and the Brenner Base Tunnel. In 2001 it was estimated that by 2010 the network would cover: 75,200 km of roads; 78,000 km of railways; 330 airports; 270 maritime harbours; and 210 internal harbours.

डेनमार्क एवं स्वीडन को जोड़ता आर्सन्द पुल

The developing European transport policies will increase the pressure on the environment in many regions by the increased transport network. In the pre-2004 EU members, the major problem in transport deals with congestion and pollution. After the recent enlargement, the new states that joined since 2004 added the problem of solving accessibility to the transport agenda. The Polish road network in particular was in poor condition. At the time of Poland's accession to the EU, 4,600 roads needed to be upgraded to EU standards demanding an approximate expenditure of 17 billion euro.

Another infrastructure project is the Galileo positioning system. Galileo is a proposed Global Navigation Satellite System, to be built by the EU and launched by the European Space Agency (ESA). The Galileo project was launched to reduce the EU's dependency on the US-operated Global Positioning System. Galileo extends its co-operation to other nations outside the EU and is to be operational by 2010. It has been criticised by some due to costs, delays, and the perception of redundancy due to the existing GPS system.

क्षेत्रिय विकास

प्राग एवं बर्लिन को जोड़नेवाली मोटरवे का दृश्य

There are substantial economical disparities across the EU. Even corrected for purchasing power, the difference between the richest and poorest regions is about a factor of ten. On the high end Frankfurt has €68,751 PPP per capita, Paris €67,980, and Inner London €65,138, while Romania's Nord-Est has €5,070 PPP per capita and Bulgaria's Severozapaden has €5,502 PPP per capita. Compared to the EU average, the United States GDP per capita is 35% higher and the Japanese GDP per capita is approximately 15% higher.

There are a number of Structural Funds and Cohesion Funds to support development of underdeveloped regions of the EU. Such regions are primarily located in the new member states of eastern Europe. Several funds provide emergency aid, support for candidate members to transform their country to conform to the EU's standard (Phare, ISPA, and SAPARD), and support to the former USSR commonwealth of independent states (TACIS). TACIS has now become part of the worldwide EuropeAid programme. The EU Framework Programmes sponsor research conducted by consortia from all EU members to work towards a single European Research Area.

पर्यावरण

पोलैंड स्थित रोस्पुदा घाटी जिसके संरक्षण के प्रयास में यूरोपिय संघ गतिशील है

The first environmental policy of the European Community was launched in 1972. Since then it has addressed issues such as acid rain, the thinning of the ozone layer, air quality, noise pollution, waste and water pollution. The Water framework directive is an example of a water policy, aiming for rivers, lakes, ground and coastal waters to be of "good quality" by 2015. Wildlife is protected through the Natura 2000 programme and covers 30,000 sites throughout Europe. In 2007, the Polish government sought to build a motorway through the Rospuda valley, but the Commission has been blocking construction as the valley is a wildlife area covered by the programme.

The REACH directive was a piece of EU legislation designed to ensure that 30,000 chemicals in daily use are tested for their safety. In 2006, toxic waste spill off the coast of Côte d'Ivoire, from a European ship, prompted the Commission to look into legislation regarding toxic waste. With members such as Spain now having criminal laws against shipping toxic waste, the Commission proposed to create criminal sentences for "ecological crimes". Although the Commission's right to propose criminal law was contested, it was confirmed in this case by the Court of Justice.

In 2007, member states legally agreed the EU to use 20% renewable energy and cut carbon dioxide emissions in 2020 by at least 20% compared to 1990 levels. This includes measures that in 2020, one-tenth of all cars and trucks in EU 27 should be running on biofuels. This is considered to be one of the most ambitious moves of an important industrialised region to fight global warming.

At the 2007 United Nations Climate Change Conference, dealing with the successor to the Kyoto Protocol, the EU has proposed at 50% cut in greenhouse gases by 2050. The EU's attempts to cut its carbon footprint appear to have also been aided by an expansion of Europe's forests which, between 1990 and 2005, grew 10 percent in western Europe and 15 percent in Eastern Europe. During this period they soaked up 126 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to 11 percent of EU emissions from human activities.

