This article has been translated from English to Gen Z Slang.
The European Union (EU) is basically the squad of 27 countries vibing together in a political and economic union. ✌️
Pulled up in '93, the EU's HQ is based in Brussels, Belgium, where all the cool EU shenanigans go down. 💼
This squad's running on a three-part system with a council, parliament, and a commission, all flexing a common currency, of course. 💶
The idea of a common coin was sealed and signed in '99, but the full glow-up happened in 2002. Now, 19 of these EU besties are using the same cash. 💸
So yeah, the euro gets the W as their official currency. 🎉
Now, more than 340 million peeps in the EU are jamming with this currency and loving the perks it comes with. 🤟
And thanks to the no-border-vibes between EU countries, traveling around Europe's like a piece of cake. 🍰
You got the right to pick wherever you wanna study, grind, or chill in the EU - the world's your oyster. 🌍
EU peeps gotta treat each other like fam when it comes to getting that bread, social sec, and taxes. Respect, yo. ✨
The EU’s main hustle is the single market. It's like free roam for goods, services, cash, and squad members. 🌀
The EU's all about stretching this major resource into areas like energy, knowledge, and money markets to keep everybody winning. 🏆
What’s the story behind the EU glow-up? 🌟
Way back post-WWII, the pre-EU started rolling. They knew that countries that trade together, stay together. 🤝
The European Economic Community (EEC) came through in '58, linking six original states on the economic level. It was all about avoiding drama, ya know? 🙅
They were dubbed the “Inner Six“: Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, and West Germany. OGs, in short. 🙌
Kicked off by the European Coal and Steel Community in '51, these moves snowballed into a whole vibe change when the EU was born in '93 via the Maastricht Treaty. 🧑⚖️
The Treaty of Lisbon dropped in ‘09, leveling up the EU with more power moves like treaty signing, border swag, and security upgrade. 🚨
Now, 22 members deep and a single market that’s serious about achieving its potential. Major moves indeed. 🎯
Hot Tea: The UK bounced from this union on Jan 31, 2020. And what started as an economic clique is now covering everything from climate to justice. Powerhouse much? 🌍🌱
Peeps at the EU HQ put their goals out there to:
- spread the peace vibes,
- back a unified money gang,
- fight exclusion and bias,
- break down trade and border barriers,
- boost tech and science flex,
- champ the environment's cause,
- pursue a global market win and social upliftment.
Yup, swapping from EEC to EU in '93 sealed the deal on that realness. 🔄
What's the EU's game plan? 🤓
The EU’s power play got seven institutions split into executive, legislative, judicial, and financial axes. 📊
- European Council
- European Commission (“EC”)
- European Parliament
- Council of the European Union
- European Central Bank
- Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)
- European Court of Auditors (ECA)
The European Council, where the head honchos like prez and PMs pull up, sets the high-level moves and picks a pres for a max of 5 years. 🤴👸
The European Commission rules the day-to-day with proposal, budget, and reps EU worldwide. Appointees come via the European Council and European Parliament nods 'em in. 💪
The European Parliament is your only elected fam but doesn’t get to drop new laws; however, it’s approval is legit needed to make ‘em pass. Plus, it vibes with the EU budget and keeps the Commission in check. 💬
The Council of the European Union, aka the Council of Ministers to avoid mix-ups, is a second legislative unit requiring law approval too. It’s ministers unite based on policy, like neighborhoods meeting by block. 🤝
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has the final say on EU law vibes and any beef between members. It includes the ECJ, which lays the law, and the General Court for random disputes. 👨⚖️
The European Central Bank (ECB) manages the euro hustle for its squad debt and manages monetary goals. 💷
The European Court of Auditors (ECA) ensures the EU budget's got no funny money business and reports any sketchiness. 🔍
The HQs for all these peeps are chilling in Brussels, Frankfurt, Luxembourg City, and Strasbourg. 🏢
How does the EU squad roll together? 🤝
These EU fams weave a wild network of checking and balancing. 🤯
First up, the European Council is packed with elected national boss leaders who drive political shebangs. 🚗
Second, we have the European Parliament repping as ‘Members of the European Parliament’ or MEPs, elected by the people. 🗳️
The Council and the European Parliament collab on forming the European Commission (“EC”) - the council picks, and the Parliament backs it. 🤝
The EC drops the props for EU laws and budgets, but both Parliament and the Council of Ministers must vibe with it for any EU law to go official. 📜
On top of it all, the European Central Bank plays overseer to the EU’s monetary drip. 💰
Real talk though, with a setup like this, it's wild that they can still make things happen in the EU. 😂🤷
Civilians are said to have a voice in constructing this whole setup, allegedly. 🙋♂️
As per the official tea, citizens can totally share opinions on policies, suggest tweaks, or raise valid queries on EU laws via initiatives. 💭
What's the EU members list, fam?
The EU’s member count? 👀 We’re talking 27 strong. 💪
These are the EU partygoers: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden. 🌍🗺️
Roll call: as of 2021, the EU squad’s about 440 million peeps deep. 🎉
Did ya know France is the biggest land boss (covering nearly 16% of EU’s surface), while Malta be the smallest champ (less than 1/10 of 1%). 🤏
The Schengen Superpass
Town hopping got upgraded with the Schengen Area pass for certain country bros, including a few non-EU buddies. 🛂
For the homies in these places, cruising between these nationwide homelands just got simple, no visas or passports needed. 🌈✈️
EU vs. Eurozone - What's the 411? 🤔
The EU ain’t the same scene as the eurozone, BTW. 👀
The eurozone, born in '05, is just straight-up the gang of countries rocking the euro. 💸
The eurozone's got 19 of the EU's 27 pulling the euro outta their wallets. 💳
These members got their monetary orders from the European Central Bank that oversees and circulates the euro vibes. 🏦