Unit 12 The European Union

Economic/ Económico

Political / Político

Democratic/ Democrático

Share/ Compartir

Currency/ Moneda (en circulación)

Citizens/ Ciudadanos

Joint Measures/ Medidas conjuntas

Crime/ Crimen

Treaty/ Tratado

Join, Joined/ Unirse, Se unió

Defend/Defender

Equality/ Igualdad

Commission/ Comisión

Approve/ Aprobar

Laws/ Leyes

Achievement/ Logro

Health Card/ Tarjeta Sanitaria

Eurozone/ Zona Euro

Spend/ Gastar

Bills/ Billetes

Coins/ Monedas

Custom Controls/ Controles Aduaneros

Merchandise/ Mercancías

The European Union Today

1. What is the European Union?

The European Union (EU) is an economic and political organization formed by 28 democratic European countries with a population of about 500,000,000.  Economically the countries of the EU share common rules about agriculture, transport, fishing and industry.  Many EU countries use the Euro as their official currency.  Politically, the citizens of any country in the EU can live, work or study in any other country in the EU.  The EU countries have joint measures to protect the environment, fight crime and terrorism, defend equality of men and women and protect the right of consumers.

The  Achievements of the EU

One main achievement of the EU is bringing the member states closer culturally and educationally.  EU citizens have a European health card which means they can have health care in different member states

The Eurozone are the countries that use the Euro as their currency.  In 2002 is when they started spending actual bills and coins.

The single market eliminated borders and custom controls between EU states.  This means that citizens and merchandise can circulate freely within the EU.