शिक्षा एवं शोध

गैरपारंपरिक उर्जा यूरोपियन संघ के प्रमुख मुद्दों में से है

Education and science are areas where the EU's role is limited to supporting national governments. In education, the policy was mainly developed in the 1980s in programmes supporting exchanges and mobility. The most visible of these has been the ERASMUS programme, a university exchange programme which began in 1987. In its first 20 years it has supported international exchange opportunities for well over 1.5 million university and college students and has become a symbol of European student life. There are now similar programmes for school pupils and teachers, for trainees in vocational education and training, and for adult learners in the Lifelong Learning Programme 2007-2013. These programmes are designed to encourage a wider knowledge of other countries and to spread good practices in the education and training fields across the EU. Through its support of the Bologna process the EU is supporting comparable standards and compatible degrees across Europe.

Scientific development is facilitated through the EU's Framework Programmes, the first of which started in 1984. The aims of EU policy in this area are to co-ordinate and stimulate research. The independent European Research Council allocates EU funds to European or national research projects. The Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) deals in a number of areas, for example energy where it aims to develop a diverse mix of renewable energy for the environment and to reduce dependence on imported fuels.

Since January 2000 the European Commission has set its sights on a more ambitious objective, known as the European Research Area; extensively funding research in a few key research areas. This has the support of all member states, and extends the existing financing structure of the frameworks. It aims to focus on co-ordination, sharing knowledge, ensuring mobility of researchers around Europe, improving conditions for researchers and encouraging links with business and industry as well as removing any legal and administrative barriers. The EU is involved with six other countries to develop ITER, a fusion reactor which will be built in the EU at Cadarache. ITER builds on the previous project, Joint European Torus, which is currently the largest nuclear fusion reactor in the world. The Commission foresees this technology to be generating energy in the EU by 2050.

जनसांख्यिकी

मुख्य लेख: यूरोपिय संघ की जनसांख्यिकी

यूरोपिय संघ के 5 सबसे बड़ी आबादी वाले शहर

शहर	शहर सीमा (2006)	घनत्व/वकिमी² (शहरी परिसीमा)	मुख्य क्षेत्र (2005)	LUZ (2001)
बर्लिन	3,405,000	3,815	3,761,000	4,935,524
लंदन	7,512,400	4,761	9,332,000	11,624,807
मद्रीद	3,228,359	5,198	4,858,000	5,372,433
पेरिस	2,153,600	24,672	9,928,000	10,952,011
रोम	2,705,603	2,105	2,867,000	3,700,424

The combined population of all 27 member countries has been estimated at 495,128,529 in January 2007, this in comparison to approximately 710 million Europeans on the continent as a whole. There is some increase in population expected, primarily due to net immigration, present in most European countries.

The EU's population is 7.3% of the world total, yet the EU covers just 3% of the earth's land, amounting to a population density of 114/km² making the EU one of the most densely populated regions of the world. Eighty percent of EU citizens live in an urban area and a third live in cities of over a million people. The EU is home to more global cities than any other region in the world and 16 cities with populations of over one million (using city proper figures).

Besides many large cities, the EU also includes several densely populated regions that have no single core but have emerged from the connection of several cites and are now encompassing large metropolitan areas. The largest are Rhine-Ruhr having approximately 10.5 million inhabitants (Cologne, Dortmund, Düsseldorf et al.), Randstad approx. 7 million (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht et al.), Frankfurt Rhine Main Area approx. 5.8 million (Frankfurt, Wiesbaden et al.) and the Upper Silesian Industry Area approx. 3.5 million (Katowice, Sosnowiec et al.).

भाषाएँ

मुख्य लेख: यूरोपीय संघ संघ की भाषाएँ

भाषाएँ (2006)

भाषा	एल१	कुल
अंग्रेजी	१३%	५१%
जर्मन	१८%	३२%
फ्रेंच	१२%	२६%
इतालवी	१३%	१६%
स्पैनिश	९%	१५%
पोलिश	९%	१०%
रूमानियाई	७%	७%
डच	५%	६%
यूनानी	३%	३%
स्वीडिश	२%	३%
चेक	२%	३%
पुर्तगाली	२%	२%
हंगेरियाई	२%	२%
अन्य भाषाएँ		~६%
अल्पसंख्यक भाषाएँ		~१६%

यूरोपीय संघ के २३ आधिकारिक एवं कार्यकारी भाषायें: बुल्गारियाई, चेक, डैनिश, डच, अंग्रेजी, एस्तोनियाई, फिनिश, फ्रेंच, जर्मन, यूनानी, हंगेरियाई, इतालवी, आयरिश, लातीवियाई, लिथुयानियाई, माल्टी, पोलिश, पुर्तगाली, रुमानियाई, स्लोवाक, स्लोवानियाई, स्पैनिश एवं स्वीडिश हैं। Important documents, such as legislation, are translated into every official language. The European Parliament provides translation into all languages for documents and its plenary sessions. Some institutions use only a handful of languages as internal working languages. Language policy is the responsibility of member states, but EU institutions promote the learning of other languages.

