European Union: Difference between revisions

* [[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]]'' is probably the most prominent of these. Became a swear word in ''[[The Hitchhiker's 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.

* [[Useful Notes/The Czech Republic|The Czech Republic]] - also a 2004 entry. Formerly [[Commie Land]], when it was part of Czechoslovakia. Prefers to think of itself as "Central Europe" than "Eastern Europe". Mostly famous for its beautiful capital, Prague.

* [[Useful Notes/Denmark|Denmark]] - joined in 1972. Has a Queen. Was the centre of the Muhammad cartoons controversy in 2005. In 1969 it became the first country in the world to legalise hardcore pornography. This, combined with a more relaxed attitude to the sale, distribution and consumption of alcoholic beverages than its northern neighbors has made the country a popular regional destination for "hedonism tourism". Oh, and sodomy is legal too. Also the birthplace of [[Hans Christian Andersen]] and Lego!

* [[Useful Notes/Estonia|Estonia]] - formerly part of the Soviet Union, they really didn't enjoy it and were one of the first countries to break away. Joined in 2004 and <s>are</s> were a pretty well off country, before their economy crashed in the current global recession-crisis-thing. Known for its internet capabilities (it had been called the most wired country in Europe) No real tropes associated with Estonia - it's not covered in fiction much.

* [[Useful Notes/Finland|Finland]] - joined in 1995 and is frequently rated as one of the best countries in the world to live. Depicted as [[Norse by Norsewest]], but maintains that it belongs to a different cultural tradition. The distinguishing characteristics of its own one are snow, alcohol and self-pity. Has a national inferiority complex, uses being full of rocks, trees and water as its main attraction, is relatively large and sparsely populated, too damn cold and too damn dark; is thus the local equivalent of Canada. Every one of its residents may or may not be switchblade-carrying black magicians according to the Danes. Famous exports include metal bands by the bucketful, including but not limited to [[Lordi]], [[Nightwish]], and [[Sonata Arctica]]. Notable contributions to the world include the [[Molotov Cocktail]], the [[Sauna of Death]] and several great racing drivers. [[Spamalot|That's the country for me!]]

* [[Useful Notes/France|France]] - A founder member. Known for wine, berets and country estates on the Riviera and [[French Jerk|rudeness to tourists]]. Has a reputation for not doing well in wars (which isn't very accurate, given this is the country of [[Napoleon Bonaparte]]). Once had a huge empire second only to Britain's. [[Gay Paree]] covers France tropes in general.

* [[Useful Notes/Germany|Germany]] - Being the most populous country in Europe (not counting Russia), it's diverse enough to have two separate tropes dedicated to it- [[Oktoberfest]] and [[Prussia]] (which has largely merged into the former). The [[West Germany|Western part]] was a founder member of the EU, the [[East Germany|Eastern part]] automatically joined on reunification, since it no longer existed. It has a female Chancellor (complete with [[Power Hair]]) and <s>still uses</s> until recently used conscription.

* [[Useful Notes/Greece|Greece]] - A 1981 joiner, having spent a while as a [[Banana Republic]] before that (from 1967 to 1974 the country was ruled under a military Junta). The origin place of the [[Olympic Games]], the Classical architectural orders (see most government buildings in Europe and America - what do these columns remind you of?) and a lot of Western philosophy, a lot less interesting to a lot of people than what was there.

* [[Useful Notes/Hungary|Hungary]] - Joined in 2004. Famous for goulash <ref>actually, it's called gulyás, and you've probably only had [[The Theme Park Version]]</ref> and other things with paprika, as well as many notable academics. Rather good at water sports despite being landlocked (it has got two large rivers). Known for the 1956 uprising against the Soviets, which was brutally crushed. Its language is from a completely different linguistic group to most of the rest of Europe except, bizarrely, Finnish and Estonian. Has nothing to do with the Huns.

* [[Useful Notes/Ireland|Ireland]] - Joined in 1972 with the UK. It's covered here in [[Irish Political System]] & [[Oireland]]. A considerable number of Americans, Britons and even most Icelanders have ancestors from here. Has the second highest proportion of redheads in the world (it's beaten by Scotland). Doesn't have any snakes. Has gone from being one of the poorest EU countries to one of the richest in the space of 15 years or so, but may be about to slide back. Got a lot of flak for rejecting the Lisbon Treaty (see below).

* [[Useful Notes/Italy|Italy]] - see [[Olive Garden]] for Italy tropes. Famous as the home of Roman Catholicism (although the Vatican City is actually a separate country) and the Italian [[The Mafia|Mafia]], as well as its artistic and cultural contributions to history, and its cuisine (yes, pasta). Is not the Roman Empire, but has bits of it laying around. Founder member.

