Editing European Union (section)

==Culture==
<!--Section named and ordered by WikiProject Countries-->
{{Main|Cultural policies of the European Union}}

Cultural co-operation between member states has been an interest of the European Union since its inclusion as a community competency in the Maastricht Treaty.<ref name="Bozoki">{{Cite web |last=Bozoki |first=Andras |title=Cultural Policy and Politics in the European Union |url=http://www.ecoc-doc-athens.eu/attachments/1249_Cultural%20Policy%20and%20Politics%20in%20the%20European%20Union_speech_Bozoki_Andras.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130222205051/http://www.ecoc-doc-athens.eu/attachments/1249_Cultural%20Policy%20and%20Politics%20in%20the%20European%20Union_speech_Bozoki_Andras.pdf |archive-date=22 February 2013 |access-date=4 June 2013 |publisher=Cultural Policy and Politics in the European Union.pdf}}</ref> Actions taken in the cultural area by the EU include the [[Culture 2000]] seven-year programme,<ref name="Bozoki" /> the [[European Cultural Month]] event,<ref name="Culture Month">{{Cite web |last=European Commission |title=European Culture Month |url=http://ec.europa.eu/culture/eac/ecocs/present_cap/retrospective_en.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080202062436/http://ec.europa.eu/culture/eac/ecocs/present_cap/retrospective_en.html |archive-date=2 February 2008 |access-date=27 February 2008 |publisher=Europa web portal}}</ref> and orchestras such as the [[European Union Youth Orchestra]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=An Overture to the European Union Youth Orchestra |url=http://www.euyo.org.uk/about/history.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070611140551/http://www.euyo.org.uk/about/history.htm |archive-date=11 June 2007 |access-date=12 August 2007 |publisher=The European Youth Orchestra}}</ref> The [[European Capital of Culture]] programme selects one or more cities in every year to assist the [[Sociocultural evolution|cultural development]] of that city.<ref name="Capital Culture">{{Cite web |last=European Commission |title=European Capitals of Culture |url=http://ec.europa.eu/culture/our-programmes-and-actions/doc413_en.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100803205745/http://ec.europa.eu/culture/our-programmes-and-actions/doc413_en.htm |archive-date=3 August 2010 |publisher=Europa web portal}}</ref>

===Sport===
{{Main|Sport policies of the European Union}}
Sport is mainly the responsibility of the member states or other international organisations, rather than of the EU. There are some EU policies that have affected sport, such as the free movement of workers, which was at the core of the [[Bosman ruling]] that prohibited national football leagues from imposing quotas on foreign players with EU member state citizenship.<ref name="BBC Boseman">{{Cite news |last=Fordyce |first=Tom |date=11 July 2007 |title=10&nbsp;years since Bosman |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/4528732.stm |access-date=13 July 2007}}</ref>

The [[Treaty of Lisbon]] requires any application of economic rules to take into account the specific nature of sport and its structures based on voluntary activity.<ref>Cases C-403/08 and C-429/08, Opinion of Advocate General Kokott, para 207</ref> This followed lobbying by governing organisations such as the [[International Olympic Committee]] and [[FIFA]], due to objections over the application of free market principles to sport, which led to an increasing gap between rich and poor clubs.<ref name="IHT RT">{{Cite news |date=19 October 2007 |title=IOC, FIFA presidents welcomes new EU treaty, call it breakthrough to give sports more power |work=[[International Herald Tribune]] |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/19/sports/EU-SPT-OLY-EU-Treaty.php |url-status=dead |access-date=21 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201201945/http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/19/sports/EU-SPT-OLY-EU-Treaty.php |archive-date=1 December 2008}}</ref> The EU does fund a programme for Israeli, Jordanian, Irish, and British football coaches, as part of the Football 4 Peace project.<ref>{{Cite web |date=29 March 2011 |title=Sports coaches from Israel travel to UK for training |url=http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/israel/press_corner/all_news/news/2011/20110329_01_en.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130425235908/http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/israel/press_corner/all_news/news/2011/20110329_01_en.htm |archive-date=25 April 2013 |access-date=3 June 2013 |publisher=Eeas.europa.eu}}</ref>

===Symbols===
{{Further|European Heritage Label}}
[[File:Europa copy.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.75|[[Europa (mythology)|Europa]] and the Bull on a Greek vase, {{Circa|480 BC}}. [[Tarquinia National Museum]], Italy]]

