Frequently Asked Questions

The European Union is a family of democratic European countries group of countries that share their efforts, ideas and resources to help achieve peace and prosperity in Europe. The EU Member States have decided between themselves, by way of a number of legally-binding treaties, to cooperate to achieve certain goals. These include: to promote economic and social progress; to assert the EU identity on the international scene; and to develop an area of freedom, security and justice.

In order to do this the members of the European Union have set up supra-national institutions under common control. These institutions act in areas where common action is better than action by individual countries.

In early years, much of the co-operation between the EU countries was about trade and the economy, but now the EU also deals with many other subjects of direct importance for Europeans’ every daily life, such as citizens’ rights: ensuring freedom, security and justice, job creation, regional development, environmental protection, and making globalisation work for everyone.

There are 27 countries in the EU. They are: Austria, Belgium,

Bulgaria,

Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Estonia, Finland, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal,

Romania,

Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and United Kingdom. For a map showing the 27 countries of the EU, click here.

European governments on-line:
http://europa.eu/abc/european_countries/index_en.htm

The EU is a unique organisation. Its Member States have set up common institutions to which they delegate some of their sovereignty so that decisions on specific matters of joint interest can be made democratically at a European level. EU laws and policies in general, are the result of decisions taken by three main institutions: the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament and the European Commission. This ‘institutional triangle’ is flanked by other important bodies such as the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, and the European Central Bank.

At the heart of the European Union are a number of legally-binding treaties. Under these treaties, the Member States of the Union delegate some of their national sovereignty to institutions they share and that represent not only their national interests but also their collective interests.

They are important as they form the foundation upon which the EU is built and detail how, and in which areas, the Member States integrate their activities. For more information on the treaties, please visit http://eur-lex.europa.eu/en/treaties/index.htm

There are twelve stars because the number twelve is traditionally the symbol of perfection, completeness and unity. The flag therefore remains unchanged regardless of EU enlargements. The flag is the symbol not only of the European Union but also of Europe's unity and identity in a wider sense. The circle of gold stars represents solidarity and harmony between the peoples of Europe.

There are 23 official EU languages. They are: Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, German, Greek, French, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Swedish, Slovak, Slovene and Spanish.

On 9th May 1950 the first true step towards European integration was taken. On that day in Paris, the French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman, proposed the creation of a supranational European institution, which marked the start of a new and constructive era in Europe. The decision to celebrate this day was taken by the EU leaders during the Milan Summit in 1985.

There are five EU institutions:

These are also five other important bodies: the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions, the European Central Bank, the European Ombudsman and the European Investment Bank.

What is the difference between the European Union, European Commission, European Communities and European Community?

To understand the difference it is necessary to look back at the history of what is now known as the European Union.

Today's European Union comprises 27 member countries and 5 key institutions bound together by a number of treaties.

When the Treaty of Paris entered into force on 23 July 1952, it placed the iron and steel production of the then six member countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) under common control through a newly formed institution - the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC).

Some six years later, in 1958 the Treaties of Rome saw two more institutions created: the European Economic Community (EEC), and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom).

These three institutions, the ECSC, EEC and Euratom were known as the European Communities.

On 1 July 1967 the executive bodies of these three Communities were merged to create a single European Council and Commission (EC).

The Maastricht Treaty which took effect on 1 November 1993 created the European Union (EU) which has since replaced in common usage the term European Community.

The term European Union is used to describe the European Community and the two new elements introduced by the Maastricht Treaty, namely a Common and Foreign Security Policy and co-operation in justice and home affairs.

The term European Union is also commonly used to denote the territory of the 27 Member States and the political entity (e.g. the EU population, EU-Japan relations).

The term European Commission, introduced in 1993, is the simpler way to refer the Commission of the European Communities, the executive body of the EU.

However the European Community is the only part of the European Union to have its own "legal personality" and therefore continues to be used, especially in legal documents.

The European Commission is the executive body or "public service" of the European Union.

The European Commission is the driving force in the Union's institutional system. It alone has the right to initiate legislation and is responsible for implementing the European legislation (directives, regulations, decisions), budget and programmes adopted by the European Parliament and the Council. It acts as guardian of the Treaties and, together with the Court of Justice, ensures that EU law is properly applied. It also represents the Union on the international stage and negotiates international agreements, chiefly in the field of trade and cooperation.

The European Commission consist of 27 commissioners assisted by some 24,000 civil servants. The President is chosen by the governments of the EU Member States and must be approved by the European Parliament. The current President of the Commission is Jose Manuel Barroso from Portugal.

The other commissioners are nominated by the member governments in consultation with the incoming president and must also be accepted by the Parliament. The Commission is appointed for a five-year term, but it can be dismissed by Parliament. The Commission acts independently of the governments of the Member States. Many, but not all of its staff work in Brussels, Belgium.

For more information please visit http://ec.europa.eu/

The European Parliament (EP) is the voice of the people of Europe. Directly elected every five years, the 785 Members of European Parliament as of January 1, 2007 (MEPs) sit in Europe-wide groups, not in national blocs. After the elections in 2009, it is agreed that the maximum number of MEPs shall be fixed at 750, with a minimum threshold of five per member state and no member state being allocated more than 99 seats. Each group reflects the political thinking of the national parties to which its members belong. Some MEPs are not attached to any political group. In the European election of June 2004, over 30% of the MEPs elected were women.

