| National Factbook |
| Flag: |
 |
| Nation Name: |
Kingdom of Teyvat |
| Leader Name: |
Queen Gardevoir |
| Currency: |
Mora |
| National Animal: |
Slime |
| History: |
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD 500), the Middle Ages (AD 500–1500), and the modern era (since AD 1500).
The first early European modern humans appear in the fossil record about 48,000 years ago, during the Paleolithic era. Settled agriculture marked the Neolithic era, which spread slowly across Europe from southeast to the north and west. The later Neolithic period saw the introduction of early metallurgy and the use of copper-based tools and weapons, and the building of megalithic structures, as exemplified by Stonehenge. During the Indo-European migrations, Europe saw migrations from the east and southeast. The period known as classical antiquity began with the emergence of the city-states of ancient Greece. Later, the Roman Empire came to dominate the entire Mediterranean Basin. The Migration Period of the Germanic people began in the late 4th century AD and made gradual incursions into various parts of the Roman Empire.
The fall of the Western Roman Empire in AD 476 traditionally marks the start of the Middle Ages. While the Eastern Roman Empire would continue for another 1000 years, the former lands of the Western Empire would be fragmented into a number of different states. At the same time, the early Slavs began to become established as a distinct group in the central and eastern parts of Europe. The first great empire of the Middle Ages was the Frankish Empire of Charlemagne, while the Islamic conquest of Iberia established Al-Andalus. The Viking Age saw a second great migration of Norse peoples. Attempts to retake the Levant from the Muslim states that occupied it made the High Middle Ages the age of the Crusades, while the political system of feudalism came to its height. The Late Middle Ages were marked by large population declines, as Europe was threatened by the bubonic plague, as well as invasions by the Mongol peoples from the Eurasian Steppe. At the end of the Middle Ages, there was a transitional period, known as the Renaissance.
Early Modern Europe is usually dated to the end of the 15th century. Technological changes such as gunpowder and the printing press changed how warfare was conducted and how knowledge was preserved and disseminated. The Reformation saw the fragmentation of religious thought, leading to religious wars. The Age of Exploration led to colonization, and the exploitation of the people and resources of colonies brought resources and wealth to Europe. After 1800, the Industrial Revolution brought capital accumulation and rapid urbanization to Western Europe, while several countries transitioned away from absolutist rule to parliamentary regimes. The Age of Revolution saw long-established political systems upset and turned over. In the 20th century, World War I led to a remaking of the map of Europe as the large Empires were broken up into nation-states. Lingering political issues would lead to World War II, during which Nazi Germany perpetrated The Holocaust. After World War II, during the Cold War, most of Europe became divided by the Iron Curtain in two military blocs: NATO and the Warsaw Pact. The post-war period saw decolonization as Western European colonial empires were dismantled. The post-war period also featured the gradual development of the European integration process, which led to the creation of the European Union; this extended to Eastern European countries after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The 21st century saw the European debt crisis, the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. |
| Geography |
| Continent: |
Europe |
| Land Area: |
8,046.70 sq. km |
| Terrain: |
Europe is traditionally defined as one of seven continents. Physiographically, it is the northwestern peninsula of the larger landmass known as Eurasia (or the larger Afro-Eurasia); Asia occupies the centre and east of this continuous landmass. Europe's eastern frontier is usually delineated by the Ural Mountains in Russia, which is the largest country by land area in the continent. The southeast boundary with Asia is not universally defined, but the modern definition is generally the Ural River or, less commonly, the Emba River. The boundary continues to the Caspian Sea, the crest of the Caucasus Mountains (or, less commonly, the river Kura in the Caucasus), and on to the Black Sea. The Bosporus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles conclude the Asian boundary. The Mediterranean Sea to the south separates Europe from Africa. The western boundary is the Atlantic Ocean. Iceland is usually included in Europe because it is over twice as close to mainland Europe as mainland North America. There is ongoing debate on where the geographical centre of Europe falls. |
| Highest Peak: |
Mt. Blanc, 4 meters |
| Lowest Valley: |
Caspian Sea, -29 meters |
| Climate: |
Europe is generally characterized by a temperate climate. Most of Western Europe has an Oceanic climate, in the Köppen climate classification, featuring cool to warm summers and cool winters with frequent overcast skies. Southern Europe has a distinctively Mediterranean climate, which features warm to hot, dry summers and cool to mild winters and frequent sunny skies. Central-eastern Europe is classified as having a humid continental climate, which features warm to hot summers and cold winters.