The [[flag of Europe]] consists of a [[Circle of stars|circle of]] 12 golden stars on a blue background. Originally designed in 1955 for the Council of Europe, the flag was adopted by the [[European Communities]], the predecessors of the present European Union, in 1986. The Council of Europe gave the flag a symbolic description in the following terms,<ref name="36th">{{Cite web |date=9 December 1955 |title=Thirty-sixth meeting of the ministers' deputies: resolution (55) 32 |url=http://www.coe.int/t/dgal/dit/ilcd/fonds/themes/flags/Res(55)32_en.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090528195931/http://www.coe.int/t/dgal/dit/ilcd/Fonds/Themes/Flags/Res%2855%2932_en.pdf |archive-date=28 May 2009 |access-date=2 February 2008 |publisher=Council of Europe}}</ref> though the official symbolic description adopted by the EU omits the reference to the "Western world":<ref name="1996guide">{{in lang|fr}} ''[https://www.cvce.eu/en/obj/guide_graphique_relatif_a_l_embleme_europeen_1996-fr-93eedaa0-b431-4ca8-ac7b-113ca01c0395.html Guide graphique relatif à l'emblème européen]'' (1996), p. 3: ''Description symbolique: Sur le fond bleu du ciel, les étoiles figurant les peuples d'Europe forment un cercle en signe d'union. Elles sont au nombre invariable de douze, symbole de la perfection et de la plénitude''...''Description héraldique: Sur fond azur, un cercle composé de douze étoiles d'or à cinq rais, dont les pointes ne se touchent pas''. cf. {{Cite web |title=Graphical specifications for the European Emblem |url=http://europa.eu/abc/symbols/emblem/graphics1_en.htm#symbol |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060622134708/http://europa.eu/abc/symbols/emblem/graphics1_en.htm#symbol |archive-date=22 June 2006 |access-date=4 August 2004 |publisher=[[Europa (web portal)|European Commission]]}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|Against the blue sky of the Western world, the stars symbolise the peoples of Europe in a form of a circle, the sign of union. The number of stars is invariably [[12 (number)#Religion|twelve]], the figure twelve being the symbol of perfection and entirety.|Council of Europe. Paris, 7–9 December 1955.|source=}}

''[[Motto of the European Union|United in Diversity]]'' was adopted as the motto of the union in 2000, having been selected from [[A motto for Europe|proposals]] submitted by school pupils.{{sfn|Simons|2002|page=110}} Since 1985, the [[flag day]] of the union has been [[Europe Day]], on 9 May (the date of the 1950 [[Schuman declaration]]). The [[Anthem of Europe|anthem of the EU]] is an instrumental version of the prelude to the ''[[Ode to Joy]]'', the 4th movement of [[Ludwig van Beethoven]]'s [[Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)|ninth symphony]]. The anthem was adopted by European Community leaders in 1985 and has since been played on official occasions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Council of Europe |url=https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/home |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091219175535/http://www.coe.int/T/E/Com/About_Coe/emblems/emblemes.asp |archive-date=19 December 2009 |website=www.coe.int}}</ref>
Besides naming the continent, the [[Greek mythology|Greek mythological]] figure of [[Europa (mythology)|Europa]] has frequently been employed as a [[National personification|personification]] of Europe. Known from the myth in which [[Zeus]] seduces her in the guise of a white bull, Europa has also been referred to in relation to the present union. Statues of Europa and the bull decorate several of the EU's institutions and a portrait of her is seen on the 2013 series of [[euro banknotes]]. The bull is, for its part, depicted on all residence permit cards.{{sfn|Demey|2007|page=387}}

[[Charlemagne|Charles the Great]], also known as Charlemagne ({{langx|la|Carolus Magnus}}) and later recognised as ''Pater Europae'' ("Father of Europe"),<ref name="ReferenceB">Riché, Preface xviii, Pierre Riché reflects: "[H]e enjoyed an exceptional destiny, and by the length of his reign, by his conquests, legislation and legendary stature, he also profoundly marked the history of Western Europe."</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Der Karlspreisträger Seine Heiligkeit Papst Johannes Paul II. außerordentlicher Karlspreis 2004 |url=http://www.karlspreis.de/preistraeger/seine_heiligkeit_papst_johannes_paul_ii/ansprache_von_seiner_heiligkeit_papst_johannes_paul_ii.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117151907/http://www.karlspreis.de/preistraeger/seine_heiligkeit_papst_johannes_paul_ii/ansprache_von_seiner_heiligkeit_papst_johannes_paul_ii.html |archive-date=17 January 2012 |access-date=1 January 2012 |publisher=Karlspreis.de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Chamberlin |first=Russell |title=The Emperor Charlemagne |publisher=[[The History Press]] |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-7509-3482-4 |location=[[Stroud]], [[Gloucestershire]]}}</ref> has a symbolic relevance to Europe. The commission has named [[Charlemagne building|one of its central buildings]] in Brussels after Charlemagne and the city of [[Aachen]] has since 1949 awarded the [[Charlemagne Prize]] to champions of European unification.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Laureates |url=http://www.karlspreis.de/en/laureates |access-date=12 February 2016 |website=karlspreis.de}}</ref> Since 2008, the organisers of this prize, in conjunction with the European Parliament, have awarded the [[European Charlemagne Youth Prize|Charlemagne Youth Prize]] in recognition of similar efforts led by young people.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Winners 2015 |url=http://www.charlemagneyouthprize.eu/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151212170932/http://www.charlemagneyouthprize.eu/ |archive-date=12 December 2015 |access-date=12 February 2016 |website=charlemagneyouthprize.eu}}</ref>

