The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and informally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as listed in the Treaty on European Union. It is one of two legislative bodies and together with the European Parliament serves to amend and approve or veto the proposals of the European Commission, which holds the right of initiative.
European Union citizenship is afforded to all nationals of member states of the European Union (EU). It was formally created with the adoption of the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, at the same time as the creation of the EU. EU citizenship is additional to, as it does not replace, national citizenship. It affords EU citizens with rights, freedoms and legal protections available under EU law.
The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity – self-designation ENISA from the abbreviation of its original name – is an agency of the European Union. It is fully operational since September 1, 2005. The Agency is located in Athens, Greece and has offices in Brussels, Belgium and Heraklion, Greece.
The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) is an independent body of the European Union with juridical personality, established in 2008 intended to strengthen Europe's ability to innovate. The EIT’s three “core pillars” of activities are: entrepreneurial education programmes and courses across Europe that transform students into entrepreneurs; business creation and acceleration services that scale ideas and budding businesses; and innovation-driven research projects that turn ideas into products by connecting partners, investors, and expertise.
The Roaming Regulation 2022 bans roaming charges (Eurotariff) within the European Economic Area (EEA), which consists of the member states of the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. This regulates both the charges mobile network operator can impose on its subscribers for using telephone and data services outside of the network's member state, and the wholesale rates networks can charge each other to allow their subscribers access to each other's networks. The 2012 Regulation was recast in 2022.
The Prüm Convention is a law enforcement treaty which was signed on 27 May 2005 by Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Spain in the town of Prüm in Germany, and which is open to all members of the European Union, 14 of which are currently parties.
A Norwegian passport is the passport issued to nationals of Norway for the purpose of international travel. Beside serving as proof of Norwegian citizenship, they facilitate the process of securing assistance from Norwegian consular officials abroad.
The Schengen Area is an area encompassing 29 European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice policy of the European Union (EU), it mostly functions as a single jurisdiction under a common visa policy for international travel purposes. The area is named after the 1985 Schengen Agreement and the 1990 Schengen Convention, both signed in Schengen, Luxembourg.
The Italian electronic identity card, or simply carta d'identità, is an identification document issued to any Italian citizen and to legal aliens, that has been progressively replacing the paper-based identity card since version 3.0 was first released on 4 July 2016. The CIE is intended for both digital and physical identification. The biometric information is printed on an ID-1 card and stored in a contactless chip.
The European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) is a European Union (EU) mechanism aimed at increasing direct democracy by enabling "EU citizens to participate directly in the development of EU policies", introduced with the Treaty of Lisbon in 2007. This popular initiative enables one million citizens of the European Union, with a minimum number of nationals from at least seven member states, to call directly on the European Commission to propose a legal act in an area where the member states have conferred powers onto the EU level. This right to request the commission to initiate a legislative proposal puts citizens on the same footing as the European Parliament and the European Council, who enjoy this right according to Articles 225 and 241 TFEU, respectively. The commission holds the right of initiative in the EU. The first registered ECI, Fraternité 2020, was initiated on 9 May 2012, although the first submitted ECI was One Single Tariff.
Turkish Cypriots and the European Union have somewhat strained relations because the European Union (EU) does not recognise the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
The Centre for European Volunteering (CEV), established in 1992, is the European network of over 60 organisations dedicated to the promotion of, and support to, volunteers and volunteering in Europe at European, national or regional level. Through the network, CEV works to ensure that: the value of quality volunteering as an expression of Solidarity and European values is understood, supported and celebrated; policies & programmes, together with the European social environment, inspires, encourages and supports quality European Volunteering; Individuals and organisations that are active in the volunteering and civil society sphere share, learn and are inspired from one another in the framework of CEV. In this way CEV reaches out to the many thousands of volunteers and volunteer organisations in Europe as a source of support bringing the European dimension to their work.
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) is an agency of the European Union located in Paris.
The European Company Lawyers Association (ECLA) is a non-governmental and non-profit organization and serves as the umbrella organization for 22 company lawyers associations in Europe, representing over 68,000 inhouse counsel from leading corporations across Europe. Established in 1983, ECLA advocates for the profession of in-house lawyers and addresses major challenges for legal in-house departments in European companies. The association is located in the heart of Europe, in Brussels.
The European Commission's Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund is a funding programme managed by the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs which promotes the efficient management of migration flows and the implementation, strengthening and development of a common approach to asylum and immigration in the European Union. All EU Member States except Denmark participate in the implementation of this Fund. Most of the funds are provided to the EU Member States for activities addressing previously agreed upon themes. A part of the funding is reserved for emergency assistance. A final part is reserved for Union Actions, which are European Commission managed projects that are developed as either calls for proposals, direct awards, procurements, or delegation agreements.
Francisca "Paquita" Sauquillo Pérez del Arco is a Spanish lawyer and politician known for her activism as a labor lawyer and in defense of democratic liberties during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. She has been a deputy of the Assembly of Madrid (1983–1994), a Senator (1983–1994) and a member of the European Parliament (1994–2004). Since 1985, she has been president of the NGO Movement for Peace, Disarmament, and Freedom (MPDL). Since May 2016, she has presided as Commissioner of Historical Memory of the City Council of Madrid.
The 2024 European Parliament election is scheduled to be held from 6 to 9 June. This will be the tenth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first European Parliament election after Brexit. This election will also coincide with a number of other elections in some European Union member states.
The 2024 European Parliament election in Germany is scheduled to be held on 9 June 2024. This will be the tenth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first European Parliament election after Brexit.
Passports in Europe are issued by each state individually, e.g. the Netherlands or United Kingdom. In general, passports issued in Europe either grant the holder the right of freedom of movement within the European Economic Area, to those that don't. The majority of European states are members of the European Union, and therefore issue EU passports.