The coastal lowlands of the Mediterranean Basin have more of a wet winter and dry summer season pattern, the winter season extends from October to February while the summer season is mainly noticeable in the dry months where precipitation can, in some years, become extremely scarce. A very small area in the continent features the desert climate which exists in the south-eastern coasts of Spain making them the only places in Europe that have an arid climate. |
| People & Society |
| Population: |
547,576 people |
| Demonym: |
European |
| Demonym Plural: |
Europeans |
| Ethnic Groups: |
Russia - 18.3%
German - 13.7%
French - 12.5% |
| Languages: |
Russian - 19.1%
German - 13.4%
French - 12.9% |
| Religions: |
Christianty - 62.5%
Orthodox - 39.1%
Jewish - 5.4% |
| Health |
| Life Expectancy: |
81 years |
| Obesity: |
11.3% |
| Alcohol Users: |
85.3% |
| Tobacco Users: |
41.9% |
| Cannabis Users: |
12.4% |
| Hard Drug Users: |
9.7% |
| Economy |
| Description: |
The economy of the European Union is the joint economy of the member states of the European Union (EU). It is the second largest economy in the world in nominal terms, after the United States, and the third largest at purchasing power parity (PPP), after China and the US. The European Union's GDP is estimated to be $19.35 trillion (nominal) in 2024[7] or $26.64 trillion (PPP), representing around one-sixth of the global economy.[30] Germany has the biggest national GDP of all EU countries, followed by France and Italy. In 2022, the social welfare expenditure of the European Union (EU) as a whole was 19.5% of its GDP.[31][32][33]
The euro is the second largest reserve currency and the second most traded currency in the world after the United States dollar.[34][35][36] The euro is used by 20 of its 27 members, overall, it is the official currency in 26 countries, in the eurozone and in six other European countries, officially or de facto. The EU as a region has produced the world's second-highest number of Nobel laureates in the economics field.[37]
The European Union economy consists of an internal market of mixed economies based on free market and advanced social models. For instance, it includes an internal single market with free movement of goods, services, capital, and labour.[38] The GDP per capita (PPP) was $56,970 in 2023 ,[39] compared to $80,410 in the United States, $52,120 in Japan and $28,800 in China.[40] There are significant disparities in GDP per capita (PPP) between member states ranging from $106,372 in Luxembourg to $23,169 in Bulgaria.[41] With a medium Gini coefficient of 30,[42] the European Union has a more egalitarian distribution of income than the world average.[43][44]
EU investments in foreign countries total $9.1 trillion, while the foreign investments made in the union total $5.1 trillion in 2012, by far the highest foreign and domestic investments in the world.[45][46] Euronext is the main stock exchange of the Eurozone and the world's fourth largest by market capitalisation.[47] The European Union's largest trading partners are China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Russia, Turkey, Japan, Norway, South Korea, India, and Canada.[48] In 2022, public debt in the union was 83.5% of GDP, with disparities between the lowest rate, Estonia with 18.5%, and the highest, Greece with 172.6% |
| Average Yearly Income: |
$47.30 |
| Gross Domestic Product (GDP): |
$547,426,417.00 |
| GDP per Capita: |
$999.73 |
| Gross National Income (GNI): |
$444,548,465.00 |
| Industries: |
The change from charcoal to coke as fuel in blast furnaces led to the localization of Europe’s iron and steel industries on its coalfields to economize transport costs, although imported iron ore, cheap American coal, electric furnaces, and technological efficiency have loosened this tie. Thus, Northumberland and Durham (England), North Rhine–Westphalia (Germany), Upper Silesia (mostly in Poland), and the Donets Basin (Ukraine) historically have had coalfield furnaces and mills, while others are grouped near sources of the ore, as at Kryvyy Rih (Ukraine) and in Lorraine (France), or at such convenient estuary or port sites as Port Talbot (southern Wales), Genoa (Italy), and Dunkirk (France). Europe produces a significant portion of the world’s steel and iron ore. Steel-using industries that make heavy machine tools and mining, smelting, construction, and electrical equipment favour coalfield locations, while those engaged in shipbuilding and motor-vehicle and aircraft construction show a wider distribution.
Chemical industries
Covering many products, chemical industries expanded greatly after 1945, partly in relation to hydroelectricity generation and partly as a result of the market-oriented use of refinery by-products. Many heavy chemicals have been produced on the coalfields, notably in the Ruhr, where by-products of coke ovens and metallurgical plants are available. Other chemical industries make use of Europe’s deposits of salt, potash, phosphates, and sulfur. In the second half of the 20th century, the increased production of synthetic rubber, plastics, synthetic fibres, detergents, insecticides, and fertilizers, particularly from petrochemicals, revolutionized the chemical industries. Europe is also a large producer of pharmaceutical drugs.