* [[Useful Notes/Latvia|Latvia]] - Joined in 2004. Former state of the USSR (although it had been independent before that). Hasn't got any fighters in its airforce (couple of transport helicopters and Polish ultralight. And only one tank in the Army. And couple of gunboats. Why do we have armed forces, anyway?), so NATO has to defend their airspace.

* [[Useful Notes/Lithuania|Lithuania]] - Joined in 2004. Former Soviet republic from 1940 to 1991. Historically, had been part of Lithuania-Poland, a large state in Eastern Europe 400 years ago. The most famous fictional Lithuanians are Hannibal Lecter and Marko Ramius (from ''[[The Hunt for Red October]]''), although they're actually only half-Lithuanian.

* [[Useful Notes/Luxembourg|Luxembourg]] - Tiny principality (actually a Grand Duchy) that was the smallest founding member. Actually has the highest per capita GNP of any country in the world, but this is a statistical fluke caused by the fact that many people from outside the principality work inside it without being resident or having citizenship.

* [[Useful Notes/Malta|Malta]] - tiny island state that was a British colony from 1814 to 1964. The local language is actually a Semitic language--specifically, a derivative of colloquial Tunisian Arabic. However, nobody considers Malta an Arab country: Malta is Catholic and has long been under Italian influence (to the degree that the language has about as many Italian words as Arabic ones--kinda like how English is Germanic but has a mostly-French vocabulary). Has the George Cross on its flag, having been given it in 1942 for holding out against a Nazi siege.

* [[Useful Notes/The Netherlands|The Netherlands]] - One of the six founding members. Amazingly for such a small country, a rich history of trade, discovery, colonization and last but not least slavery, most of which is forgotten today. Trope-wise the country can be reduced to [[Freestate Amsterdam]], named after its capital, with its quaint architecture and less quaint red light district. A nest of ultraliberal, pot-smoking entrepreneurs who all speak perfect (if strongly accented) English.

* [[Useful Notes/Poland|Poland]] - In the present day most strongly associated with migrant construction workers and Catholicism, which is not really justified. And [[Vodka Drunkenski|vodka]]. Played a crucial role in overthrowing Communism. Joined in 2004.

* [[Useful Notes/Portugal|Portugal]] - Joined with Spain in 1986, after it too had overthrown a dictatorial regime. Famous for Porto wine and not much else, although it once had quite a large empire and was the first naval-based world power. [[Did Not Do the Research|Also, they do not speak Spanish]].

* [[Useful Notes/Romania|Romania]] - Home of <s>Dracula</s> Drăculea, Transylvania, and Carpathian plums. The overthrow of communism was anything but peaceful. Joined in 2007.

* [[Useful Notes/Slovakia|Slovakia]] - [[Garfunkel|the other half of the former Czechoslovakia]]. Infamous for the ''Hostel'' movies, it's not really like that. Somewhat poorer than its Czech brother and not nearly as well-known.

* [[Useful Notes/Slovenia|Slovenia]] - Part of the former Yugoslavia, it gained its independence in 10 days of fighting and escaped the worst of the Balkan Wars. It was the wealthiest country of the 2004 intake.

* [[Useful Notes/Spain|Spain]] - Once had a colonial empire, before losing it rather quickly in the 19th century. A restored monarchy since the collapse of the fascist government which was ruled by someone known to most Americans [[Saturday Night Live|because of his long lasting death]]. (Yes, he's still dead.) Home to a lot of British ex-pats and certain islands are famous (or infamous) for their clubbing, although the huge amount of German ex-pats in said islands practically make it part of Germany. Joined in 1986. Famous authors [[George Orwell]] and [[Ernest Hemingway]] fought in its Civil War in the 1930s. ([[Foregone Conclusion|The Republicans lost]].)

* [[Useful Notes/Sweden|Sweden]] - Joined in 1995. See [[Norse by Norsewest]], though less than 50% of the population are actually blond (with 25% having light brown hair.) Consistently rated as an ever so slightly better or worse place to live than Finland. The Swedish tolerance for sexual liberalism and porn has dropped significantly in recent years. Cleverly enough, prostitution is legal while purchasing the services of a prostitute is not. Known for reindeer, snow, neutrality and being confused with either Switzerland or Sudan.

* [[Useful Notes/Britain|Britain]] - properly, the United Kingdom -- see [[British Political System]]. Joined in 1972. They wanted to join earlier, but France (specifically Charles de Gaulle) put the kibosh on that, one excuse being that Britain wasn't a part of Europe. [[French Jerk|Twice]]. Known for being [[Heterosexual Life Partners]] with America and its former colonies (including a couple of minor wars they both fought in) and [[A Spot of Tea|tea]]. Has quite easily the most [[With Europe but Not of It|antagonistic relationship]] with the Union.