German is the most widely spoken mother tongue (about 88.7 million people as of 2006), followed by English, French and Italian. English is by far the most spoken foreign language at over half (51%) of the population, with German and French following. 56% of European citizens are able to engage in a conversation in a language other than their mother tongue. Most official languages of the EU belong to the Indo-European language family, except Estonian, Finnish, and Hungarian, which belong to the Uralic language family, and Maltese, which is a Semitic language. Most EU official languages are written in the Latin alphabet except Bulgarian, written in Cyrillic, and Greek, written in the Greek alphabet.

Besides the 23 official languages, there are about 150 regional and minority languages, spoken by up to 50 million people. Of these, only the French and Spanish regional languages: Catalan, and Basque as well as the Spanish regional language Galician can be used in the communication with the Council of the European Union, the Commission, the Economic and Social Committee, the European Parliament and the European Ombudsman, as well as in the Committee of the Regions. Although EU programmes can support regional and minority languages, the protection of linguistic rights is a matter for the individual member states.
Besides the many regional languages a broad variety of languages from other parts of the world are spoken by immigrant communities in the Member States. Turkish, Maghreb Arabic, Russian, Urdu, Bengali, Hindi, Tamil, Ukrainian, and Balkan languages are spoken in many parts of the EU. Many older immigrant communities are bilingual, being fluent in both the local (EU) language and in that of their ancestral community. Migrant languages have no formal status or recognition in the EU or in the EU countries, although from 2007 they are eligible for support from the language teaching section of the EU's Lifelong Learning Programme 2007-2013.

धर्म

मुख्य लेख: यूरोपिय संघ में धार्मिक स्थिति

The EU is a धर्मनिरपेक्ष संस्था है, with no formal connections to any religion and no mention of religion in any current or proposed treaty. Discussion over the draft texts of the European Constitution and later the Treaty of Lisbon have included proposals to mention Christianity and/or God in the preamble of the text. However this idea has faced opposition and has thus been dropped. Reference to Christianity stems from Christianity being the dominant religion in Europe, and thus the EU. Christianity in the EU can be roughly divided into Roman Catholicism, a wide range of Protestant churches (especially in northern Europe) and Eastern Orthodox (in south eastern Europe). Other religions such as Judaism and Islam are also represented in the EU population. In 2002 the EU had an estimated Jewish population of roughly over a million and a Muslim population in 2006 of 16 million people.

यूरोप में ईश्वर में आस्था रखने वालों का प्रतिशत (चित्र में गैर सदस्य राष्ट्र भी शामिल हैं)

Findings by Eurostat, the EU statistics agency which monitors the religious beliefs of EU citizens as part of its Eurobarometer opinion polls, show that the majority of EU citizens have some form of belief system but that only 21% see it as important. There is increasing atheism or agnosticism among the general population in Europe, with falling attendance and membership in many countries. The 2005 Eurobarometer show that of the European citizens (of the 25 members at that time), 52% believe in a god, 27% in some sort of spirit or life force and 18% had no form of belief. The countries where the fewest people reported a religious belief were the Czech Republic (19%) and Estonia (16%). In these countries, those who reported a faith can be wary of an organised religious movement. The most religious societies are those in Malta (95%; predominantly Roman Catholic), and Cyprus and Romania both with about 90% of citizens believing in a god. Across the EU, belief was higher among women, increased with age, those with religious upbringing, those with the lowest levels of formal education, those leaning towards right-wing politics, and those reflecting more upon philosophical and ethical issues.