As with national parliaments, the EP has parliamentary committees to deal with particular issues such as foreign affairs, budget, environment and so on.

Parliament’s main roles are:

The EP does not replicate the duties of the Member States own parliaments. Instead it deals with areas which action is taken at a European rather than national level. Josep Borrell Fontelles is the President of the European Parliament.

For more information please visit www.europarl.europa.eu

The Council of the European Union is the main decision-making body in the EU. Together with the Parliament it is also the legislative body of the EU. It brings together the representatives of all the Member States governments. It is the forum in which the representatives of governments can assert their interests and reach compromises. They meet regularly at the level of working groups, ambassadors or ministers. When they decide the major policy guidelines it meets at the level of presidents and prime ministers under the name of the European Council.

The Council, together with the European Parliament, sets the rules for all the activities which take place at the EU level. Its key responsibilities are:

For more information please visit http://www.consilium.europa.eu/

The Presidency refers to the country that holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. This rotates every six months among the EU Member States. The Presidency of the Council plays a vital part in the organization of the work of the institution, notably as the driving force in the legislative and political decision-making process. It has to organize and chair all meetings and work out compromises capable of resolving difficulties.

The timetable of presidencies is as follows:

The EU Troika represents the European Union in external relations, often of a political nature with third countries.

For example, where it is necessary for the European Union to be represented in full - not just by one of its member countries or institutions - a Troika will be formed. This comprises a representative of the country holding the Presidency of the EU, a representative of the European Commission, a representative of the Secretary-General of the Council, in his capacity as High Representative for the common foreign and security policy and by the Member State, which is next in line for the Presidency.

The present troika format was established in May 1999. Prior to that date the Troika consisted of the Member State which held the Presidency, the Member State which had held it for the preceding six months, the Member State which would hold it for the next six months and the European Commission.

EU leaders have agreed the text of a new treaty that will bring about a more efficient, more democratic and more transparent EU. Taking its name from the city where it was finalized, the Lisbon Treaty was signed on 13 December 2007. It will amend existing EU treaties and is designed to make the EU work better now that it has expanded to 27 members.

The Lisbon Treaty makes decision making more efficient, increases democratic control and enhances the external coherence of the Union. It allows the Union to take new initiatives on climate change and energy policy. The Charter of Fundamental Rights will be legally binding and, for the first time, the public will have the right to request that the Union proposes legislation on a specific area. The role of national parliaments will be strengthened.

It will also simplify the EU’s international presence by establishing an elected head of the European Council – basically an EU President – for a period of 2.5 years. The EU’s external voices from the Commission and the Council will also be combined into a beefed up High Representative role giving the EU a single voice in world affairs. Meanwhile the European Commission Delegations around the world will become European Union Delegations.

The main features of the Lisbon Treaty:

A president of the European Concil who whould serve a two-and-a-half year term. This would replace the current system of a rolling six-month presidency.

An EU higher representative for foreign and security policy. This would combine the posts of the current High Representative of the CFSP, Javier Solana and the external affairs commissioner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner.

Reducing the size of the European Commission, with fewer commissioners than member states, from 2014.

A redistribution of voting weights between the member states, phased in between 2014 and 2017.

New powers for the European Commission, European Parliament and European Court of Justice, in areas such as justice and home affairs.

The removal of the national veto in a number of areas.

For more information on the Lisbon Treaty, click here.

If I plan to travel to several European countries, would I have to apply for a visa to each embassy of the countries I wish to visit?

One visa may be enough. The Schengen agreement removes all internal border controls but put in place effective controls at the external borders of the EU and introduces a common visa policy. If you get a visa for any Schengen country, it automatically allows you to travel to all the other Schengen countries.

Schengen members implementing the scheme are Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Austria, Greece, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. As of 21 December 2007, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Hungary, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia became Schengen members too.

(Note: Although, Norway and Iceland are not EU Member States, they are part of the Schengen area. However, EU members, Ireland and the United Kingdom are not on this list.)

Those requiring more information on visa issues should contact the embassy or consulate of the country they will first visit. For the contact details of the EU embassies in Singapore, click here.

The euro is the name of the single European currency. The symbol of the euro is € (Ctl+Alt+E). On January 2002, the euro replaced the old national currencies in 12 European Union countries: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.

On January 2007, Slovenia adopted the euro; the following year Cyprus and Malta followed suit. As of 2008, there are 15 countries that make up the euro area. For a map of the euro area, click here.

The new EU members will adopt the euro when they are ready. The UK, Sweden and Denmark have chosen not to use the euro at this time.

Having a single currency makes it easier to travel and to compare prices. It provides a stable economic environment in Europe, stimulating growth and competitiveness. With exchange rate fluctuations a thing of the past between countries in the euro zone it also makes it easier for Singapore companies wishing to do business there.

For more information please visit
http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/euro/our_currency_en.htm

The latest and the most complete statistical information on the EU and the euro-zone can be found on the Internet on the Eurostat website at http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/

Access to all EU legislation can be found at the EUR-LEX website http://eur-lex.europa.eu/en/index.htm

Where can I find information on companies in Europe or European companies in this region?

Information on companies in Europe can be found on websites such as Europages www.europages.com alternatively contact the European Chamber of Commerce in Singapore www.eurocham.org.sg or the commercial sections of EU Member States embassies.