THE EUROPEAN UNIONPresentation by students of school in PiekoszówJanuary 2016

FLAG OF EUThe European flag symbolises both the European Union and, more broadly, the identity and unity of Europe. It features a circle of 12 gold stars on a blue background. They stand for the ideals of unity, solidarity and harmony among the peoples of Europe. The number of stars has nothing to do with the number of member countries, though the circle is a symbol of unity.

ABOUT THE EUThe EU is a unique economic and political partnership between 28 European countries that together cover much of the continent. The result was the European Economic Community (EEC), created in 1958, and initially increasing economic cooperation between six countries: Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Since then, a huge single market has been created and continues to develop towards, What began as a purely economic union has evolved into an organisation spanning policy areas, from development aid to environment. A name change from the EEC to the European Union (EU) in 1993 reflected. This its full potential.

FUNDAMENTS OF EU• Human rights and equality!

One of the EU’s main goals is to promote human rights both internally and around the world. Human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights: these are the core values of the EU. Since the Lisbon Treaty's entry in force in 2009, the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights brings all these rights together in a single document. The EU's institutions are legally bound to uphold them, as are EU governments whenever they apply EU law.

APPLICATION OF EU LAW

• EU law - which has equal force with national law - confers rights and obligations on the authorities in each member country, as well as individuals and businesses. The authorities in each member country are responsible for implementing EU legislation in national law and enforcing it correctly, and they must guarantee citizens’ rights under these laws.

CULTURE

• The EU works to preserve Europe's shared cultural heritage and help make it accessible to all. It also supports and promotes the arts and creative industries in Europe.

• Support for the arts and creative industries takes the form of:

• programmers to help them get the most out of digital technologies & the EU market

• funding

• help with research projects

• support for cooperation with EU & non-EU partners.

• The following EU policies have links with culture:

• education (including language learning)

• scientific research• support for IT &

communications technologies

• social policy

WHAT ARE THE EU'S OFFICIAL LANGUAGES?There are currently 24: Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish and Swedish.As an EU citizen, you have the right to use any of these languages in correspondence with the EU institutions, which have to reply in the same language. EU regulations and other legislative texts are published in all official languages except Irish (only regulations adopted by both the EU Council and the European Parliament are currently translated into Irish).In the European Parliament, the people's elected representatives also have the right to speak in any of the EU's official languages.

BUDGETThe annual EU budget is €145 bn (2015 figures) – a large sum in absolute terms, but only about 1% of the wealth generated by EU economies every year. The budget is subject to limits established by the multiannual financial framework. This sets the maximum annual amounts which the EU can spend in various policy areas over a given period (usually 7 years).The EU budget is used in areas where it makes sense to pool resources for the good of Europe as a whole, such as:• improving transport, energy and communications links

between EU countries• protecting the environment Europe-wide• making the European economy more competitive globally• helping European scientists and researchers join forces across

borders.

TRADE FACTSThe EU is the world’s biggest trader, accounting for 16.5% of the world's imports and exports. Free trade among its members was one of the EU's founding principles, and it is committed to liberalising world trade as well. EU trade policy is made exclusively at EU level. The Commission negotiates agreements on behalf of the EU within WTO rules and works closely with national governments and the European Parliament to maintain the global system and enable it to adapt to worldwide changes. The EU is the world's biggest exporter of manufactured goods and services, and it is the biggest import market for over 100 countries.

THANKS FOR WATCHING

Eryk StaniecBartłomiej Paździerz