संस्कृति

अधिक जानकारी के लिए देखें: यूरोप की संस्कृति and यूरोपिय संघ की संस्कृति नीति

लिवरपूल को 2008 में यूरोप की सांस्कृतिक राजधानियों में से एक चुना गया है

EU culture is intertwined with the culture of Europe and its specific national heritage; many of the policies on culture are with the individual member states. Cultural co-operation between member states has become a community competency since its inclusion in the Maastricht Treaty. Actions taken in the cultural area by the EU include the Culture 2000 7-year programme, the European Cultural Month event, the Media Plus programme, orchestras such as the European Union Youth Orchestra and the European Capital of Culture programme – where one or more cities in the EU are selected for one year to assist the cultural development of the city. In addition, the EU gives grants to cultural projects (totalling 233 in 2004) and has launched a Web portal dedicated to Europe and culture, responding to the European Council's expressed desire to see the Commission and the member states "promote the networking of cultural information to enable all citizens to access European cultural content by the most advanced technological means."

Within the EU, supporters of European integration often appeal to a shared European historical/cultural heritage, typically including Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, the feudalism of the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Age of Enlightenment, 19th century Liberalism and (sometimes) negative elements such as the World Wars. European values are assumed to be grounded in this shared heritage..

खेलकूद

अधिक जानकारी के लिए देखें: Sport in Europe and यूरोपिय संघ की खेलनीति

यूरोपिय संघ के सदस्य देशों में खेलकूद काफी लोकप्रिय हैं (बार्सिलोना का कैंप नोऊ स्टेडियम

Sport is mainly the responsibility of individual states or other international organisations rather than that of the EU. However, some EU policies have had an impact on sport, such as the freedom of employment which was at the core of the Bosman ruling, which prohibited national football leagues from imposing quotas on foreign players with European citizenship.

Under the proposed Treaty of Lisbon sports would be given a special status which would exempt this sector from much of the EU's economic rules. This followed lobbying by governing organisations such as the International Olympic Committee and FIFA, due to objections over the applications of free market principles to sport which led to an increasing gap between rich and poor clubs.

Several European sports associations are consulted in the formulation of the EU's sports policy, including FIBA, UEFA, EHF, IIHF, FIRA and CEV. All EU member states and their respective national sport associations are participating in European sport organisations such as UEFA.

सहायक ग्रंथ सूची

• Craig, Paul (2007). EU Law, Text, Cases and Materials (4th ed. संस्करण). Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. आई॰ऍस॰बी॰ऍन॰ 978-0-19-927389-8. सीएस1 रखरखाव: फालतू पाठ (link)
• Steiner, Josephine (2006). EU Law (9th ed. संस्करण). Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. आई॰ऍस॰बी॰ऍन॰ 978-0-19-927959-3. सीएस1 रखरखाव: फालतू पाठ (link)
• Barnard, Catherine (2007). The Substantive Law of the EU: The Four Freedoms (2nd ed. संस्करण). Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. आई॰ऍस॰बी॰ऍन॰ 978-0-19-929839-6.सीएस1 रखरखाव: फालतू पाठ (link)
• Jenson, Jane (2003). "Is Europe still sui generis? Signals from The White Paper on European Governance. Prepared for the Eighth Biennial International Conference, European Union Studies Association, 27-29 March 2003, Nashville, Tennessee" (pdf). Eighth Biennial International Conference, European Union Studies Association. अभिगमन तिथि 2007-11-13.
• The Economist Guide to the European Union (Profile Books 2005) ISBN 978-1-86197-930-8
• Access to European Union: law, economics, policies by Nicholas Moussis (European Study Service, 2007 — 16th ed.) ISBN 978-2-930119-43-4
• Europe Recast: A History of European Union by Desmond Dinan (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004) ISBN 978-0-333-98734-6
• Understanding the European Union 3rd ed by John McCormick (Palgrave Macmillan, 2005) ISBN 978-1-4039-4451-1
• The Institutions of the European Union edited by John Peterson, Michael Shackleton, 2nd edition (Oxford University Press, 2006) ISBN 0198700520
• The Government and Politics of the European Union by Neill Nugent (Palgrave Macmillan, 2002) ISBN 978-0-333-98461-1
• The European Union: A Very Short Introduction by John Pinder (Oxford, 2001) ISBN 978-0-19-285375-2
• This Blessed Plot: Britain and Europe from Churchill to Blair by Hugo Young (Macmillan, 1998) ISBN 978-0-333-57992-3
• The European Dream: How Europe's Vision of the Future Is Quietly Eclipsing the American Dream by Jeremy Rifkin (Jeremy P. Tarcher, 2004) ISBN 978-1-58542-345-3
• The European Constitution and the Imperatives of Transnational Democracyपीडीऍफ (132 KiB) by Hans Köchler, Singapore Yearbook of International Law, Vol. 9 (2005), Accessed January 25, 2007

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