To know more

• What is the European Union?
  
  

  History

What is the European Union?

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History





The European Union is an international organization born after the Second World War, specifically on May 9, 1950, with a declaration by Robert Schuman that led to the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1952. Later, with the Treaty of Rome of 1957, the European Economic Community (ECC) was established .  

It was founded by: Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, faced with the need to work for dialogue, stability and peace in a continent devastated by conflict. Spain joined in 1986, along with Portugal, and since 2016 the EU is made up of 27 countries.  

With the Maastricht Treaty of 1993, the European Union was created and the integration process intensified, with the entry into force in 2002 of the Euro as the single currency of 12 countries. 

To learn more about the history of the European Union, click here. 

• How the EU works
  
  

  The main institutions

How the EU works

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The main institutions





The main institutions of the European Union are: 

The European Parliament represents citizens and we vote for it every 5 years. Formed by 705 deputies and is responsible for legislation, supervision and budgeting. 

European Commission main executive body. It manages policies, the budget and ensures that Member States comply with the laws.

European Council meeting body of the heads of state or government of the Member States. It defines general policies and priorities of the EU. 

Council of the EU meeting body of the various ministers of the Member States to adopt laws and coordinate policies, together with the European Parliament.   

To find out more about the different institutions, click here.

• The 2019-2024 legislature
  
  

The 2019-2024 legislature

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During the 2019-2024 legislature, policies and initiatives have been promoted to promote 6 action priorities. You can check its progress through the following link. 

1. A European Green Pact
2. A Europe adapted to the digital age
3. An economy at the service of people
4. A stronger Europe in the world
5. Promotion of the European way of life
6. New impetus to European democracy:  
• Forms of participation
  
  

  How can I participate in the EU?

Forms of participation

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How can I participate in the EU?





The EU is built day after day based on the support of the countries and the participation of citizens, which has been increasing after perceiving the benefits of being part of this project. With the desire to become more democratic, more spaces are gradually being offered for participation and expression of interests by citizens, especially looking for the involvement of young people.

1. EUROPEAN ELECTIONS  


They are the main space for participation, where deputies from each Member State are elected by universal suffrage to represent the interests of citizens in the European Parliament. They are convened every 5 years, and the next election will be held on June 9, 2024, in the ordinary electoral colleges. In this legislature there have been a total of 705 MEPs, of whom approximately 1/3 are women. 

The deputies who present themselves do so by the hand of the respective national parties, and within the European Parliament they are grouped by political families mainly in 7 large transnational political groups. You can see its representation here.
 

1. OTHER PARTICIPATION INITIATIVES
    

European Citizen Initiative  

European Citizenship Panels 

Portal "Say what you think" 

European Youth Event (EYE) 

You can find out about the activities that are organized throughout Europe through the "together.eu" portal.  

• The Spanish Presidency of the EU Council
  
  

  Why is it important?

The Spanish Presidency of the EU Council

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Why is it important?





The Council of the EU is the body formed by the various ministers of the Member States and is responsible for negotiating and adopting the laws and the budget of the EU together with the European Parliament. Specifically:  

1. It coordinates the action of its members in areas such as: economic measures, employment policies, education, culture, youth and sport
2. It drives the EU's foreign and security policy 
3. Celebrate international agreements  


It has a rotating presidency between the countries every 6 months, and defines and represents the priorities for action.
 

From July 1 to December 31, 2023, Spain will again preside over the Council for the 5th time, at a strategic moment at European level, before the 2024 European Elections.  

In general terms, its action program will deal with:  

Strategic Autonomy

Redefine the energy policy

Redefining EU relations with Latin America

To find out more about the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU, click here.

• Want to help us grow the campaign?
  
  

  Join the promotion group!

Want to help us grow the campaign?

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Join the promotion group!





#JoProposoUE wants to reach as many people and young people as possible, and for them to know, participate and promote the project everywhere.  

The promoter group is the space that makes it possible, and we invite you to be part of it! 

If you are interested, send a message to: info@catalunyaeuropa.net 

Currently the entities and people participating are: 

Ateneu Barcelonès (Pol Villaverde, coordinator of the youth gathering)

Deba-t.org (Marina Grau, vice president) 

Equipo Europa Catalunya (Francesc Almendros and Gerard Alvaney, spokesperson and communication resp.) 

Eurolocal (Joaquim Millan, director) 

European Student Network – UAB (Jorge Duran, board member) 

European Student Network – UPF (Aritz Blanco, president) 

European Union Society UPF (Marta Tejeda, general secretary) 

JEF Catalonia (Eugènia di Polito, Luca Furment and Fabrizio Dávila - board members) 

Alina Olsson, specialist in international relations, diplomacy and protocol 

Anna Vilà Cunyat, expert in European law and associate professor at the UAB

Firdaous Alaoui, human rights activist and podcaster of Gen Z Talks 

Joan Subirachs, Global Studies student at the UPF