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European Union: Difference between revisions
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(Import from TV Tropes TVT:Main.EuropeanUnion 2012-07-01, editor history TVTH:Main.EuropeanUnion, CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported license) |
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* [[Useful Notes/Austria|Austria]] - joined in 1995. Birthplace of [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]], [[Adolf Hitler]] and [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]]. Famous for its classical musicians, Viennese coffeehouses and mountains. Well-known due to ''[[The Sound of Music]]'' (which is not popular in Austria).
* [[Useful Notes/Belgium|Belgium]] - one of the founder members. The most famous Belgian is a [[Hercule Poirot|fictional detective]], although a real tennis player and a rather nasty long-dead colonial king come close. Also home (along with France) to [[Franco Belgian Comics|a comics industry]] that has found widespread success abroad. ''[[Tintin (Comic Book)]]'' is probably the most prominent of these. Became a swear word in ''[[The Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy]]'', which was co-opted by ''[[Neighbours]]'' of all shows. Famous for its chocolate, waffles and beer. Has a university library that got burnt down in both World Wars and got rebuilt both times.
* [[Useful Notes/Bulgaria|Bulgaria]] - joined in 2007. They use [[The Backwards R|the Cyrillic alphabet]], but they're not covered in fiction much (except briefly in ''[[Harry Potter]]''). In real life probably best known for its Black Sea resorts and cheap red wine, though it's becoming a popular skiing destination as well. Their [[The Beautiful Game|football]] team had a run of form in the mid-90s and finished top-four in the World Cup.
* [[Useful Notes/Cyprus|Cyprus]] - joined in 2004 (well, half of it at any rate). The other half is run by a Turkey-backed government and has been for thirty years. Only Turkey officially recognises it. A reunification effort failed in 2004 after the Greek half (the one that joined the EU) rejected it. Has two British air bases which played an important role in the Gulf War.
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The green light meant a restructuring of EU governance, leading to the creation of two additional top jobs, increasing the count to three:
* The President of the European Commission - kind of a prime minister, holding the most executive power. Currently held by José Manuel Barroso.
* The President of the European Council - kind of a representative president, but the job description is still a bit murky at the time. Currently held by [[So Okay
* The High Representative - kind of a foreign minister, the person [[Chekhov's Gunman|Mr. Kissinger]] should call. Currently held by [[So Okay
It should be noted, that many aspects of a united Europe actually have little or nothing to do with the European Union itself. There are several dozen organizations and treaties that unite European countries in some way or another. While many of these are connected to the EU, like the European currency, the free trade area, Schengen area and customs union, some like the European Space Agency or Eurovision and UEFA are not affiliated with the EU at all. They all have different sets of members and keep expanding and changing all the time, so it can be hard to keep track of who is part of what at any given moment. A lot of the symbols commonly associated with the EU actually belong to different groups. The Flag with the circle of stars on a blue background for example originally belonged to the Council of Europe.
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