=== Media ===
{{Main|Media freedom in the European Union|European Broadcasting Union}}
[[File:Siège d'Euronews.jpg|thumb|left|[[Euronews]] headquarters in [[Lyon]], France]]

[[Media freedom]] is a [[Fundamental rights|fundamental right]] that applies to all [[Member state of the European Union|member states]] of the European Union and its [[EU citizens|citizens]], as defined in the [[EU Charter of Fundamental Rights]] as well as the [[European Convention on Human Rights]].<ref name="eprs">Maria Poptcheva, [http://www.europarl.europa.eu/EPRS/EPRS-Briefing-554214-Press-freedom-in-the-EU-FINAL.pdf Press freedom in the EU Legal framework and challenges], EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service, Briefing April 2015</ref>{{rp|1}} Within the [[EU enlargement]] process, guaranteeing media freedom is named a "key indicator of a country's readiness to become part of the EU".<ref>{{Cite web |title=European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations |url=http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/policy/policy-highlights/media-freedom/index_en.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160124161814/http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/policy/policy-highlights/media-freedom/index_en.htm |archive-date=24 January 2016 |access-date=8 February 2016 |publisher=European Commission }}</ref>

The majority of media in the European Union are national-orientated, although some EU-wide media focusing on European affairs have emerged since the early 1990s, such as [[Euronews]], [[Eurosport]], [[EUobserver]], [[EURACTIV]] or [[Politico Europe]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mollin |first=Sandra |title=Euro-English : assessing variety status |publisher=Gunter Narr Verlag |year=2006 |isbn=978-3-8233-6250-0 |location=Tübingen |pages=56 |oclc=804963256}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2018 |title=2018 EU Media Survey |url=http://www.comresglobal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Final_Presentation_BM.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203103312/http://comresglobal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Final_Presentation_BM.pdf |archive-date=3 December 2021 |access-date=21 July 2020 |publisher=[[ComRes]]/[[Burson-Marsteller]]}}</ref> [[Arte]] is a public Franco-German TV network that promotes programming in the areas of culture and the arts. 80 per cent of its programming are provided in equal proportion by the two member companies, while the remainder is being provided by the [[European Economic Interest Grouping]] ''ARTE GEIE'' and the channel's European partners.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How is ARTE funded? |url=http://www.arte.tv/sites/en/corporate/qui-sommes-nous-cluster/publications/?lang=en |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428061038/http://www.arte.tv/sites/en/corporate/qui-sommes-nous-cluster/publications/?lang=en |archive-date=28 April 2016 |access-date=26 June 2016 |publisher=ARTE Entreprise}}</ref>

The [[MEDIA Programme]] of the European Union has supported the European popular film and audiovisual industries since 1991. It provides support for the development, promotion and distribution of European works within Europe and beyond.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Media Programme |url=http://ec.europa.eu/culture/media/about/index_en.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130621054048/http://ec.europa.eu/culture/media/about/index_en.htm |archive-date=21 June 2013 |access-date=13 June 2013 |website=Europa |publisher=European Commission}}</ref>

===Influence===
[[File:Eiffel Tower wearing Europe colors - panoramio.jpg|thumb|right|upright|The [[Flag of Europe|European emblem]] emblazoned on the [[Eiffel Tower]]]]