Light industry and handicrafts
A wide range of light or small-scale industries (i.e., those that produce nondurable goods) is found throughout Europe, but some countries have reputations for specialty goods, as in the case of English, Italian, and Dutch bicycles, Swedish and Finnish glass, Parisian perfumes and fashion goods, and Swiss precision instruments. The United Kingdom’s once-leading textile industry now concentrates on high-quality goods, including many synthetic fibres, of which the United Kingdom—together with Germany, France, and Italy—is a large producer. Many countries produce distinctive food products and beverages—notably the wines of the west and south, the northern beers, and the Scotch and Irish whiskeys. Printing and publishing, especially in English, French, German, and Russian, are substantial industries that have worldwide effects, notably in the educational field.
Of small importance in a continent where mass production predominates, handicrafts nevertheless survive to serve a wide market, including that of tourists who seek specialty goods. Knitwear and Harris tweed are produced in the Scottish islands; traditional clothing is made and worn in many eastern European countries; and custom tailoring for men, like dressmaking for women, survives as a supplement to ready-made clothing. Pottery making is another active craft.
Trade
With its ever more sophisticated industry producing outstanding exports and its large importation of petroleum products, metals, other raw materials, and foodstuffs, Europe accounts for a large percentage of world commerce. Internal and external trade, both by land and by sea, always has been a vigorous part of Europe’s economy, no less so in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, when Europe faced such strong competitors as the United States, Japan, and China. Trade is made necessary by the regional specialization of production, largely initiated by capitalist enterprise in the past and now guided by national and, with the advent of the EEC and later the EU, supranational policy decisions. Trade is further aided by Europe’s central position in the densely populated Northern Hemisphere, well served by oceanic and air transport systems.
Within the continent, there was a distinction for much of the 20th century between the general trade policy of western Europe and that of the now-disbanded Soviet bloc. Prior to the late 1960s the Soviet Union and the eastern European countries adhered to the doctrine of economic self-sufficiency with more interregional than international trade. In the late 1960s and the ’70s these trading patterns began to change. Improved relations between the east and the west enabled the communist countries to meet an increased amount of their technological and agricultural needs with imports from western countries. As the countries of eastern Europe abandoned communism—and especially since Germany was reunited and the Soviet Union was dissolved into its constituent republics—interest in external trade has grown dramatically in those countries.
The nations of western Europe, on the other hand, have always relied heavily on international trade. For long periods of time, most of the western European countries held political dependencies overseas where they created captive markets, and several EU countries continue to conduct an important amount of trade with their former colonial territories. Similarly, the Commonwealth nations engage in much trade, now strictly competitive, with the United Kingdom.
Trade within Europe
Within each European country a wide variety of goods is moved continually from ports and production centres to urban markets. In addition, a major part of the trade of Europe takes place between the various countries, since—with regional specialization, dense populations, and relatively high standards of living—they provide strong markets. Germany supplies coking coal and chemicals to France, for example, which in turn provides Belgium with iron ore from Lorraine. Dutch natural gas is piped to such countries as France, Belgium, and Germany. Specialty foodstuffs—wines, cheeses, spring vegetables, and fruit—find an enlarged market far beyond their production centres, as do such manufactured items as fashion goods, automobiles, and major household appliances.
Active trading within groups of countries that have associated primarily for that purpose and to rationalize and so increase the profitability of their national economies advanced markedly in the 20th century. The policies of the EEC and, later, the EU have been directed toward economic specialization in increasingly interdependent member countries. The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) also has encouraged trade between its members—western European countries that did not join the EEC or the EU. In 1977 a free-trade agreement went into effect between the EEC and the EFTA. The agreement eliminated tariffs on most industrial goods originating in the member countries, thereby increasing trade between the countries in the two blocs. In 1994 a free-trade zone between the EFTA and the EU came into effect.
Much trade in eastern Europe and the republics of the former Soviet Union has remained intraregional, but trade between western and eastern Europe did increase markedly during the late 20th century. Russian natural gas was sold to such countries as Austria, Italy, France, and Germany, and western markets were also used for the sale of gold and diamonds in exchange for ships, machinery, and chemicals. Eastern European countries, known for supplying such goods as canned salmon and caviar, vodka, Polish bacon, Czech glass, and Hungarian and Balkan wines, increasingly exported a greater variety of high-value products. East-west exchanges continued to develop in the 21st century, particularly with the integration of several eastern European countries into the EU.
External trade
European trade extends to all other parts of the world. The extracontinental exports of Europe include machine tools, automobiles, aircraft, chemicals (including pharmaceutical drugs), and such consumer items as clothing, textiles, books, specialty food products, expert services, and works of art. Western Europe depends heavily on imported petroleum from the Middle East, Algeria, and Libya and on many imported raw materials and metals. Europe imports much natural rubber, tea, coffee, cacao, cane sugar, oilseeds, tobacco, and fruit—fresh, canned, and dried—although it has attempted to lessen its dependence on imported agricultural products with greater domestic production and the manufacture of synthetic substitutes for natural fibres.
