European Union

Advantages of being in the EU

Trade is free among members and there are no tariffs, labor market is flexible, and there is a sense of unity among members.

One candidate country of the EU

Turkey

Three specific advantages to countries that belong to the EU

Greece gets financial aid from other countries such as Germany, some of Britain's biggest trading partners are France and Germany and they don't have to pay to trade with them, and as many as 3 million jobs are linked to Britain's membership in the EU.

Two main goals of the original EU

Improve economy and prevent war

The country that primarily bailed Greece out of its financial crisis.

Germany

The year it was renamed the European Union

1993

Three possible reasons the EU may collapse

2008 recession caused countries to have large unemployment and debt, Europe isn't doing enough on the Migrant Crisis, and EU austerity drive country by country.

The number of countries in the EU

28

Location of the capital of the EU

Brussels, Belgium

One country that still uses its original currency

England

The name of the common currency of the EU

Euro

The branch of EU government that is appointed.

European Commission: Proposes new laws and is similar to the U.S. Senate

The branch of government that is made up of heads of state and can't pass laws.

European Council: Decides general direction of policies, appoints a representative to the European Commission, and is similar to the U.S. Executive Branch (President)

The branch of EU government that is directly elected by citizens of the EU countries.

European Parliament: Number of representatives each country has is determined by population, passes laws, controls budget, and is similar to the U.S. House of Representatives

Some requirements to become an EU member

Stable democracy, respect for human rights and rule of law, functioning economy, acceptance of EU law

The country that voted in June whether to leave the EU.

The UK voted to leave

Disadvantages of being in the EU

There is a large membership fee (0.6% of GDP), no common language, and prosperous nations are forced to share their prosperity.