The European Union has had a significant positive economic effect on most member states.<ref name="JoME" /> According to a 2019 study of the member states who joined from 1973 to 2004, "without European integration, per capita incomes would have been, on average, approximately 10% lower in the first ten years after joining the EU".<ref name="JoME">{{Cite journal |last1=Campos |first1=Nauro F. |last2=Coricelli |first2=Fabrizio |last3=Moretti |first3=Luigi |date=1 May 2019 |title=Institutional integration and economic growth in Europe |journal=Journal of Monetary Economics |volume=103 |pages=88–104 |doi=10.1016/j.jmoneco.2018.08.001 |issn=0304-3932 |doi-access=free|hdl=20.500.11850/342557 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Greece was the exception reported by the study, which analysed up to 2008, "to avoid confounding effects from the global financial crisis".<ref name="JoME" /> A 2021 study in the ''Journal of Political Economy'' found that the 2004 enlargement had aggregate beneficial economic effects on all groups in both the old and new member states. The largest winners were the new member states, in particular unskilled labour in the new member states.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Caliendo |first1=Lorenzo |last2=Parro |first2=Fernando |last3=Opromolla |first3=Luca David |last4=Sforza |first4=Alessandro |date=2021 |title=Goods and Factor Market Integration: A Quantitative Assessment of the EU Enlargement |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/716560 |journal=Journal of Political Economy |volume=129 |issue=12 |pages=3491–3545 |doi=10.1086/716560 |issn=0022-3808 |s2cid=240811706|hdl=10419/171064 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

The European Union is frequently cited as having made a major contribution to peace in Europe, in particular by pacifying border disputes,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Diez |first1=Thomas |last2=Stetter |first2=Stephan |last3=Albert |first3=Mathias |date=July 2006 |title=The European Union and Border Conflicts: The Transformative Power of Integration |journal=International Organization |volume=60 |issue=3 |pages=563–593 |doi=10.1017/S0020818306060218 |doi-broken-date=1 November 2024 |issn=1531-5088 |s2cid=102491575}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/european-union-and-border-conflicts/A266F908B4C67C91C17F511DD9BB9AF3 |title=The European Union and Border Conflicts: The Power of Integration and Association |date=2008 |publisher=Cambridge Core |isbn=978-0-511-49133-7 |editor-last=Diez |editor-first=Thomas |doi=10.1017/cbo9780511491337 |access-date=19 December 2019 |editor-last2=Albert |editor-first2=Mathias |editor-last3=Stetter |editor-first3=Stephan}}</ref> and to the spread of democracy, especially by encouraging democratic reforms in aspiring Eastern European member states after the collapse of the USSR.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Poast |first1=Paul |last2=Chinchilla |first2=Alexandra |date=2020 |title=Good for democracy? Evidence from the 2004 NATO expansion |journal=International Politics |volume=57 |issue=3 |pages=471–490 |doi=10.1057/s41311-020-00236-6 |issn=1740-3898 |s2cid=219012478}}</ref><ref name="Risse-2009" /> Scholar [[Thomas Risse]] wrote in 2009, "there is a consensus in the literature on Eastern Europe that the EU membership perspective had a huge anchoring effects for the new democracies."<ref name="Risse-2009">{{Cite book |last=Risse |first=Thomas |url=https://archive.org/details/promotingdemocra00mage |title=Promoting Democracy and the Rule of Law: American and European Strategies |date=2009 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK |isbn=978-0-230-24452-8 |editor-last=Magen |editor-first=Amichai |series=Governance and Limited Statehood Series |pages=[https://archive.org/details/promotingdemocra00mage/page/n262 244]–271 |chapter=Conclusions: Towards Transatlantic Democracy Promotion? |doi=10.1057/9780230244528_9 |editor-last2=Risse |editor-first2=Thomas |editor-last3=McFaul |editor-first3=Michael A. |url-access=limited}}</ref> However, [[R. Daniel Kelemen]] argues that the EU has proved beneficial to leaders who are overseeing [[democratic backsliding]], as the EU is reluctant to intervene in domestic politics, gives authoritarian governments funds which they can use to strengthen their regimes, and because [[European single market#People|freedom of movement within the EU]] allows dissenting citizens to leave their backsliding countries. At the same time, the union might provide through [[Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union]] an external constraint that prevents [[electoral autocracy|electoral autocracies]], currently Hungary,<ref>{{Cite report |url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-9-2022-0217_EN.html |title=INTERIM REPORT on the proposal for a Council decision determining, pursuant to Article 7(1) of the Treaty on European Union, the existence of a clear risk of a serious breach by Hungary of the values on which the Union is founded |last=Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs |date=25 July 2022 |publisher=European Parliament}}</ref> from progressing into [[autocracy|closed autocracies]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kelemen |first=R. Daniel |date=3 March 2020 |title=The European Union's authoritarian equilibrium |journal=Journal of European Public Policy |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=481–499 |doi=10.1080/13501763.2020.1712455 |issn=1350-1763 |doi-access=free}}</ref>