Tourism of Europe
The outstanding growth industry of tourism—supplementing business, professional, and student travel—brings employment and foreign exchange to many Europeans, especially in the Mediterranean countries, with their combination of sunshine, beaches, scenery, and historical monuments. The world-renowned cities of Europe attract large numbers of tourists as well. In fact, European countries are consistently among the top tourist destinations of the world; they draw visitors from within Europe as well as from other continents.
|
| Military |
| History: |
The idea of a European army was first discussed in 1950. It was proposed by France and would have consisted of the "Inner Six" countries (Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany), in order to strengthen defence against the Soviet threat without directly rearming Germany in the wake of World War II.[1][2] In 1952 the Treaty establishing the European Defence Community was signed but not ratified by the signatories.[3]
However, during the Cold War, Western Europe relied on NATO for defence, precluding the development of European cooperation.[4] Immediately after the "fall of communism", the defence apparatus was preoccupied by NATO expansion into the former Soviet bloc. The idea of a European army gained popularity after the September 11 attacks and NATO's involvement in conflicts outside of Europe. In a phenomenon dubbed diversification of European security, NATO has come to be responsible for "hard" threats while the European Union has taken a greater role in "soft" threats, including peacekeeping in the western Balkans.[4] The 2009 Treaty of Lisbon also has furthered defence integration within the EU.[4] This has led to support for a European Defence Union, which would be a step higher in collaboration than the current Common Security and Defence Policy.[5]
In 2019, Germany and the Netherlands activated 414 Tank Battalion, the first that included soldiers from two EU countries. The battalion was created because Germany did not have enough soldiers, while the Netherlands lacked tank capability. This was described as a step towards a European army.[2] The Franco-German Brigade in Alsace has been less successful due to greater linguistic and cultural differences.[2]
Under the current arrangement, there is no EU army and defence is reserved for the member states.[6]
Characteristics
The term "European army" is vague and it is not entirely clear what it would entail.[7] Increasing integration would make security more efficient and less expensive for member states.[5]
Support and opposition
Support
French president Emmanuel Macron and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel have both expressed their support for a joint European army. Macron endorsed the idea in 2018, after the United States withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and in light of American President Donald Trump's scepticism of Atlanticism.[8] Other European politicians who have expressed support include former French prime minister Alain Juppé (in 1996),[9] former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, former European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, former Czech prime ministers Miloš Zeman and Bohuslav Sobotka, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. A European army is on the official programme of the European People's Party.[10]
Former Dutch deputy prime minister Kajsa Ollongren supported the idea while former defence minister Ank Bijleveld opposed it.[11] It is also opposed by Eurosceptic politicians in the EU, such as Ryszard Legutko.[1][8] NATO has been described as the "biggest obstacle" to a European army.[12]
A 2019 survey found that 37% of Dutch citizens "approved the idea of a European army" while 30% are opposed to formation of an army of all EU members.[13]
In 2021, the President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella spoke about the need to create a European army, after the withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan ended the War in Afghanistan allowing the takeover by the Taliban.[14][15] Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi also spoke in favour of the creation of the European army to protect Europe's borders.[16] The Italian Army General, Claudio Graziano, Chairman of the European Union Military Committee, also expressed the need to set up a European army as soon as possible.[17]
At the 2021 State of the Union address delivered by the President of the European Commission to the European Parliament, Ursula von der Leyen said to European Union members that "what we need is the European Defence Union" and that "...the European Union is a unique security provider. There will be missions where NATO or the UN will not be present but where Europe should be... There have been many discussions on expeditionary forces. On what type and how many we need: battlegroups or EU entry forces. This is no doubt part of the debate – and I believe it will be part of the solution. But the more fundamental issue is why this has not worked in the past." and announced a 'Summit on European defence'[18]
On 17 September 2021, the Italian Prime Minister, Mario Draghi talked about the European army at the end of the EuMed summit in Athens, with an urgent tone for its establishment. [19]
The announcement of the AUKUS "trilateral security partnership" between Australia, UK and US to "sustain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region" is seen as an attempt to limit China's rise as a global military power. However, this has led to some mistrust in Europe, in particular in France, that has contributed to increasing the process of the formation of a European Army.[20][21][failed verification]
On 28 September 2021, Greece and France signed a multibillion-euro military agreement. The Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called the idea of a European army "a mature proposal" and that this agreement could be a first big step towards a European army.[22]
The Paneuropean Union actively supports the creation of a European army |
| Soldiers: |
0 |
| Tanks: |
0 |
| Aircraft: |
0 |
| Ships: |
18 |
| Missiles: |
0 |
| Nuclear Weapons: |
0 |
| Last Updated: 05/29/2024 01:47 pm |
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